What the chat decided
| Who | Taylor (TC) founding; Lam joining for VN market knowledge |
|---|---|
| Product | Web app with AI to help users buy cheaper Chinese products |
| Not | A news/info site (midasmarkets.xyz was a false lead). Not the old mobile app. |
| Geo | SEA cross-border e-commerce, start in Vietnam |
| MVP | “We’ll start with Shopify in the early stages.” |
| Now | Product selection + team; Lam to be added to group chat |
Implication
This is not “build Shopee.” Marketplace GMV is a duopoly. A Shopify store only works if AI + China sourcing produces a visible landed-price advantage after VAT, duty, freight, and slow delivery — and if checkout feels local (VND, wallets, COD).
Vietnam e-commerce snapshot
Two different rulers exist. Do not add them. Marketplace GMV is Shopee + TikTok Shop + Lazada + Tiki. Nationwide B2C also includes brand sites and social selling.
Four-platform share, full year 2025 (Metric)
Together Shopee + TikTok Shop ≈ 97%. Q&Me (May 2025–Apr 2026) already has TikTok Shop at 44% vs Shopee 53%. H1 2026 Metric GMV VND 291.6T (+44.1%); YouNet counts VND 264.8T (+19%) for the same window — cite the source you use.
Operating climate
- 3.94B items sold on the four platforms in 2025 (+15%).
- Active sellers fell 7.4% to ~601.8k — volume is consolidating.
- HCMC + Hanoi dominate Shopee GMV (Metric: ~42% and ~41% of Shopee’s VN GMV).
- H1 2026 category growth: electronics 26%, FMCG 20%, fashion 18%, beauty 12%.
- 2025 popular cats: beauty, home/lifestyle, women’s fashion.
Why “cheaper from China” is getting harder
The old loophole — express parcels under VND 1 million with no import VAT — is gone. Duty relief is still there, but a 2026 draft would almost wipe it out.
Decision 01/2025/QĐ-TTg: every express parcel pays import VAT, including ≤ VND 1,000,000 (~USD 40). Press cited 4–5 million small China→VN orders/day under the old exemption.
Duty still exempt under ~VND 1M per express parcel. VAT 10% standard; many goods temporarily 8% until 31 Dec 2026. ACFTA Form E can cut China duty vs MFN (apparel/cosmetics often 15–22% MFN).
MoF consults on cutting the duty exemption to ~VND 100,000 (~USD 4) or tax payable ≤ VND 10,000. If adopted, almost every commercial parcel pays duty + VAT.
E-commerce Law 122/2025/QH15: livestream ID, seller quality docs, platform duties. A Vietnamese-language or .vn storefront can be treated as a platform and may need registration + resident representative.
Landed-cost stack to model on every SKU
- China EXW (1688 / factory)
- Inbound freight + insurance (CIF)
- Import duty if parcel > VND 1M (HS code; ACFTA if C/O)
- VAT on (CIF + duty)
- Last-mile (GHN / GHTK / Viettel Post / J&T)
- Payment cost + COD fail/return leakage
- Shopify subscription + 3rd-party transaction fee
Industry rule of thumb: switch from parcel import to local 3PL stock around USD 50–100k monthly sales.
Shopify in Vietnam — early-stage stack
| Layer | Use | Watch-out |
|---|---|---|
| Store | Shopify Online Store, VND, Vietnamese, phone-first theme | Desktop-first themes convert poorly (92% shop on phones) |
| Pay | VNPay official app; bank QR; manual COD | MoMo/ZaloPay are not native. Extra Shopify fee on top of PSP rates. COD must be an app or manual method. |
| Ship | GHN (volume), GHTK (cost + daily COD remittance), Viettel Post (coverage/safety), J&T | Do not promise marketplace-speed delivery on CN dropship parcels |
| Sourcing | 1688 / factory, not retail Taobao screenshots | Cosmetics, food, supplements need registration |
| AI (after checkout works) | Landed-cost quote, VN Q&A, 1688 match, quality/fake flags | AI claims on livestream/ads fall under the new e-commerce law |
| Demand | TikTok/Shopee for discovery even if checkout is Shopify | TikTok Shop has no simple ship-from-abroad program; local entity or partner |
How Vietnamese buyers actually shop
- ~50% shop online weekly (TGM); YouNet 62.8% among digital consumers.
- 92% smartphone vs 30% desktop.
- Categories: clothing 63%, personal care 55%, beauty 48% (TGM).
- COD preferred by 35%; BNPL used by 49% (usage ≠ preference).
- ~35% have joined livestream shopping; Gen Z uses micro-influencers and shoppertainment.
- Price, speed, and easy returns sit above brand. Cross-border lose on speed/returns unless you hold VN stock.
AI web app wedge (from the chat + data)
Buyers already find cheap China goods on Shopee/TikTok. The product only wins if it does something those apps do badly:
- Show true VND landed price, tax included, before add-to-cart.
- Filter junk/fake listings and explain quality in Vietnamese.
- Offer local payment + realistic delivery windows.
- Later: hold fast-movers in a VN warehouse so speed matches Shopee.
Skills collected for this repo
Open-ecosystem Shopify/dropshipping skills exist but quality is uneven. High-install ones are listed; a project-specific skill is already in .cursor/skills/vn-cross-border-ecommerce.
| Skill | Why it maps to the chat | Installs / source |
|---|---|---|
| vn-cross-border-ecommerce (this repo) | Landed cost, VAT/duty, Shopify VN, Law 122/2025 | Written for cv-ecommerce |
| nexscope-ai/ecommerce-skills@dropshipping-product-research | SKU selection Taylor is doing now | ~1.9k · skills.sh |
| nexscope-ai/ecommerce-skills@shopify-dropshipping | Shopify MVP store ops | ~1.3k · skills.sh |
| Adspirer (Meta/TikTok/Google) | Paid acquisition once SKUs exist; TikTok is half the market | Already on this machine |
| conversion-tracking + CRO + copywriting | Standalone store lives or dies on checkout, not traffic | Already on this machine |
| website-seo-analytics + vercel/nextjs | Custom AI web layer after Shopify | Already on this machine |
| finsilabs/awesome-ecommerce-skills@dropshipping-integration | 1688/supplier plumbing | ~152 · skills.sh |
Skipped: 1–30 install “dropshipping mastery” skills. Prefer the project skill + official Shopify/Vercel docs.
Recommended next 30 days
- Pick 20 SKUs in beauty accessories, home, or fashion basics — high search, inspectable quality, no special licences.
- Build a landed-cost sheet (China + freight + VAT + duty if >1M + last-mile + 8–12% leak). Kill SKUs that are not clearly cheaper than Shopee after that.
- Stand up Shopify: VND, Vietnamese, VNPay + COD, GHN or GHTK.
- Do not dropship everything. Pre-stock a few winners in HCMC/HN so delivery is 1–2 days.
- AI v0: a VN chatbot / search that explains the product and the tax-inclusive price. Leave livestream until Law 122 processes are understood.
- Legal: business registration path; whether the site is a “platform”; PDPD for customer data.
Sources
Full list with URLs: data/sources.md. Primary: Metric via VCCI/Hanoi Times; VECOM via VnEconomy; vnmarketinsights (market + cross-border tax); TGM Research 2025; Law 122/2025/QH15; Decision 01/2025/QĐ-TTg; Shopify/Pendym on Payments availability.