Shein is an online retailer, which ships its orders all over the world, including to South Africa, where standard shipping timeframes and fees apply.
Overview
Shein is an online retailer that has a large range of items, which customers can purchase and have delivered straight to their doors.
Shein does not have an official store in South Africa, but South African customers can shop through the South African Shein website and still have the items delivered to their doors. However, this delivery will be subject to estimated delivery times and costs.
What is Shein?
Shein is a Chinese e-commerce retailer, which sells a variety of different products via their online retail website and mobile app.
This retailer has grown in popularity because of the wide variety of products that are offered and the affordable pricing of the products.
Shein has several products for consumers to choose from, including men’s clothing and women’s clothing, beauty products, home and décor items, shoes and accessories.
There is also a rewards program, which rewards customers for different actions like confirming deliveries and ordering frequently, which can discount the prices on the website even further.
This is what makes this website so alluring to customers all around the world.
Where is Shein located in South Africa?
Shein does ship their orders internationally, which includes South Africa, but there are unfortunately no official, physical storefronts in the country.
However, Shein does have a dedicated South African website that you can visit at https://za.shein.com/.
This website displays all of the prices in the South African Rand, which means that you do not have to worry about converting prices from another currency or about what the exchange rate currently is.
The website also guarantees that all the items displayed on this website can be shipped to South Africa, which will spare you the disappointment of only finding out after you have ordered that the item cannot be shipped.
Although there are some “wholesale” Shein stores that can be found locally through Facebook and other social media sites, these stores are not official Shein stores.
It is common for these stores to purchase bulk items from Shein’s leftover stock, and then import and resell these items in South Africa.
However, this does mean that these stores can guarantee where the stock came from, and they may also have a more limited selection of items than the Shein website.
In the end, ordering from the dedicated South African website is still your best bet.
How to order from the Shein South African site
The steps to order from the Shein South African site, are simple and can be summarised as follows:
- Step 1: Visit the website at https://za.shein.com/
- Step 2: Add your desired items, with the correct sizes and colours, to your shopping bag
- Step 3: Select the “View bag button”
- Step 4: Click the “Checkout securely now” button
- Step 5: Sign into your Shein account or register for a new account if you do not have one
- Step 6: Fill in your shipping and billing information
- Step 7: Complete your payment information
- Step 8: Click the “Continue” button to confirm your order
How long does delivery to South Africa take?
Once you have placed your order, Shein will take between one and three days to process your order. This means that they will need some time to prepare and pack your order.
You will receive an estimated delivery date on the “My orders” page, which will indicate how long it will take for your package to arrive at customs.
Currently, Shein only offers their standard delivery option for orders to South Africa, which means that orders are likely to take between 25 and 28 working days to reach customs.
What will delivery to South Africa cost?
Once your order has arrived at customs, it will take some time for it to be inspected and you may need to pay additional fees, duties or taxes for the package to be released to the local courier companies, who will then bring it to your door.
Besides the additional costs, Shein does charge their own shipping costs on some standard shipping orders. These costs are as follows:
| Order total | Shipping costs |
| Orders below R590 | R150 |
| Orders over R590 but below R1050 | R75 |
| Orders over R1050 | Free |
Final thoughts
Shein has become very popular among consumers who shop online because of the variety in their products and the affordable prices of their products.
South African consumers can enjoy this same variety and affordability by ordering from the South African site. These orders will then be shipped via standard delivery, which includes standard delivery times and rate, to your South African address.
