Using A Shopee Proxy To Overcome Geo-Restriction

First launched in Singapore in 2015, Shopee has grown to become an eCommerce giant with over 195 million monthly visits. Despite this growth and surging popularity, the site currently serves only a few countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. Many outside the borders of these countries have wanted a way to purchase items from this popular site – short of having to travel to the countries, of course – and have the items shipped to them.

In this article, we introduce you to a perfect solution – a Shopee proxy. We discuss what a Shopee proxy is, some awesome ways you can use it, and much more. Read on or use the table of contents above to skip through the article.

What Is a Shopee Proxy?

Normally, when you connect to the internet and access a website, the site can identify your device and get a general idea of where you are connecting from because of a unique code referred to as an IP address. Apart from allowing websites to identify and track a device, this code can be used to monitor user behavior, restrict content, and much more. It goes without saying, then, that having a way to hide this code can come in very handy in certain situations. This is where the use of a proxy comes in.

When we use the word proxy in relation to the internet and web browsing, what we are actually referring to is a proxy IP address. That is, an alternative IP address you use to access a website. A proxy serves as an intermediary between you and websites. It allows you to communicate with websites indirectly and keeps your device’s IP address hidden. A Shopee proxy simply refers to a proxy IP address used to communicate with the Shopee website.

Why Do You Need a Proxy for Shopee?

One of the most common use cases and most obvious benefits of using a Shopee proxy is anonymity. Because your IP address is masked by another, websites can’t tell exactly where you are connecting from and track your activity back to your device. Here are a few other benefits of using a proxy for Shopee:

1.   Better security

In the same way a proxy grants you increased anonymity online, it can help you improve your online security. An exposed IP address can put your device at risk of being hacked, especially when you use unsecured public Wi-Fi.

A lot of sensitive information such as credit card numbers and account details have to be put into the Shopee site for transactions to be completed. By masking your IP address, proxies give you an extra layer of protection against bad actors looking to mine private data for identity theft and other malicious activities. As such, using a Shopee proxy, you can have peace of mind knowing that the sensitive data you put into the site is extra safe.

2.   Combatting geo-restrictions with a Shopee proxy

The Shopee site looks different depending on where you are connecting from. Some content and products are only available in certain regions and your IP address allows the site to detect where you are connecting from.

Using a proxy IP address, you can change your location, make it look like you are connecting from another place, and access certain region-specific products, catalogs, or features.  This ability to location switch has lots of applications. For example, if you want to open a business in Southeast Asia, and you would like to see what kinds of products customers there are being offered, a Shopee proxy can facilitate that.

Also, as we brushed over in the introduction, you can use a proxy to buy products and get them shipped to countries that Shopee doesn’t currently ship to. If you live in the US, for instance, and you’ve been wondering how to buy from Shopee Malaysia or how to buy from Shopee Taiwan and get the items shipped to you, a proxy can help. Using a Malaysian or Taiwanese proxy IP address, you can access the region-specific sites, make it look like you are connecting locally, purchase the items, and then use package forwarding services to send the goods to your home country.

3.   Scraping data

As one of the biggest ecommerce sites in Southeast Asia, Shopee gives you access to a whole lot of valuable data that can be used to gain business-boosting insights. The site houses products, their prices, descriptions, promotions, and discounts. As a seller on the site, gathering and analyzing this information can help you stay ahead of the competition. But, doing this manually is a long and laborious process. You’ll have to copy tons of data, paste it into an easy-to-read document, and struggle not to make any mistakes. A web scraper can do all that for you automatically within a fraction of the time and without the risk of human error.

For instance, if you are a seller on Shopee, you can use a web scraper to find the prices, promotions, and discounts being offered by your competitors. You can also collect data such as reviews and ratings to find out how customers are responding to particular products. Such data can be used to improve your marketing strategy.

On the flip side, as a buyer on the site, a web scraper can help you find the best deals and prices on the site for particular products. If you are trying to buy a blender, for instance, you can set up a scraper to find all mentions of the word “blender” along with data such as product descriptions, prices, discounts, etc. Looking through this data can help you find the best products that fit your budget and specifications.

You are probably wondering, “How are Shopee proxies relevant to web scraping?” Simply put, proxies help overcome certain challenges and facilitate the process of data collection. E-commerce Websites like Shopee host a lot of private user data and they are quite sensitive to the automated activity of web scrapers. That’s because such activity is similar to the way some malware – designed to collect sensitive user data – operate. As such, websites are quick to block IP addresses associated with such automated behavior. By providing alternate IP addresses that can be used after a ban is issued,  proxies are the perfect solution to this problem. Using multiple proxy IP addresses, you can overcome bans and collect massive volumes of data quickly.

Choosing the Right Types of Proxies for Shopee

There are several types of Shopee proxies, each with unique pros and cons. And, they all have certain use cases that they are better suited for. If you are a newbie to web proxies, understanding the jargon and differences between them can be a bit difficult. So, here is a simple breakdown of some of the types of proxies available:

Dedicated, semi-dedicated, and rotating proxies

Based on the terms and conditions of its use, a proxy can be categorized as dedicated, semi-dedicated, or rotating.

A dedicated proxy, as the name suggests, is a proxy that only one person has access to. As such, when you use a dedicated proxy, you don’t have to share the resources associated with it with anyone else. This makes them generally faster and more secure than other proxy types. On the flip side, their exclusiveness makes them a relatively expensive option. Dedicated proxies are great for improving your online security and having a location-specific online shopping experience.

Semi-dedicated proxies are a more budget-friendly option. They are typically used by three to five users which means that the resources associated with these proxies are shared. As such, they can be slower than other proxy types and tend to be less secure.  However, with good service providers, the drawbacks are minimized as such providers endeavor to make semi-dedicated proxies work well for all parties involved.

Unlike dedicated and semi-dedicated proxies which give you access to only one IP address, rotating proxies give you access to numerous IP addresses that are automatically switched up at regular intervals. Rotating proxies also have an automatic change in IP address when a ban occurs. This makes them a great option for web scraping.

Data center and residential Shopee proxies

Based on where a proxy originates from, it can be categorized as data center or residential. Residential proxies are IP addresses that come from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Verizon and AT&T. When homeowners buy Wi-Fi sources like modems, ISPs designate an Ip address to them. As such, proxy providers cannot create such Ip addresses. They have to source for them from real people. This makes residential proxies relatively expensive.

But, because they are associated with real people and physical residences, they look more legitimate. If you use a residential proxy to connect to the Shopee website, it would look like a regular everyday user just logged on. As such, when you use these types of proxies for web scraping, the likelihood of being detected and banned is much lower than with other proxy types. Also, residential proxies are the best choice when it comes to combatting geo-restrictions and switching up your location to make orders. The fact that they look more legitimate reduces the chances of delays, rejected orders, or getting flagged for violations. It’ll simply look like a real person from a different location is making an order.

Data center proxies, on the other hand, are produced by data centers. They are not associated with ISPs or physical addresses which makes it much easier for websites to detect them. Some websites have gone as far as putting a total ban on them. Such sites cannot be accessed with a datacentre proxy. One of the main advantages of data center proxies is that they are super affordable. They are great for anonymity and increased security. They can also be used for web scraping. However, you might need hundreds to thousands of them to finish a project. To learn more about the differences between residential and data center proxies, check out this blog post.

Rotating residential proxies for Shopee web scraping

A proxy can be a combination of the two groups we just discussed. For instance, there are dedicated residential proxies, semi-dedicated data center proxies, rotating data center proxies, etc. The ultimate proxy for scraping data is a rotating residential proxy. With the decreased likelihood of being detected and the automatic rotations, it’s simply the best of both worlds. Find out more in this post.

Where to Find the Best Shopee Buying Proxee

In addition to the categories we listed above, a Shopee proxy can also be free or paid. Free proxies, while appealing on the surface, have a lot of disadvantages that make them a poor choice. Because they are available to that public, they tend to be slow and can sometimes serve as a portal of entry for bad actors.

If you need a proxy for Shopee, it is best to go with a reliable paid provider like Rayobyte. We have proxy IP addresses located in over 26 countries. So, whether you need a proxy to buy from Shopee Malaysia or you are looking to buy on Shopee Taiwan, we’ve got you! Our proxies run at super fast speeds of 1GBS without any bandwidth limits. Also, we are in full control of our hardware and all the factors that influence the performance of our proxies. We strive to ensure that our proxies have a 99% uptime so that you can always rely on them.

Our ethically sourced residential proxies are optimized for collecting massive amounts of data and our super affordable data center proxies offer great value for various use cases. If you have any questions or require guidance, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

Final Words

On a personal and professional level, a Shopee proxy can prove to be very useful and improve your experience on this huge online marketplace. However, choosing the right kind of proxy and purchasing one of high quality is key to reaping the associated benefits.

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