Lee Teng once lost ‘thousands of dollars’ doing livestream sales

Livestream sales can be lucrative for celebrities, but it’s not as simple as just standing in front of a camera.

Local host Lee Teng can attest to that.

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News published yesterday (Dec 12), the 41-year-old shared his views on the industry.

“Artistes doing e-commerce should not be seen as an end point, but a trend. It’s like another kind of endorsement,” he said. “Goods can be sold within a few hours through talking. The efficiency is higher.

“Livestreaming will definitely make money, and how much you make is dependent on your personal reputation. Performing, on the other hand, cannot be measured by money. What it creates is the value of artistes.”

Lee Teng started doing livestream sales during the Covid-19 pandemic and told Shin Min that his goals for 2024 included expanding the livestreaming market, planning more live programmes and keeping his family healthy and safe.

He also started a ‘self-media’ company last year with his wife, Gina Lin.

“In addition to livestreaming, it has also become a bridge between livestreamers and merchants,” he shared. “The current performance of the company is still rising steadily.”

However, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Lee Teng, who shared a past mistake that cost him a four-figure sum.

“We started group-buying and importing Taiwanese snacks during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said the host, who was born in Taiwan and moved to Singapore when he was nine.

“Because we didn’t calculate the shipping costs properly, we ended up losing thousands of dollars, which was like we had worked for nothing.”

15 current and former TV stars start livestream channel

Lee Teng is far from the only local celebrity riding the livestream sales trend.

Just last month, ex-Mediacorp actor Terence Cao, founder of the e-commerce and livestreaming platform Sibay Shiok, joined forces with veteran director Jack Neo to create Star Live, bringing together 15 current and former TV stars.

Other than Terence and Jack, their stellar cast includes Sibay Shiok’s Dawn Yeoh, Collin Chee, Jason Oh and Peter Yu, alongside Tang Miaoling, Henry Thia, Vincent Ng, Tracy Lee, Angela Ang, Yutaki Ong, social media influencers Nicole Chang Min and Simonboy, and entrepreneur Tommy Wong.