Online retailers on Lazada and Shopee have begun reducing the prices of Covid-19 self-test kits over the weekend to meet the government’s new ceiling prices for the test kits. This is despite the one-week grace period from the original 5 September date as announced by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) to allow more time for retailers to comply with the ceiling prices.

This is good news for consumers, as Malaysians can now purchase the Covid-19 rapid test kits at a much more affordable rate – and is especially important considering the increased self-testing requirements from individuals as the government relaxes more SOPs in the future.

A quick check on Lazada revealed that virtually all active retailers have updated their prices to comply with the ceiling prices. Interestingly, some retailers are even selling some test kits below the ceiling price, such as the Beright RTK at RM16.50 the lowest we found.

You can also make bulk order purchases at lower prices – this pharmacy store in Lazada offers a variety of rapid test kits in 1, 5, and even 100-box units with prices starting from RM16.50 per box. We recommend checking further to get the best prices from reputable pharmacies on Lazada such as Healthlane, Sunway Pharmacy, and BIG Pharmacy – they may have special deals especially when the 9.9 sales is just a few days away.

Interestingly, Shopee appears to still disallow listings for Covid-19 rapid test kits. From our observation, searches including keywords such as “covid 19 self test kit”, “rapid test kit”, and others like them yielded zero results. Shopee’s PR informed us that this was in line with the government’s SOPs and the Medical Device Authority’s guidelines on the sale of self-test kits, which can only be sold in pharmacies, so this could be Shopee adhering to the SOPs. That said, with many pharmacies selling these kits on their Lazada stores but not on their Shopee stores, there does appear to be some confusion on the latest guidelines.

In any case, it’s probably worth having some of these test kits on hand, and being able to purchase them online makes them much more accessible to consumers – especially when it’s recommended to stay at home as much as possible. That said, be sure to purchase them from reputable sellers such as the major pharmacies on Lazada and Shopee (if/when they are available to), and that they are among brands approved by the Ministry of Health.

• TAGS:
• Covid-19
• Covid-19 Self-Test Kits
• Covid-19 Self-Test Kits Ceiling Prices
• Lazada
• Shopee