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No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

sellercentral.amazon.com

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Re: No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

#181

Post by mistermann »

Scoundreller wrote: post #142
0xffff2 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that a problem? Seems like if they do that then it's US domestic mail, playing by all the same rules (and high rates) as any other domestic mail item. Competing with Chinese shippers would look exactly the same as competing with anyone shipping out of LA/Oakland/Seattle.

It’s just not going to be a boon to US drop-shippers, the Chinese ones will still have a lower cost of operations by dealing direct and almost 100% Chinese labour costs.

You seem to be completely overlooking the fact that it is way cheaper to ship an item from China to a specific location in the US, than it is to ship the same item from within the US.

Re: No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

#182

Post by Marazan »

jrockway wrote: post #126

The impression I get from that thread is that the dream here is now Americans can do what they do best, sit in the middle of transactions and collect rent. Previously, you could go to a Chinese website and have the Chinese factory send you a widget directly to your door. Now that will be too expensive, but hey we have a solution! An American will order a bunch of widgets in bulk, ship them over in a cargo ship, come…

You are missing out the bit where you ordered the widget from China and then the US tax payers subsidised the Chinese companies delivery cost.

All that is happening is that subsidy is being removed.

Re: No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

#183

Post by [deleted] »

daveslash wrote: post #65
orthecreedence wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I support this, and I'm a rabid leftist. Things should cost what they cost. The only time government should interfere with pricing is to force companies to price in externalities.

"I'm a rabid leftist" . I appreciate your candor, but if you think "things should cost what they cost" , then you're not nearly as rabid as many of the rabid leftists that I've encountered.

[deleted]

Re: No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

#185

Post by ikeboy »

Shivetya wrote: post #50
magduf wrote: post #5

This actually sounds like a good thing. It costs Chinese shippers almost nothing to send stuff directly from China, while it costs me quite a lot to send stuff within the US, largely because I'm subsidizing all the Chinese shippers. Moreover, for me to send any parcel (even very small ones, like 2 oz.) outside the US costs a small fortune these days, again because I'm subsidizing the Chinese shippers.

being a buyer off ebay what always surprised me is the next to nothing if not free shipping from China. It is good to see it changing as an article from 2014 [1] indicated how the USPS is getting soaked for the shipping on our side of the ocean. if this is fallout from the trade issues it honestly is the only good outcome of them [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/09/12/...

Note that the program described there, ePacket, is now profitable for the USPS. It took them a few years to scale up but it's been profitable for years now.

Re: No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

#186

Post by adventured »

tracer4201 wrote: post #163
magduf wrote: post #5

This actually sounds like a good thing. It costs Chinese shippers almost nothing to send stuff directly from China, while it costs me quite a lot to send stuff within the US, largely because I'm subsidizing all the Chinese shippers. Moreover, for me to send any parcel (even very small ones, like 2 oz.) outside the US costs a small fortune these days, again because I'm subsidizing the Chinese shippers.

I don’t have the background on this - help me understand why or how it’s cheaper for goods to ship cheaper from China than shipping within the US? The US taxpayer is subsidizing this? I’m shocked and confused.

It's a UN-based forced rate subsidy for developing nations that China still benefits from.

"According to the U.S. Postal Service, it costs around $20 to mail a small parcel weighing 4.4 pounds from one U.S. state to another, yet mailing the same package from China only costs about $5."

"The Universal Postal Union, a United Nations agency that sets postal rates among its 192-member countries, dictates USPS's artificially low rates. It bizarrely groups China – the world’s second-largest economy – with developing nations like Gabon and Fiji into its third tier of shipping rates, which are just a fraction of what the developed world must pay."

"USPS loses about $300 million per year on Chinese imports - losing about $1 per small package it delivers."

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/04/04/trump_...

Re: No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

#187

Post by mistermann »

ikeboy wrote: post #165
mistermann wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do US sellers have access to this slow shipping option? If so, it's curious why they wouldn't (based on the comments in the link) offer it as an option to compete with Chinese sellers.

You can get costs down on small, light packages by putting it in a big envelope and using good old fashioned stamps.

Interesting.

Now, back to my question: Do US sellers have access to this slow shipping option?

Re: No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

#189

Post by rubinelli »

notatoad wrote: post #155
rubinelli wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could still be a problem if those sellers move to Fulfillment By Amazon. My understanding (and I'd like to be corrected if I'm wrong) is that Amazon's current policy is to commingle products with the same SKU from different sellers, so it will become even more likely to pay for the original and get the knockoff.

Nothing the parent comment said has anything to do with commingling of inventory. I get that HN likes to complain about FBA, but pretending inventory commingling has any relation to unresponsive sellers or long delivery times is misleading and stupid.

I may not have phrased it well, but I wasn't implying that the original poster would have the same problems. I was just saying this change -- which I still think is fair -- may not be only upside for American customers and sellers, if current policies don't change.

Re: No More Cheap Shipping for Chinese Sellers

#190

Post by yumraj »

chromaton wrote: post #175

I just got an email from eBay Main Street, which is eBay's mailing list for political issues which affect their sellers. This email is tells me to call congress to NOT withdraw from the Universal Postal Union, under the logic that it will make it harder to ship stuff from the US to other countries.

Of course this is bad for eBay, and perhaps etsy, shopify and others. The flood of direct-from-China sellers selling cheap products and shipping for free (on USPS's dime) will stop.
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