AliExpress puts a markup on the actual item versus the price that you would pay in China. That could partially explain it. In other posts in this discussion, k

AliExpress puts a markup on the actual item versus the price that you would pay in China. That could partially explain it. In other posts in this discussion, kogepathic claimed that the cost of shipping is subsidized by other countries and webscaleizfun even posted a link to evidence of the US subsidizing the cost of shipping between China/HongKong and the US: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12857444 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12857444 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12854573 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12854573 Maybe France has a similar arrangement. That combined with the markup Aliexpress charges would explain it. Edit: According to jeromegv's link to the Washington Post, this is by international treaty and almost every country is subject to it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12857145 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12857145 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/09/12/the-postal-service-is-losing-millions-a-year-to-help-you-buy-cheap-stuff-from-china/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/09/12/... Consequently, France is subsidizing the shipping costs for AliExpress.