It means cheap items (like small plastic items etc), where the cost of manufacture is very low, even if they can be manufactured at the same cost in the US can

It means cheap items (like small plastic items etc), where the cost of manufacture is very low, even if they can be manufactured at the same cost in the US can not beat the Chinese seller because they can't compete on price. A small domestic package just costs more than one shipped from China. So yes, it's possible they can instead compete on delivery time, and they do. But all else being equal, it seems dumb that they can't be given access to the same pricing as Chinese sellers if they conform to the same rules (drop off at shipping hubs, labeling standards etc). http://thydzik.com/how-do-chinesehong-kong-sellers-make-money-on-ebay-with-99c-free-shipping-items/ http://thydzik.com/how-do-chinesehong-kong-sellers-make-mone...