The markup is there because western sellers need to comply with western laws, namely that they need to include tax with the final price and they accept responsi

The markup is there because western sellers need to comply with western laws, namely that they need to include tax with the final price and they accept responsibility for replacing faulty and defective products. These are the primary things Chinese sellers avoid, as the responsibility for paying tax ends up on the end consumer which usually means it isn't paid unless customs are doing their job well, and while most Chinese sellers will accept returns for replacement return postage to China is usually cost prohibitive for most items. Not to mention that western sellers are usually acting as resellers or middlemen, regardless of where the product originates it's always cheaper to skip the middleman and buy directly from the manufacturers but this is something that western businesses and manufacturers tend to avoid.