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since the new tariffs are being imposed on imports to the US from China, i wonder if we might see a reversal in the direction of this process at some point. i m

• leggomylibro 8y ago
  It already happens plenty. Companies with names like 'uxcell' or 'elegoo' have been making a lot of money off of price arbitrage in cheap electronics, for example. With things like breadboards, wires, common sensors and microcontrollers, LEDs, etc, there's often a 3-10x difference in price between what you'd pay on ebay and what you'd pay on taobao. Amazon charges maybe $3 to tack prime shipping onto an item and handle the whole customer service/returns headache, so it seems like easy money. Sure, the provenance is dubious, but if you are buying something from a third-party seller called "elegoo" at bottom-barrel prices, you are presumably expecting that no expense has been attempted. But if anything, the tariffs have made those bulk-import goods more expensive and less competitive with higher-quality alternatives.
  • HillaryBriss 8y ago
    > if anything, the tariffs have made those bulk-import goods more expensive right, so, i guess i'm wondering more about physically compact, relatively expensive products that an individual might buy in China and bring back and sell at a lower price than it's officially available for from tariff paying retailers. i'm sure this is going on a lot now, but i wonder if it might increase in the near future. (e.g. replacement parts like iPhone screens (which are so often intercepted by Apple and US customs), except that that's a special case involving a huge powerful corporation. )