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> Ripping people off with high prices is actually very rare nowadays Given how many dropshippers exist for goods straight from China at 10-15x the price (if no

> Ripping people off with high prices is actually very rare nowadays Given how many dropshippers exist for goods straight from China at 10-15x the price (if not more), this is untrue to such a degree that the original sentence almost reads like satire.

93po 6y ago
I think the premise is that you can look up a item on Amazon, ebay, and walmart and between the three you're very unlikely to get ripped off if you buy the cheapest one available. If you Google for sunglasses, click the first advertisement, and buy without any cross shopping then sure you can absolutely get ripped off. But if you're that unsophisticated with shopping in general I don't know what to tell you
- krageon 6y ago
  The original statement said the activity itself was rare. That it can be mitigated even when it is not rare is not in dispute, I think by anyone. That this is necessary, must always be done and is logical is a case I don't find compelling though.
- bartread 6y ago
  > I think the premise is that you can look up a item on Amazon, ebay, and walmart and between the three you're very unlikely to get ripped off if you buy the cheapest one available. I doubt it's an issue with Walmart but you have completely ignored the problem of counterfeit/knock-off goods on Amazon and eBay. From painful experience, although fortunately not with anything too expensive, I can tell you that it's absolutely possible - likely, even, if you buy enough stuff - to get ripped off on Amazon in this way and that your strategy is not a reliable way to avoid being ripped off.
  - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
    Co-mingling inventory resulting in plausibly deniable (from the counterfeiters perceptive) for counterfeit merchandise is an Amazon specific (as far as I know) problem. Walmart, Ebay and damn near every other ecommerce platform have things set up in a way that it's clear who's goods wound up on who's doorstep and therefore counterfeit stuff isn't very much of a problem. You can absolutely buy terrible Chinese knockoff products engineered to within an inch of their life (I do it all the time) but it's vanishingly rare (compared to Amazon) to get a genuine "I paid for X and got inferior knockoff Y" situation on any other eCommerce platform.
isthatsoup 6y ago
Not really, drop shipping from China has 0 barrier to entry so the margin will be competed downwards very quickly.
- krageon 6y ago
  I wasn't quoting a hypothetical. I can look at a storefront right now and see that I am correct. What you imply here has not happened.
  - _jal 6y ago
    A perfect example of Econ 101 reasoning gone awry. It is funny how often people will deny things sitting right in front of them because "that wouldn't happen".
    - HideousKojima 6y ago
      Two economists are walking down the street, and one says "Look, there's a $20 bill on the ground over there!" The other economist replies "Nonsense, if there was then someone would have already picked it up by now."
- unicornfinder 6y ago
  You'd think so and I really doubt it's as profitable as people suggest but even just looking at Amazon you can see many of the exact same products you'd find on AliExpress for far higher prices.
  - ReptileMan 6y ago
    If you start importing from china - you must be certain that you can unload the product. Or you are stuck with 12 000 masticating juicers ...
- dfadsadsf 6y ago
  Dropshippers provide valuable service - I can get item in 2 days (on Amazon) versus 2-3 weeks or longer if I buy on Aliexpress. Express shipping (if available) on Aliexpress is often $100+ for item that cost a few dollars. Also margins are getting squeezed on drop shipping. Several years ago the difference between price on Amazon and Aliexpress was very significant now it's often negligible and I just buy on Amazon.
sdflhasjd 6y ago
Apple charge $200 between a 256GB and 512GB SSD. Sales & Marketing would call this "price anchoring"
imtringued 6y ago
Every time I buy cheap crap directly from China I regret it. Not waiting 30 days for shipping is easily worth paying 5€ for a product that sells for 2€ directly from China. You can often find the same Chinese stuff at a brick and mortar shop for a reasonable price (2x at most) but its sold under the budget store brand. The high quality products from China are often branded by an American or European company. You can't buy them directly from China unless it is a knockoff and a lot of knockoffs are sold on Ebay locally. I don't even know why anyone would bother to get stuff directly from aliexpress at this point.
- Spivak 6y ago
  I buy lots of stuff from Aliexpress! It's usually lots of low-stakes stuff like bullet journal stuff, pins, phone cases, magnets, small electronics parts, stones, christmas decorations, baking supplies. But I think our experience differs in that I'm really happy with the quality. Once you start checking Aliexpress for stuff you're about to buy you see just how much stuff in stores is just rebranded bulk orders from Alibaba at a huge markup. I think the most egregious example I found was a tapestry from Urban Outfitters. They were selling it for $50+ and it was on Aliexpress for $3.

93po 6y ago

I think the premise is that you can look up a item on Amazon, ebay, and walmart and between the three you're very unlikely to get ripped off if you buy the cheapest one available. If you Google for sunglasses, click the first advertisement, and buy without any cross shopping then sure you can absolutely get ripped off. But if you're that unsophisticated with shopping in general I don't know what to tell you

krageon 6y ago
The original statement said the activity itself was rare. That it can be mitigated even when it is not rare is not in dispute, I think by anyone. That this is necessary, must always be done and is logical is a case I don't find compelling though.
bartread 6y ago
> I think the premise is that you can look up a item on Amazon, ebay, and walmart and between the three you're very unlikely to get ripped off if you buy the cheapest one available. I doubt it's an issue with Walmart but you have completely ignored the problem of counterfeit/knock-off goods on Amazon and eBay. From painful experience, although fortunately not with anything too expensive, I can tell you that it's absolutely possible - likely, even, if you buy enough stuff - to get ripped off on Amazon in this way and that your strategy is not a reliable way to avoid being ripped off.
- throwaway0a5e 6y ago
  Co-mingling inventory resulting in plausibly deniable (from the counterfeiters perceptive) for counterfeit merchandise is an Amazon specific (as far as I know) problem. Walmart, Ebay and damn near every other ecommerce platform have things set up in a way that it's clear who's goods wound up on who's doorstep and therefore counterfeit stuff isn't very much of a problem. You can absolutely buy terrible Chinese knockoff products engineered to within an inch of their life (I do it all the time) but it's vanishingly rare (compared to Amazon) to get a genuine "I paid for X and got inferior knockoff Y" situation on any other eCommerce platform.

isthatsoup 6y ago

Not really, drop shipping from China has 0 barrier to entry so the margin will be competed downwards very quickly.

krageon 6y ago
I wasn't quoting a hypothetical. I can look at a storefront right now and see that I am correct. What you imply here has not happened.
- _jal 6y ago
  A perfect example of Econ 101 reasoning gone awry. It is funny how often people will deny things sitting right in front of them because "that wouldn't happen".
  - HideousKojima 6y ago
    Two economists are walking down the street, and one says "Look, there's a $20 bill on the ground over there!" The other economist replies "Nonsense, if there was then someone would have already picked it up by now."
unicornfinder 6y ago
You'd think so and I really doubt it's as profitable as people suggest but even just looking at Amazon you can see many of the exact same products you'd find on AliExpress for far higher prices.
- ReptileMan 6y ago
  If you start importing from china - you must be certain that you can unload the product. Or you are stuck with 12 000 masticating juicers ...
dfadsadsf 6y ago
Dropshippers provide valuable service - I can get item in 2 days (on Amazon) versus 2-3 weeks or longer if I buy on Aliexpress. Express shipping (if available) on Aliexpress is often $100+ for item that cost a few dollars. Also margins are getting squeezed on drop shipping. Several years ago the difference between price on Amazon and Aliexpress was very significant now it's often negligible and I just buy on Amazon.

sdflhasjd 6y ago

Apple charge $200 between a 256GB and 512GB SSD. Sales & Marketing would call this "price anchoring"

imtringued 6y ago

Every time I buy cheap crap directly from China I regret it. Not waiting 30 days for shipping is easily worth paying 5€ for a product that sells for 2€ directly from China. You can often find the same Chinese stuff at a brick and mortar shop for a reasonable price (2x at most) but its sold under the budget store brand. The high quality products from China are often branded by an American or European company. You can't buy them directly from China unless it is a knockoff and a lot of knockoffs are sold on Ebay locally. I don't even know why anyone would bother to get stuff directly from aliexpress at this point.

Spivak 6y ago
I buy lots of stuff from Aliexpress! It's usually lots of low-stakes stuff like bullet journal stuff, pins, phone cases, magnets, small electronics parts, stones, christmas decorations, baking supplies. But I think our experience differs in that I'm really happy with the quality. Once you start checking Aliexpress for stuff you're about to buy you see just how much stuff in stores is just rebranded bulk orders from Alibaba at a huge markup. I think the most egregious example I found was a tapestry from Urban Outfitters. They were selling it for $50+ and it was on Aliexpress for $3.