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I disagree. Having a reputable online handmade trinket shop was very valuable because it was the largest and had the best brand recognition. Being a Chinese f

I disagree. Having a reputable online handmade trinket shop was very valuable because it was the largest and had the best brand recognition. Being a Chinese factory retail outlet is less valuable because _everyone_ is a Chinese factory retail outlet.

Workaccount2 4y ago
We just have to solve which market has a larger space to grow in: Market for cheap Chinese goods. Market for handmade trinkets. I have a pretty good feeling that I know which one is more profitable. I'm sure investors know too.
- TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
  Small businesses have absolutely no obligation to work for "investors."
  - ehvatum 4y ago
    That really depends on how the small business is funded.
  - Cederfjard 4y ago
    Is Etsy, a public company with a valuation in the tens of billions, still a ”small business”?
  - JAlexoid 4y ago
    Every business has an obligation to work for the investor.
- after_care 4y ago
  Sure, the market for cheap imported goods is much larger. It's also more competitive. Do you really think Etsy is going to stand against Walmart, Amazon, etc?
  - Aunche 4y ago
    Etsy is occupying a niche of semi-customized trinkets, a minority of which are hand-made. This isn't a space that Walmart and Amazon seem particularly interested in.
- Nextgrid 4y ago
  The problem is that "cheap Chinese goods" is already monopolized by eBay, Aliexpress, Banggood and Amazon. I don't see how they're ever going to break into it.
- naravara 4y ago
  I don't think it's that simple. The real problem is that people want nice, handmade trinkets at cheap Chinese goods prices. Which is why the cheap Chinese good manufacturers spam their generic AliExpress-tier wares into places like Etsy to fool people as to what they're getting. The websites that function as clearinghouses (Amazon, Etsy, etc.) could figure out ways to prevent it but they have incentives to play along with obfuscation as to which market the consumer is shopping in.

Workaccount2 4y ago

We just have to solve which market has a larger space to grow in: Market for cheap Chinese goods. Market for handmade trinkets. I have a pretty good feeling that I know which one is more profitable. I'm sure investors know too.

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
Small businesses have absolutely no obligation to work for "investors."
- ehvatum 4y ago
  That really depends on how the small business is funded.
- Cederfjard 4y ago
  Is Etsy, a public company with a valuation in the tens of billions, still a ”small business”?
- JAlexoid 4y ago
  Every business has an obligation to work for the investor.
after_care 4y ago
Sure, the market for cheap imported goods is much larger. It's also more competitive. Do you really think Etsy is going to stand against Walmart, Amazon, etc?
- Aunche 4y ago
  Etsy is occupying a niche of semi-customized trinkets, a minority of which are hand-made. This isn't a space that Walmart and Amazon seem particularly interested in.
Nextgrid 4y ago
The problem is that "cheap Chinese goods" is already monopolized by eBay, Aliexpress, Banggood and Amazon. I don't see how they're ever going to break into it.
naravara 4y ago
I don't think it's that simple. The real problem is that people want nice, handmade trinkets at cheap Chinese goods prices. Which is why the cheap Chinese good manufacturers spam their generic AliExpress-tier wares into places like Etsy to fool people as to what they're getting. The websites that function as clearinghouses (Amazon, Etsy, etc.) could figure out ways to prevent it but they have incentives to play along with obfuscation as to which market the consumer is shopping in.