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This doesn't make sense; these days it seems like the majority of products on Amazon can also be found on AliExpress for a third of the price, both of them sold

This doesn't make sense; these days it seems like the majority of products on Amazon can also be found on AliExpress for a third of the price, both of them sold by FWHZHW. From what you're saying, these things should disappear from Amazon's search listings, but in my experience they're the ones promoted straight to the top, and anything else gets buried under that mountain.

noncoml 8mo ago
> can also be found on AliExpress for a third of the price, both of them sold by FWHZHW Am I a conspiracy theorist to believe that Amazon is behind Trump’s decision to end the de minimis?
- RobotToaster 8mo ago
  That's been my theory since it was announced.
- Ekaros 8mo ago
  Not just Amazon. Every retailer and seller wants to keep their 80% margins(manufacturing price wise).
- pas 8mo ago
  yeah, that seems like the easiest pitch of all times. Trump wanted to do tariffs, especially on China anyway, Amazon likely just nodded trying to hide their grin. of course it's hard to know what went through the heads at Amazon, the initial tariff news were crazy and Amazon doesn't want a recession, as it's bad for business
binarysolo 8mo ago
So consider the alternative (because this happened to us): 5-6 years back, one of our brand stores sold a thing (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DKG3NX7 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DKG3NX7) that created an entire niche of products, and 6 months after our success, a buncha clones came out of the woodwork. On Amazon, they created listings that imitated our copy and images. On AliExpress/Taobao/etc., they ripped off our images and pretended to be us. Deciding which product/listing is the original product is super nontrivial especially when there's international trademarking and IP law (or lack thereof) involved.
- kalleboo 8mo ago
  Getting 6 months, you were lucky! I've heard of kickstarters that were ripped off on AliExpress before they even finished their own product...
  - account42 8mo ago
    Doesn't that just mean that they brought little more to the table than an idea?
    - ChoGGi 8mo ago
      I think we should severely limit copyrights and patents, but not get rid of them entirely. Or they're just ideas.
    - kalleboo 8mo ago
      It's an interesting debate. One more thing they did was prove there was a market for the idea.
    - _DeadFred_ 8mo ago
      That is the whole point of copyright/patent law. Society benefits by having interesting ideas brought to market, and society misses/looses out when people who bring ideas to market are punished by copycats, stopping new ideas/innovation. You wouldn't have had an industrial revolution without copyright/patent laws. In the modern world where we have done most of the low hanging fruit a new novel idea could be even more valuable for society to protect.
- alistairSH 8mo ago
  Yep. That happens. But delisting some items that cost less but not others doesn’t fix your problem. So…?
- ethbr1 8mo ago
  The amount of product images on Amazon these days with incorrect shadows or perspective lines... wow. If Amazon detected and banned any seller whose product images were gen AI or which didn't match user photos, it'd go a long way towards regaining trust.
rjh29 8mo ago
Agreed. The only explanation is that people don't want to use aliexpress so it's not counted as a direct competitor. If you're prepared to wait even a week, you can get less than 1/3 the price and this has been true for over a decade!
NavinF 8mo ago
AliExpress obviously isn't comparable and the price is irrelevant when it takes 2-3 weeks vs same-day/1day
- motbus3 8mo ago
  Depends much on what you are buying. There are many cases of totally not urgent things that costs 75% less. So waiting makes totally sense.
- account42 8mo ago
  How often do you actually need something the same day?
  - NavinF 8mo ago
    Almost always, considering the price is only $5 more
flanked-evergl 8mo ago
This is just not true. Sure if you want trash you can get it on Aliexpress and Amazon, but lots of good quality stuff is not available on Aliexpress at all. Even some Chinese manufacturers have a broader range on Amazon than Aliexpress.

noncoml 8mo ago

> can also be found on AliExpress for a third of the price, both of them sold by FWHZHW Am I a conspiracy theorist to believe that Amazon is behind Trump’s decision to end the de minimis?

RobotToaster 8mo ago
That's been my theory since it was announced.
Ekaros 8mo ago
Not just Amazon. Every retailer and seller wants to keep their 80% margins(manufacturing price wise).
pas 8mo ago
yeah, that seems like the easiest pitch of all times. Trump wanted to do tariffs, especially on China anyway, Amazon likely just nodded trying to hide their grin. of course it's hard to know what went through the heads at Amazon, the initial tariff news were crazy and Amazon doesn't want a recession, as it's bad for business

binarysolo 8mo ago

So consider the alternative (because this happened to us): 5-6 years back, one of our brand stores sold a thing (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DKG3NX7 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DKG3NX7) that created an entire niche of products, and 6 months after our success, a buncha clones came out of the woodwork. On Amazon, they created listings that imitated our copy and images. On AliExpress/Taobao/etc., they ripped off our images and pretended to be us. Deciding which product/listing is the original product is super nontrivial especially when there's international trademarking and IP law (or lack thereof) involved.

kalleboo 8mo ago
Getting 6 months, you were lucky! I've heard of kickstarters that were ripped off on AliExpress before they even finished their own product...
- account42 8mo ago
  Doesn't that just mean that they brought little more to the table than an idea?
  - ChoGGi 8mo ago
    I think we should severely limit copyrights and patents, but not get rid of them entirely. Or they're just ideas.
  - kalleboo 8mo ago
    It's an interesting debate. One more thing they did was prove there was a market for the idea.
  - _DeadFred_ 8mo ago
    That is the whole point of copyright/patent law. Society benefits by having interesting ideas brought to market, and society misses/looses out when people who bring ideas to market are punished by copycats, stopping new ideas/innovation. You wouldn't have had an industrial revolution without copyright/patent laws. In the modern world where we have done most of the low hanging fruit a new novel idea could be even more valuable for society to protect.
alistairSH 8mo ago
Yep. That happens. But delisting some items that cost less but not others doesn’t fix your problem. So…?
ethbr1 8mo ago
The amount of product images on Amazon these days with incorrect shadows or perspective lines... wow. If Amazon detected and banned any seller whose product images were gen AI or which didn't match user photos, it'd go a long way towards regaining trust.

rjh29 8mo ago

Agreed. The only explanation is that people don't want to use aliexpress so it's not counted as a direct competitor. If you're prepared to wait even a week, you can get less than 1/3 the price and this has been true for over a decade!

NavinF 8mo ago

AliExpress obviously isn't comparable and the price is irrelevant when it takes 2-3 weeks vs same-day/1day

motbus3 8mo ago
Depends much on what you are buying. There are many cases of totally not urgent things that costs 75% less. So waiting makes totally sense.
account42 8mo ago
How often do you actually need something the same day?
- NavinF 8mo ago
  Almost always, considering the price is only $5 more

flanked-evergl 8mo ago

This is just not true. Sure if you want trash you can get it on Aliexpress and Amazon, but lots of good quality stuff is not available on Aliexpress at all. Even some Chinese manufacturers have a broader range on Amazon than Aliexpress.