I'm guessing most sellers are drop shipping? But even if you look at some product prices, they're even cheaper than what you see from a site like aliexpress. Enlighten me Senpai's
How Do eBay Sellers Get Their Products So Cheap?
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2) Whoa, never knew of such a practice.
Thanks for that
1 & 3 is definitely true.
Alternatively money moving. China has capital controls US$50k per year but Mr business man who wants to get his wealth out can send a container with $100k of goods and convert that to AUD and leave it here on shore.
Wow .. amazing strategy.
Alibaba
https://www.azoyagroup.com/blog/view/chinese-government-subs…
Chinese Government Subsidizes International Flights to Keep Trade Alive
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2169144/ch…
China’s cheap shipping advantage explained
Washington claims global postal alliance is flawed but what is the Universal Postal Union and why does it matter?From trusted suppliers in Hong Kong.
For some products Chinese manufacturers have a local eBay guy managing their product listing for them for a sale based fee. It is also cheaper to ship it from China to Australia than within Australia.
It cheaper from China alright but the delivery time is a killer
As rep for a Chinese store here on OzBargain it really isn't that expensive. Costs less than <$5 to ship to AU in under 2 weeks. Normally we make it free though.
In that case, what's a good site to buy from with faster delivery?
This article suggests that there is a United Nations agreement that subsides mail from particular countries:
The Universal Postal Union is a specialised UN agency which regulates international postage prices so that disadvantaged developing nations can afford to send and receive vital goods.
Most of the stuff I sell is picked up out of dumpsters. It's all new and still packaged but business's are having a clear out or have gone broke.
I made around $200 last year on various cables.
Postage is the killer. Once you get beyond 19mm thickness an $8.70 postage costs ~$11 inc the satchell price and ebay & paypal commission
Can you share some examples ?
Some products are little cheaper on eBay because seller is happy with little lesser profit compare to corporates/retailers. Some sellers operating from home saving storage and other associated costs such as manpower. Some of the other reasons might add to the lists
- Distress selling or Cash flow from dead stock
- Promotion of new products
- Free/subsidised cheap shipping from HK/China
- Post store closure clearance online
1) Bulk purchasing. Many buy a container full of iPhone cases for pennies and resell for few dollars.
2) Loss leading account bumping. Many sell things super cheap just to collate feedback and then sell the accounts or change their strategy to more expensive products now they have couple thousand positive feedback.
3) Drop shipping as you said. Postage from HK is extremely cheap that they can easily afford to do so.