china the worlds new shopping venue?

Brooker_Dave

SSGjosh wrote: »

If China shipping ever increases in speed, so that items take around a week , or two weeks to get here, rather than up to four weeks, then they may become a more direct competitor.

This has to be the worry, their postal prices seem to be a fraction of ours, sometimes it only takes 5-7 days for stuff to land too.

barmonkey

SSGjosh wrote: »

If China shipping ever increases in speed, so that items take around a week , or two weeks to get here

Since xmas I have ordered 4 items from China, 2 from Ebay and 2 from other sites, the longest delivery was 11 days (item was ordered on Chinese new year) and the quickest was 6 days.

Brooker_Dave

ballisticbrian wrote: »

You've been very lucky and probably haven't bought much from China.

I've brought a mountain off stuff from there, what went wrong with your purchases from there?

ballisticbrian

I've brought a mountain off stuff from there, what went wrong with your purchases from there?

I think you are having a laugh, everyone knows that cheap chinese goods are inferior. Have you not got a local "best buys" chinese goods shop near you where you can inspect the cheap stuff?

I think I'd be wasting my time throwing you my pearls of wisdom on where I think Chinese product development goes wrong.

Brooker_Dave

duncan-biscuits wrote: »

really? *hysterical laughter*mate, you are deluded ,

In what way??

duncan-biscuits wrote: »

I would not be happy to encourage criminal underworld activity

How is buying things from China doing that?

Brooker_Dave

ballisticbrian wrote: »

I think you are having a laugh, everyone knows that cheap chinese goods are inferior.

But most of what we buy is made in China?

I'm typing this on a Chinese keyboard, using a Chinese mouse etc

Why not save a few quid and buy direct?

RFW

Brooker_Dave wrote: »

But *everything* is made in china anyway.

I know a few major importers and know what they go through to get items to be up to standard for the UK market.

For example, if you're buying a soft toy direct from China there are no safety standards adhered to there. It may be as good as an item bought in the UK but it may also have a toxic filling, have choking hazards, etc. It's the British companies that get the manufacturers to get them up to standard.

Things we take for granted as consumers in the UK are often not thought about in China, it's one of the many reasons items are cheaper. Tax and labour costs are others.

duncan-biscuits

Google it?

Or just go along ask your local constabulary and show them the "goods" you have bought!

Ask for Trading Standards to come in your house and say "hey mate ,gents Nikes are usually £80, but see me, I found a REAL bargain website, got a REAL pair of them, for £5 off Ali Babas in China...."

ballisticbrian

I think the reason you are missing my point is this. Why does a buyer choose an item on the site you quote (alibaba) and is willing to wait longer than buying it on a UK site?
Answer: Price.
You must be pretty keen to get a lower price to wait so long and buy from a country with such a bad reutation.
The same thing happens on alibaba.com and other Chinese sites that happens on eBay and Amazon.
"Sort by price"
Cheapest items first.
People buy the cheapest items. I know because I'm a seller.
So we are talking about the cheapest goods from chinese sites where people look and then sort by price.
We are not talking about your keyboard which was not sourced but commisioned by some huge IT company.
That is a completely different market. You are not telling me you bought your keyboard and mouse on alibaba and waited for them to be delivered.
If so... I feel sorry for you.

Brooker_Dave

duncan-biscuits wrote: »

Google it?

Or just go along ask your local constabulary and show them the "goods" you have bought!

Ask for Trading Standards to come in your house and say "hey mate ,gents Nikes are usually £80, but see me, I found a REAL bargain website, got a REAL pair of them, for £5 off Ali Babas in China...."

People seem to rave about them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROy277-hP2w

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