• @[email protected]
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    22 hours ago

    In the EU, retailers benefit from paying no tax on parcels worth less than €150 (£124), a policy critics argue gives those firms an unfair advantage.

    This is not fucking true. I ship from China to the EU. All the shipping companies charge VAT, even for orders under $100

  • @[email protected]
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    76 hours ago

    Amazon is basically Temu or AliExpress for people too lazy or too impatient to just get the same shit from the China apps, so they pay a premium to get it shipped to them in an Amazon box. You can find a lot of the same AliExpress or Temu products on Amazon at X2 or X3 the price.

    • @Jericho_Kane
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      36 hours ago

      So you’re telling me that the handmade candy from germany is from temu? That’s crazy

  • Flying Squid
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    309 hours ago

    Lots of companies ordering necessary parts are going to be in deep shit.

    But I’m sure this will bring down the price of eggs.

  • @[email protected]
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    2011 hours ago

    When I order Aliexpress in Canada the package is shipped to a facility in Canada and then mailed domestic.

  • @[email protected]
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    1511 hours ago

    I suspect the reason is:

    Close to half of all parcels entering the US under de minimis were sent from China, according to a 2023 report by the US Congressional committee on China.

    There was also the thing where you could order items on eBay for $1 and they were shipped from China. I could not understand the economics of that so I did some research and found that a Chinese-American was working with/for the USPS to make that sweetheart deal. Not sure if it’s still a think but I think that started the floodgates of cheap Chinese goods into the US. This article talks about that, not sure if it was ever fixed: https://www.forbes.com/sites/wadeshepard/2017/11/05/how-the-usps-epacket-gives-postal-subsidies-to-chinese-e-commerce-merchants-to-ship-to-the-usa-cheap/

  • @[email protected]
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    612 hours ago

    Shit, I’ve got a couple kickstarters I’m waiting on. I hope there’s a third party in there to facilitate eventual delivery.

  • @[email protected]
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    -1912 hours ago

    The fuck? Where did this come from? I doubt it was Trump, considering he is a fan of China. I can’t think of any reason Elon would block this, if he’s invading the USPS now too.

    • gonzo-rand19
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      710 hours ago

      He’s a fan of China, just not right now. A trade war is more important to him. Not to mention Chinese AI just tanked the DOW a short while ago to the point that there’s a bill trying to ban downloading DeepSeek R1.