Topic: Are fast-fashion shopping apps hurting local economy? - page 2. (Read 414 times)

I used to order a lot from such sites, but now I haven't ordered anything from China for a long time because the regulations regarding such shipments have changed for the worse in my country, and if I'm not mistaken, all shipments outside the EU are subject to customs and VAT, and some other local postal costs. In other words, such ordering has become quite unprofitable considering that there are local stores and those in the EU that import such goods from China in containers and then sell them at retail prices that are sometimes even competitive with those directly from China.

When you look at today's products for wide application, most of them come from China, Turkey, India or Pakistan, and even those products that are declared as coming from the EU are actually mostly produced outside the EU.

Unfortunately, the EU or the US cannot compete with the price of labor in China or India, and recently I watched a documentary that revealed that prisoners are used for some jobs in China - and that is practically free labor.

God!!!, there is so much garbage on Temu that probably hurts everything in the world not just local economies
- first that thing needs to travel a lot to reach you, pollution
- those things are made without any concern for the environment out of the cheapest and toxic plastics, again pollution
- sweatshops with the cheapest unqualified labor, near slavery
- they break so easily you will need to buy again a better on, repeat the whole thing
- more garbage in the dump as you throw it out a month after buying it, again polution

I and a lot of my older friends , talking about 40+, we've learned out lesson first with Turkish products that were so cheap in the 90's then with cheap Chinese things, the moment you don't buy from a westerns brand that makes things in China then you're going to buy something that breaks the next day.

And before somebody says a thing about how good chinese phones like Huawei were, the thing is none of the component were actually produced in China, even when claiming to go full domestic, only 53% of the phone is made in China , up by 17% 3 years ago.
https://www.vietnam.vn/en/huawei-mate-60-pro-su-dung-47-linh-kien-trung-quoc/

Buy quality, even if it's made in China buy some made under western quality rules.
As for exactly your thing, when the backpack breaks, buy a brand one, go for Osprey for example, I have one for 14 years, yeah it will cost you 4 times more but It will never let you down, stuffing it to the max that you think it will blow like a pinata and still keeping up.

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why?

Have you purchased from them?

Should the country tax those shopping sites if they hurt the local economy?

I don't really see them hurting the local economy but people today prefer them since it's more convenient already since the covid, they are the ones serving the public. And they have cheap prices too which even if they hurt the local economy, they will not hurt the pockets of the shoppers.

~snip~

Hello there,


Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

They also pay taxes, as well as the platform they are using.

So yes, they don't hurt the local economy. What's hurting the economy all over the world is our own government, especially because of inflation, which can be manipulated by people who has the power to do so. For what reason, well because of money of course, they wanted to collect money from their citizens in a "legal" way that normal citizens won't see.

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

Here's where the difference was made: I did fall victim to Temu's advertising practices

I never purchased from Aliexpress, and most of the dealers on Aliexpress are from China, and the big reason for me to not order from Aliexpress is the big delay in delivery like from 10 to 20 days, I don't know how much time it would be taking in your country, but here besides delay time, the fee is also very high. Other than all, things are really cheap in China that's because we can ask them to make things of any quality.

We just have to give them a budget and they will make our products accordingly, we as a seller then can sell those items to the buyers in all over the world, the cheapness of many products comes with some price that we sometimes have to pay with no item in the box, or broken item, even used item. And the biggest risk is if we receive the item after 20 days and we have to replace it for some reason then we might have to wait for almost 2 months maximum.
This whole thing made me think, why should I go for online buying when I have a store near me where I can buy the same thing by giving 10$ extra, where I can at least, replace it, and claim it after with no time delay. Online buying is not for everyone, and not every person prefers it, therefore local economy might not be affected to the level you have anticipated here.

Ultimately a lot of these products are what ends up in your local shops anyway, just with a premium added on top. As long as you put some thought and research into what you're buying, don't just go for the cheapest option which can often be misrepresented or get lost in the mail. If you buy a cheaper item online it doesn't necessarily impact your local economy, as you might still happily spend the left overs on other necessities that you buy in person. A lot of people are very wasteful and materialistic anyway, so buy far too much junk. Beware buying stuff on places like Amazon or eBay if your stance is to buy from "local" sellers because it's much more hidden these days but you might end up buying from the same sellers that are on AliExpress or Shein.

~Snipped~

On one hand, you, me, we're getting items at a steal. But consider the real cost. It's terribly obvious? Local enterprises are weakened by these platforms. Every time we buy a €5 item over a €20 locally manufactured one, we say, "Hey, I don't care about local economies." It's brutal, but it's the truth. Cheap imports are a tsunami smashing on our local markets

Discussing quality now. All of us have experienced these apps' hit-or-miss nature. Anybody remember a semester-long rucksack or earbuds that die like mayflies? Our greed for discounts is blinding us to environmental waste, quality compromise, and local artists and companies being slowly strangled. Numbers are reliable. Greece alone: €250,000/day? A wake-up call, not just a statistic. We are giving food to a huge animal that doesn't care about quality or the environment. Are we clever shoppers or part of the problem?

I believe that it does. I've seen an ad from temu before and that promising discount first purchase of a mechanical keyboard is what made me interested. But after downloading the app, it was too hectic as there's a lot of information that needed to be filled so I just quit it and it made me uncomfortable.

I don’t have any stats to back this up, it’s all just my opinion. I think fashion shopping apps can have negative impacts on local economies. These apps promote cheap and disposable clothing which leads to a decrease in demand for locally produced and possibly higher quality garments. As a result of this, local businesses and artisans suffer which can lead to job losses & reduced economic growth. The environmental consequences of fast fashion such as excessive waste & pollution harm local ecosystems & communities. By prioritising convenience & low prices over sustainable & locally made products fast fashion shopping apps contribute to the erosion of local economies & hinder the development of sustainable & ethical fashion industries.

Hello there,

This is something that I've been wondering about for quite a while. What are your thoughts regarding shopping platforms such as AliExpress, Shein, Temu, and so on? I've personally used Aliexpress a few times in the past and had zero problems; it was usually something small and unsignificant, such as something for my bicycle or car. Cheap and decent quality for the price I paid. I had also noticed a period where Wish.com was being advertised everywhere, but I refrained from using it because I wasn't keen on installing an app just to browse their website. Similarly to Shein, it was everywhere for a relatively long period of time, and you'd hear everyone talking about it. I had installed their app, browsed through a few items, and then uninstalled it for good.

Here's where the difference was made: I did fall victim to Temu's advertising practices; their first user bonus, which I took advantage of a few times, bought me a decent backpack, which I'd find for €30 on Aliexpress, and a dish drying rack, which would cost me over €25 for one, along with a few other things. Most were decent quality, at least for the price paid, with a few being completely crap: some sunglasses, decorations that arrived broken, earbuds that died after a day,, and so on. I wasn't fond of these apps because I wasn't keen on the idea of waiting 20 days to receive some cheap stuff from China that I don't actually need. I usually ordered through Aliexpress if it was something I couldn't find here or was extremely expensive, while at the same time I wasn't in a hurry.

Personally, I've tried to limit my purchases to items that are at least useful andusefulndom things that are never going to be used or have no use whatsoever, but still, I can admit that I've fallen victim to fast-fashion apps. It is being said that solely in Greece, they're receiving €250.000 worth of orders aday., At least a few months ago, when the article was posted, I could not verify the validity of those data, but it's safe to say that they're receiving hundreds of thousand orders per day in Europe alone.

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

Personally, I've tried to limit my purchases to items that are at least useful andusefulndom things that are never going to be used or have no use whatsoever, but still, I can admit that I've fallen victim to fast-fashion apps. It is being said that solely in Greece, they're receiving €250.000 worth of orders aday., At least a few months ago, when the article was posted, I could not verify the validity of those data, but it's safe to say that they're receiving hundreds of thousand orders per day in Europe alone.

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why? Have you purchased from them?

Do you believe that their ridiculously low prices could be hurting the local economy, and why?

Have you purchased from them?