>It's not a matter of meeting shipping times or any other value propositions, it's "do we need someone to resell a toy boat at twice the price when we can buy the same stock directly
That may not apply to toy boats, but it does apply to some things. Take USB to serial adapters, for example. In that case, a middle man does add value. A good middle man ensures that you get what was advertised...for example, the chipset is what the product listing says it is. They also provide better documentation, support, the ability to return the item without high shipping costs, etc, than the direct-from-china seller.
So, yes, it's slightly different...taking into account that in some cases the middleman adds value.
Also, it does still apply if you don't like the idea that the Amazon listing said shipping would be a week and it ends up being a month. That's not just the overseas shipping time either...it's the cultural difference with the Chinese sellers. "Sorry for the delay, it is Chinese New Year, and we're all off on vacation for 2 weeks, and we just don't work , note that in the listing, etc".
Or, it matters if you want to return the toy boat. Your cost to ship it back to China might exceed the total cost of the item you paid.
If these tradeoffs were known before hand, I get your point. Typically, though, they are deliberately not disclosed.
>A good middle man ensures that you get what was advertised...for example, the chipset is what the product listing says it is. They also provide better documentation, support, the ability to return the item without high shipping costs, etc, than the direct-from-china seller.
On eBay, from a customer's perspective, there's no difference between a US seller and a Chinese one. We have the same way of "punishing" them. I cannot punish a US based seller any more than a Chinese one.
>If these tradeoffs were known before hand, I get your point. Typically, though, they are deliberately not disclosed.
Frankly, the stuff I've bought on eBay from Chinese sellers is so cheap that I don't really care to return them. They fall into the price range of "I don't give a damn". In the US an item may be $30. From the Chinese, $7. It's worth the gamble.
(And it really is worth the gamble. I've not been disappointed once).
That may not apply to toy boats, but it does apply to some things. Take USB to serial adapters, for example. In that case, a middle man does add value. A good middle man ensures that you get what was advertised...for example, the chipset is what the product listing says it is. They also provide better documentation, support, the ability to return the item without high shipping costs, etc, than the direct-from-china seller.
So, yes, it's slightly different...taking into account that in some cases the middleman adds value.
Also, it does still apply if you don't like the idea that the Amazon listing said shipping would be a week and it ends up being a month. That's not just the overseas shipping time either...it's the cultural difference with the Chinese sellers. "Sorry for the delay, it is Chinese New Year, and we're all off on vacation for 2 weeks, and we just don't work , note that in the listing, etc".
Or, it matters if you want to return the toy boat. Your cost to ship it back to China might exceed the total cost of the item you paid.
If these tradeoffs were known before hand, I get your point. Typically, though, they are deliberately not disclosed.