this post was submitted on 12 May 2024
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It's because it's a data stealing company. They require 24 different types of permissions, including keylogging, biometrics (your fingerprint), your wifi network, your Bluetooth, photos, contact info and it saves your payment details, just by using the app. It also was recently flagged for malware. You're getting a good price because you're paying for it in a different way
It's also just stuff from Alibaba. It's all made in China, which has gotten really cheap. You can buy the same things on AliExpress without giving out all your contacts and everything.
Basically you are seeing how stores in the US buy their merchandise. It's extremely cheap, and they are marking it up at least 100%. Shirts and pants are like $3 to $10, maybe a little more for good quality. Places like Target and Walmart buy these and double or triple the price.
I feel the same about Amazon. Most listings are just US based resellers selling you cheap Chinese merchandise bought from Alibaba and then passing the costs onto the customer by inflating the price they resell it at.
True, but with Amazon you are paying more for faster shipping. Stuff actually shipped from China takes a long time.
It's literally just drop shipping
Don't run any inventory. Just take orders on a front-end website. Then buy at wholesale rates and resell at retail prices, while trying to make a margin based on the difference between the margin and the cost of advertising. It works great if you're able to get a bunch of free publicity. So you'll typically see these guys "networking" in hopes of doing an impromptu sales pitch in front the largest crowd possible. Or doing stunts to get literally anyone to look at them.
Amazon is a multi-trillion dollar industry that's functionally built on the idea of drop shipping. Jeff Bezos is just the richest incarnation of those insufferable frat-bros trying to sell you bitcoin.
Aliexpress is the way to go. A lot of the time you're buying directly from the company that makes the product. On Amazon, there are a lot of drop shippers.
Just to be clear on the biometrics, no normal device anyone uses sends your biometrics to apps secured by biometrics.
It’s more that your phone stores a very strong password that’s specific to that app, and your phone will automatically enter that password, but only if the phone can validate the biometric.
This is not meant to detract from anything else you said, just clearing up how that actually works.
Thank you for clarifying!
It's not just a data-stealing company, they also exploit tariff exemptions on shipments from China by shipping single orders that stay below the sales amount threshold rather than large shipments of products imported for resale. Using this sales technique they can undercut their competion, while also being even worse ecologically. They've also dumped a ton of money into marketing
No kidding. I remember they had like 3 ads at the Superbowl. I don't know what that costs but it's a fortune.
The raccoons are kind of high maintenance.
I wish it was always this simple, as a poor person if I could sell my data to pay for food or rent I would
A lot do, actually. There's a bunch of places you can get paid for online surveys, people who can't work a normal job do them full time and most make ~30k/year from bed. It's been great for the disabled community.
Is it worse than AliExpress?
Yes and much worse than even Wish.
Yes
OK, great. I occasionally order at AliExpress and was kind of tempted to try Temu, because of the hype. WIll skip it then.
I only use Aliexpress via my browser. Was tempted to give Temu a try too but that's a hard pass from me now
And they steal the design of the products they sell
Yup, a lot of my cosplay/fashion designer friends have had their work stolen and they can't do anything because it's international and they can't afford an attorney with their small business income.
Those cat paw socks, Danielle Baloo at Toe Beanies created them, several years ago and in the process of getting a patent, they were copied by Alibaba sellers. She was denied her Kickstarter campaign for drop-shipping, and had to fight for months, proving she was the original designer. Screw people who steal designs. She worked her ass off and they're selling her work with cheap foam that's not safe for human skin... I constantly report them.
Gas em up, kid lol