Same item - China vs. U.S.A. ???

Why if I want to buy an item off of the web, it is sooooo much cheaper buying it from China. Yes, it's the same EXACT item. Yes, shipping time is longer (and most of the time free) such as on Ebay (craft supplies.)
I dunno.....ugggg. I really want to keep my $ in the U.S, but if one can save 50% or more and you haven't had a raise in 4 years (had to get that in cause I work for the school system) and have to count on making your own money, then whats a person to do?

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10 replies since 22nd March 2011 • Last reply 22nd March 2011

Reply #1:

For some reason, I don't trust getting things from over seas. I'm more comfortable with ordering right here in the good ol' US of A. I do value shop and price compare to make sure I am getting the best deal possible. My husband and I have a home based business so every penny counts. Plus, it seems that you pay more for shipping when you order from over seas. What you save on the item gets spent on shipping. If I were you, I'd do some serious value shopping and just get what you need from the US.

BTW... it may also help to search for coupon codes. I saved like $15 on some contacts a while back just by using for a coupon code.

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Reply #2:

There are whole sites dedicated to coupon codes. Pretty great.

I ordered my grad dress from a website that sells from China two months ago to the day. According to the site, it should have taken two weeks. I emailed and they said I would get it March 10. I still don't have it. I should have probably just bought one here Happy

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Reply #3:

I bought my crochet hooks from China as the same ones from the UK were more than double the price. It also had free P&P. As i have no job i'd rather wait an extra week or 2 and save myself some money.
China is the biggest manufacturer in the world so they can make LOADS of everything then still sell it cheaper to us around the world, as their labour costs less than in UK and USA.

I suppose it's up to you what you do, maybe buy certain things that are a lot cheaper abroad then spend the difference you would've spent in the USA?

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Reply #4:

Being Scottish, every penny is a prisoner, so I buy quite a few things from China...much cheaper, and sometimes arrive in 4-5 days, so I don't find that a problem.
Yvonne P..when you say you want to keep the money in USA, the person you are buying from in USA has already bought the items from China, so you're just cutting out the middle man, and making quite a saving at the same time.

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Reply #5:

If the products are not made completely in the USA, then why not order from China? Any online transactions may not come through or may take longer than expected. Check out all the ratings to be sure. I ordered keychains from China (to Canada) and it took about 3 weeks but they got here.

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Reply #6:

If we all had the mentality to cut the middle man and buy from China, there would be no employment in the USA or most other countries.

My big reason why I won't ever buy from China is because I've seen on the news that there are a lot of scams coming out from China where they will run your credit card several times taking out small amounts over a long period of time and most consumers don't notice it.

Whether it's true or just some government run conspiracy to keep people from buying direct from China is beyond me. But I'm willing to pay a little more to allow someone in the US to keep their job. Our unemployment rates are high enough as it is without me running to buy straight from the manufactures.

There is also the issue that none of these products you buy directly from China have to be FDA approved, and can be cheaply made or worse- made with lead. You might be buying the old stock of products that were lead contaminated that America refuses to buy now.


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Reply #7:

If the item is the exact same one (and not a cheap copy, or a lesser product fraudulently listed as something better) then buy from the source.

The American companies don't care for American jobs, they want profit. And this usually means outsourcing jobs/production to China and India. If they only care about price, why shouldn't you?

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Reply #8:

Many of us are on a very limited budget, so price is a major consideration. The money I save stays in my pocket instead of the pocket of the middle man...both in this country.What's wrong with that? I can then use my savings to buy local produce...

With regard to fears about credit card fraud, I pay with paypal, which is linked to a debit card, from and account with only a minimal amount of money in it and no overdraft facility...if anyone tries to take out unauthorised amounts, they will soon find out that they can't.

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Reply #9:

Nora, i was going to say the same, i generally only buy from abroad on ebay so then it's paypal you pay with - from my account that only ever has £20 max. in it.

I agree a lot of the items we buy come from china anyway, i'd rather save myself a bit of money buying direct and spend the money i would've spent on my daughter though.

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Reply #10:

Nora, i was going to say the same, i generally only buy from abroad on ebay so then it's paypal you pay with - from my account that only ever has £20 max. in it.

I agree a lot of the items we buy come from china anyway, i'd rather save myself a bit of money buying direct and spend the money i would've spent on my daughter though.

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