A happy ending could be near

Well, I think that in business, you should take advantage of every option to lower your costs that you can (within reason). I really doubt you will get much support here for raising the costs of businesses to ship packages from China to the U.S., since that is what so many people here's business models are built around. Then again, everyone would be on the same playing field, so it's not like anyone would have a competitive advantage.

I must also point out that neither article supports your contention that e-packet is "a program set up to allow families to keep in touch with each other." The Atlantic Article states something quite the opposite, saying that "the U.S. Postal Service entered into a bilateral agreement with China Post that gave sellers first-class tracking and delivery confirmation for very low rates as long as an item was an "ePacket" product, weighing less than 4.4 pounds." According to the article, the program was specifically set up for businesses, not families.

The Real Clear Politics article states that American taxpayers are paying for this shipping "subsidy" (it's not really a subsidy - it is a price break). What they fail to mention is that eliminating the shipping price break would NOT ease the burden on taxpayers. They'll just now pay increased shipping costs for goods shipped from China. It's a wash!

Whether or not those slightly increased shipping costs would make any differences whatsoever to the U.S. businesses mentioned in the article is debatable. Their product still costs far more to make than the Chinese ones and a $1 increase in shipping costs isn't going to make up for the huge cost disparity. The only effect of eliminating e-packet is that it will take 2-3 times more time to ship a product to the U.S. Nobody is going to notice or care about an extra dollar in shipping but they will definitely notice if it takes 4-6 weeks to get something they ordered!

On a side note, I can't help but notice how the Real Clear Politics article notes that the USPS is part of the U.S. government. It's interesting how, for political reasons, the USPS is sometimes referred to as a government organization and at other times, the same "news" organizations adamantly insist that USPS is NOT part of the federal government (you'll see that side of the argument whenever the massive deficit due to USPS pensions and taxpayer-funded government health insurance programs comes up in a discussion).

It is interesting to me the USPS agreement (not govt as ponted out above) was in 2011 - and in 2013 and 14 USPS rates INCREASED.


It doesn't matter whether the USPS is to ship letters or packages - what matters is a level pllaying field.


My concern with China shipped products is the lack of transparency for those ordering products. On ebay products are listed as 'sold from USA' with a California PORT address. On Amazon drop shippers and chinese sellers change 'receipt date' after order - provide false FEDEX tracking codes. Most people do not realize their product is coming from China.


I understand the necessity for having some sort of 'break' for businesses on shipping costs but I also think a 'shipped from' location should be a requirement and should have an honest location listed.


Have to wonder had the USPS given such a sweet deal to Amazon - would Amazon have developed it's own shipping system? That's created a lot of jobs.


LIke many issues, this is not a cut and dried, right and wrong... it's complex and one question leads to another.

Here's an interesting article I came across a couple of days ago:

Of course, it's just opinion.

Ya got one!

Most people ordering from a drop shipper don't know they are ordering from China. That's something most people on this forum don't mention when they talk about 'drop shipping'.

I do that all the time. If I look for a product on Amazon, the shipping dates often tell me 'where' it might be coming from. Not much in the US take 2-3 weeks to ship. I'll pay more - get my free prime shipping...and buy from a US seller.


Something that may hurt drop shippers much more than shipping costs - is the information being added to many drop ship SUPPLIER sites right now. Several I found had 'notices' reassuring site owners that 'shipping is is safe from the virus'...though the experts say they do not know if this is true.


Some sites that are obviously selling products from China have seen sales drop by 50-75% due to the pandemic. Could be a big 'hit' for many sites. If someone is afraid - telling them not to be afraid doesn't work.

Well, as the majority of people have pointed out on this thread, this has been addressed by the Trump administration, so the premise of the post is lost.

Now, whether or not this makes a huge difference is another matter entirely. Those Chinese-made products still cost far less than their American-made counterparts because the price of labor is so much cheaper, so I'm not entirely sure that an increase in shipping rates is going to make a profound difference. The 25% tariffs that are in place and will continue to remain in place under the new agreement have helped somewhat, though (although it is really consumers that are paying for that increase).

What WOULD make a difference is if the other provision of the Trump administration's China agreement is actually enforced - the part relating to infringing on patents and copyrights. I'm dubious, to say the least, that China will uphold that part of the deal.

I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong here. In the end, if everything that was agreed to actually happens, it helps American businesses - especially ones who manufacture their products domestically. That's a big IF, though.

I THINK it was Von Mises who said, "Capitalism breathes through loopholes."

The change in seasons usually marks the end of viral epidemics in China...now if they could only figure out what STARTS them....


That would be April (?) and if it follows pattern, the number of cases will rapidly decline and the story disappear from the news. However, there may come a time when the virus has mutated to survive weather change - and there's always the fear that THIS is the time.


Smart to stock up while you can - and my guess is most drop shippers don't maintain a reserve that allows them to increase orders in advance of possible cost increases.