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As people have repeatedly pointed out to you, it's not just about VAT and import taxes (do not forget that most European countries have around 20% VAT, which is often also not paid). In contrast to Temu, European companies have to deal with: - Safety testing to ensure it complies with European laws. - Liability. If a product causes harm to someone, they can sue you. - Warranty returns, if a product breaks, you have to repair it or replace it. - Other returns, at least in the EU you can return a product bought online within two weeks, no questions asked. This should not be underestimated, e.g. for European online clothing stores, this is a significant chunk of their orders. People order three pairs of shoes, try them on and return the pairs that they don't want to keep. Best case, the product needs to be inspected by a (paid) human, worst case they have to trash it. Temu does exactly none of that. The reason we have these laws are: companies try to maximize their profits. Getting your house burnt down, your kid lead-poisoned, or getting a broken product without any course for replacement just sucks. So we make companies responsible for what they put on the market. Temu makes money by skipping all of that and externalizing the cost. |
I'm not against forcing Temu to follow EU regulations. I'm against this trumpian push for protectionism and changing of custom rules or straight-out ban under the guise of health and safety.
> Temu does exactly none of that.
I would say it's arguable since Temu also has returns and often european retailers are selling same exact goods from same factory.
However assuming you are correct, in you mind does it justify a 10 eur markup on a 2 eur wine-opener by esselunga?
It would serve our interests if we redirect a fraction of this outrage on temu/shein on our domestic inefficient retailers since it would motivate them to improve their own logistics and improve supply chain efficiency.