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Ridiculously cheap

Yes, mea culpa, I've been trawling the isles of AliExpress again.

There's a lot of really cheap tat to be had, if you're silly enough to waste your money on such stuff. However, there are also some incredible deals out there as well.

One such deal I came across yesterday just blew me away.

How would you like an FM stereo radio?

What would you expect to pay for such a thing?

NZ$20 perhaps?

How about NZ$10?

Nope...

If you've already got a set of headphones and are willing to do a little soldering then you can pick up an FM radio kit for just $NZ1.80

No, I'm not kidding.

Even when you add the massive $2.81 shipping charge, the total cost of this FM Radio Kitset comes to a paltry $4.61

Unbelievable!

The cost of an AA battery holder alone is $1.90 from Jaycar here in New Zealand and they'll charge you a whole $10 in freight.

Once you add up all the various bits and pieces in that kit you realise that it would cost around about $50 to source all those parts locally and have them delivered to your door.

How can it be that, for less than 10 percent of that cost, the whole damned thing can be thrown in a bag and shipped all the way from China?

I'd pretty much given up on buying stuff direct from China, until recently.

Increased freight prices and a weakening NZ dollar meant that for quite some time it just hasn't been worth the hassle and wait involved with online Sino-shopping but now, things seem to have changed quite a bit.

For instance, I've been trying to buy some teeshirts.

Down at my local Warehouse shop they have lots of teeshirts but I guess I'm rather unusual insomuch as I wear a "medium" size. On the shelves of our local stores there are many, many teeshirts in sizes "large" and above but I bought the only two "medium" ones two months ago... and they still haven't got any more in.

Of course I could buy online from The Warehouse but even then, the product page seems to indicate that "medium" is not what they expect to be selling, as indicated by the picture used.

So, for six Kiwi dollars I can get a teeshirt of pretty poor quality (the two I have are already coming undone around the neck seams). Add the $7.99 delivery fee and we're talking about a $13.99 teeshirt that'll last maybe a dozen washes or so and doesn't look that great to start with.

Compare that to the teeshirts I bought from AliExpress last week (and which turned up this week, just 7 days after I clicked "buy now".

The AliExpress teeshirts are better made, a nicer design and cost me just NZ$11.25 delivered to my door, all the way from China. These days, that price even includes GST, thanks to the IRD's arrangement with AliExpress.

Sorry, but as someone on a budget, China is starting to look like a far more viable option to local suppliers. There's more choice, lower prices and sometimes even faster delivery.

Local retailers are going to have to lift their game. I'd much rather buy local but when tasked with making a dollar go as far as possible, the choices are becoming rather limited.

Carpe Diem folks!

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