FREE POSTAGE from CHINA Killing my Business

[clearcutcrafts2007]

I have been on EBAY for 8 years running a very successful business of handmade butterflies. In the past few months the business is nearly dead because CHina is now producing a similar butterfly that isnt handmade and handcut. NOW I do not mind competition and I already had some which is how business works. BUT I and my competitors all charged about $12 per 12 butterflies. NOW the asian market has joined in selling 12 to 18 butterflies for $1.40 including postage from overseas. PLEASE someone tell me HOW????

Now even if the product is cheaper how the hell do they post from overseas for 1.70 less than we can and that doesnt even include the product. I sell a lot to overseas and my postage is $2.70 for a flat envelope. They are sending butterflies with a 3D body which means they would have to come in a small package. IN Australia that costs us a minimum of $7.80 empty so please tell me HOW??

Ebay has earned 1000's of dollars from me and now I am dead because I cannot put up 10,000 listings and match that price?? WHO should be protected and please anyone else feeling this issue I would love to hear from you. AND NO I am not racist if this was happening from any country I would be the same even if it was Australian . NO one can produce this and make any money selling them for this price.

[glenbankloel]

They are beautiful, and have saved for my granddaughters birthday. Could you describe them as simulated, or look alike, or faux rather than artificial? As others have said "artificial" has some negative connotations attached to it and personally wouldn't use. Maybe look up in dictionary for substitue word.

And definitely promote that you are Aussie seller and you only sell a quality item with fast postage. I would lift the "about us" section to higher in the listing, maybe just under the description so that the customer gets to read and appreciate your personal effort, and care to detail, just think that by the time they get to the end of your description area the attention span has gone/dwindling. 

Maybe something in your title to promote hand cut/crafted, if you could group aussie ones together and overseas ones together so that buyer can see where they are from in the title too. Perhaps could use the item condition line to add some other comments (free line). If it is a group of aussie butterflies, promote that you took the photos at the Royal Melb Zoo ie personal work.

Add into Aussie group that they would make a wonderful memory of a trip to Oz for tourists going back home, easy to pack etc...people love to take something home, and they would pack so well into a suitcase.

Can you sell them in a hotel? motel? or tourist shop? or on board Cruise ship shop what a captive audience that would be!  What about developing into postcards? Would imagine that your photos would work a treat especially for Australian butterflies , what about some other animals seeing that you already go to the Zoo, is there another striking animal/bird/insect that you could develop? 

Sometimes I think selling is not even about the product. Good luck they are so beautiful, and I can see that you really care about your pieces. Don't give up, and don't try to compete, find your own way and you will get a following. 

[clearcutcrafts2007]

Thanks so much for all the feedback. Loads of good ideas for me to make changes. Pity I have to change my photos when I did mine first and they copied mine but hey change is good. A friend of mine ordered two of the packs from one seller. She got them from China in 5 days they do look nothing like the photo. They came in an A4 envelope with a stamp saying USD 5o so that is about 70cents in our postage prices. But the product was only $1.48 so it just shows you how cheap they can make products. I am glad to know they are nothing like mine in realiaty and just nasty knock offs and I just hope customers will prefer someone who has well made and lifelike butterflies to those.

I have a huge problem with the postage prices being subsidised by either their government or ours via Auspost I am going to look into it and ask questions becase our government has a responsibility to assist small businesses to stay afloat. I also think EBAy has a responsibility to assist it stores all over the world to not be pushed off this site because of mass listings and cheap prices otherwise they may as well just call the site ALIBABA.ebay.com.au.

[x3n0m]

Look into the "United Nations postal agreement", Auspost price structuring to compensate for lost revenue due to the massive influx of items coming from China (one way traffic .. bugger all going from Australia to China due to our disprportionately expensive postal costs) and also look into a scheme ebay has with ebay china to give them exclusive access to free postage for small articles which ebay actually subsidises for them unlike in Australia where we are punished the additional 10% for both local and international postage rates which makes it entirely unpallatable to post overseas from Australia etc etc  .. I wish I had the links for all that for you but truth is my brain is fried and am dizzy with all the garbage us Aussies need to do to make a buck and the systematic abuse perpetrated against us by what appears to be the highest levels of government and I have given up on the idea of changing the system to something more fair .. I like you am not at all happy with "the way things are" and see the current situation as entirely restrictive to Australian trade and small business and have no doubt this is all done by design  .. good luck with it ..

[misterforgetfulsbooks]

It's pretty much the same with UK books.

3kg post $6 to post to Australia

For me to post the same 3kg book in my own country - $13.40

And then we pay GST out of our proffits and ebay tax on our postage to boot

[roseworthy11]

when i search for butterflies - all the first lot for me come up under home decor - wall categories.

Maybe change some of your lots into that category? And then yours might come up first in best match?

[clearcutcrafts2007]

I try to list under many categories but I usually have 3d butterflies and I come up on page 9 with 600 listings in my store and my listings all been around for ages you think I would rate better than that. I contacted local member of parliament today I will probably be ignored but I had to vent :0

[mica357_4]

Hi, put in bold in your listing "proudly hand made in Australia".
Later on say Australian shipping normally within the week ( and not the 2 months or more from China) and hassle free returns if there's a problem!
I'm a buyer, I see lots of China listings with free shipping but I always look first for an Australian seller to buy from. I know A buyer can wait months for a China shipment and heaven help the buyer if there's a problem. And then there's the problem of quality (there isn't any usually). Market your goods as handmade in Australia, delivered quickly and easily from within Australia and a nice Australian seller being available to help out if there's a problem. Good luck.