Asian sites, a mass-produced scam?

[Craft Boutique]

I've been seeing ads recently from some Asian sites, like dresslily and rosegal, and finally decided to check them out, as the prices they advertise are pretty crazy. You can buy really nice dresses for $10 and coats for $15. Plus, there is a free shipping worldwide. Too good to be true?
The quality of items looks good, and I understand it has to be mass-produced, but still, how are they able to keep prices so low, while maintaining quality?
And how do you compete with sites like that? Wonder how reliable they are. They all look the same to me. Maybe they are a part of the same scam? Any time I see something so cheap, it makes me suspicious.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

And how do you compete with sites like that?

Yes. This gets under my skin too. And it shouldn't. I should know better. And I do, but it still irks me.

The answer is: You don't. Instead:

• Target a market that doesn't compete on price - luxury car dealers are living proof that you can!
• Figure out what that market wants and deliver it, promote it in your product and your business' personality.
• Get in that market's face - find out where they hang out and have a presence (both a physical and virtual one).
• Provide world-class, timely, respectful/cheerful/expert customer service and advice
• In this day and age, I'd say business personality is as much a marketing tool as owner/designer personality and more traditional marketing mediums. With social media, I think personality is becoming a more prominent component of brand.

Lastly. Easier said than done! (as evidenced by my own colossal failure to abide by my own advice!)

[iCraft Admin]

Well said, Fairy Cardmaker! 
Don't try to compete on price. Compete on quality, originality, creativity and uniqueness that mass-produced items can't offer.

[ReFuseClothing]

and keep in mind that the Only way they are able to mass produce at those prices is to employee 'slave' labour.  Remember to feel good about yourself when you choose not shop those sites, to call attention to them and question their ethics - because their ethics are definitely questionable.

Handmade cannot be compared in anyway to mass production - it comes with a quality unmatchable by those manufacturers, and of course with something better than anything else - Love!

[iCraft Admin]

Well said, ReFuseClothing! Handmade is made with Love.   

[SarahMars]

Some only care about the price, unfortunately. That's consumer culture for you!  

[Craft Boutique]

Hi Fairy Cardmaker,

I agree with what you are saying. I am not trying to compete on price, but I think, unfortunately, my target audience cares about it a lot more than they care about the quality.

That's the problem today with the low prices being advertised everywhere. We see it first, before we think about the quality or the uniqueness of the product, and get accustomed to getting things at the lowest price possible.
We keep accumulating things thinking we've got a great deal, while forgetting what we've lost when we purchased something so cheap.

[Jenny]

I buy online, but I don't think I'd trust those sites, no matter what they offer.

[Fairy Cardmaker]

Thanks for chiming in Sarah, Jenny and ReFuse Clothing.

We keep accumulating things thinking we've got a great deal, while forgetting what we've lost when we purchased something so cheap.

Well said, Craft Boutique. I agree.

I do think that, sometimes, once people get that item though, they realize it's not all they thought it was (falls apart in the wash, uses substandard materials, shows small imperfections, what-ever-the-reason).  Then they don't go back. Sites like that might snag somebody's first buck, but not repeats. My long term goal is to build up a very small but loyal following. [I have a goal! Now just to transform it into a plan! lol]

I admit, there are always those people who only care about price and nothing else. They will say, "Gee, it fell apart after 3 washes but, hey, for $5, I can just get a new one again."  That's the wastefulness component of consumerism to me.

We can't win 'em all. I try to focus on what I *can* do instead of what I *can't*. That's the easy part. If you can implement all those "I can"s, then you could be laughing all the way to the bank.

Who wants to start an "I CAN" list? 

[SarahMars]

"It is Western desire to consume that is the primary driver of international organized crime."
~ Misha Glenny from video on "How global crime networks work".

Thought this was a great video and in some ways related to our discussion.