Is this the end for Temu, AliExpress etc?

Unless they have European warehouses. A lot of Amazon stuff, even from Amazon.ie ships from UK so that's what I'll find most annoying as I've a UK prime subscription and find it very easy just to order bits and bops as I need them. Hopefully it's worth Amazon's while to use EU warehouses, they've had months to prepare!

Temu etc will have to ship from European warehouses or find some way around this

I can’t find any buying websites within the EU that compare to them or Ali Express etc.

3e per item is massive increase for us consumers.

na, they ll be grand, work arounds will be found, and fines wont change a thing, tis all good, rock on!

Most of the Chinese sites are already shipping from the EU. There is no way they are paying airmail for the stuff they ship and there is no way a boat can get from China to the EU in the 2 weeks delivery takes.

outsourcing is largely due to the decisions made by western corporate leaders, not just public legislators, local businesses simply cannot compete with china, due to a multitude of reasons

Yes, you do. I'm surprised that nobody answered your question sooner.

TBH, the amount of shite people order and never use or use once and throw away is a disgrace.

Really? What amount? How much are we talking about? Give us a ballpark figure there, even a percentage out of their total online purchases that are used max 1 or 2 times before being binned will do.

What's that? You've no idea how much people buy or how many uses they get out of something? And you're just making stuff up because you think it sounds good and reinforces your own, in-built, snobbery as justification for taking a giant dump on other people? That's mad Ted.

How do you know any of this? You don't, you're just assuming that's the case. How many people bought those imaginary drill bits and dumped them after one use? You simply cannot say, and the poster I was replying to brought it up as a way of denigrating others, which isn't very fair. Sounds like projection, to me.

My missus has bought stuff from Shein and been wearing it for over a year at this stage. I've bought some excellent stuff from Temu that's lasted forever also. I got a toothbrush timer for the wee fella when he was first old enough to brush his teeth, around 10-11 months old. Cost €3 and turns green when you hit 'start'. Then goes orange after 2 mins, then red after 3. He's used it every day since, only had to change the batteries once. He's turning 5 in the Autumn.

Temu (Ireland) CHAT thread

€3 plus VAT, no less on each distinct item. I think its was the charities that highlighted the amount of waste on cheap Chinese imports, particularly clothing. That lead to an investigation where it seems there was a serious amount of dumping as well. It was a couple of years back, from what I can recollect.

Article in the indo today about Shein, the first & last paragraphs below.

I thought that these warehouses would get around the new charges but according to the last paragraph it would seem not..

"Online fashion retailer Shein has opened a new logistics facility in Dublin that is set to support up to 30 jobs.

The Chinese company said the new 16,000 sq ft e-commerce hub in Greenogue Business Park, Rathcoole, Co Dublin, is now fully operational and will include warehouse and office roles."

"Revenue warned that a new €3 customs duty charge will apply to each individual item in a parcel bought online from non-EU countries, including the UK.

However, due to Shein's products still being mainly produced outside of the EU this charge will still apply to consumers buying products from the retailer despite its new facilities in Ireland and Poland."

That won't matter, they are still importing from China.

I have found recently that it's worth comparing Amazon.ie with co.uk as some of the prices are better now.

No. When they import in bulk through normal channels you pay the duty rate on each particular product. If the duty rate on razor blades is 8%, then they pay 8% of the total value in duty, then add VAT. The €3 is a temporary measure to collect duty that should be liable if it shipped in bulk

Ah, makes sense.

The made their bed. You can’t give them favourable treatment really, although NI was a fudge.

The revenue they have been missing out on is enormous. From RTE

It also reported that 4.6 billion such small packages entered the EU in 2024, more than 145 per second, with 91% originating in China.