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diy solar

The end of Temu

solarhobo

New Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2025
Messages
30
Location
New Mexico
Temu raises prices and now charging 145% for anything from China. How will Walmart and Amazon hold out in the future at the current scenario?

20250426_151848.jpg
 
We are two weeks away from empty shelves at a few large retailers, this was mentioned on more than a few earnings calls last week. Things should get interesting soon.

I’m doubtful this actually occurs but these retailers aren’t buying products at the mark up to stock their shelves, so should be interesting if it plays out.
 
A lot of things that we are used to get for cheap can only be manufactured at their current price by either a "starving" work force or on an automated production line.
Unless we manage to convince the manufacturers to build those automated lines into US we'll always either import the said goods or convict part of the population to live under the bridge and beg in their time off.
I hope someone can finally put things together and decide what we need to keep manufacturing in this country as matter of strategy and what we can outsource as a matter of policy. It's a big world - we can have the cake and eat it too if things are done the right way; or we can crave the cake and drool over others eating it, if we make the wrong decisions.
 
can they start making them is the USA already

It'll take a while. Look at Daikin: they started a plant in Mexico to expand their operations in the States in 2022 and had it fully operational in 2024. They made a $230 million dollar investment for this and it employs 2000 people. Great - so why not in the US? Because supply chains:


Last sentence: "Mexico is home to a large number of air conditioning component suppliers, as well as automotive suppliers that manufacture plastics that can be used for AC equipment. Daikin will build a local supply chain that is less exposed to global disruptions."

This part of the supply chain is also missing in the US and would take additional time to build up. In other words, it would be a multi-year investment. You only do that kind of investment when the situation will be stable for many years to come. It's obvious that this is not the case at this point in time...
 
Looking at Aliexpress home page they are pushing items that are shipped from the US. (I am sure it is due to my location and registration information) From the looks of it there must have been some major shipping to US based warehouses to build up stock before the Tariffs. Loads and loads of everything you can imagine shipped local.

The items that are not they are running some buy 3 and get shipping type deals. I did see a small print on one thing though that sells for ~$8 that had an added Tariff fee of ~$9 to purchase.
 
You only do that kind of investment when the situation will be stable for many years to come. It's obvious that this is not the case at this point in time...
To add to your point...no voters have ever insisted that their elected leaders nationally or locally create/sign development deals with long term do or die consequences. The comparatively small cost of slow motion clearing some land, pouring a few footings, putting up a few walls/roof and calling a delay for whatever made-up reason is peanuts as compared to the finished/producing product.
We recently had a Fortune 50 company put up a $750 million building in the slowest manner possible after (as normal) being given the farm to "transform the community". That building just sits there today with next to nothing in it/no production/no idea when there ever will be and no call by anyone to claw back anything.
If anyone believes that all these half a trillion dollar 'promises' (or less) to build all this stuff here will ever come to fruition in this country given our 50/50 political split changing like the wind every 2 to 4 years....or that these companies feel 'beholden' to follow through with any promises legally (if they even have to) let alone morally...I've got some land to sell you that's a little wet yet 'buildable' if you are indeed that gullible.
 
From the looks of it there must have been some major shipping to US based warehouses to build up stock before the Tariffs. Loads and loads of everything you can imagine shipped local.

And not just by the likes of Aliexpress. But those stocks won't last very long... Like someone above said:

We are two weeks away from empty shelves at a few large retailers

From what I've heard from my contacts and partners in the States, things are about to get 'interesting' with supply chains that took years to build and perfect being gone practically overnight and no real alternatives available.
 
Exactly what UpNorth said.
Why would companies commit to spending when the situation is so unstable.
They won’t.
Why wouldn't you promise a guy who seems to have the whole world after him 'the moon' if he wasn't(?) holding you to anything of consequence long term in the first place? I'm still waiting to hear how the guy got on the roof in the first place and why those guys were still do nothing but pointing rifles at him while he just fired away....
Big thanks to the OP for jolting the rest of us back in to reality as to what is actually happening out there/everywhere.
 
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The tariffs do the very opposite of encouraging manufacturing in the USA. It means anybody building stuff here suffers import tariffs on materials and equipment, and then they suffer retaliatory tariffs when shipping their goods internationally. They can't compete under those circumstances with other maker in countries which neither occur.

Any new investment in manufacturing will be where tariffs are low both import and export, and the government policy is stable and knowable. This is not the USA and won't be for at least this presidential term, if not longer.

My USA based business is actively looking for a non USA site to do our production and fulfillment. We cannot buy parts and have them shipped to the USA, just about anywhere else in the world is better. If I don't find that, I will have to lay off some of my employees since we won't be globally competitive with our products.

Those who think tariffs will bring back American manufacturing jobs are delusional and don't understand supply and distribution at all. Unfortunately, their delusion is now USA policy, so it will take an economic disaster to expose this fallacy. Even then, those who defend the current policy will steadfastly believe it is the right thing since the initial delusion will expand to dismiss the obvious negative consequences. We have more potential to bring back the horse and buggy than making the USA a self sufficient manufacturing country again.

The trillions of cumulative choices of the American consumer have decided where our products will be built, and it isn't predominately in the USA.

As we cut ourselves off from our allies and our supply chains, the rest of the world will adapt and carry on without us. They will be just fine after a relatively small period of adaption. We will not.

Decades from now, the history books will describe this time as one of great change, when the USA substantially decreased in global relevance and entered a period of economic hardship.

Mike C.
 
And not just by the likes of Aliexpress. But those stocks won't last very long... Like someone above said:



From what I've heard from my contacts and partners in the States, things are about to get 'interesting' with supply chains that took years to build and perfect being gone practically overnight and no real alternatives available.
Ford is going to be in a bad way, many of the modules and other parts are sourced internationally sometimes they go through 3 countries before the final trip to the US. Very significant cost that is going to be added in to a vehicles build price.

These US auto companies are going to raise Cain soon.
 
Yup, the de minimis exemption ends May 2, and these Chinese stores have stopped orders or ramped up the prices, lest the goods get stuck in customs. I made some big orders for some hobby and other parts earlier in the month from AliExpress in anticipation of this.

Also watch as stuff dries up on Amazon after the buffers empty out. The regular consumers will get to see pandemic-era supply chain scarcity courtesy of our current administration.

Also watch as 47 buckles under pressure and negotiates a worse deal than had nothing been done at all because he can be manipulated or pressured into backing down. Something like opening up the markets for Chinese EVs in addition to dropping the tariffs - all framed as some "deal," which I guess is what qualifies as diplomacy now.
 
I think this is a step in the right direction. 99% of what I see on temu is garbage, it'll curve people's junk spending. Hopefully with that, people will have more money and less debt.

I know multiple people who are addicted to crap from china that ultimately breaks or they never use it and in the end it's wasted money for a moments pleasure. Hopefully they will be able to find more productive ways to get pleasure.
 

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