Sure, go and buy the stuff if you want. Personally, I do not have the competence to know which products contain harmful chemicals, for instance. I am not questioning that a lot of products are badly made quality wise. I’m just saying that any European retailer / producer is legally responsible to ensure the product is safe and not harmful. And testing costs money, believe it or not. (Yes they carry out tests. I have worked for a large retailer)

Good question. I guess you have to ask those responsible.

Important bit of information: China gets subsidised parcel fee under an agreement of the World Post Association. They pay less for postage than European businesses shipping within the continent.

It’s not the same stuff, though. A lot of these products do not fulfill any product safety law. There have been lots tests of random products sold on these platforms, showing that many are unsafe and/or dangerous (just google). A business sourcing from China has to ensure that sold products are safe and fulfill legal requirements. And yes, for this “service” they charge higher prices, and sometimes even unjustifiedly.

My (Swiss) contract: 5G unlimited, 3GB EU + US roaming, CHF 16 (~18 €) per month

My “favourite” bit of boomer talk in that regard is: “But if it gets seriously cold, you’ll freeze.” Heat pumps work better with higher temperature differences, numbnut. Similarly with EVs. If low temperatures are such an issue, why do Norwegians almost exclusively buy electric?

The campaign ads in favor of cutting the budget are really unnerving. They play hard on “look how much money you would save”, and use AI generated video clips, particularly of elderly and children. The last poll I saw predicted an uncertain outcome, so it doesn’t seem unrealistic that the people will actually vote to cut the budget. And that makes me sick.