Navigating Brand Quality: Temu & Amazon vs. American Goods

I couldn’t have said it better than Joe:

Temu is selling what Amazon has been selling for years – cheap, brandless goods. Temu’s success, as temporary as it might be, is built on Amazon changing WHAT we buy years before it launched. For every Apple in its catalog, it has thousands more unpronounceable “brands.” It made us comfortable buying from them because it taught us that – worst come to worst – it would refund the order without asking questions. Is it any surprise, then, that Temu could step in and offer even more brandless stuff?

Juozas Kaziukėnas, Marketplace Pulse

All of this is bad for small American brands. Mom and pops that put their hearts into their products, making sure the quality and experience are the best they can be, cannot compete with subsidized cheap imports.

Here at Mason Jars we try to show the difference between USA made goods and unrecognizable brands. I personally have felt the sting of competing knock-off products of my reCAP Mason Jars.

Why does it matter?

• Temu and other foreign marketplaces are not paying state sales taxes. Some consumers might like to avoid paying tax but it hurts US businesses that have to charge consumers taxes and administer the reporting burden.
• Foreign producers are avoiding tariffs by selling direct to consumers while US companies that are importing have to pay the tariffs.
• Products from China are being subsidized by the Chinese government to keep employment unnaturally high. This is causing a glut of goods in the global market that is impacting employment in America and Europe.
• Shipping costs are cheaper for China manufacturers. China is still considered a “transitional” country by the UPU (Universal Postal Union, a United Nations agency), which means basically: a 3 ounce package sent from Pennsylvania to Ohio would be $4.10 but it would cost a company in Shanghai only $1.12.

Take a moment to understand the brand you are buying.

Check out this quick tutorial to show you how.

The original reCAP POUR lid Made in USA was copied by Masontops, Soligt, Aieve, and more, all of which are made in China.