Temu vs Online Sellers in Economies of Scale with Batana oil

“Why am I being inundated with all these sponsored ads all across Social Media on Batana Oil?”

“You do not know Batana Oil? Phew, where will I begin now?”

“Batana oil is this acclaimed wonder hair growth cream. Yeah, yeah, women and their dramas. Always rushing to the next shinning jar which will make them live as old as Methuselah but look as young as teenage Hadassah before she caught King Ahasuerus eyes”

“Sarcasm does not look good on you”

“Since when did you know me to care for appearances?”

“So this new oil?”

“Not new. Been around for few years now. However you know how this space tends to blow things up. Someone just cottoned on to it and now they are ripping unsuspecting buyers off”

“Buyers? I thought you were talking bible, retaining youthful looks like Queen Esther and all that?”

“Nay. No bible stories today. This is International Trade and Economics”

“Alright. I thought we agreed to stay off all things technical so as not to burden your head?”

“Well, this is burdening my head already. And besides it has to do with hair too”

 

“So, what irks you about it?”

“Listen. Batana is purportedly a single source and single origin product. Made from the Palm trees of Honduras and sold on Temu at less than £4.”

Although I consider it a half-truth because there are palm plantations all over Africa.  I mean the entire backyard of our compound in the village is a palm plantation.  But since Africa has chosen to export only raw materials, we all can sit here and claim Batana can only be sourced from Latin America”

 

“You and Temu – that cheapskate!

“Oh please, ife onye acho k’ofu”

“Excusez-moi?”

“That, ma bonne amie, is Delta-Igbo for you can only find what you seek. Your prejudice will always colour your interactions”

“Temu is like those Nigerian tailors who tell you they can make a dress on a catalogue and then….”

“Cut the crap. Temu is a Chinese B2C giant which cuts out the middleman and all that supply chain & logistics nightmare. I tell you repeatedly but you choose what you want to hear – everything is made in China”

“What do you mean everything is..

“Everything is made in China. It is irrelevant to me if you import the Chinese labour into your factory in the Antarctica and brand it with your labels” Which means right there on Temu, you can get what you are searching for so long as you are not buying a Pyrex or Rolex.

“That is so linear, Amara. What about the made in Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladeshi etc?”

“Spare me.  If Batana oil is singly sourced from Honduras and Temu is doing a BOGOF of less than £6 why the rip off then?”

“BOGOF?”

“Yes. Buy One Get One Free is a Nigerian slang for a bundle offer

“What is your business with how much a seller opts to sell their goods. Market forces, remember?

“What market forces? you teaching me economies of scale now?

“Well, your favourite B2C platform is a behemoth and you do not expect sole proprietors to match their pricing”

“That is preposterous! is that why they are selling at £34, £64, £28? and annoyingly claiming it was batana that grew their hair. You see those curated videos where they are showing off long hair claiming…. I might as well start selling it since I have the evidence of a before and after hair growth”

“How do you mean?”

“I lost my hair to cancer. I have hair now. I simply show it off and claim it was batana’s magic”

“But babe, you make your hair oil yourself using all those concoction and you have barely used batana for a month now”

“That is the thing. We both know it but they don’t. I have social proof that can sell that product at any price”

“You never cease to amaze me. That would be a rip off against your values”

“What about the values of those other online sellers?” 

“To each their own, Amara. Humans appreciate being sold bottled lies or what do you think the multi-billion dollar beauty industry is built on?”

“So I should simply close my eyes and …..?

“walk past”