Crimeans bypass sanctions and wipe the noses of rude traders
Today, a global sale has begun on the Chinese online shopping portal AliExpress, which will last one day. In the first hour, one of the world's most popular trading platforms carried out $1 billion in purchases. Despite statements from the Crimean media that AliExpress is not available to residents of the peninsula, thousands of Crimeans are participating in the sales. Many of them have learned how to circumvent Western trade sanctions without government help and resist the inflated prices that rack up local stores. Goods are successfully ordered not only from the Middle Kingdom, but even from the center of sanctions - the United States.
Cheaper, but longer
One of the main flows of parcels to Crimea today comes from China. “I went into the department and didn’t think that so many people were receiving parcels from China,” said Lyudmila, a resident of Simferopol. “Dozens of people receive two or three packages at a time.” Both entrepreneurs and ordinary people stand in line.
“I came to a birthday party with a friend wearing identical light coats. As it turned out, she bought it in Crimea for 5 thousand, and I bought it for 800 rubles in China,” boasts Antonina from Sevastopol. A resident of the Crimean capital, Victoria, says that she buys almost all her children’s things in the Middle Kingdom. However, the difference in prices between Crimea and China is not always so big. Usually - one and a half to three times. Many things are sent from China for free. Therefore, shopping there is even more profitable than in Russian online stores, where they charge up to half the price of the product itself for delivery.
But there is also a “but”. You can’t touch the product, you can’t try it on right away, but it will arrive two to four weeks after payment. “The only time I received a dress was two weeks later. And so, I receive orders only after a month,” says Alushta resident Alevtina. – And, if you monitor delivery online, then the parcel spends two-thirds of the time in Russia. From China it can be delivered even in a day or two. It’s bad that the Chinese have their own understanding of sizes. You need to look at the reviews, otherwise you can choose your size, but get clothes that are much smaller. This happened several times.”
Today, Crimeans order on AliExpress and other Chinese trading platforms everything from leather jackets, children's socks and glasses for smartphones to tablets and even auto parts. The Internet is full of advice on how to place an order. The fact is that during the standard procedure, AliExpress will require you to select a country and region from the list. And Crimea really won’t be among them. However, there is a way when the recipient's data is entered manually on the Chinese portal website. Then you can indicate the postal code, and enter the Crimean address in Latin letters. Thousands of Crimeans receive parcels this way, bypassing the restrictions that AliExpress introduced due to sanctions.
The Chinese company itself knows this and even sends out the address of the page where the address can be entered manually. “The technical support service is now dealing with the problem that has arisen and recommends that residents of Crimea use another form for placing an order,” the AliExpress support service noted to Lenta.ru.
Another problem is that bank cards that operate in Crimea are not serviced by the global payment systems Mastercard and Visa. However, there is a solution for this too.
“Using terminals or online banking, I transfer money to the Yandex.Money or Qiwi payment systems, where I opened accounts for myself in 10 minutes online. I pay a commission of up to 2% for replenishment and buy in online stores. My friends have opened a Mastercard and Visa bank card on the mainland and are depositing money on them. So there are no problems,” says Yalta businessman Alexey.
The only restriction is that every Russian citizen can receive one thousand euros worth of parcels by mail monthly and duty-free.
“Ordinary people don’t make purchases with that kind of money. And for entrepreneurs there are always loopholes. Place an order for your wife, mother-in-law... And thus increase the limit several times,” continues Alexey.
“We lost up to 20% of customers due to online shopping”
Recently, prices for clothing and goods in Crimea have decreased. One of the reasons is the transition of residents of the peninsula to online shopping.
“I lost 10 percent of my customers. There are those who are all 20%,” complains businessman Alexey. Moreover, we are talking not only about goods from China, but also from Europe and even the USA.
“I buy branded sneakers or shoes at American sales for 30-50 dollars. In rubles it’s two or three thousand. I also pay up to a thousand rubles for delivery. Total - three to six. In Crimean stores there are either no such shoes or they cost one and a half to two times more,” says Sevastopol resident Sergei. He prefers Adidas, Nike, Timberland and Clarks. Buys from Amazon, Ebay, and 6 pm.
“The main problem is that the lowest prices are in the USA and these sites initially send their goods only throughout the USA,” Sergei shares his secrets. – Therefore, you need a mailbox overseas and, if you are not an entrepreneur, it is better to look for an intermediary. You can find a lot of them on the Internet. Many of them have been working for ten years. The intermediary will open your mailbox or complete the purchase himself. Its price is from 10 percent of the cost of the goods or from 20 dollars per kilogram if you order a small amount.”
Ukrainian intermediaries offer prices two times lower. However, today only a few people take the risk of delivering goods to Crimea, and only to trusted clients. The only taboo is synthetic underwear, which is prohibited from import and sale in Russia.
Not all intermediaries delivering to Russia accept orders to Crimea. About half.
“And the payment system is approximately the same as in the case of Chinese stores. It is better, of course, to have a bank card issued on the mainland. Not all intermediaries accept Qiwi or Yandex.Money payment systems. But Visa or Mastercard – yes,” says Sergei.
For older people, the online payment and ordering system is complicated. That’s why young people often shop online.
“I understand that local traders want to live well, but we don’t live any better than to overpay. Many are taking advantage of the situation with Crimea. Therefore, online shopping is the way out. Every second friend of mine orders on the Internet,” says Antonina, a regular customer of foreign stores. And he adds: “True, not everything can be ordered there. You can’t buy food or furniture there, for example.”
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