Customs, VAT and freight/shipping charges remain the biggest barriers to inter-country e-commerce, especially for household goods. Buying an item on ebay costs you the price, VAT, freight/shipping charge and custom duty depending on product. Very few items don't have duty as a result of negotiated agreements or one time offers to spur uptake.

E-commerce within country boundaries, especially with regard to Kenya and similar markets doesn't take off because there is no variety in products being offered making prices un-competitive. If I go to Jumia Kenya for example, i'd only find items in stock in Kenya holding cells and these items could be as few as two eg. a fitness bench.

E-commerce in countries like US,UK,China has proved that household consumption is what makes it thrive as opposed to industrial/manufacturing/wholesale consumption. This means that the mwananchi like you and I in other countries are buying single items more online in household goods such as clothes, electronics, fitness equipment, decor etc. as opposed to bullk buying of the same item by an entity such as Nakumatt with the purpose of reselling it to customers.

What indeed makes the item prices cheap to customers is that the particular countries are producing them.

I'm not seeing Kenya produce fit-bits any time soon but i'd like to purchase ‎one or find a Hong Kong made alternative that's cheaper. E commerce offers this opportunity but as long as we have VAT (for items whose value has already been established mind you), customs ( for household items!!) and freight/shipping charges (for single items with most not even reaching a kilo‎) then the e-commerce opportunity from a consumer perspective is farfetched.

Regards,

Eshuchi Richard

Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.