Will en.360buy.com be able to compete with Amazon? (soumit, Creative Commons)

360buy.com in China is just like what Amazon is in America: you buy a product, click among a few options to have your product delivered within days, and return it if you are not satisfied. Both sites also feature great customer representatives to offer the best service over the phone in response to whatever your concern may be. On top of everything, both are key players in their own respective territories, with a bulk of transactions completed each minute.

But, the new en.360buy.com is ready to send products manufactured in China - the kingdom of cheap labor - to over 35 countries and regions worldwide. The expansion is the first of its kind among all Chinese shopping portals online. For the company, this is a business move to grab a slice of cake overseas. For China, this means more exports and larger competition in international business. For Amazon, this new peer landing from China may come as a brother who is here to steal some thunder. The invasion is now on. Or is it?

Consumers should be the biggest beneficiaries of this move, because now they have more options. So, I was expecting to find a fair bargain on 360buy.com - something that I can get at a lower price than on Amazon. In theory, it should cost me less to buy something that is made in China on 360buy.com, since we see the "made in China" label a lot in America. I searched on the site expecting a good deal for an iPad case, only to find my theory proven wrong: the prices on 360buy.com fall in the same price range as Amazon - from $5 to $30 for similar models. While iPhone cases sold on 360buy.com come in more styles, most of them are not cool enough to stay as competitive as a Kate Spade case sold at a not much higher price on Amazon.

If we go further to take the shipping time into consideration, Amazon would surely be the winner. Backpacks cost around $30 to $50 on both sites. When there is similarity in price and quality, consumers usually turn to the site that will deliver the product sooner. It took my friend around 30 days to get her iPhone 5 case shipped from China. Most people could not afford, or just would not want such a long wait unless there is a really good deal out there.

Some hope that the establishment of websites like en.360buy.com will help Chinese brands go international. But without a tempting price, it is difficult for domestic brands from China to gain a sound reputation in a foreign market. Companies like China's SCUD (a company that manufactures batteries for cellphones) will struggle to win the hearts of foreign consumers if their products are not priced at lower levels. At the same high price for which they can buy a product from a familiar brand, consumers outside China will not buy foreign products that are not yet well-known, and on top of that will take a much longer time to arrive at consumers' doorsteps. In order to compete with companies that already have a long-standing reputation in America, Chinese companies need something unique to offer.

If there is one thing that is sure to lure at least some consumers to en.360buy.com, it is the Chinese book. Companies in China can capitalize on the niche in the U.S. market for Chinese books: as long as there are Chinese readers in the U.S., the need for Chinese books will continue. En.360buy.com offers a most convenient way to access new books published by Chinese writers. The business could be even more promising as the Chinese population in America grows. But, at the same time, the use of e-books is becoming more widespread. Let's hope college students from China will still want to read and carry paperbacks.

I wonder if en.360buy.com was launched with such a low profile because the people behind it know that it has little to offer at the moment. Perhaps they are still coming up with a competitive advantage with which they can start a real battle with other online shopping sites like Amazon. For this reason, it may be that its U.S. department will not be as successful as its original Chinese headquarters. Before it can be called a real international player in the realm of online shopping, it can remain a favored choice for customers who are a 15-hour-flight away from their motherland.