I don't think the comments are racist.....the complaints would be the same IF the UK were in China's position.
Also, I search Ebay every day for research, but I am researching vintage/collectible/not new.........and never run into China sellers. I do run into China made items since they are/have been the major mfg of goods for some years now. I sell second hand China made items.....as many do. Quality is decent, not junk.
OP sells vintage so not sure if/how her items are ending up at bottom of search behind China sellers.
However, beyond all that.........what we need to recognize, my opinion, is that for new items, simply put, commerce is changing....becoming more "direct from the mfg" to the buyer, as opposed to the old supply chain of MFG to wholesaler to direct sellers. That's not going to change and will expand simply because of the internet. Ebay/Amazon/ websites are simply conduits that facilitate that.....it's not inconceivable to me that eventually China sites may shut THEM out, like Alibaba is/was trying to do. They MUST allow items to be sold, no matter where they are made if they expect to survive as anything other than a "niche" site. Frankly, I would say the Chinese sellers on ebay are competing more with each other than they are with American sellers, except on name branded stuff which adds a value (perceived thru marketing) that is "better than" unbranded.
People of all nations want to buy cheap goods......that's the history of commerce. England supplied most textiles in the 1700's, American mills (employing children) in the NE beat their prices and became dominant. Southern Mills (employing cheaper labor) beat their prices and took over the major mfg. Mexico took that over and then it spread rapidly to the Caribbean nations, then to SE Asia and now to China. When standards of living in the world reach an equilibrium, (MFG costs become more equal)........then mfg may return to individual countries, albeit probably employing more robots than people.
To me, railing against China or Ebay for what is happening is a waste of time, mfg will go to the cheapest source, buyers will seek the cheapest prices, marketplaces must supply products. Sellers have to find items that do not directly compete, or make items that do compete more attractive (adding perceived value, like branding or faster shipping than available from China).
just my opinion
