For years Sears Roebuck ruled the world with their catalog sales stores

A person needing help with his garden would walk into the tiny retail store and from the catalog order a wheelbarrow to help with his chores

These small stores always contained a small sampling of what could be requested from the order department

As one had to stroll past an array of Kenmore appliances and Craftsman tool sets before placing the order and checking the length of time for the item shipment

For years the consumer had to accept the retailer’s terms with the only option of comparing prices with the competitor Montgomery Ward

As long as the need wasn’t immediate anything could be ordered, from dubious medicines to as big a house as one could afford

That all changed with introduction of the discount big box retailer and Walmart became the champion of all

Selling everything one might desire, the huge stores became part of the urban sprawl

But the great thing about these stores is founder Sam Walton stocked the stores with products made in the USA

But a better profit margin was found in overseas products and shipped in bulk to distribution centers much to USA manufacturers’ dismay

Soon, as home computers became affordable and on-line ordering became commonplace, the internet giant Amazon emerged

Starting as a book company but eventually offering anything anyone could want the bean counters watched as sales surged

Manufactured in China, so what? The merchandise was priced less than brick and mortar goods and Americans think first with their pocketbook

Soon everyone was in the online business and cost of goods of unknown quality came down to a few pennies and free shipping to get a second look

It seems Chinese manufacturing plants were springing up overnight anxious to throw their hat in the ring

Amazon had created a price war among Chinese manufacturers competing for American dollars all building the same thing

Suddenly on the horizon there’s a new player to steal some of Amazon’s thunder

Selling a host of Chinese goods direct with no middle man this retailer, Temu is looking to pull the Amazon rug from under

So if one is willing to wait for the merchandise that Amazon could have had in the mailbox in two days

The slow boat from China could save money from Amazon’s prices if one is okay with shipping delays

Sounding a lot like ordering from Sears in the fifties it has become an all out price war for the American dollar

Just look the other way as the forced labor to produce the goods is paid virtually nothing and will never be able to rise above living in squalor