How Piazam prices come in up to 60% below local retail

Prices on Piazam are up to 60% below local retail. People reasonably ask how. The short answer is that Piazam takes out the steps in between, and asks you to wait instead.

The usual route to a shop shelf

Imported goods often pass through several hands before they reach a shop. A manufacturer sells to an exporter or importer, who sells to a wholesaler, who sells to the shop. Every step adds its own margin. The stock also sits in warehouses and on shelves while it waits to be sold, and someone pays for that space and that risk. By the time you buy, the price carries all of it.

Piazam's route

Piazam is a pre-order store. It doesn't keep stock in Ghana. When you pay for something, Piazam orders it from the manufacturer in China on your behalf, and it's shipped to you.

That changes the price in a few ways:

• No middlemen. You buy at close to the factory price, without importers and wholesalers each adding a margin.
• No unsold stock. Nothing is bought in hope of selling it later, so there's no cost of unsold goods built into the price.
• Shipping by sea is built in. Sea freight is already part of the product price, so sea shipping is free.
• Air is a set price. If you want an item sooner, air shipping is a fixed amount per item, shown on the product page.

Piazam also clears your order through customs and pays the import duties and taxes, so you don't pay them separately.

What you trade for the price: time

You aren't buying something already in Ghana. You're ordering from a factory in China, so your order takes 7 to 21 days by air, or 30 to 60 days by sea.

That's the deal. As Piazam's FAQ puts it: if you can wait, you save significantly. If you need something today, a local shop is the better choice. If you can plan ahead, Piazam is usually cheaper.

What doesn't get cut

A low price shouldn't mean taking a chance on what arrives. So a few things stay in every order:

• Inspection. Before your order is packed, a quality inspector in China checks every unit: it powers on, it has no visible defects, and every accessory is in the box.
• Insurance. Every shipment is packaged and insured against loss or damage in transit.
• Refunds when things go wrong. If your order is damaged in shipping, the wrong item arrives, or it doesn't work out of the box, you can claim a refund within Piazam's time limits. If a parcel is lost and can't be recovered, you get a full refund. Here's how refunds work.

One thing to plan for

The price at checkout covers the product and its shipping to Ghana. Delivery from Piazam's hub to your door is charged once your parcel arrives, and it's normally GH₵30 to GH₵100, depending on where you are and the size of the parcel.

Buying in bulk

Prices on Piazam are fixed for individual orders. If you're buying in bulk, for a shop or an event, contact Piazam directly for a quote at support@piazam.com.

You can see the prices for yourself at piazam.com.