Online shoppers turn to overseas sites

(Ecns.cn)--Taobao, one of China's biggest online shopping web sites may no longer satisfy its domestic consumers. Recently it appears more and more Chinese people are being lured away by overseas online shops for their more attractive prices and wider range of goods, according to a report by Sina Corporation released Thursday.

Na Na, a mother-to-be, spent only 8,000 yuan (US$1,269) for a baby carriage through an overseas purchasing service half a month ago, while the price for the same brand of product in the domestic market is over 10,000 yuan (US$1,587).

Na Na is just one of millions who have switched to overseas purchasing services, most of which provide online agents. The primary considerations are price, selection and quality, including the safety aspects of some products.

Brands from outside the Chinese mainland are the shoppers' primary targets because of the big price differences between goods found here and other markets, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, according to follow up by China Daily.

International brands often set high prices for goods sold on the Chinese mainland simply because people are willing to pay them, but now, with overseas purchasing services getting in on the game, shoppers get the same quality goods for less, said a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

The China E-commerce Research Center (CERC) did its own investigation and found cosmetics and powder milk, produced under higher safety requirements overseas, are the most popular sellers on online overseas purchasing services.