Purchasing agents fill the gap for buyers of overseas brands

Coco Xu is a purchasing agent who lives in New York. Her business of buying contemporary fashion products on behalf of Chinese customers is not being affected much by the launch of direct mailing services of some foreign websites.

Many brands have particular pricing strategies for different regions, and many items are still significantly cheaper in retail stores in the United States. Some other products are not widely available online for shipping to China.

"It has never been easy to be a purchasing agent, and only a few people can make the business work well. But as long as there is a price gap, there is a market for purchasing agents," Xu said.

The popularity among Chinese for buying foreign products has created business opportunities for a burgeoning number of overseas purchasing agents, who make purchases on behalf of consumers, saving them the huge price difference they would pay when buying from outlets in the Chinese mainland.

Clothing, handbags, cosmetics, baby products, health and personal care items and consumer electronics are among the most popular categories that overseas purchasing agents handle.

Amazon.com Inc recently announced that it would start direct mail services to China from its six major overseas operation centers in the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. The move will allow Chinese customers to buy more than 80 million products from abroad.

Other foreign retail websites, such as US high-end retailer Neiman Marcus and British high-street company ASOS.com, have also launched Chinese websites and direct mail services to China.

Yet many consumers who use agents want luxury goods and niche brands that are not offered online.

"I have a circle of friends who want to buy things from the United States. I'm doing business with those I'm familiar with," said Yu Yao, a purchasing agent who lives in Los Angeles. She used to be an Air China flight attendant and often helped relatives and friends buy from abroad.

"They are used to buying things from me and getting some advice, as they have worries over the quality of the items online. Some others have problems searching English-language websites," Yu said.

Using agents means that shoppers are able to avoid problems such as counterfeit goods, and they get items at a lower duty rate if agents send packages as personal mail. However, new regulations allow customs agents to conduct random checks on personal packages and impose tariffs and taxes.

In 2013, Chinese overseas purchases through buying agents totaled about 74.4 billion yuan ($12.15 billion), a 30 percent jump from the previous year, according to China e-Business Research Center.

"Being a purchasing agent is not like being an entrepreneur. It is like a part-time job that allows those Chinese who live or study abroad to make some money," said Zhan Yongming, chief executive of yifanshop.com, an e-commerce website that sells foreign goods.