'Ecosystem' of Chinese smuggled goods in Vietnam

"You just need to choose the goods directly on Chinese websites, then transfer the information and money to the shipping company for payment. Shipping services have "tools" available for you to install on the browser, so ordering and shipping are very fast. It only takes a few days to arrive in Ho Chi Minh City, no "taxes" at all!", shared Mr. TD (living in Ho Chi Minh City) - a person with a lot of experience in buying goods from China.

CLICK TO "BUY"

Importing Chinese goods through border gates in the form of small-scale trade is not new today. However, in the past, most traders had to go to the northern border area of ​​Vietnam , even across China, to find sources of goods, then connect to transportation channels to localities in Vietnam .

But, that was in the past.

Recently, finding sources of goods from China is no longer as time-consuming and laborious as before. Trading floors of Chinese goods suppliers, both retail and wholesale, are easily accessible via the internet.

Actually accessing Chinese e-commerce websites, many e-commerce platforms have interfaces in Chinese, but even if buyers do not know Chinese, they can still access them through the translation tool on the web browser. Some large Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba even have Vietnamese versions. The range of goods is "gold and silver", from fashion and clothing, sportswear, household appliances... to auto and motorbike spare parts, mechanical goods, consumer electronics... Even large outdoor LED screens are available.

Each item has countless designs. For example, textile clothing alone has hundreds, thousands of designs for each category (men's clothing, women's clothing, dresses, etc.), or even wedding dresses and suits are "endless". As some people in the industry say, "whatever you want, you have it".

All are quoted in detail according to the order quantity, even putting logos and brands according to customer requirements on the product. Delivery time according to quantity and type is also detailed information. So, traders can freely choose to place orders according to their wishes.

The service of receiving orders and transporting goods from China to Vietnam is booming with quite low prices.

D " TO THE TEETH" SERVICE

Currently, there are hundreds of companies advertising freight forwarding services from China to Vietnam at competitive prices. Researching some services such as CNE - China Ex…, Qing…, NhaphangChi…, these services all have "tools" available for users to download and integrate into web browsers (Google Chrome, Coc Coc) or integrate into the operating system (iOS, Android) of smartphones, tablets. Users register an account with the above shipping services, then just activate the "tool" when surfing the web to buy goods on Chinese e-commerce platforms, and ordering goods through the shipping service will be done completely automatically.

Worry about young human resources for businesses

Mr. VP, an investor and manager, consultant for a number of businesses in Ho Chi Minh City, said that many businesses he is involved in are currently facing difficulties with young staff, the main reason being the ease of importing goods from abroad and selling them online. Specifically, because it is easy to import and sell goods, and because "with little capital, you can do little work, with a lot, you can do a lot work", many young people choose to do "goods trading" to be more free and comfortable than having to work for a business.

Mr. VP shared: "In some businesses that I am participating in management and operation, many people quit their jobs. When asked, the reason is because they do online sales for their health! Then when recruiting, many people compare their salary with the income from working at home selling online. Meanwhile, with the current economic situation, businesses cannot pay too high salaries, and salaries must also be based on actual work."

"Meanwhile, these people do not realize that this "race" to trade is unsustainable, not to mention the risk of violating the law when selling goods of unknown origin and without documents," Mr. VP commented.

Similarly, representatives of some businesses also raised concerns about the above situation affecting the labor force, especially the young workforce.

Most shipping services publicly announce shipping prices and costs, the more goods, the cheaper the shipping price per kilogram. The prices are announced according to the destination, Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi, mostly only fluctuating from 20,000 - 25,000 VND/kg. These services even accept shipping goods up to the ton unit. On the website, the social network accounts of the above shipping services confidently affirm that they can ship goods even when the border is "clogged", it only takes 3 - 5 days for goods from China to arrive in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The services also apply a customer classification program, the higher the revenue, the more "familiar" the customer is to receive incentives and discounts.

After ordering the purchasing service and the goods are shipped to Vietnam , the buyer can go to the warehouse to receive the goods or the shipping service will deliver the goods to the destination using domestic shipping services.

Not only shipping, these China - Vietnam shipping services also have foreign currency exchange services, account creation and payment in Chinese Yuan for buyers to trade directly on foreign exchange exchanges, or just transfer VND for these services to pay on their behalf. On the website or "tool" of these services, there is a section to update the exchange rate between VND and Yuan. In general, "whatever you want is possible"!

But apart from the fees for purchasing, checking, paying and shipping, there is no mention of having to pay any taxes. Thanh Nien reporters tried to contact CNE - China Ex... through the phone number published on the website, the service provider said: "The goods go through unofficial channels, so there is no need to pay taxes. In return, the goods will not have documents when they arrive". This service said it also provides a consignment service, meaning that if the buyer has their own source of goods in China, they only need to transport them to the shipping party's warehouse in China, then the shipping party will also bring the goods to Vietnam but reduce the costs of purchasing on behalf, paying on behalf...

When asking the staff of CNE - China Ex..., Thanh Nien reporters were assured that they could transport as many goods as they wanted, as long as the goods were not "sensitive" (on the list of prohibited items such as knives, swords...). But just a moment later, this staff "opened the door": "if there are "sensitive" goods, please notify in advance to calculate".

Mr. TD, with experience in buying goods from China many times, said that when the goods arrive in Vietnam , to save costs, he can go to the warehouse to pick them up, or ask the shipping company to "ship" them to him. But according to him, these services also limit others from coming to the warehouse and the warehouses are often "closed" to attract less attention, because the goods are all transported illegally, without paying taxes, without documents. When going to the warehouse addresses introduced on the websites of some services such as Ordertrung... (Ward 13, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City), Qing... (Ward 14, Tan Binh District)... it is true that they are always closed. As Mr. TD said, there must be an order, come ring the bell and someone will come out to confirm before opening the door to deliver the goods.

However, the websites of these services do not hesitate to advertise that they supply many stores that specialize in selling goods from China.

Screenshot of the service introduction clip of CNE - China Ex…

SALES CHANNEL CHANGE

Buying goods is not difficult, payment and shipping are easy, and now the means of selling are even easier. If the traditional sales model requires renting premises to open a store, which is expensive, now there are a series of sales channels through social networks, trading floors - online sales channels such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki... and especially recently the rise of TikTok Shop. According to recent market reports, although it has only been present in Vietnam for about 1 year, TikTok Shop has emerged as the leading online commerce channel in Vietnam . A recent announcement issued by TikTok said: "In 2022, TikTok Shop recorded an 11-fold increase in GMV (total merchandise value), of which the number of orders increased 6 times. The number of sellers and content creators joining TikTok Shop also increased significantly, at a rate of more than 13 and 9 times, respectively, compared to last year."

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Find a way to remove intermediary channels in Vietnam

Introducing direct retail purchases from China via Shopee

In recent months, on some fanpages and social networking sites, statements such as not letting intermediaries in Vietnam "overcharge", buying goods directly from China and committing to fast delivery have begun to appear.

Appearing on fanpages and forums with many followers, the above statements are also accompanied by links that are said to be for direct retail purchases with sellers from China. Notably, these links lead to "stores" on the Shopee platform in Vietnam and clearly state that the goods are delivered from abroad. Because they appear on fanpages and entertainment pages with many followers, the promotional effect of the above content is considered very high. This poses the risk that Chinese goods will be massively sold directly in Vietnam.

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It seems that with the reason of only acting as an intermediary e-commerce platform, some trading platforms almost let the issues of goods sources and goods documents of the seller float, even though there is a sales support program, instructions on how to attract customers... Therefore, many people who import smuggled goods from China to Vietnam have chosen these sales channels to launch their goods to the market. Currently, on many forums and websites, there are countless contents from instructions on ordering, shipping and selling goods through the above channels.

Just like that, all of this creates an ecosystem for smuggled goods from China to be sold in Vietnam .

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/he-sinh-thai-cua-hang-lau-trung-quoc-o-viet-nam-185230611005154376.htm