In recent years, with the increasing frequency of international exchanges and the continuous development of international trade, mail, express delivery, and cross-border e-commerce businesses have developed rapidly, and the trend of trade fragmentation is obvious. The purpose of delivery has changed from civil to commercial, the scale has changed from micro to huge, and the mode has changed from self-operation to agency. In particular, the emergence of cross-border e-commerce products has made the concepts of “goods” and “items” in the traditional sense increasingly blurred. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the model, know the evolution, compare the differences, and reveal the risks.
Postal items and express personal items are generally completed through overseas orders or overseas purchasing. Among them, overseas ordering, also known as “sea shopping”, is an online shopping method in which domestic consumers place orders on overseas websites and pay for goods, which are directly transported back to China by parcel or express delivery, and customs clearance procedures are handled at the customs by parcel or express delivery when entering the country, and finally the ordered goods are received through domestic express delivery; while overseas purchasing, also known as “sea purchasing”, is an online shopping method in which domestic consumers contact individuals or platforms specializing in overseas purchasing, directly purchase overseas target goods, and then the purchasing agent or platform directly transports them back to China by parcel or express delivery, and customs clearance procedures are handled at the customs by parcel or express delivery when entering the country, and finally the ordered goods are received through domestic express delivery (overseas purchasing goods are also brought into the country by personnel, but because their entry method is not a delivery channel, it will not be expanded).
The cross-border e-commerce B2C direct purchase import model has created a new buying and selling transaction pattern. This transaction method mainly relies on electronic data and information networks to complete payment and logistics work. The process of signing a contract between the buyer and the seller is completed in electronic form and on an online trading platform. Direct purchase import means that after domestic consumers complete the order and payment on the cross-border e-commerce platform, the e-commerce platform will uniformly distribute and collect goods for the customer’s order, and then transport the goods to the country through international logistics in the form of express delivery or parcel post. The order, payment order, logistics order (“three orders”) and item list information must be declared during the import customs clearance process. The goods can only enter the country and reach the hands of customers after the “three orders” are compared and passed.