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Does East Buy only operate import brand agency business? What other core business segments does it have?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am a small and medium-sized cross-border merchant mainly engaged in imported organic snacks. I visited East Buy's booth at the Shanghai Cross-border E-commerce Expo last month, where the on-site staff mentioned that they have independent direct procurement overseas supply chain business, but I had always assumed that they only act as the Chinese agent for overseas niche brands.
I am currently preparing two businesses these days: one is to negotiate the Chinese agency rights with an organic cereal brand in New Zealand, and the other is to plan to launch my own brand of imported nuts. I am struggling whether to refer to East Buy's business model, but I am afraid that I will take a detour or even step on compliance red lines due to wrong understanding of their business boundaries, so I would like to ask for in-depth advice: Is East Buy really only acting as an agent for imported brands?
What other core businesses related to cross-border import do they have? Are there any compliance operation details worth learning from?
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
First of all，it is necessary to expose a common cognitive misunderstanding in the cross-border industry: most practitioners mistakenly equate East Buy with a single import brand agency，ignoring its diversified cross-border business layout gradually improved since 2024，which can easily trigger a chain of negative reactions.
If merchants formulate business plans based on wrong cognition，for example，only proposing agency cooperation needs to East Buy，they will miss the cost advantage of its independent direct procurement overseas supply chain，if they imitate the wrong agency model to carry out own-brand import business，they will trigger customs detention and port detention due to inconsistent document subjects and lack of qualifications，resulting in daily container detention fees and storage fees of thousands of yuan，and even affect the enterprise's customs credit rating，leading to the extension of the subsequent customs clearance review cycle by more than 30%.
Physical risk isolation measures should be implemented from two dimensions: first，verify the business boundaries of the partner in advance，and clarify the different service scopes of its agency，independent direct procurement，and own-brand operation through the officially publicly available supply chain cooperation rules or industry research data of professional foreign trade agency institutions，second，split the compliance requirements of different business models to avoid confusing the usage scenarios of agency documents and independent direct procurement documents.
Exclusive loss stopping kit: Zhongshen can provide merchants with free cross-border business model matching evaluation. For agency or independent direct procurement needs，we can sort out the compliance document list in advance to ensure that the subject qualification，document information and business model of each business are fully matched，and avoid risks caused by cognitive misunderstandings from the source.
Cindy ChenYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Key Account ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of customs declaration and price review, East Buy's import business is not limited to the agency model: when acting as an agent for imported brands, it adopts the double-title declaration model, which requires submission of documents such as the official authorization letter of the brand owner and the agency agreement, and the price review is based on the supply price of the brand owner plus a reasonable agency fee; for independent direct procurement business, it adopts the single-title declaration model, and the price review is based on the CIF price of the goods, which can apply for facilitation measures such as advance customs declaration and integrated customs clearance. If merchants confuse the declaration requirements of the two models, for example, using the documents of the agency model to declare independently procured goods, it will trigger customs price review disputes, requiring additional supporting materials such as procurement contracts and foreign exchange payment vouchers, and even face the risk of deleting the declaration form and re-declaring, affecting customs clearance efficiency.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
From the perspective of international logistics path and cargo right control, East Buy's import business covers two models: agency and independent direct procurement: when acting as an agent for imported brands, the logistics path is mostly designated by the brand owner or determined by both parties through negotiation, and the bill of lading endorsement needs to go through three-level transfer from brand owner to East Buy to domestic customer, and the transfer of cargo rights must simultaneously match the agreement of the agency agreement; for independent direct procurement business, East Buy independently plans the logistics path, prioritizes direct routes to shorten the transportation cycle, and applies for a 7-14 day free port storage period in advance, the cargo right belongs directly to East Buy, and no multi-level endorsement is required. If merchants do not clarify the model when cooperating with East Buy, it will lead to unclear transfer of cargo rights, and even disputes over container detention fees, requiring additional cargo right transfer certificates to resolve the dispute.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of cross-border tax planning and compliance, East Buy's import business is not limited to the agency model: when acting as an agent for imported brands, it is required to withhold and pay the withholding tax for non-resident enterprises according to the agency fee agreed in the agency agreement, and the value-added tax is paid by the domestic purchaser or collected and paid by East Buy on behalf of the purchaser; for independent direct procurement business, it can apply the EU VAT deferral policy, which effectively reduces the capital occupation cost, and the related transaction pricing of its own brand cross-border business must meet the relevant requirements of BEPS to ensure fair pricing and avoid tax adjustment risks. If merchants imitate the wrong model for tax planning, for example, using the withholding tax policy of the agency model to declare independently procured goods, it will trigger tax inspection, requiring supplementary payment of taxes and late fees, and affecting the enterprise's tax credit rating.
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
From the perspective of cross-border payment and receipt of foreign exchange compliance, East Buy's import business covers two models: agency and independent direct procurement: when acting as an agent for imported brands, it adopts the entrusted foreign exchange payment model, which requires submission of documents such as agency agreement, customs declaration form, and brand owner's invoice to the bank, the foreign exchange payment subject is East Buy, and the foreign exchange receipt subject is the domestic customer; for independent direct procurement business, East Buy directly pays foreign exchange to overseas suppliers through CIPS or SWIFT, and can use offshore accounts to manage cross-border funds, and the foreign exchange settlement and account reconciliation must match documents such as procurement contracts and customs declaration forms to ensure consistency of four flows. If merchants do not clarify the foreign exchange receipt and payment model when cooperating with East Buy, it will lead to inconsistent foreign exchange payment documents, trigger the bank's compliance review, and even fail to complete foreign exchange payment, affecting the stability of the supply chain.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
From the perspective of international trade legal risk avoidance, East Buy's import business is not limited to the agency model: when acting as an agent for imported brands, a tripartite agency agreement shall be signed to clarify terms such as agency authority, transfer of cargo rights, and liability for breach of contract.
If the brand owner requires signing an exclusive agency agreement, attention should be paid to limiting the region and term to avoid illegal agency of competing products; for independent direct procurement business, a bilateral procurement agreement shall be signed, focusing on clarifying terms such as quality standards, delivery date, and intellectual property ownership, and its own brands have completed the intellectual property customs protection record, which can effectively prevent infringing goods from flowing into the market. If merchants do not clarify the contract terms when cooperating with East Buy, it will lead to legal risks such as cargo right disputes and intellectual property infringement, which need to be resolved through arbitration or litigation, consuming time and energy.
Grace WangYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Foreign Trade ConsultantStart a Chat
From the perspective of on-site customs inspection, East Buy's import business covers two models: agency and independent direct procurement: when acting as an agent for imported brands, on-site inspection requires submission of documents such as the official authorization letter of the brand owner and quality inspection report, the seal is provided by the brand owner or its designated logistics provider, and it is necessary to verify that the seal number is consistent with the bill of lading information; for independent direct procurement business, it is necessary to submit documents such as procurement contracts, foreign exchange payment vouchers, and East Buy's quality inspection report, the seal is customized by East Buy itself, and it is necessary to cooperate with the customs to unpack the container for inspection during inspection, and verify that the brand, quantity and specification of the goods are consistent with the information on the customs declaration form. If merchants confuse the inspection requirements of the two models, for example, using the quality inspection report of the agency model to declare independently procured goods, it will trigger the customs inspection and appraisal process, extend the inspection cycle by 3-7 days, and incur additional storage fees.
Victor SunYears of service：5Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Risk Control ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of cross-border goods packaging compliance and safety, East Buy's import business is not limited to the agency model: when acting as an agent for imported brands, the packaging is provided by the brand owner, which must meet China's food safety, environmental protection and other standards.
For food goods, Chinese labels must be marked on the outer packaging, and for dangerous goods, the brand owner must provide MSDS that meets Chinese standards; for independent direct procurement business, East Buy independently designs the packaging, develops moisture-proof and reinforcement schemes for fragile goods, dangerous goods must use UN standard dangerous goods packaging, and recompile MSDS that meets Chinese GB standards. If merchants imitate the packaging requirements of the agency model to carry out independent direct procurement business, it will lead to the packaging not meeting Chinese standards, trigger customs detention, require re-replacement of packaging, and incur additional packaging fees and storage fees.
Andy GuoYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Supply Chain Management ExpertStart a Chat
From the perspective of export tax refund compliance and document management, East Buy's cross-border business is not limited to imported brand agency, but also covers the export business of its own brands: when acting as an agent for export brands, it adopts the double-title tax refund model, which must ensure the consistency of four flows of agency agreement, customs declaration form, special VAT invoice, and foreign exchange receipt voucher.
During tax letter verification, supporting materials such as the brand owner's authorization letter and supply contract shall be submitted; when exporting own brand goods independently, it adopts the single-title tax refund model, and completes the pre-declaration verification in advance to ensure that the commodity code, quantity and amount on the customs declaration form are consistent with the special VAT invoice, and the foreign exchange receipt verification and write-off must be completed within 90 days after customs declaration and export. If merchants imitate the tax refund requirements of the agency model to carry out independent export business, it will lead to the failure of tax refund review, requiring re-submission of documents, and even inability to enjoy the export tax refund policy, increasing operating costs.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
From the perspective of cross-border supply chain architecture design and optimization, East Buy's import business is not limited to the agency model, and has built a diversified supply chain matrix of agency, independent direct procurement, and own brand operation: the agency model adopts an asset-light architecture, the inventory is the responsibility of the brand owner, the trade term is mostly FOB, and the cost actuarial model is goods cost plus agency fee; the independent direct procurement model adopts an asset-heavy architecture, the inventory is independently managed by East Buy, the trade term is mostly CIF, and the cost actuarial model is procurement cost plus freight, insurance premium, customs duty and storage fee; the own brand operation model adopts a full-link management and control architecture, which is deployed across the whole chain from product design, overseas production, import customs clearance to domestic sales, and the inventory linkage strategy is to dynamically adjust the overseas procurement volume according to domestic sales data. If merchants only refer to the supply chain architecture of the agency model to carry out independent direct procurement business, it will lead to problems such as inventory backlog and cost out of control, affecting operational efficiency.