“"There was a period when a great many overseas buyers were logging on to Alibaba to look for Chinese companies to produce cheap items for them instead of coming to China,“ he said. … “Those two years probably were the peak period of e-commerce trading in China, as competition was not very tough in the rapidly expanding overseas market,” Ai said. But it got harder to turn a profit as the market became saturated and labor costs rose. In 2011 and 2012, Ai could make a simple piece of jewelry for about 5 yuan, and he could sell it to overseas clients for 7 yuan. But now, despite his own costs rising due to wage hikes, he can’t raise his selling prices due to stiff competition. As a result, “I’ve paid more attention to design and drawn a wider variety of products for the clients to choose from,” said Ai, adding that “what gives me my edge is the quality and stylishness of my products.””
— Traders in Yiwu cashing in on e-commerce shops |Industries |chinadaily.com.cn