(Photo: Global Times)

Korean cosmetics, Australian UGG boots, Thai latex mattress, European and US luxury goods, milk powder and lipstick, is it time to say goodbye to such goodies? Reports say that China's new e-commerce law will come into effect on January 1, 2019 to regulate the business of daigou or independent overseas shopping agent, which literally means buying on behalf of someone else in Chinese. Quite a few consumers can't help but feel disappointed. China's daigou business has been booming for some time. Being a grey market in the country, it is not legal, but widespread. For people who cannot often go abroad but still want to purchase imported products at reasonable prices, daigou is perhaps an ideal choice because many a time import duties can be avoided. However, the new regulation does not mean that overseas goods can't be purchased at all. It means fake products, which have been rife on daigou market, will come under strict control. Of course, customers need to get used to the fact that buying duty-free products from daigou will be a thing of the past. But the quality of all they purchase can be better guaranteed.