Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- Unlike most twenty somethings starting out in New York City , Zhang Yuzhu is not scrimping to make rent . A graduate student from China , Zhang spends her free time in the city 's swankiest department stores buying designer goods . She once blew $ 45,000 on the coveted Hermes ' Birkin that is regarded by some as the `` holy grail '' of handbags . Zhang , however , is not splashing her own cash . She is one of China 's growing ranks of `` haiwai daigou , '' or overseas personal shoppers , that source luxury items for customers back home . It 's a booming business that was worth 74.4 billion yuan ( $ 12 billion ) in 2013 , according to the China E-commerce Research Center . `` Usually I can earn $ 200 to $ 300 for a Chanel handbag , but I will get more for a Hermes , '' Zhang told CNN . Zhang 's customers get designer goods for less than they would at home by circumventing China 's steep taxes on luxury items . She says they cost 30 % less in the United States . Chinese are the biggest buyers of luxury goods globally , making 29 % of all purchases , according to consultants Bain & Company , and these purchases are increasingly being made abroad , mostly by tourists , but also by people like Zhang . Many young Chinese studying in places like New York , London , Paris and Tokyo have started ad hoc businesses , with Bain saying that Chinese luxury sales will become increasingly reliant on this kind of `` parallel trade . '' Zhang finds her clients through Chinese social media like WeChat and Weibo , where she posts pictures of the latest items about once a month . Customers then wire the purchase price by bank transfer , including a buyer 's commission . Others use the eBay-like site Taobao operated by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba . Sometimes , Zhang secures her clients an even steeper discount by buying items in Oregon , a sales tax-free U.S. state where she used to live . In a good month , she will buy about six bags from the likes of Chanel , Hermes , Prada , Dior and Bottega Veneta and has made purchases on behalf of about 50 customers . First-name terms . Paris-based Li , who only wanted to give his family name , earns more than $ 6,000 a month buying luxury items in French stores on behalf of clients back home . An MBA graduate , he has no plans to pursue a different career despite his educational credentials . `` I 'm a big fan of luxury products and I think daigou is a much easier job than others , '' he said . However , Li says the business is unstable . Even though he 's on first-name terms with sales staff in stores like Hermes he ca n't get special deals . `` It 's Hermes so no-one can get any discount unless you are a super VIP , '' he said . But an anti-corruption campaign launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping that saw Chinese sales of luxury goods slow significantly in 2013 has also hurt his business , said Li . His customers spend less than they used to as flaunting designer watches and extravagant gift giving to officials is now frowned upon . But Chinese wallets are expected to remain the globe 's biggest source of spending on designer goods , and , according to Erwan Rambourg , the author of The Bling Dynasty : Why the Reign of Chinese Luxury Shoppers Has Only Just Begun , Chinese consumers will account for one in two purchases by 2025 and most of these will be made abroad . `` Luxury goods help Chinese fit in socially and professionally , '' he said . Smuggling or shopping ? With large amounts of money changing hands under the official radar , the trade has also caught the attention of China 's customs authorities . From August 1 , the General Administration of Customs has stipulated that all individuals engaged in `` cross-border e-commerce '' must provide a list of imported and exported items to customs . `` Those who do not play by the rules will be seen as lawbreakers or even smugglers , '' Lu Zhenwang , chief executive of Shanghai-based e-commerce firm Wanqing Consultancy told The China Daily . `` That 's a risk few people would want to take . '' However , Zhang and Li both said they had no immediate plans to give up their lucrative sidelines despite the new regulation . `` You can say this is smuggling but you ca n't prove it . The products were purchased in a legal way , '' said Li . Zhang says she does n't plan to be a personal shopper forever but it 's an easy way for her to earn extra cash at a time when many graduates , even those who studied abroad , struggle to find a job back home . After graduating , she hopes to find a job in television or the movie industry . `` It 's a part-time job for me so I can earn some pocket money . ''
Personal shoppers helping Chinese get luxury items for less . Often students studying abroad , they can earn thousands of dollars a month . Luxury items sell 30 % to 40 % more in China than Japan and Europe . Chinese customs authorities are cracking down on the trade ; viewed as smuggling .