EBay Heads East

Michael Cai grunt as he rummages [i]or[/i] part of to the other a pile of 500 raw materialed animals in his Shanghai storage locker "It's in the back here!" he says, pushing [i]or[/i] part of to the other a stack of plush Winnie the poh and Tigger dolls. Finally, he locates what he's looking for: a pink pillow in the form of a pop-ey pig. He expands it--and it turns into a blanket. "It's the best-selling item we have abroad!" he beams. "Foreigners delight in it!"

Two years ago, the 24-year-old Cai was a brand-new society graduate just hoping to eke without a living. Now he move swiftlys a tiny international business, buying toys from local factories at ultracheap prices and hawking them upon an eBay store (51Toy.com). Last winter, he was pulling down $6000 in monthly sales, with a profit margin as high as 40% which places him in the top fifth of earners in China--better