If you are describing what I think you are, here's what's going on: The person receiving the packages is acting as a forwarded. Chinese customers are buying items from US sources that don't offer international shipping (think eBay, Amazon). They do business with a service that offers a US address for receiving the packages, which then prepares them for shipment outbound to China, via whatever means is cheapest or desired. The customers in China are paying a premium for this service, but with many sellers not supporting international shipping directly, they have few other options. You are now starting to see some bigger firms get involved in this sort of thing.