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Core Viewpoint - The emergence of the short video e-commerce platform Yulily has led to significant financial losses for over 200,000 sellers, amounting to 1 billion dollars in just four months, highlighting the risks associated with new platforms in the e-commerce space [2][3][19]. Group 1: Yulily's Business Model and Operations - Yulily's business model, branded as "S2K2C," aimed to create a closed-loop value network involving supply, influencers, and consumers, which initially attracted many sellers [4][5]. - The platform employed a strategy of low entry barriers and high rewards, offering incentives such as a $1.5 registration bonus and claims of 10% returns within 14 days, which lured in many unsuspecting individuals [5][6]. - Yulily falsely claimed to have a legitimate operational structure, including a supposed office in Hangzhou and partnerships with major entities, to build trust among users before implementing its deceptive practices [6][11]. Group 2: Deceptive Practices and User Impact - The platform's operations were characterized by a "three-part scam" approach, where initial attractive offers led users to invest significant amounts, only to later impose withdrawal restrictions and other barriers [9][12]. - Many users, including retirees and stay-at-home parents, invested their life savings or took loans, believing in the promised high returns, only to find themselves unable to withdraw their funds [3][6][15]. - Yulily's operational model was revealed to be a pyramid scheme, relying on new user investments to pay returns to earlier investors, rather than generating actual sales or revenue [12][14]. Group 3: Industry Context and Warnings - The broader context of cross-border e-commerce shows a growth of 6.4% in imports and exports, indicating ongoing opportunities but also attracting fraudulent schemes targeting aspiring entrepreneurs [19][20]. - The article emphasizes that legitimate cross-border e-commerce requires substantial effort, including product selection, data analysis, and understanding logistics, contrasting sharply with the unrealistic promises made by platforms like Yulily [23][24]. - The narrative serves as a cautionary tale, warning potential investors to be wary of platforms promising high returns with little effort, as these are often indicative of scams [26][27].