Originally posted by logmeout Originally posted by jkennedy You can bring in $500 as gifts, you're pushing it with touch/nano/ipad/macbook.   You're only bringing one of each, sure, but touch/nano are essentially mp3 players.   2 laptops + ipad?  Console could go under your gift category.  Clothes/perfume isn't hard.  If you pick it up at Marshalls/Ross, you'll end up with great margins.  I've heard of many people doing that, and seen how much stuff they've taken down doing that.   Clothing is hard to price, hard to decide what is used and what isn't. If you claim the electronics are yours, they'll simply document everything and you'll have to prove you're taking it out with you. Cameras are probably ok, but if they start documenting things, I bet they document the cameras as well.   Thanks Jkennedy. Your comments make sense.   What about if I just bring 1 camera (opened, carry-on), 1 macbook (opened, carry-on),  an ipad (gift wrapped in checked baggage), and have one ipod with me, and the other in my checked baggage.   Maybe I should just ditch the ipods and buy colognes and perfumes instead .....   Would this look as fishy?

Do not giftwrap the Ipad!!!! Carry on only for Ipad!!!!

Originally posted by GreatBallsoFire Do not giftwrap the Ipad!!!! Carry on only for Ipad!!!!

Edited by logmeout - 24 March 2011 at 17:03

Because a gift wrapped ipod, just saves the baggage handler time in regifting it for you.

Remember, you have to find BUYERS.  Clothing is a little harder to find buyers for.  Unless you line them up before hand, often people leave clothing down there for others to sell, giving them a commission, or line up the sales before leaving.

Guess store will have full priced items, where as a 3rd party discounter like Marshalls/Ross/Winners or whatever you have around you will have the items for 50-80% off, which means you either make a lot more, or can pass on the discounts.  Just make sure it has a huge branding symbol on it :)  That's all that seems to matter...

Maybe handmade goods? But you'll have a hard time selling them, unless you've lined up some buyers in advance like a gallery or consignment art type of store.  Quality over quantity here.  Stores that might carry it would be niche stores.  Perhaps Brazilians who live in the US and have done fairly well for themselves.  Ones who are looking for fine art, but are only finding cheap kiosk level stuff available.

The biggest problem is the tarrif and tax system.  When you buy something in Brazil you're paying huge taxes, and when it's exported, exporters don't pay those.  So their costs are much lower than yours.   It's almost always cheaper to buy goods in the US, than in *ANY* country around the world where they're made locally.  US buying agents know how to eek out every bit of profit from the manufactures, while you're paying full retail at best.

As for gems, do not do it.  You'll be scammed in Brazil for sure, and paying hefty profit margins to a business that won't.  You'll be paying tariffs on top of that and then you'll need to find a buyer in the US willing to take them.  VERY unlikely.   Diamonds are not easily sold, no matter what someone tells you.  Gems are great, but unless you're gemologist you could end up buying lab made gems without even knowing it!  I've talked to a gemologist that said he had a hard time detecting fakes.   He was a premium seller showing me 300K necklaces, and 500K star sapphires and massive diamonds.  It was very interesting and educational.   One thing he said was "Whenever he heard of someone buying a gem overseas, he always cringed, knowing they had been had."  It's a business that requires trust.  #1 you must pay a premium for those you trust.  Then you go to the US and try and sell, and you've got no trust backing you so those people will at best expect a huge discount.

Selling is always the hard part.  Understanding there is a need is easy, selling not so much.

Getting through customs 9 times out of 10 is easy.  You're not preparing for the 9 times, you're preparing for the one time they decide to look. 

Knowing people who want them before traveling makes things easier.  People also want to pay in multiple times.  I took a simple look on mercadolivre and saw quite a bit of competition from others bringing in grey market goods as well, so you're probably competing against pros now.  It depends on which city you're in as well.  SP and Rio probably have the biggest grey markets because of their sizes.

I don't know how long you've been holding those goods, but they're obviously depreciating.  They could be the last generation, making them depreciate even further.  If you buy them on Amazon, you're looking at paying about $180 with no taxes, and no shipping.  You're asking close to $300.  It might be under store values, but you're not offering a warranty, these people can't pay in multiple times, it's a risk for them.  If they're going to take the risk, they want a reduction in price.  Have you set a realistic price?  Are your prices inline with others on Mercadolivre?

You just stated that you're not getting many views.   Why not try paying the fees?  You're expecting to bring in Ipods and sell them and keep 100% of the net proceeds, which isn't realistic in most cases.  You're going to need to spend some money to sell these.  Whether it's through an online site, or through a newspaper.