Originally posted by jkennedy 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.

Hi, and thanks for the reply. Definitely there seems to be quite a competition, and one of the big issues I found out is the prevalence of knockoff goods. There's a huge amount of bootleg ipods and iphones here, and people think they can get an "ipod" for cheaper, but it isn't the real deal. What I need is someone who wants a genuine Apple ipod, but most of those people can afford it themselves or travel to the US anyway.

A couple things. The ipods I have aren't last generation, they're fourth generation, and I've only had them a couple months. Second, they're not $180 on amazon, they're $230, which is where I purchased them from although it was difficult as there is a limit. And last, there is an international warranty that is valid here in Brazil, its based on serial number and that goes for all Apple products. Every ad I posted was well below what everyone else was asking for also.

Anyway thanks for your thoughts but I think I'll just try to sell them through word of mouth and keep the ads posted online.

Originally posted by GreatBallsoFire 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.   ipad 2 cases ipad2 cases leather iPad2 case 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!!!!

I think Brazilians are about where we were in the 80's with large manufactures like Nike/Reebok making quality products and other "stuff" often being very inferior, so we seemed to gyrate towards brands for quality, along with brand name.   Now those brands equate almost "cheap" in the US, while little niche marketing companies are the place to go.


Edited by cocochen - 13 April 2011 at 04:38

What part of Brazil are you going to. I have a friend in Sao Paulo that might be interested in buying some stuff from America. He is trying to set up a shop to sell American goods. I'm trying to find a way to ship it to him. Cameras are a good thing. He also said there is a good market for perfumes, sunscreen, makeup stuff, and cleaning stuff. If you are going back to Sao Paulo let me know so when you get there you don't have to look for someone to buy your stuff. Good Luck, I wish I was there in Brazil.

PS. Voce fala Portugues? Do you speak Portuguese?   

I returned this year with the misses. Between us we had over $10,000 US in electronics, .. Fed police stopped us just to ask how long we had been out of Brazil (for some reason he didnt notice im not Brazilian) .. He said that with one year or more living outside Brazil my girlfriend was allowed to enter with what ever she wanted, no limit - Although i think he mentioned she wasnt allowed more than 5 of the same item.

I wish we had know that before hand, as i would have loaded up her case with goods to sell. All the stuff we had on us we have no intention of selling.

Is mercadolivre a safe place to sell,considering the post delivery people steal alot?Or is there such a thing as secure shipping from Brasil to Brasil?