[Sardino]

Because the tariff system in Brazil is so fucked up, consumer electronics can cost up to 2 times as much as they would be in the US. It sucks for the average Brazilian, but it leaves us with an excellent arbitrage opportunity. A 16 gig 3G Ipad retails for R$2049 in Brazil and $459 in the US. An 8gb iPod touch is R$729 in Brazil and 199 in the US.. I could go on but you get the idea.

If you fill your suitcase strategically you can pay for your flight a few hours after you land. Load up with one of each of the iThingys and pack the rest of your suitcase with Abercrombie and Fitch shirts, Victoria's secret perfumes, Nike shoes and Johnny Walker Black Label whiskey that you buy at the duty free shop.

It's great if you have friends in Brazil who tell you what they want you to buy, but what if you dont? Try looking at the prices of consumer goods in Brazil on some of these sites to get some ideas:
http://www.americanas.com.br/
http://www.submarino.com.br/
http://www.anitaonline.com.br/

Then use the Brazilian version of ebay to sell your items when you get there.

Has anyone done something like this before? What items are the easiest to sell in Brazil? Most profitable? How should one fill their suitcase to maximize profit potential while minimizing the risk of confiscation or taxation from custom authorities?

[KingofScotland]

It's a great idea really, what are the chances of them confiscating your stuff at customs though? If you just took one of each would you get away with it?

I noticed that even really shitty old Nokia phones in Brazil cost a fortune, you could get one here for next to nothing. Lot of money to be made I think.

[Dash Global]

Prob is finding someone to unload them on. Reliable and consistent that is.

I might give this a try soon.

[YoungGunner]

Sounds good but I'd be nervous if anyone snitches on me or what kind of punishment the Brazilian government could dish out. Although I'd be tempted to exaggerate and tell girls I smuggle high-end technology/goods for a living.

[Vacancier Permanent]

I've thought of doing that for years too, but a few questions that have kept me not doing it:
a) while so far in all my trips in Brasil, i've never been searched or had the customs go over my stuff, but I hear that they have a kind of an xray machine where all the lugages go through and if they see something on the xray, then you're toasted in that they may confiscate your stuff but also give you a high fine.
b) how to find people that are trustworthy who can afford to pay cash for the stuff I bring while most people in Brasil pay for their stuff over several months?
c) you can't bring them in their original boxes, all wrapped. You'd have to remove them from the box and all.

One way around the # 2 is contact all your friends and ask them before your trip what they would like or if they know anyone who would like say for example an ipod or iphone or itouch or something similar AND who can pay cash for it?
For example, say a PS3 costs 2000R ( I saw it at a high end mall in Curitiba while here it goes for 300 bucks) so even selling them the stuff at twice the North American prices, the Brasileiros would save a ton while you make a nice and healthy profit. So there is indeed a good opportunity but the above are 2 major challenges to overcome. Has anyone done this successfully and overcome these challenges?

[jmoney29]

Only prob is that some US electronic stuff is NTSC standard and Brazil(from what I've read) uses PAL standard. From my experience, this hindrance relates to DVD/Blu-Ray players, consoles, and TVs. In regard to phones, only tri or quad band phones work. If I had fam in the area, then I would be FedExing Ipads to them like clockwork, despite the fact that it would cost over $100 to send them.

[Mr.GM]

(12-25-2011 11:14 AM)jmoney29 Wrote:  

Only prob is that some US electronic stuff is NTSC standard and Brazil(from what I've read) uses PAL standard. From my experience, this hindrance relates to DVD/Blu-Ray players, consoles, and TVs. In regard to phones, only tri or quad band phones work. If I had fam in the area, then I would be FedExing Ipads to them like clockwork, despite the fact that it would cost over $100 to send them.

This was in the Past,nowadays most eletronic shit here are NTSC and it works fine.There's still problem with eletronics from Europe though

[InternationPlayboy]

All the Brazilians in Miami do this. They come in, 2 people with 15 bags, packed full of everything! I had a friend who was doing this in Colombia, but the problem he had was people didn't have money to buy the stuff. They were asking to make payments on T-shirts. In Brazil that isn't a problem. Many rich kids. I could clean house there if I really wanted to. Customs when I went a couple years ago were super easy to get past. I shit you not, I brought a 48" flat screen to Brazil for my friends on my first trip. Just do it smart though. Like Sardino posted, just grab one of each so you can say they are yours (with electronics). Clothes bring as many as you want, even bring girls stuff and say it's for friends or someone for a gift.

[Sardino]

Something I just thought of: Is it going to be a problem if you roll through customs with a 48" flat screen, a home stereo system, 3 suitcases full of clothing, etc and your tourist visa expires in one month? Does customs care about the time you have left to stay legally in the country?

[Iceinthewater]

I had a buddy who was doing something similar in Venezuela but his angle was he was getting rich customers stuff they couldn't get there or that was super inflated. He was based in Miami.

I've thought about this myself - I read an expat ebook by a gringo who expatted to Chile or Peru (can't remember) and he basically did what OP suggests. Although the currency exchange favors the dollar in those countries, CERTAIN items are way inflated, and it's in that gap between what you paid and what they WOULD have to pay that you set your price and make a small profit. I think this ebook guy was selling vhs tapes or something lol...

It's so straightforward I'm betting it's more common than you think.

[Parlay44]

You need to make money on the return trip to the US as well. What's a good product from Brazil that you can sell for a profit here?

[MiXX]

(12-27-2011 03:26 AM)Parlay44 Wrote:  

You need to make money on the return trip to the US as well. What's a good product from Brazil that you can sell for a profit here?

Brazilian Pussy.

Mixx

[Parlay44]

(12-27-2011 10:24 AM)MiXX Wrote:  

(12-27-2011 03:26 AM)Parlay44 Wrote:  

You need to make money on the return trip to the US as well. What's a good product from Brazil that you can sell for a profit here?

Brazilian Pussy.

Mixx

I'd love to sneak some back in my suitcase but I don't think that would make it through US customs

I was thinking about a nice Brazilian made classical guitar. They sell for like $2000 or more in the US.
I'm not sure what I could pick one up for in Brazil though.

[misterstir]

You can actually fit a 46"+ into a suitcase, doesn't it get damaged. If you could, it would definetly be good money. I'd imagine if one had the $$$ to open a shop in a high end area, they could just bring in 2 tvs, 2 ps3s, and a few more other products every week and basically hire some local on the cheap to work for you selling the stuff and spend the 10k or so you net a month to just party for 5 days a week in Brazil and run game. That'd be like a dream if one could pull it off though.

As for what to bring back from Brazil, well you could open a strip club in a boom town and bring over all those semi pros and pros to work in there. Otherwise you'd probably want to aim for some kind of antique stuff. Its rarity to someone in a place like NYC might mean you get 10x of time what its worth.

[Iceinthewater]

Ok maybe I'm talking out of my ass and this has been thought of before but..... what if you got someone to mail shit to you while you're in Brazil? Maybe even set it up so the packaging and documentation is designed to be overlooked?

I'd actually like to get into something like this cus I want to spend a significant amount of time outside the US in the coming years.

[WesternCancer]

Smart. I couldn't see myself doing this for a living, but taking an ipod, iphone, ipad and whatever else opened there and ebaying it could quickly net you a few hundred in travel money. I don't think customs could really do anything if you bring an opened box, just say its yours.

[chinogringo]

Can someone please answer this question that has been lingering in my head for the past three years:

Why do Brazilians love Nike trainers!? WHY?

I can spot a Brazilian a mile away with those shoes. They wear them with anything and everything. The most awkward and odd is when they wear suits with them.

[basil]

I havent done this (though will when I finally wing it to Brazil) but for those worried about getting busted, I'd take InternationalPlayboys advice and say they are presents. Take one or two each item and gift wrap them. It's plausible denyability as to why you would be bringing in a bunch of electronics or whatever still in there packaging. Cheap wrapping paper is a simple insurance policy, also protects the packaging in your bag. I doubt for a bag of goodies they would bother to verify that you do in fact have friends in the country by asking for the phone number to verify.

[Parlay44]

What do you think I can get for a Wii modded to play games from a 1TB USB hard drive. I have it loaded up with 500 games. Easy enough to get 1-2 past customs.

Anyone in Brazil willing to take them off my hands after I land?

I'm working on doing the same thing with PS3s.

[WesternCancer]

(12-28-2011 04:55 AM)basil Wrote:  

I havent done this (though will when I finally wing it to Brazil) but for those worried about getting busted, I'd take InternationalPlayboys advice and say they are presents. Take one or two each item and gift wrap them. It's plausible denyability as to why you would be bringing in a bunch of electronics or whatever still in there packaging. Cheap wrapping paper is a simple insurance policy, also protects the packaging in your bag. I doubt for a bag of goodies they would bother to verify that you do in fact have friends in the country by asking for the phone number to verify.

And to further the plausibility have your verification numbers be that of some girls you pipelined before you left.

[basil]

Good call WesternCancer, hey they might even become customers. "Can I get you a good deal on some clothes or an iPod?'

[Spike]

Hmmm. this might work from Europe too. i have a lot of girls on facebook. They might give me a list first.

Good idea. I want to go back there too.

[WanderingSoul]

I took a friend some MAC cosmetics to Thailand. Cost her 3,000 baht to pay me back, would have cost her significantly more to buy it there. Can't remember exactly, but it was like 5-10x more there. Tons of rich girls in BKK would love that shit, and it's super small so you could take a bunch.

[Parlay44]

I like the way you guys think. Pipeline first to get some female connections then use them to unload overpriced goods.

Everybody wins

[KingofScotland]

Rio I've been investigating what sort of stuff costs more in Thailand than it costs me to buy in the UK with the idea of shipping some stuff over to sell. I think having the contacts out there first is the main thing as I wouldn't want to go out with no idea of who I was selling it to.