Comments on: What should I bring on my trip to Brazil to make a little extra spending cash?

Question: What should I bring on my trip to Brazil to make a little extra spending cash?

weiler63 — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:08:08 -0800

What should I bring on my trip to Brazil to make a little extra spending cash?

After a friend and I had booked our flights to Rio, another buddy said that he had heard ipods, laptops and other electronics were way more expensive than in the US.

I was wondering how I could use this to my advantage in order to have a few $$ on our adventures in paradise. I also heard that Diesel jeans are way expensive down there as well.

I was wondering what to bring, and who to sell it to? (shop owners, middlemen, etc)

Any advice would be welcome.

--Adam

By: Invoke

Invoke — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:20:32 -0800

Any of the above.

iPods especially are extremely hot in Brazil. US price is less than half, IIRC.

I have a Brazilian father-in-law and a Brazilian exchange student, so I do have a bit of experience on this one. Every time the former visits, he spends a lot of time in electronics stores.

By: thinkpiece

thinkpiece — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:46:43 -0800

Lighters. Everywhere around the globe -- lighters.

By: hortense

hortense — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 19:02:02 -0800

Women love makeup, cosmetics have huge markup, and the package is small .

By: baker dave

baker dave — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 01:04:43 -0800

wax

By: lukemeister

lukemeister — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 07:28:15 -0800

Have you looked into the legality of selling items in Brazil?

By: msali

msali — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 08:30:24 -0800

Good point, lukemeister. Brazilian customs officials are notoriously heavy handed with foreigners (especially Americans) bringing a suspicious amount of electronic and other high ticket items into the country. If you get stopped (and the likelihood of getting stopped in Rio is high) and your bags searched, you could face at the very least an unpleasantly spent day in the airport. At the worst, you could have your goods confiscated. Somewhere in the middle, you could end up paying the agent for the 'pleasure' of bring your merchandise into the country.
I go back and forth to Brazil frequently, and have done so for over a decade. Customs has grown increasingly rigid as the years pass. What I may have dared five years ago, I wouldn't dare now. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

By: mmascolino

mmascolino — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 08:49:26 -0800

to second lukemeister/msali...I thought that this type of thing was illegal in any country that you could visit?