what do you sell to the folks who sell us everything?

April 12, 2011 7:49 PM

I'm headed into Taiwan in a short while. Not to be indelicate, but I want to know what carry-on luggage-sized items I could bring to sell for a couple of bucks.

I'm not looking to make a ton of money here, just do a bit of horse-trading. All of my googling leads me to information about the other way around; exporting out to the U.S, likely due to taiwan being a major hub for electronic manufacture.

posted by seansbrain to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

Best answer: The iPad 2; both the WiFi and GSM (AT&T) models. When they launched they were selling for quite a premium throughout Asia, and they're still not officially available in Taiwan.
posted by zsazsa at 9:28 PM on April 12, 2011

Cell phones? Don't know for certain, but perhaps the Taiwanese craigslist would give you a clue.
posted by chrisinseoul at 7:10 AM on April 13, 2011

Vitamins
posted by wongcorgi at 7:31 AM on April 13, 2011

Response by poster: Zsazsa, that's what I hear. Thanks for the confirmation. Now if I can just find one here in the states...

Hey Hal, Where are you getting your info on the profit margins?

I was using the apple.com.tw ipad site. Prices on the Ipad 1 seemed pretty close to their american equivalents (about $20 cheaper, if I'm not mistaken. and I may be.)

Unfortunately, the Taiwanese craigslist site still seems to be in it's infancy. The only wanted item is generators...
posted by seansbrain at 7:31 AM on April 13, 2011

Best answer: Every time my family visits relatives in Taiwan, we seem to bring lots of luxury handbags and vitamins (they're apparently quite expensive over there?) with us. Taiwan is developed and all this stuff is available there, so I am assuming there is a financial incentive to get these from the States.
posted by andrewesque at 8:38 AM on April 13, 2011

In country at the moment and brought along a few iPad 2s by request. Vitamins/supplements are a solid suggestion; Glucosamine is frequently requested by relatives and bottles from Costco are dutifully packed.
posted by llin at 5:30 AM on April 14, 2011