I'm leaving for peru in 11 days and was wondering what to bring from the US to sell or trade?

Question

I will be in Northern Peru Cajamarca - Piura region

any ideas as to what I should bring to trade or sell to help with travel expenses?

Answer 1

gold

Answer 2

We go to Peru twice yearly.  My wife is from Chiclayo, not far from where you are going.  Every time we go, she loads up the suitcases with sale-rack items from Marshalls, TJ-Max and Ross.  Remember that Peru is one season behind us.  Their summer is our winter and visa versa, so you can get stuff from last season that will just be coming into demand in Peru.  Women's fashion and men's are equally popular, clothing, shoes (athletic, name brand and casual name brand), watches, sunglasses, perfumes.  

Peruvians, I've read someplace, spend a tremendously high percentage of their income on clothing, much higher than Americans.  What my wife does is buy those items at the sale price and then sells them at the original price.  Usually the stores will leave the original price tag on, which she shows to her clients.   Of course, we have the advantage of having family down there, and connections, and people know we're coming and place orders with us, so we have no trouble selling everything, even if it's several weeks or months after we've gone home.

A couple of tips:  Peruvians really like name brands (Tommy, Nike, etc.) and anything they might have seen on an American t.v. show or magazine.  Try to pack in such a way that your merchandise could plausibly be for your own personal use.  There are limits on what you can bring into Peru tax-free, so if you have an entire suitcase filled with Oakley sunglasses, they might get a little suspicious.  Mix it up.  Don't bring boxes, or at least keep them flattened and separate from the contents.  Hide the price tags inside pockets or folds inside the clothes.  Don't bring too much excess.  Also, if you know people there, just ask them what they're looking for and take orders.  

We're not making a living off of doing this by any means, but it's a little hobby for my wife and it does help pay for the trips.

Answer 3

It will be difficult for you to sell or trade items in Peru.  A much better idea is to bring small gifts for the people you meet and they might invite you to their homes for a snack or maybe to stay overnight.  Some possible gifts include batteries, AAA size, D size etc, disposable cameras, small toys, vitamins, etc.  Peruvians are very friendly people.  Peruvians from the remote Andes regions are more reserved but also very friendly if you make an effort with them.  It will help if you learn some Spanish or even Quechua phrases.  Good luck.