Country Article / Postcards
Follow the Elephants
Date: 01/16/2005Dear International Living Reader,
I'm doing some research for a return trip to Thailand. And I've just come across a Bangkok crafts retailer promising what seems to be some pretty good bargains.
Listen to this: ''We have acquired four different sets of antique-style iron balance weights from the far North of Thailand. We can't verify their age, so we call them antique-style. These type of weights were used with a simple balance for weighing teas and spices in rural shops.''
Hmm. If you've ever been to northern Thailand, you'll know these weights are also used for selling opium. Retailing for $17, each set consists of six weights in the shape of elephants. They make for a great conversation piece.
Back home, you could easily sell such a set for way more than $17. But the thing is, you're not really getting a bargain from this guy. I was in a hill tribe village near the Golden Triangle 10 months ago--and I bought my own elephant weights and opium scales. (Purely for ornamental purposes, of course.) They came cunningly concealed in a carved wooden case. And get this--I only paid the equivalent of $3.82 for the whole lot: six weights, scales and case.
Having written and researched IL's brand-new Import/Export Kit, I now realize I missed out big time. For an outlay of $114.60, a savvy traveler would have bought 30 sets...and easily sold them for a minimum $30 apiece. That's over $785 potential profit. (I should have titled this postcard Read it and weep: How Steenie chucked almost $800 worth of elephants down the drain.)
Buy low, sell high. This is how Import/Export works. (In many instances, mark-ups can be even higher than 800%.) And it's not a complicated business to get involved in. In less than three months time, you too could be tracking down treasures throughout the world...and reselling them back home for massive profits.
We're guessing that most readers enjoy traveling the world and meeting new people. But the Import-Export business isn't just an escape from the 9-5 routine--it's a well proven way to start a new and very rewarding life. Just imagine having the kind of dream job that pays you to explore Asia or Mexico...South America or Morocco.
Interested? To find out more, click here.
Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro-editor, International Living
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