IL Postcard

Make 57% Profits With Turkish Import-Export Delights

Date: 09/22/2008 Author: Steenie Harvey

Monday, Sept. 22, 2008

Read more about making money through import-export in International Living Postcards—your daily escape

Dear International Living Reader,

I’m in Turkey to discover what import-export delights this country holds. My first day...and I’ve already discovered something you could sell in the States for at least 57% more than you pay for it here.

My first stop is Istanbul. Curiosities abound, but silk fabrics, jet prayer beads, embroidered towels, mother-of-pearl inlay, meerschaum pipes, painted tiles, carpets, and kilims are mostly from Anatolia—eastern Turkey. Whether it’s for pleasure or profit, go east and you’ll pay substantially less.

But Istanbul still delivers Ottoman-style treasures. Persian for needlework, suzanis are richly embroidered wall hangings and bed covers from Uzbekistan and other corners of Central Asia. Istanbul is a main marketplace.

Suzani textiles—both antique and modern—are made of embroidered cotton panels. In the past, these were dowry pieces, but contemporary ones are now made in workshops.

I’ve learned something about eye-catching suzani boots. Usually featuring bright floral motifs, they can be flat, heeled, calf length, or high top. (They’re probably fit for only indoors; in my peace-and-love days, I wore embroidered velvet clogs. After one rainy day, they reeked like dead dogs.)

But don’t believe any patter about the fabric being vintage dowry textiles woven in remote villages by virginal maidens. Vintage style and suzani inspired maybe, but it’s embroidery silk (mercerized cotton) on velvet. And they’re made in Istanbul factories.

It’s an idea that has traveled the Silk Road. The boots themselves are made from either lamb’s leather or harder cow’s leather. You’ll also see matching suzani bags and purses.

A couple of U.S. websites sell suzani boots for upward of $200 to $275.

In Galeri Cengiz in Arasta Bazaar, the best I could haggle the salesman down to was 180 Turkish lira ($151) for high-top boots and $122 for a sizable purse. I lied and said they were for my daughter and would first need to e-mail photos to see which she preferred.

Roguery! Suzani boots sell in Yurdan store for $127.50 and purses start at around $53. Wholesale rates here are 30% to 70% below list price; minimum purchase is 25 items. If you bought these boots and sold them for the minimum price I found on U.S.-based websites, you would make a profit of 57%, but that’s not the best deal I found.

The best retail quote for suzani boots—$80—came from Embroidered Shoes. "You order many, better price is no problem!" assured Mr. Gokmen.

Full details of addresses, phone numbers, and websites for all the contacts I make on this trip will appear in my unabridged and uncensored Turkey Journal. We’re not selling this journal...but for this week only, it comes free with the just-updated How to Start Your Own Import-Export Business. All this week, while I reveal my favorite Turkish import-export bargains, you get a 20% discount off How to Start Your Own Import-Export Business (plus my Turkey Journal)...but only until Friday, Sept. 26.

Steenie Harvey
Treasure Seeker, International Living

P.S. They also have Uzbek suzani textiles. Pieces for hangings (57 by 67 inches) that are up to 20 years old start at $110.50; find the right bazaar outlet and you should be able to haggle the price down to less than that. In the States, smaller contemporary suzanis can fetch $385.

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