couple questions.. need good advice..

ba350z

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Mar 22, 2008
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Whats up people, ok, I am going to Santo Domingo next month and am asking anyone in DR now what is the most poplular electronic item that everybody wants, but they are charging to much for there. Also I am thinking about bringing a flatscreen plasma tv with me to give as a gift to my grandmother there and was wondering how much the plasma tvs go for there. Like a 32" or so. And last I was wondering if anybody in DR would mind chatting with me through e mail on some more questions that I have that are a little more private that deal with a buisness opportunity and deal with customs and some of the laws in DR. I would really appreciate any help and feedback from any body there. Thanks everyone.
 

J D Sauser

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Nov 20, 2004
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Whats up people, ok, I am going to Santo Domingo next month and am asking anyone in DR now what is the most poplular electronic item that everybody wants, but they are charging to much for there. Also I am thinking about bringing a flatscreen plasma tv with me to give as a gift to my grandmother there and was wondering how much the plasma tvs go for there. Like a 32" or so. And last I was wondering if anybody in DR would mind chatting with me through e mail on some more questions that I have that are a little more private that deal with a buisness opportunity and deal with customs and some of the laws in DR. I would really appreciate any help and feedback from any body there. Thanks everyone.
  1. Cell phones (fancy ones, which look cool, and have a wide array of tools and capabilities most can't use) are one favorite.
  2. MP3 players.
  3. For the better off, PlayStation, X-Box etc.
  4. Plasma? Only BIG (small once will not be considered cool... a Plasma HAS to be big or it ain't plasma de belda.
  5. Clothes, only big name brands.
  6. Perfumes, big STAR name brands are preferred over the real big brands.
It's a lot about name recognition and show off! "Look what they brought me from Nueba Yol!"
And, don't feel bad if next month, all these gadgets have been lost ("stolen"), broken, given away, or loaned and never returned and you'd are expected to supply replacement... after all it was YOU who started it.

If you rather not being seen as some sort of flying summer time Santa Claus, do what they do when they can: compaltir un momento agradable.
Organize a nice barbeque or take the women shopping for all the ingredients for a big sancocho and get some cold beers... it shows your interest in what they so much treasure and you will sooner be regarded as one of their own and less taken for a... well, you know.

When I travel, I bring clothes, nice shoes and maybe some smart toy for "my" kids and something simple for their older family members, like a JLo perfume... they appreciate that BIG time!
The few notorious ones, who have experience in "handling" Gringuitos, have long ago stopped hoping I'd bring in electronics... (my excuse? "... 'toy flojo ahora mismo, my amol!" traveling is expensive, they can relate... I'm broke now... have a cookie! :))

... J-D.
 

Ringo

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Mar 6, 2003
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...J-D. I think that we are in the same "mood" tonight. lol
Regards, ... not telling.
 

J D Sauser

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Nov 20, 2004
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:D ... oh Gawd, was I tired yesterday evening... I even misread the whole OP's post. It just dawned on me that what he really was asking about is the commercial import of electronics.
Oh well, I'm slowly becoming Dominicanized and tend to start arguing about things that weren't asked or am just gettin' old?

Sorry! ... J-D.

But again:
  • Plasma is only Plasma if it BIG. It's too expensive even when small just to have something nobody can show of with. Plasma is a statement... just like years ago in the US or elsewhere.
  • Cellphones are tradable goods. But most current models are being assembled locally from parts and sold not much more expensive than in the US.
  • While brands are important... MP3 players, especially i-pod lookalikes seem to bypass that rule. Most don't understand that 256 Mb is not cool even if the housing is pink and adorned with blinking lights strong enough to show thru ones pocket that you HAVE one too.
  • Computers are needed but somehow, it's not so cool so only people who need AND can afford them may buy them... which makes them hard to sell. One can find a decent Laptop starting at USD 800.oo at times so it's not always as bad mostly reported. Real high end products are though to find thou. Maybe if one could get a pallet of desktop parts, like graphics cards, processors, motherboards and sound cards... for very, very little and get them thru customs... I don't know. I don't see all this as being soooo terribly expensive around here... it's just the high end and specialty stuff which sometimes impossible to find... for one because it sells seldom and aslo maybe because the tech guys don't have too much of a clue.
  • If you have entries into the better off client?le... well, maybe the latest game consoles for their spoiled brats... but then, part of a spoiled brat's life seem to include quarterly trips to the Sawgrass Mills (Miami-Fort Lauderdale) or Nueb Yol.
In the end, you will hear that for an outside person it is utterly difficult to make big bugs off selling goods the local population, unless you have something really unique, useful and affordable to offer and that IF you become successful with imports, soon some people with connections here will have you short cut and take over with your idea from there.

I hope this time I was closer to the subject or somebody come and shake me up!... J-D.
 

jalencastro

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Dec 15, 2004
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not to burst anyone's bubbles but you'd be lucky to find people who can actually afford these things. no offense to anyone, but i dont know how successful one can be when bringing in electronics and making a profit on them....
in any case, my bet is on Playstations or video games since parents tend to buy their kids stuff to play with and I have been asked many times to bring these things over...