thecoach Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 I've been coming to Thailand for vacation for about 6 years now. I was in Tland and Bali for my last trip. In Bali I bought some great paintings and other artwork for unbelievably cheap. On trips to Thailand in the past ive bought paintings, fake watches, etc. I give them away, or sell them for cheap. I had an idea for my next trip. Loading up on Paintings. Abstacts , still art, etc. They are very cheap.. $15-40 dollars.. Get about 100-200 of them , and then get back to the states, and put them on EBAY.. I would think these orginal pieces would sell for 4x or maybe 10x the price of the cost in Thailand. I'm sure i am not the first guy to think of this, so I would love to hear some thoughts on this. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Have you figured what the actual cost will be to purchase and have delivered to the US these paintings? Will the paintings include frames? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoach Posted January 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 well.. for my first trip, I would go get them myself..(make it a business/pleasure trip) I would only bring the canvas back. They can be rolled and are quite light. I think I could fit 150 canvas prints in my 2 big bags of luggage. I would buy 2k worth of prints.. and a goal of selling them for at least 10k.. Its small cash, but I would like to start on a small scale to see if it works... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 if you bring that many back , it will be considered a commercial import , more than for your personal use, are you going to declare them coming home ? I am not sure how unknown paintings go on Ebay , have you been watching Ebay auctions to see what sells good ? Do your homework before buying that many , or you may be using them for wallpaper OC PS....I bought some things with the same idea, got home and searched Ebay, OOOPs someone from Thailand was selling them cheaper than I bought them for Do your homework first ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 You might want to look at one of the more lucrative markets. One that comes to my mind is thangkas. They can be purchased dirt cheap. The hardest part is making the cloth that surrounds to look like the quality you get from Katmandu. If you can do that, you are talking a profit margin of between 10X to 50X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 What are the " thangkas" that you speak ohh kind traveler OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pe7e Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 It's a 'religious' Buddist painting, a good one should fetch $100 or so in the states, didn't they teach you anything at school? :smirk: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiLeakHunt Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 I've done my fair share of this in the past. Ebay has been done to death and very few stones been left unturned. You can make money but if you're expecting x4 and x4 10 returns you'll be dissapointed. You might hit a line that does that occasionally but as soon as you do the market will be flooded and you could get stuck with overpriced stock. Ebay buyers themselves can be a real set of swines as well. You could be opening up a real can of headaches with cheapskates, non payers and people claiming the goods haven't arrived or aren't what they ordered. I don't want to sound negative about it, if you want to make a fortune it won't happen. If you look at it as a way of circulating money for a smallish return and eating into some of your flight costs that's more realistic. I found I made more money doing extra hours at work, although Ebay's could be regarded as a more constructive way of spending your time than going to the pub. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 I went to Catholic school, So there I was told that they were all Pagans , remember giving money to save the "pagan babies" ! OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 I just looked on ebay for thangkas if you look at completed auctions NONE have sold , maybe you have the "touch" to sell things that others cannot , I would buy 10- 20 pieces max and see where they do , if they do not sell you are not buried in them ! OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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