1824
5 min 4 sec

Q&A: Can you import contact lenses for resale?

A listener thinks he’s found the ultimate arbitrage market—right before his eyes! Can he import contact lenses from outside the U.S. (where the price is much lower) and resell them at home?
Q&A

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What It's About

Today's listener has a clear vision to import contact lenses from overseas.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1824
There are certain things that are much more expensive in some countries than others, simply because industries have lobbied for monopoly control or price protection from the government.

One of the best examples of this is glasses and contact lenses. I wear contacts and when I was traveling abroad much more regularly, I’d always plan to buy them when I was overseas. Inevitably it was much cheaper and I didn’t need a prescription.

A listener discovered this recently himself, and he saved a lot of money. It also got him thinking: since the price is so much lower outside the U.S., and a lot of Americans wear contacts, can he buy them in bulk while he’s traveling—or even pay to have them shipped over—and start his own resell business?

"On a trip to Argentina a while ago, I learned that it's possible to buy the same brands of contact lenses in countries outside the U.S. for much cheaper—like sometimes 40-50% cheaper! Sometimes the brands use a different name, but the product is exactly the same. This makes me think there's a market opportunity here. Could it work to buy them overseas and sell them here, maybe on eBay or Facebook Marketplace? You also need a prescription to buy them in the U.S., but in other countries you just walk in and tell them what you want. I’m not sure how I’d handle that part and if I’d need to do some sort of verification or not."

Listen to today's episode to learn more...

 
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