As every year, one of the people who bring the goods from the United States traveled to New York last week, and that with his mother. It’s always during Black Friday sales and mid-year when the season changes. He uses the opportunity to visit his family there, but his trips are also business. She is responsible for bringing purchases made by her customers online into the country and shipping them to an address in the United States that she specifies. It also has a service personal customer: personally goes to the store to buy the products ordered by the customer, this service is charged hourly and the fee is 30 USD.

This is a very common activity, especially during discounts and promotions. Although she advertises and lists her prices on social media, which range from $3 to more than $100 per item, depending on weight and size, the traveler, who has been in business for five years, prefers to work with direct referrals. . “It’s safer than working with people you don’t know and there’s more trust, although I also have a lot of occasional clients,” says the woman, who plans to return to the country in the first week of December.

Six days before Black Friday, they woke up early for discounts at Mall del Sol

The traveler receives orders from Amazon, eBay, Shein, Macy’s, among other sites. You bring the items as baggage and depending on the amount you have to pay an additional fee for the additional suitcases you will bring into the country. Together with their mother, they calculate that in addition to the usual luggage (two suitcases), each can take up to two suitcases. Clothing and technology are the things he brings the most, but he also admits that the boom has been on the decline in recent years. “Before, I brought up to four suitcases by myself, now only half,” she reveals.

He explains that there are products that take up almost the entire suitcase and are very heavy, such as video game consoles, and the most sought after are the space-saving PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. “I charge $100 to $150 to bring in a console of those dimensions, some are heavier than others, but in the end it’s cheaper for the customer.” He assures that the normal price of the PlayStation 5 varies between 500 and 400 dollars in the United States, and on Black Friday it can drop to 300 dollars or less, and in Ecuador the same console can be found for 1000 dollars on Black Friday in the same official Sony store. On this trip, they will take two consoles in their suitcases.

Other smaller consoles are charged $60, $10 for each controller or video game, for iPhone or other brands smart phones charges $50 per unit, among other products, each with its own fee. The cheapest it charges is $3 for each cell phone case unit.

In terms of clothing, it indicates that the arrival of several foreign brands in the country has reduced foreign purchases.

Another passenger who has been doing it since 2012 agrees with her. She recalls that she started with the support of her sister. “I was 23 years old at the time boom. My sister was a member of the cabin crew and since family members had discounts on tickets, it was time to take advantage of it. “That’s how I started.”

He says that at the moment the job is from courier, As she calls it, it’s complicated. Note that some airlines allow 50 pounds of baggage, whereas previously it was two or 100 pounds. “Now not all airlines include your suitcase in the ticket. So it is an expense for us,” he says.

Open early and close later, strategies companies add to discounts to take advantage of Black Friday

Added to this is the arrival of many brands in the country with prices very similar to those offered in the United States, which has also affected the number of orders, meaning that despite the possibility of cabinets, orders are low.

What brings the most are children’s toys, clothes and shoes. “Before, they asked for a lot splash, but now with the arrival of Bath & Body and Victoria’s Secret in the country, they are no longer looking for that product,” he says.

He comments that currently the price of the pound fluctuates between $8 and $10 per pound. “It consists of the client looking for what he needs on the line send to the address that was sent to you and the only thing that is charged is the delivery and it is canceled when the products are delivered”, explains the traveler who before the pandemic traveled every two months, about six or seven. times a year, now he only travels twice a year.

He says the activity is still lucrative, but he is “looking for a promotional ticket that includes a suitcase, since the purchase of a suitcase varies by airline.”

However, another difficulty that has been added is the control of the Tax Administration (SRI), which is “under constant investigation in this regard with those who manage courier”, Shows.