Product: counterfeit pens with UV LED light.
Retail price: $9/unit.
Export from: U.S.
Selling counterfeit product can be a trouble business or quite lucrative, depending on the product being sold, and business environments of operation. Peru is a country, who's communication traditions are based on trust and familiarity. So, if the counterfeit product closely mimics a very well-known American brand, and since many Latin American countries (Peru included) desperately try to follow the trend for everything from U.S., or any other well-established country (like the U.K.), in many cases, when the business communications are established properly, no questions should arise about the product being counterfeit per se. It is obvious that because of a tradition of establishing and established trust, the Peruvians will most likely feel uneasy questioning the authenticity of their possible future business partner.
Pens with UV LED light seem to be quite handy when verifying authenticity of money bills (which is yet another trust issue – but of the variety that is very low-minded and easily verifiable). Our business basic thesis is that familiarious traditions generally tend to verify these simple kinds of trust issues, but greatly overlook big-time questions, or long-term strategies. Another profitable business seems to be selling counterfeit watches (as luxury items), but, for Peruvians this will not be profitable, because of the generally known relaxed and flexible approach towards time, across the entire culture. For example, business meetings or special events generally tend to start late, and it is not rude at all to be late to important high-level management gatherings..
Given the agricultural target of Peru's industry, and a $8400 GDP per capita, for the country population of 28,546,963 people and total GDP of $238.9 million, the $9 per item goes over the price break for a minor luxury pen item, of a well established foreign brand, especially that it has the valuable function of verifying money bills – especially useful in market, street or field farmer one-time deals, etc. A study done in Singapore, quite distant but very similar in certain cultural terms, that are of interest to current venture, done by Phau et al. (2009) shows that brand-conscious customers generally tend to make faulty price-quality inferences, or infere better quality from perceived known prestigious brand (despite obvious features of the products). Many of these customers search personal gratification through buying prestigious or luxury items; moreover there is a special niche that does not mind buying counterfeit (intentionally and consciously, or subconsciously), as soon as it is significantly cheaper than marketed original (or imagined price value of the original), and looks similar or is hard to distinguish.
A quick glance on the business search engines shows the presence of possible business partners already, that managed to recognize this business niche inside their country.
In conclusion, since counterfeit is a big global issue, this obviously shows that there is potential for making money on these matters, especially if they do not generate legal trouble, especially in remote countries like Peru.
References
Communicaid (n.d.). “Doing business in Peru”. Retrieved from: …