Make Money While Cruising - List

[Reinhardt]

If you set up a monetised YouTube account, don't forget you need to link it to a Google Adsense account as well (no choice with Youtube) if you want to make money from the advertising.

[Travelnik]

Originally Posted by Reinhardt

It has always struck me that a simple indigenous crafts/art ebay business would be a winner too. I know someone travels to north Africa every year and buys up a crateful of local arts and crafts and re-sells them on eBay at home. Things like African Idols and that sort of thing. They buy them for ridiculously small amounts of money, and sell them for very large profits.They buy lovely cowrie necklaces from the jeweller for about 50c, and then sell them online for 13.99. Even after costs, a crateful of products that costs $500 generates s a very good profit! Every time they have a selling session, they sound out what sells and what doesn't, and adjust their buying accordingly.

It strikes me that this must also have potential for most of the cultures in the Americas. There's a ver large demand for indigenous crafts on eBay, it can be run online, and you just need access to a post office.

I guess with a lot of these ideas, we are talking about small business, and with that, the biggest challenge is actually getting yourself motivated to do it.

I know a husband and wife that do this. They import hand-made items from tribes in Africa, and sell the items in their retail store in the US.
Then they give 50% - 70% of the profits back to the tribes to help build schools, clinics and provide clean water for the people of the tribes.

[Reinhardt]

I think that i cool and smart. As I understand it, a lot of registered charities that purport to send aide to Africa and so forth end up spending between 20 and 90% of donations and profits from sale of third world crafts on their own organisational admin fees (i.e staff and exec wages).

[Vino the Dog]

Indigenous crafts:

Did that while travelling around the world and still have a box of stuff left over that I have not been able to sell. Now, I give it away for birthday presents and gifts for kids. During that time, took a correspondence class, and did an investigation in indigenous crafts import. Also know people with small shops who do it. Much more difficult than you might think, but possible if one is set up exactly right.

One problem is that there is LOTS of competition from major wholesalers who import container loads and distribute to established marketing networks. Most of what is considered "indigenous crafts" that tourists see (in this context, any cruising sailor who does not stay in one place for very long periods of time is still a "tourist" to the local crafts market), is actually based on indigenous craft, but modified to meet the market it is destined for. Go to places like Quartzsite, Arizona during the winter and you will find dozens of warehouse sized wholesale outlets filled with most any craft you see overseas for sale cheaper than you will get a small quantity from a tribe. Even Palembei, a tribal community deep in the jungle of the Sepik River, in Papua New Guinea, where very few tourists ever go, has a "long house" filled to the gills with local carvings and story boards they sell to buyers from the US and Europe who come once or twice per year (been there, bought there, and still have a mask I brought back hanging on the bulkhead).

This approach can work for people who own their own outlet store and like to travel, but most have long since discovered that they make more money by ordering from a wholesaler than taking the trip or buying from someone who has. Can also work for a few dollars here and there selling to friends, but probably far less than many other ways.

As for "giving back to the tribe", it is true that most (not all) involved in this business give little if anything back and what they do, is usually just payment for more imports. "Giving back to the tribe" is an effective sales pitch though, just like "free range" is in the chicken industry, and "organic" is to vegetables.

There are social disruptions that have prevented the approach from being a major benefit to tribal welfare. The main disruption that has been shown from extensive studies on this is; A tribe will enjoy a brief period of prosperity during the time when their crafts are trendy, so they abandon activities that keep them integrated with the regional tribal economy. Soon, everyone in the tribe turns their attention to craft production, abandoning things like agriculture which is part of their regional connection with neighbouring tribes. The buyers go to a central individual or group, who collects all the crafts from the makers, and that person or group becomes wealthy, relative to the workers, Within a short time, the local craft market gets saturated and demand goes down, leaving the tribe without integration in their regional economy, most of its members more impoverished than they originally were, with a very few wealthy enough to either become the rulers or leave. The most successful model of this type of business is the drug industry with if it's high profit potential and repeat customers.

To make crafts import work, requires either luck, or a very specific set of circumstances that few sailors possess. On a small scale with little expectations, it is a fun way to interact with people, can spread a few dollars around where they may be needed, and may be a source of beer money during a show and tell at the local pub.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by Vino the Dog

Indigenous crafts:

Did that while travelling around the world and still have a box of stuff left over that I have not been able to sell. Now, I give it away for birthday presents and gifts for kids. During that time, took a correspondence class, and did an investigation in indigenous crafts import. Also know people with small shops who do it. Much more difficult than you might think, but possible if one is set up exactly right.

One problem is that there is LOTS of competition from major wholesalers who import container loads and distribute to established marketing networks. Most of what is considered "indigenous crafts" that tourists see (in this context, any cruising sailor who does not stay in one place for very long periods of time is still a "tourist" to the local crafts market), is actually based on indigenous craft, but modified to meet the market it is destined for. Go to places like Quartzsite, Arizona during the winter and you will find dozens of warehouse sized wholesale outlets filled with most any craft you see overseas for sale cheaper than you will get a small quantity from a tribe. Even Palembei, a tribal community deep in the jungle of the Sepik River, in Papua New Guinea, where very few tourists ever go, has a "long house" filled to the gills with local carvings and story boards they sell to buyers from the US and Europe who come once or twice per year (been there, bought there, and still have a mask I brought back hanging on the bulkhead).

This approach can work for people who own their own outlet store and like to travel, but most have long since discovered that they make more money by ordering from a wholesaler than taking the trip or buying from someone who has. Can also work for a few dollars here and there selling to friends, but probably far less than many other ways.

As for "giving back to the tribe", it is true that most (not all) involved in this business give little if anything back and what they do, is usually just payment for more imports. "Giving back to the tribe" is an effective sales pitch though, just like "free range" is in the chicken industry, and "organic" is to vegetables.

There are social disruptions that have prevented the approach from being a major benefit to tribal welfare. The main disruption that has been shown from extensive studies on this is; A tribe will enjoy a brief period of prosperity during the time when their crafts are trendy, so they abandon activities that keep them integrated with the regional tribal economy. Soon, everyone in the tribe turns their attention to craft production, abandoning things like agriculture which is part of their regional connection with neighbouring tribes. The buyers go to a central individual or group, who collects all the crafts from the makers, and that person or group becomes wealthy, relative to the workers, Within a short time, the local craft market gets saturated and demand goes down, leaving the tribe without integration in their regional economy, most of its members more impoverished than they originally were, with a very few wealthy enough to either become the rulers or leave. The most successful model of this type of business is the drug industry with if it's high profit potential and repeat customers.

To make crafts import work, requires either luck, or a very specific set of circumstances that few sailors possess. On a small scale with little expectations, it is a fun way to interact with people, can spread a few dollars around where they may be needed, and may be a source of beer money during a show and tell at the local pub.

And when dealing with goods like this you have got to be very ,very careful..I have bought silver jewlrey per weight and then distributed it to several "skateboardshops","head shops" etc only to refund the money because the A-holes that sold it to me would take a file and sharpen the ring on the backside so when you splashed water on your face and then run your hands over your face the sharp part would rip your nose open!! Then they would put some sort of poison into the pockets of custom made clothing and after putting your hands in and rubbing your face you would develop a very bad rash ,eyes would swell shut for days at a time..bought several hundred (dozens) book bags and all the straps were made of rotten material,would snap off with the slightest pressure..Never buy in bulk and then let the shop keeper take your purchase in the back to wrap them,that is when they do the "bait and switch" and you go home with a package of "rubbish"..I spent approx. six thousand dollars the first time I "imported" goods from Indonisia and I lost perhaps half of it on buying "rubbish" from people that hated westerners and some that were just crooks who would have sold thier mother a shirt with Bob Marley on it made from what looks like good fabric only to have it fall apart at the seems because the thread was rotten..Be very careful buying mess like this from people that we always promise to return and see but never do(they know we wont "return" and wont "send letters and all of those "little things",so they will stick it to you and if you do return they have a story in hand of "why that guy ripped you off and sold you rubbish and it wont happen this time "cause they have got your back"..

[Vino the Dog]

tropicalescape,

I certainly never experienced anything like you describe! Things designed to intentionally cut people, poison, etc....? Never saw any such thing, particularly in Indonesia, one of my favorite countries in the world, in spite of their government. Sneak thieves, yes, but never saw the kind of stuff you describe. Worst I ever experienced was misrepresented goods, but that is pretty easy to avoid if you know something about what you are investing in. Bait and switch, yes also, but that one is also easy to avoid for anyone who is not blatantly naive enough to let someone take your goods in the back room as you describe. Garbage fabric too, just like the stuff sold at most big box stores in the US.

Hatred of westerners? My experience in over 50 countries has been that hatred depends almost entirely on the attitude of the particular westerner, and most people give you a chance to show your attitude. May have changed a lot over the past decade, which I do not know because I have not been out of the country for that long. Even so, terror stories do not scare me because the reality is seldom what scare mongers enjoy promoting. Will see soon enough.


Was your post your real experience or a sarcastic response to mine?
I see no similarity between what I posted and what you did.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by Vino the Dog

tropicalescape,

I certainly never experienced anything like you describe! Things designed to intentionally cut people, poison, etc....? Never saw any such thing, particularly in Indonesia, one of my favorite countries in the world, in spite of their government. Sneak thieves, yes, but never saw the kind of stuff you describe. Worst I ever experienced was misrepresented goods, but that is pretty easy to avoid if you know something about what you are investing in. Bait and switch, yes also, but that one is also easy to avoid for anyone who is not blatantly naive enough to let someone take your goods in the back room as you describe. Garbage fabric too, just like the stuff sold at most big box stores in the US.

Hatred of westerners? My experience in over 50 countries has been that hatred depends almost entirely on the attitude of the particular westerner, and most people give you a chance to show your attitude. May have changed a lot over the past decade, which I do not know because I have not been out of the country for that long. Even so, terror stories do not scare me because the reality is seldom what scare mongers enjoy promoting. Will see soon enough.


Was your post your real experience or a sarcastic response to mine?
I see no similarity between what I posted and what you did.

I was not being sarcastic, I have not been back since 2007 but I can assure you that it happened and it continues to happen..The first time I went to Bali it must have been evident that I was there to do "business" as I was approched by 4 young men that gave christian names(Danial,Paul,John and Mark! Muslim men mind you, from Jakarta )Danial said he was a " business man", Paul a "business man in training" John was a "giggalo" and Mark was a "drug addict".. He (Danial) introduced them in this very way! The reason being was that if I wanted to do business(Buy cloths,silver,toys,shoes, CDs etc. I was to talk with Danial, If I wanted women I was to talk with John and if I wanted drugs I was to talk to Mark.. I paid these fellows rent and hired them to help me while I was there for a few months..I could go on and on and on about the terrible things they and others did to me and others while there but suffice it to say "they(not my associates, but folks just like them) blew up a couple of night clubs that claimed many innocent lives (at least 220) about the time of my third visit(2003), they set off 3 bombs and one was packed with human feces(whats a little poison in a pocket when they can blow you up with a back pack stuffed with simtec and ****?)..I too have been to many different countrys and have seen many things that people do to "tourist" ...When you go into a country with money to spend on speculative ventures you will meet and see things that most never will believe..I could tell you things that happened in Poland,Belaruss,Slovakia,Ukraine that would make a person take pause before bording a flight..I know most people dont experiance what I do when travling around ,but then again I "look" for such things and most are trying to have a good time not "look" for trouble..As far as the clothing,I am not talking about "cheap t shirts" that you get at Wall- Mart, the stuff I am talking about wasnt even a garment, if you tried to put it on it would turn to shreads as you applied pressure pulling it over your head,Rotten fabric,a one year old would have it shredded into strips within 2 minutes of playing with one..I guess you have never heard of mealimien(sp?)in baby food or dog treats from China that killed dozens of dogs in America.."know something about what you are investing in" , "blatantly naive" it is obvious to me who is...."Scare monger" Its people like me that allow people like _ _ _ to be able to pull that security blanket up over their heads every night..Just because "You" never experianced anything like what I discribe, does that mean it didnt happen? What I say is not meant to "scare" ,its presented because it happened and I thought it would make someone "pause and think" before blindly dedicating oneself to the notion that all is well in this life when visiting other places...I hope these things never ever happen to you or anyone else,of course I could just be "naive"...

[Vino the Dog]

Wasn't meant to be insulting and am aware there is a lot of horrible stuff in the world. During extensive travels, came close to dangerous situations, but never got stuck in them except petty theft and a few hassles, but never like you described. That's why I asked if your post was real experience. It's very true, anyone can easily to get into serious trouble, especially if you look for it as you said you do.

Also know there are many vile people who do target tourists, increasingly Americans, and particularly those "there to do "business"", as you said. I have often been approached by people like you described, trying to sell drugs, prostitutes, and "good investments", which turn out to be not at all what they claim. I walk away from these people because I do NOT look for trouble.

If you know what you're doing, I do not call you naive. Many are NOT looking for trouble but can't see it approaching. Them, I call naive. That does not mean stupid, it means not having experience to know what they are getting into.

Your post is a good warning to those "blindly dedicating oneself to the notion that all is well in this life when visiting other places". I also accept your comment " Its people like me (you) that allow people like _ _ _ (me) to be able to pull that security blanket up over their heads every night (if that is what you call it). As long as you keep the people you describe occupied, they have someone to focus on and I can walk away and get a good nights sleep.

I am very aware of evils in the world. That is NOT what I seek out. I look for good people from all cultures who share music, art, culture, scientific achievement, and expansion of consciousness. They too, exist everywhere in the world. I absolutely DO try to avoid situations you describe and hope to continue to do so. While there are exceptions, people tend to find what they are looking for.

Also know about human feces in food... an example is Tilapia, sold in most every US grocery store, imported from China and requested for purchase by corporate management of most major chain stores. Unfortunately, it sells very well because it is cheap and buyers are naive.

[StuM]

> I paid these fellows rent and hired them to help me while I was there for a few months

There's one born every minute

> but folks just like them

The "Bali Bombers" were nothing like the typical street conmen you were foolish enough to associate with.

[tropicalescape]

Originally Posted by StuM

> I paid these fellows rent and hired them to help me while I was there for a few months

There's one born every minute

> but folks just like them

The "Bali Bombers" were nothing like the typical street conmen you were foolish enough to associate with.

I stepped off that plane in 1993 as Vino said "very naive" after several years of doing business there I went from dealing with "christian" named "conmen" to suppling "light aircraft and flight training" to the Suharto and early Yodhoyon gov.( aint one of them born every minute!)when this was a viable venture. What is your experiance with "Suckers being born every minute", A lot of folks were and still are trying to run export businesses from Indo.,I was at least "marginally successful"...I believe those "Bombers" were very much like those "con men I was foolish enough to get involved with" hince the caution...

[Vino the Dog]

Stu,

Totally agree with your comment about the Bali bombers. Love Bali and would not hesitate to return. Never liked Kuta Beach that much, but Ubud is wonderful. That was back in the 80s though.

Noticed your location in Port Moresby. PNG was certainly one of the scariest countries I ever travelled in, but that was in 87. Huge Rascal problem, payback squabbles, quite dangerous even for locals. Even so, managed a trip down the Sepik River in dugout with a guide from one of the (supposedly no longer cannibalistic) tribes, and had a great experience. Not a place for inexperienced travellers, and have heard some pretty scary, but believable tales from sailors.

Would love to hear a little about your experience if you wish to share. Is the Rascal problem still bad? Are Kuku Kuku people still feared with their short little bows? What are the risks to sailors?

[tropicalescape]

I have "inside" info about a trade forum for doing business in the carribean this year..They are indicating that with the economic slow down in china (7%) and the accelaration of economic activity in the west, sharp and rapid increase is the talk and consensus of 2/3s of top executives.... The carribean area should be great for business at least short term..There is going to be a " webnair" conferance for 8 different Islands that will instruct folks on where and how to do business with these areas..about 60% of overall business , import and export,to and from this area is from and to the USA,Canada and Mexico..The cost for each webnair is $ 35.00 (US), I have 5 of these as a promo for being a member of the SBA and will share with anyone that is interested in being a part of the conferance or you could join SBA and get all of them for a discounted rate..They will put people in contact with like interests and provide assistance and info about what is required to business in the region..

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

I have "inside" info about a trade forum for doing business in the carribean this year..They are indicating that with the economic slow down in china (7%) and the accelaration of economic activity in the west, sharp and rapid increase is the talk and consensus of 2/3s of top executives.... The carribean area should be great for business at least short term..There is going to be a " webnair" conferance for 8 different Islands that will instruct folks on where and how to do business with these areas..about 60% of overall business , import and export,to and from this area is from and to the USA,Canada and Mexico..The cost for each webnair is $ 35.00 (US), I have 5 of these as a promo for being a member of the SBA and will share with anyone that is interested in being a part of the conferance or you could join SBA and get all of them for a discounted rate..They will put people in contact with like interests and provide assistance and info about what is required to business in the region..

Would be very interested in more info on this. I already import/export products from Mexico, S America, Europe, Asia and it would be very cool to add the Caribbean to the list. Maybe if I put together enough business the boss will buy my tickets to [insert the name of any place warm and tropical] to call on the customers.

[Vino the Dog]

tropicalescape,

Can you post a link that directs people to more information on this from verifiable sources?

There are a lot of hustlers, drug dealers, and pimps in the Caribbean "doing business", like the ones you got involved with in Bali. I suspect that most on this forum would prefer to avoid these kind of people, so if you provide sources where they can find out more specifically what kind of business opportunities your "inside information" may lead them to, those interested may be better equipped to make intelligent decisions.

[tightgroup]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

I have "inside" info about a trade forum for doing business in the carribean this year..They are indicating that with the economic slow down in china (7%) and the accelaration of economic activity in the west, sharp and rapid increase is the talk and consensus of 2/3s of top executives.... The carribean area should be great for business at least short term..There is going to be a " webnair" conferance for 8 different Islands that will instruct folks on where and how to do business with these areas..about 60% of overall business , import and export,to and from this area is from and to the USA,Canada and Mexico..The cost for each webnair is $ 35.00 (US), I have 5 of these as a promo for being a member of the SBA and will share with anyone that is interested in being a part of the conferance or you could join SBA and get all of them for a discounted rate..They will put people in contact with like interests and provide assistance and info about what is required to business in the region..

And I thought posting SPAM was forbidden

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