> If it were so much profit to be made, a legitimate business could simply buy the merchandise and export to these countries legally.
Except, as you mention, a legitimate business needs to pay the import taxes, which are the reason the price difference exists in the first place. Carders simply ship these items without properly declaring them.
Well, that and the fact that they didn't pay for the item in the first place. Any arbitrage beyond that is just cream on top of the price of the item anyways.
Yes and no. You can run a profitable criminal enterprise just by doing the other half - buy high-value goods in the US, smuggle them into Europe, sell them there for a profit.
Except, as you mention, a legitimate business needs to pay the import taxes, which are the reason the price difference exists in the first place. Carders simply ship these items without properly declaring them.