Buying laptop in US-need advice please.

glynf

I am off to New York for Christmas & the new year, and plan to buy a laptop. Has anyone here purchased & brought theirs through customs?

If so, what am I going to be charged re. Vat etc., or is it worth sticking an Irish plug on it and trying my luck?:D
Any advice would be really appreciated, the laptop is a Sony VGN-SZ320P, $1900 in the US, similar model here is about €2100.:eek:

I gave a look around the revenue website, and can't find anything relevant.

Thanks.

Tom Dunne

glynf wrote:

I am off to New York for Christmas & the new year, and plan to buy a laptop. Has anyone here purchased & brought theirs through customs?.

Yes, but not this time of year.

TBH, I reckon you will be fine. It's a great myth that customs are sitting there waiting for people to come through. In all the years I have been the to US, I have never once come across customs. The last time I was in the US was January of this year and there wasn't a customs person to be seen.

Just make sure to take it out of the box, put all manuals/packaging in your suitcase and walk through not looking in anyway guilty. Make sure and carry it on the plane with you, don't risk putting it through.

Ruu_Old

I have never, in all my years and thousands of miles travelled, seen anyone at customs in Dub airport.
Try and get some sort of an international warranty on it if you can, or at least ask.

glynf

Thanks for the advice all, trying to look innocent might be a bit difficult though..:D
I am flying from Shannon, and will be landing @ 8am
coming back, so chances are customs will be thin on the ground.
Still like to know wolrst case scenario what they would charge me if caught though.

trojaneater1

take it out of the box. Put it in a backpack with the cds etc........
Power it up over there, before you come back. Get one of those 2 euro plug adapters. (they do the trick). I have bought 3 laptops over there, and never been pulled once.
Good Luck............;)

Tom Dunne

glynf wrote:

Still like to know wolrst case scenario what they would charge me if caught though.

It's something like 21% VAT + import duty (not sure what rate duty is).

Saruman

But you cant get caught!! As long as its in a laptop bag and not in a shiny new box!! You just say.... I brought it with me. Its not like they can check it out.
Just make sure what you get is an international brand with an international warranty

neacy69

my and all my friends bought laptops when we were in the states last summer and it's no hassle at all. Just take it out of the box, hide the reciept and dump any of the stuff thats comes with it that is not essential then if you get stopped (very unlikely) just say you took with you

Tom Dunne

Saruman wrote:

But you cant get caught!! As long as its in a laptop bag and not in a shiny new box!! You just say.... I brought it with me. Its not like they can check it out.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. The onus is on you to prove you bought it in Ireland/EU (i.e. with a receipt).

I've heard of people getting caught with cameras and the like, but never laptops.

mickoneill30

Slightly off topic but for those of you that have US keyboards how do you get the € symbol? I brought mine back from Australia and I havent found a good way to get it. I know you can get it if you type Alt + some combination on the numeric keypad. That's OK for big keyboards but not for a laptop which will probably need Fn + something before you do the Alt combination then Fn + something to turn the numeric keypad off again.

Also for the OP remember that some keys on a US keyboard may be in different locations eg. \ @ "
It's not a biggie but it can be confusing if you switch between computers a lot.