buying from the states

PeakOutput

hope its ok to put this thread here.

i will probably be ordering a macbook 2.13ghz at some stage next week so that comes to 1149)roughly with student discount) but on apple.com in dollars it would be 1149(roughly) dollars. now i dont think i need to explain that even without education difference that is a big difference.

I have relations in america that could buy it in new york and post it over(possibly bring it themselves if they were visiting but thats not likely at this stage) so just wondering has anyone done this? if they did how did the whole customs/duty/vat thing go and when it came down to the bottom line how much did you actually save?

normally id go for the convenience of ordering off the net and waiting for it to arrive but going back to college im on a tight budget and if this worked it would be great

thanks in advance

Cabaal

I bought mine in the states in an Apple Store, they woul;dn't give me a student discount.....ok I'm not a student anymore but was worth a chance

Well luckily I was on holidays over there and getting it home wasn't an issue,

I did dump the box and when I went over I brought a laptop bag with me, in the end I could have got myself a iMac or something because customs were no-where to be seen so I got rid of the box for no reason

Shipping it to Ireland is another kettle of fish, there's a very good chance customs might get you for it

440Hz

It will get stopped by customs coming from the States, Id almost guarantee. I doubt it would work having them post it over to be honest.

babypink

ditto to above....

the only real way to get it back is for someone to bring it with them. Customs have been getting annoying lately - i've had a few bits nabbed.

PeakOutput

hmmmm ok i might have to make a few "catch up" phone calls to third cousins and great uncles then

cheers

Cabaal

PeakOutput wrote:

hmmmm ok i might have to make a few "catch up" phone calls to third cousins and great uncles then

cheers

Might be an idea
Its extremely unlikely your cousins will get caught by customs at the airport and a macbook is pretty light so shouldn't be a big job for them to come over with it.

440Hz

I really really shouldnt say this but....

if *someone* was going to bring a brand new machine over from the states to me, not that I would ever do that... I would ask them to load it up with files with time stamps from a few weeks previous. Then if they are stopped the answer is: 'this is my laptop, look at my files'.

Of course, for the benefit of any legal heads reading this, i would NEVER do this, just sounds like something bold people might do.

Cabaal

its abit extreme
But then again I did bring a 4GB usb Sstick with me full of apps and some docs so if I was stopped I could show them off

*cough* extreme? *cough*

440Hz

Cabaal wrote:

But then again I did bring a 4GB usb Sstick with me full of apps and some

Now *that's* extreme!!

Cabaal

440Hz wrote:

Now *that's* extreme!!

Well I also brought some tv shows and movies I encoded from DVD so I could watch them on the place home since they'd use less battery and take up less space then DVD's

Simon201

I think one issue with getting an item posted from somewhere like the States is that they would generally have to specify what was being posted, and maybe insure it accordingly. So yeah you could get your relative to put on the box 'my first laptop' from toymaster or whatever... worth $20 (extreme yeah I know!) and you could have no problem with customs. But then if it doesn't arrive.... well you'd get your $20 back!

I was lucky a few years ago when I bought an Firewire 410 for about €350 when they were over €500 here. While I was waiting for it I realised the courier co could hang on to it until I paid up another €100 or whatever. However, the courier delivered it without demanding anything. What was written on the box? ... Components, value = €80! (components have little or no duty payable evidently) Phew!