Buying a p.c. monitor in the us?

465

I will be in the States for the Christmas and New Year and I was thinking
of buying a 24inch monitor and perhaps posting it back here using surface mail.
Something like this.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8268475&type=product&id=1170290375980
But I was wondering would get caught by customs?

Ruu_Old

I don't think it is worth the hassle, it could very well be caught by customs and do you realise how long surface mail can take? I've had stuff lost by going that direction before.

indiewindy

For something that big it will probably have to be sent by courier and they are obligated to collect duty and vat for Revenue, so I would say you have no chance.

10-10-20

Nevermind customs - will it work off 220v? More than likely, but worth checking...

rh555

Ok I have ordered vitamins from the U.S and was not charged anything at all. Just came normally by mail.

I think even if you will be charged VAt + Duties you most likely will still be getting it cheaper than buying it here. You can get an Acer 22inch on sale for $180 in the U.S. while that same monitor cost 300euros in germany and i think within europe thats where u get some of the best bargains.

So even with shipping (check www.usps.com for rates) + VAT + DUTY u'll most likely end up way cheaper than buying it here.

As for the 220Voltage issue. I have 3 different LCD monitors (DELL, ACER, HANNSG) from the United States and they all support 110V - 220V and u will have no issues whatsoever. Ofcourse u need a plug adapter.

However there is one downside. One of my monitors broke within the warranty period of 1year (ACER) but they wont honor the Warranty in Ireland. So thats def. something to consider. Shipping anything to the U.S. with Anpost is ridicules expensive so I'll just oder the broken part (power board) from ACER uK which is still way cheaper than buying a new LCD monitor here.

There is one last little trick u can try. If u send something from the U.S. to Germany from a private person to another private person like you would do there is like a 150euro limit (don't remember the exact amount) where u can send things without being charged VAT + Duties. Not sure if that also works for Ireland.
However as far as I know they include the shipping costs into that limit. So if shipping is 30euros the 'gift' u send to yourself can only be worth 120euros. Again I don't remember the exact limit.

Hope it helps.

P.S. If the mail just gets through without any problems (no tax, duty) u'll get a huge bargain. Europeans get majorly screwed with buying electronics. Has nothing to do with the 20% VAT bc. the price differences are way more. Up to 100% or more. Companies just get away with it.

rh555

One thing I forgot. Some of the best bargains u find on sites like www.bensbargains.net

Good luck