Buying laptop in america

leek

Hey lads, im moving to america on friday, but my laptop here has jsut broken and its a gonzo!

so my question is will i get a laptop here before i go? or are they much cheaper there? anyone have experience buying a laptop there?

Ill be in the pittsburgh area

Thanks!

Voodu Child

They're much cheaper there, if you're moving over you should definitely wait until you get there to buy one (plus the warranty issue).

leek

Thanks for the reply,

Im moving over there for 3 months...

So much cheaper there yea? I was looking at getting a dell for 400euroish online here, id get a good bit off there yea?

Where is the beat place to buy them? the airport? or just a laptop store in a mall?

Thanks

also is there any issues with power etc when i come back to ireland, if i have a coverter will i be ok?

Overheal

You only need a Pin/Plug converter. The power adapter it comes with already changes its own voltage so it will work in the US/UK fine.

Double check your prices, but yes because of the Euro rate you might get a better deal on the exchange. For warranty's sake make sure you get someone who does business in Ireland for when you get back. Though UK is ok too - either way youre shipping off your laptop for random fixes, it wont make too much difference if it has to ship to UK. A Collect and Return warranty means you wont have to pay shipping to send it off.

Buy direct from website. These places like Best Buy do their own warranties which you wont be able to redeem after you leave.

leek

Buying direct from website is best you say?

would they no be good deals in laptop stores in malls etc aswell?

Dartz

You will be obliged to pay tax if you bring it into the States. They're like that.

Besides, they're a hell of a lot cheaper in the States anyway.

Overheal

Dartz wrote: »

You will be obliged to pay tax if you bring it into the States. They're like that.

I dont see how they could possibly enforce that. But anyway you can always declare it as a gift.

Malls - its not that they dont have deals (wholesalers like Costco especially, but you need membership for that) but you wont get warranty with those, or at least if you plan on doing that make sure it comes with a manufacturer's warranty and not a store warranty.

Places like Best Buy love to push your sh!t in though. They'll gladly slap an extra hundred bucks on the laptop for "Setting it up" - which consists of setting up the user profile, and getting it to the desktop. Pretty much. Basically something anyone and their grandmother can do themselves.

leek

Going america for 3 months on friday, i dont have a credit card so those sites prob not a option for me, hoping to get a nice deal at a costco, walmart? one of those places lol... hopefully will be worth it'?

whats the cheapest i could get a laptop for in dub?

400>?

Overheal

Why dont you go to the bank tomorrow and set up a visa debit card

netwhizkid

I purchased a HP Pavilion Laptop at Bestbuy in Las Vegas April 08 and two days later the keyboard went so they swapped it out for me, (I was in SinCity for 10 days)!

1)A month later back in Ireland the keyboard went again so I got onto HP UK (who covers Ireland) and they agreed to take it back for repairs. I sent it off to the UK with DHL (at HP's expense) and got it back around 2 or 3 weeks later with a new UK layout keyboard fitted.

2)I got around a month out of it before it happened again. Sent it back and it took around 3 weeks because the US keyboard had to come from California to the UK.

3)Two days later the new US Keyboard went and certain characters were sticking or not coming up at all. So back to HP again only to be told there was nothing wrong with it. (the problem was very intermittent). It came back and was working and worked for around three weeks and crucially worked when I needed it while over in Europe. They keyboard went kaput at Prague airport upon leaving! This time I sent it to their specialists in Germany again with DHL at HP's expense.

4)A few days later upon its return from Germany same story and by now this was my fourth time sending it back and had gotten to know the DHL driver well. Anyway 5 days later I got a nice shiny new Uk-spec (much higher spec) laptop back from HP in England as a replacement after alot of fighting and complaining. The cost of DHL to them was the deciding factor I think. Anyway I then compared my new replacement HP laptop in Harvey Norman and online last August and it was selling for €1,700 and I paid around €400 with the dollar at $1.50/€1.

Now there was inconvenience but I have another PC and I consider it the steal of the century I got with massive savings by buying in the US. Bringing in the Laptop in a laptop bag will also allow you to dodge the Irish ripoff customs and VAT at the airport as they will not be able to distinguish whether it is of Irish of US origin.

Overheal wrote: »

Why dont you go to the bank tomorrow and set up a visa debit card

Only Halifax offer Visa debit cards AFAIK.

Overheal

Ah. Your banking system is screwy I nearly forgot

Wow that sounds sh!tty about the keyboard fiasco but at least it worked out.

So best buy does in fact sell the manufacturer warranty? That might be alright then. Just say no to Geek Squad is all I can say.

As for HP laptops - what a pain! I tried to disassemble mine to get into the innards to clear out dust - for the life of me I couldnt. Theres so many interlinked cables and screws and even a few bolts I needed a socket wrench to get off.... ugh. Other manufacturers have sense, and simply the bottom plate that covers the fan will pop right off allowing you to blast dust out. Other than that though I cant really complain about HP and I'd give them a 3.5/5 overall.

leek

Thanks for that netwiz,

Was nearly going to buy a Futjitzu for 339euro in dunnes today, 2gb, ram 160 hdd etc but ill wait...

Are bestbuy, costcos, the best places yeah? i dont have a credit card so ill be buying it in person, thanks again

Looks like id nearly get double the power of the laptop for same price there

netwhizkid

I bought mine in Bestbuy but there a few others like RadioShack; Circuit City are closed and gone bankrupt. I did not ask for the Bestbuy warranty and was not even too sure of whether I had International Warranty or not, I mentioned nothing about warranty on mine to HP as I think it was US only but there was no problem from HP infairness due to the fact it was so new and also as I couldn't exactly take it back to the store either as it was 5,000 miles away. Laptops over there are good prices but these stores also sell a load of crap so be sure to know what you are looking for and be sure to check the specs religiously. If offered a laptop on the streets in Vegas it is the old argos/sears catalogue switcheroo and you will soon be parted with cash, I humoured the guy who tried it on me before reporting him to Metro up the block.

I spent like 2 or 3 hours in there just looking. The GeekSquad are more like idiotsquad and ignore them generally as a two yr old with sticks of RAM would make a better shape. I bought mine when the Dollar went to the bottom at $1.50 per €1 so got a good deal. Also sales tax in the US differs from state to state (and even county to county within state) with some having higher than others and some having none at all. This article explains it better.

However most crucially to remember is with all transactions in the US the tax rate whatever its rate is always added on at the till, so a Laptop advertised for say $1000 would cost $1,000 + 8.25% for example in California (highest sales tax rate in US) would cost you $1,082.50 this is across the board over there, so the general rule I use for easy sums is add 10% and be pleasantly surprised when it comes in less. In states without sales then obviously the price you see will be the price you pay. Tourists to the US can't claim back the tax like the americans can here except in some special place in Mississippi in think.

Bear in mind that the Dollar is stronger now than last year and Irish laptop prices are well down as demonstrated with with the Fujitsu-Siemens in Dunnes Stores for €339. Incidentally I had one of these yesterday and I think they are not great and the resolution and screen quality is no HD for sure. It is Vista Business and I had it in as DVD playback and Solitare are blocked in Vista Business as default as a worker productivity boosting measure. Laptops are well down here and places like laptopsdirect.ie have good enough prices. As I was not in the US for 13 months I cannot comment but prices over there are probably well down also in tandem with the recession so even with the currency fluctuations it should still be ok to buy, the Keyboard layout will also be different.

Germany and Eastern Europe also offer good value with places like saturn and media markt well worth investigating if ever over there.