Buying devices in USA

maxamillius

I’m heading to the states for a week at the end of the month, apple products are a lot cheaper over there, is there any issue with warranty’s if I bring anything back to Ireland?

godtabh

they arent a lot cheaper when you factor in local taxes and import fees.

maxamillius

Fair point, presume you get collared for customs when re entering Ireland?

Effects

Depends what you are bringing back, and how you have it 'packaged' on your return.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058215949/buying-devices-in-usa

Just remember that the price you see online is plus local taxes.

you will,still,save something, may not be as much as you think or what it was in the past. I remember buying iPhones and iPods when the exchange rate was 1.5 in NYC.

you ‘should’ be ok coming home with them for personal use but technically you have to declare them due to the value.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104785#Comment_118104785

local tax relative to where exactly? if the OP is viewing the US site on an Irish IP then it's not going to add tax until you checkout.

SweetSand

You shouldn’t really have any problems bringing it back to Ireland if whatever you are buying is for personal use. Just a word of warning - some of products are out of stock in the Apple stores. My friend was looking for 2 basic IPads, went to few shops with no luck. Ended up ordering from apple site. The soonest delivery is 11th of December. I would almost do a mock purchase, just put in hotel address and see the delivery date.

maestroamado

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058215949/buying-devices-in-usa

The US system is pretty much all 110 v for domestic so you may have to factor in buying a charger here or a transformer...

Creamy Goodness

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104927#Comment_118104927

Apple have shipped multi-voltage chargers for about 20 years.

Effects

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104927#Comment_118104927

As mentioned above, the chargers are dual voltage. But you'll need to swap out the pins on the charger block.

I had to buy a macbook charger in France a couple of years ago, and luckily, it came with all the different pin types for use worldwide.

whiterebel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104785#Comment_118104785

You have a personal allowance to bring in with you, up to €430, without paying VAT or Duty. Once you exceed that, everything you have with you that been bought in that trip is liable to VAT/Duty. Everything is for personal use unless declared as commercial.

maxamillius

Thanks all, the charger wouldn’t be an issue sure most people have an abundance of charging bricks lying about, and once you have the lightning or usbc cable you’re good to go.

good point regarding availability, to be honest the reduction in price probably isn’t worth it if the warranty only extends to country of purchase.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104839#Comment_118104839

If he’s buying in NYC for example, the price he sees will be added with 8.75% sales tax at the till. In store.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118104927#Comment_118104927

New iPhones don’t come with a plug socket anyway, so OP will be using an existing brick or buy a new 20w USB-c to lightning one.

if he’s buying laptop or computer then yes agree, factor in proper plug socket/brick.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118108541#Comment_118108541

won't be a problem either way, if a power brick is used its built to convert currents and I'm pretty sure macbooks are all created equal anyway so the only issue you'd have is the plug will be an American 2 prong rather than the 3 prong!

Doodah7

The other issue with computers is that those bought in the US will obviously have a US keyboard layout. No huge difference (size of the Enter key, location of some of the symbols) but worth bearing in mind all the same. Of course you can buy a MacBook online for delivery to an Apple Store with the keyboard layout of choice but you have to factor in that lead time and have it coincide with your trip.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118110636#Comment_118110636

Agree. Just the 3 pin plug in required.

ablelocks

refurbished might also be an option for you? chance to take on stock levels or even product availability but decent savings to be had

cloudhopper19

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118108068#Comment_118108068

If you are buying an apple product which I do all the time in the US there is no issue with warranty what so ever. I have had an issue with my iPhone and apple Ireland replaced it no problems at all. Same with AirPods Pro.

misschoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118136224#Comment_118136224

This has probably been asked a million times but if I buy an unlocked iPhone in the US - is there any problem using it with my provider sim here in Ireland? Thanks in advance.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118286538#Comment_118286538

No. Unlocked is unlocked. It doesn’t matter where you bought it an unlocked handset is free to use with SIM cards worldwide from ANY provider.

the only potential issue you may run into is a carrier not being supported by Apple for LTE (4G & 5G).

it’s worth noting also for the record - all these devices are completely interchangeable as far as the location where you purchase vs intend to use. Remember they’re all made in a factory in China, the phones and Macs Apple US sell are absolutely no different to what you’ll get ordering from Apple IE.

And to add also most Apple IE orders are fulfilled by their warehouse in England. It’s very common in fact for people outside of the states (including Ireland and UK) to buy products from Apple’s US website because they’re often available a good few weeks in advance in America than they are here.

In general also - electronics (modern ones this does NOT apply to pre 90’s and early 00’s) are no different bought from one country or the other except for the plug type which will obviously differ. The old days of 50hz vs 60hz or 120v & 240v is long since gone. Time was if you bought the likes of a PS2 from America and plugged it into an Irish socket the thing would be a BBQ because it couldn’t regulate the current. Internal transformers or external “power bricks” are standard now so these are problems of the past.

TL;DR

you can buy whatever electronic from whatever country you like in the world and it’ll work fine over here.

misschoo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118286602#Comment_118286602

Brilliant - thanks for that info!