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US to UK tax?

R

radionickhead

macrumors regular
Original poster
After the rumor of the 800$ new macbook retail price..I imagine the UK model would add atleast 100$ to the price. Today the current basic macbook is valued at 699 GBP (without educational discount) and the US model is ~70GBP cheaper. I'm eligible for the edu discount but im still wondering the prospect of the tax if I were to order from the US.
Anyone have any idea what sort of percentage of the price the tax would add to it? and if it would be worth considering at all?
(not taking into account the free ipod rebate/edu discount)
 
You would have to pay import tax (although this may be 0%, not sure) and then VAT at 17.5% on the total cost of the item, import tax and shipping. You might get lucky and customs might not notice but this is not something worth relying on. In addition you will have a US keyboard.
 
We don't know the prices yet - but since the UK HE discount is 15% and you get £95 off a Nano then it will cheaper to buy in the UK with HE.

Import duty is at 0% for laptops but the 17.5% VAT will kill the USA import advantage - and yes you will have a US keyboard if you go that route......
 
True, I neglected the US keyboard..
Thanks for the replies, I was also wondering;
-If the UK release will be any later than the US? - I know that it wasn't the case with the new nanos as both stores went down/up on the day.
- and also if there is a risk of losing out on supplies? i.e isn't going to be like iphone madness where people are queuing e.t.c ? Because I was planning on ordering online (if they ARE released on the 14th) - because from what I read on the threads the education discount online seems to be "better"..? but Id have to wait for delivery at the same time..
When at home and I look at the educational link the price goes from 699 to 657 but when on campus / selecting my institute it goes down to 601.
Anyone know more about buying in person?
 
I was told in store at regent street that the mid range macbook would go down to £712.94 and that applecare would be £47 with the current model if bought from the store. For me thats a big enough discount from £829!! so I think it is basically around the same amount either in store or online from campus.
 
HE discount is available in store - so the £601 price is instore too.

The HE 3 year warranty "seems" to only be available when you buy on-line or by phone but instore they will always offer you the (£58) 3 year AppleCare deal.

I was in an AppleStore first thing the day after the 4G Nano release and there was not a 3G Nano to be seen anywhere (the new ones had arrived at 8am that morning...) so I would be surprised if the new MacBooks were any different.

If you order online or by phone you will probably have about 4 or 5 days to wait for your order - assuming it is a normal model and not built to order.
 
Thanks for the input..
I forgot about the HE 3 year warranty too..
I think I should cross my fingers they come out on the 14th and then worry about how to purchase.
 
It's only really worth buying from the US if you are actually going to be there, you're bound to get hit with import costs if you order through the mail, not to mention the actual postage cost.

If you are going to be in the States (preferably a state with no tax) then you have to carry it back and hope you don't get hit for import tax/VAT when you come back through Heathrow customs - usually a pretty safe bet, especially if you leave the box etc behind.

The APP is also a lot too, I bought it on my last Macbook Pro in the States and managed to use it on a UK computer with no problems.

You can get Apple to change the keyboard, or the easier option would be to just buy an external UK keyboard if you really want it's layout. You also get the US power adaptor so have to factor in buying an adaptor or UK Apple power lead.

So at the end of it all it's not really worth it on the cheaper machines, but probably worth it on the more expensive laptops..
 
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