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17" high res in apple stores?

A

Addo

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 11, 2006
65
0
Is it possible to pick up a high res 17" MBPs in an Apple Store? I seem to remember reading when the high res screens were introduced the local Apple Stores were going to keep a limited stock.

I'm tempted to pop over the pond to replace my current 17" even in New York and paying the local sales tax I reckon I can save close on £400 against ordering it here in England....


Many Thanks
 
There's a simple answer that was even easier than posting on these forums. Call the apple store you would be going to and ask them. The fear of making a simple phone call is going to hurt you in the future.
 
I've been in a store (I think the Blue Water one) that had a demo model with the hi-def screen. I assume that they had stock as well...
 
Thanks for the responses.... I'm still trying to decide whether to buy over here in England or take a trip over the pond and buy over there and then to complicate it even more I don't know whether I'd buy in New York or elsewhere ( maybe a tax free state like Delaware)


thanks again! :)
 
Addo said:
Thanks for the responses.... I'm still trying to decide whether to buy over here in England or take a trip over the pond and buy over there and then to complicate it even more I don't know whether I'd buy in New York or elsewhere ( maybe a tax free state like Delaware)


thanks again! :)
Click to expand...

So you would fly all the way to the states for the sole purpose of buying a MBP in order to save money?

Having lived in Europe (France), I realize VAT can be pretty hefty. I realize that airfare can be pretty hefty, too.

Unless you have another reason to come to the U.S., how does this make sense?
 
I wouldn't fly over just to buy a MBP - By the time i'd paid for the airfare, hotels and car hire I wouldn't make any savings, that is obvious. Of course, there is always the possible ( albeit slight ) that I'd get shafted by customs and end up paying VAT too - it's unlikely but it could happen!

I would, however, make use of the time over there not only to buy my MBP ( that's if I can find the high res spec in stock ) but a few other things to actually make it more worth while. Seeing that the exchange rate is still reasonably quite good, between myself and the g/f, I'm fairly sure that we could save enough to cover our expenses!!! :D

At the moment though I'm leaning more towards buying over and swallowing the VAT because I'm not sure when we can afford the time to fly out :(
 
You could try a shipping forwarding company. They are commonly used to let people overseas order stuff from companies that won't ship internationally, but many companies refuse to ship to forwarding companies because of export restrictions or other reasons. Also, I'm not sure if they will make you pay tax on things they ship to you (You can probably find one that won't).
 
Fly to Boston. 35 miles North there is an Apple Store in New Hampshire (0% sales tax)

http://www.apple.com/retail/rockinghampark/week/20080224.html

There's a Holiday Inn within a mile which would properly also provide a shuttle service to and from Boston airport.

http://www.salemhi.com/html/lodging-manchester-nh.html

17" MacBook Pro 2.6 Hi-res
GBP £2048 ($4000 aprox)
USD $3149 (£1500) + UK VAT = £1762 approx
Flight £270 pp
Etc Etc...

IMHO it's not worth it just for a single purchase, but for a full on shopping spree it might be. There's more risk of getting stopped with all that shinny new Apple gear;) + the lappy will have the (much better) US keyboard layout which might be a bit of a givaway at customs.

Neal
 
Well, if you don't want to get stopped by customs, don't fly straight into England. Go through Frankfurt or Paris, as customs is pretty nonexistant at those airports.
 
I saw some Apple Stores in the Chicago area that had the 17" hi res matte in stock.
 
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