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Buy Mac Mini from US, ship to NZ

Jordan the Nerd

Jordan the Nerd

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 1, 2008
47
0
New Zealand
Hello,

I live in New Zealand, and have recently been looking around at the prices of Mac Mini's on the Apple online store, and have found that the current Mac mini is $1,398 (for the 1gb model). In the US, this is only $599, that works out at $894.9 NZD, with the current exchange rate.

If I were to say, get a friend in the US to purchase one of these on my behalf, and ship it out to me, would there be many major issues? Would there be issues with the power supply? Zoning, etc.

I know that before Apple updated this line, the price was around $800/$900, when do you think Apple will lower this price again?

Thanks
 
should be fine. it will cost about 69.00 with a flat rate priority large box and 1000.00 insurance
 
It might be easier to buy from here; they import in bulk and resell, without the hassle of needing to do it yourself.

Edit: Actually, they don't seem to have a 1 GB option.
 
I had forgotten you may get hit with some kind of fee too. the amount depends on the rules the post office follows.
 
Hmm. That toshnewzealand.com company has prices that are worse than Apples!

Anyone know of any other companies doing the same thing for a cheaper price?

What do I have to do to get the computer working here, would I need some kinda power adapter?

EDIT: Well, they're actually still about $100 cheaper now that I look at it, so I could do it through them to save a little bit of money, and ensure that I would get it all fine, or I could save a heap more, and take a bit more of a risk.

At the moment I don't have anywhere enough money to do anything like this anyway, although if I sold off all of the items in my signature, I probably could :p
 
Jordan the Nerd said:
Hmm. That toshnewzealand.com company has prices that are worse than Apples!
Click to expand...

The prices aren't as good as they used to be (I saved about $1000 through them in 2006) but I'm pretty sure that every system they sell is cheaper than buying from Apple directly. I think in your case the issue is that you want a low-end system, which they don't sell.
 
US Mini power bricks OK

I've just brought back 2 minis from the US and the power brick works in NZ, just replace the US plug with a NZ one.

Unfortunately before I discovered this I ordered a NZ power supply from TotallyMac which cost $190 because it is considered a spare and not a 'final' part - so you pay twice as much as the US ($49USD) and UK(39UKP).

At least the machine qualified for the $19 uptodate upgrade to Snow Leopard.
 
JoelKelly said:
Have fun with Import taxes or a Jail Sentence!
Click to expand...

Have fun with being a lonely jerk!

I don't know the power requirements of NZ, but the worst that can happen is that you'll need to get a NZ power brick for your mini. The power bricks all pump out the same voltage/amps, so you just have to make sure the power brick can take in what you're giving it.

Good luck with getting your mini!
 
Maybe we should set up an importing/exporting business smuggling unlocked iPhone the US in exchange for Minis to NZ. :p
 
JoelKelly said:
Have fun with Import taxes or a Jail Sentence!
Click to expand...
Jail sentence? What on Earth are you talking about? The OP's not proposing anything illegal.

My query would be, what's the warranty situation when you buy an Apple product in Country A and ship it Country B? If you need warranty service, will it have to be shipped back to Country A, or will the warranty be honoured by the Apple service departments in Country B?
 
Apple customers in nz are getting financially raeped, end of story.Dont take my word on this though check it out for yourself. Fyi sales tax (gst over here) is 12.5% and the exchange rate is about 70c us. If you were looking to buy a new mac pro & cinema display it would just about be cheaper to fly over to the states and get it (including return airfare).
 
Ok, let's bring some sense into this. For a US$600 product you pay sales tax for Apple to ship it to a local address in the US, or the sales tax in the Apple Store. Expect about 7% local sales tax, makes US$642. Add NZ$110 for DHL or FedEx tracked shipment (you wouldn't really send a box marked 'Apple' all over the place, by normal post, would you???) and 12.5% GST and broker fees to process the shipment ($90) and use an exchange rate at .65 (you never get the rate quoted by the banks, as they are inter-bank rates), and your total landed cost is NZ$1,201.00. Then add $24 for a power cable with integrated NZ plug, so you don't mess with a cheap adaptor plug, and you are well over $1,200.

So, Apple prices in NZ are higher than they should be, that's why we do a roaring trade, but the simple-mind mathematics of comparing US$ prices to NZ landed prices does not work very well.

Any questions? Jens
 
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