buying a mac as a tourist in an apple retail store

[allmIne]

I guess the custom officers heard that gift story a thousand times.
They know their stuff.
With the current exchange rates they are on alert for those things.
of course they dont want a receipt for every little thing.
but a high end device like a macbook pro.
They will surely want to see some proof.

This is nonsense.

Why would they even stop you? On the off chance that you're one of the tiny number of people who bought a laptop while they were away?

No, they'll not want proof. Talk about paranoia!

Business travellers, everyday travellers, everybody travels with a laptop these days, often expensive DSLRs and lenses, and a ton of other accoutrements. They are not 'on alert' for somebody bringing home a macbook pro.

 

[raclotz]

they do accept cash... still...

 

[ChrisA]

Mailing yourself the empty box is a great idea. If you were to ever have problems with the machine, it's always nice to have the box if it needs to be shipped.

It's pretty darn easy to find an empty box if/when you need it and expensive to mail an empty box. I see empty mac boxes all the time in the trash here at work. But if you ever have to ship it, bubble pack works just as well, maybe even better.

As for how to buy the computer. Call your bank and ask then to raise you credit limit enough to cover the Mac. Tell them you'll be travelling on vacation. My experience with Apple stores is that if you hand then anything but a credit card that will look at it and say "what's this?" I don't think I've ever seen anyone pay for a computer in cash.

About traveller's checks. Don't bother. Bring an ATM card. ATM's have better exchange rates and lower fees than checks. I live in California and when I go to Europe or Japan I just bring an ATM card. Once about 15 years ago I took travelers checks with me to Tokyo and spent an hour in a back trying to cash them. No "problem". they were happy to do it, just that they charge a fee and the paperwork took forever.

 

[pianojoe]

You can always pay cash, or make a one time agreement with your bank to extend your card's limit just for this trip. If it's a debit card, or "revolving credit" card, you can just put more money on the account, and you're set.

At US customs, you'll get your sales tax back when you leave the country.

At German customs, you'll have to declare the merchandise and pay 19% VAT, and a copyright fee for the DVD burner. If you don't, and they pick you out, you've committed tax fraud, and will be due double the amount--or lose the merchandise. They might also file charges against you.

BTW, typing German on a US keyboard is a pest. It's not even the same number of keys.

 

[Macky-Mac]

....At US customs, you'll get your sales tax back when you leave the country......

no you wont.

Sales tax in the US is state and local government thing. It's not like VAT which you can get refunded in many countries.

 

[-paradox-]

thanks...

thank you very much! i'd never thought i'd get that much response.

the real problem is, that i actually wanted to buy a mbp in germany FOR my trip to the usa (that's starting in nyc), but couldn't get one, because all the new 17" mbps w. antiglare display are out of stock (in the stores i know) & won't arrive before the day i'm leaving germany.
so i thought of buying one in nyc but then realized that my credit card line wouldn't be enough for both: purchasing a mbp and paying for the rest of the trip. that then lead me to the next problem: payment methods in apple retail stores.

but everything worked out fine, because today i luckily found a store in germany that is selling the mbp with the specs i was asking for.

the point of saving money due to the exchage rate of the us dollar in my opinion is a mixed blessing right now, because i could very likely save approximately 200 euros BUT IF I SHOULD be unlucky (i know, there's just a little chance) i would have to pay german sales tax (19% ) which would make the mbp cost 250 euros more than in germany (if i've calculated everything right). ok, if it was -350 euros vs. +100 euros then in my opinion it would make sence...

but thanks again! i really appreciate your help.

 

[irishgrizzly]

Someone at my work got a macbook from the US. The trouble was that she needed a repair under warranty and after calling support, they said that she'd have to pay the duty before they could take it back.

I was surprised that Apple were saying requiring this, but they must signed some agreement with the powers that be.

 

[Abstract]

^^^What?

I've been to around 35 countries with 4 different Mac laptops that were purchased in 3 different countries. I've had it repaired in 2 different countries, but since the warranty is worldwide, it doesn't matter where you get it repaired, and it doesn't matter where you purchased your AppleCare. They don't care. You have a Mac, and you have AppleCare. That's all they need to know. Their database spans the world, so all your repair history is visible to them as long as you have your serial number or AppleCare number handy.

What Cybernation said has also never happened to me, likely because he's wrong. The MacBook I bought in Australia is doing just fine in Canada. It also has the standard American keyboard. You can even get a MBP with the standard keyboard in Japan. Who says you need to be in the US to get a "US keyboard"?


You said you can get it in Germany, but even if US Customs stopped you, you could say you purchased your MBP in Japan. If they don't see Japanese stamps in your passport, tell them you're half-Danish, half German, and you have 2 passports. You used the other passport last time for business purposes, since it was a business trip.

This is how I know cybernation isn't right. It can't be. I can come up with LOTS of different ways to get around it, and none of it took a lot of creativity.