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Buying a MBP from America (to Australia)

L

lbeaumont

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 24, 2007
55
0
Melbourne, Australia
Hi,

I am currently a Windows user, sick of it, yada yada yada. I want to go Mac, but I am having trouble deciding when and where to buy.

Living in Australia, the lowest MacBook Pro is $2899 (on the online apple store), but I can get it for $2599 using my student discount. This is a very hefty price, so I have been looking around for other options.

All resellers sell them at the same price with no student discount, so so far the cheapest is the online Apple store.

As the Australian dollar isn't doing too bad right now, I looked on the American online stores and Amazon is the cheapest that I have seen t $1749.99 after a $150 rebate, which comes out to be $2,001.38, $600 cheaper than Australia.

This seems like a great option for me, but I have some main concerns.

The power is 240V here, whereas it is 110V in America from memory. Are the MBP multi-voltage so they will work here? I have a transformer next to me, but it is way too big to be portable.

With repairs and such, if I have an American machine, will I still be able to get it repaired at the Australian Authorised Resellers? I have read quite a few problems with the model lately so repairs are the main concern, but if the repair shops are going to refuse to repair it, there is no point buying from America.

And finally shipping costs, how much extra will I have to pay to have it shipped, including taxes and so on?

I am having an argument with myself whether to buy now or wait until MWSF, the problem with waiting is I will need it by Mid February and I dont know how long it will take for the models to be released down here.

I know it is a long post, but before I buy an expensive (so worth it though) laptop I need to find out all the options, etc and you guys seem to know best.

Thanks.
 
I looked into this a while back. When I was last in the US I was just amazed at how much cheaper the apple products where over there. especially with the strong AUS dollar and the greenback increasingly going into the toilet it is becoming a better option. What I found was that it is a hassle coupled with a burden. Shipping is a bitch and unless you have a friend who can buy it in the US with a student discount then ship it you are almost better off just taking the price hit ! I looked at buying one over there and then just taking it home with me, but in the end I got my MBP through work so it was a better deal and I wanted the deduction.

Be aware that you are probably looking at the apple prices without sales tax so that the figures you quote may not be 100% accurate. I found on the spec of my laptop it was about 1000 bucks cheaper in the US. BUT there is a lot of difference in price amongst Australian apple resellers.

To answer some questions. Yes you can run any mac here just get a local power pack. I run my iphone here and all I did was get the different prongs for the charger.

You can buy apple care here register it here and any apple repair place will do it for you without an issue.

I would supprised if MWSF brings any changes to the MBP line of products. seeing at the SR MBP's are so recently updated.
 
Buy it from where u live mate

Hi mate,

US$ is ****** nowadays causing troubles worldwide and many people are tempted in buying Apple products, including me. Its the same here in UK, Apple products are disproportionately priced. I want to update my Macbook 1.83 to Macbook White 2.0 with Superdrive. I've had a look at US websites and it seems so cheap there. Problem is with the shipping issues, power adapter and sometimes warranty because bear in mind Apple would like to see their local stores selling products rather than people buying in US and getting them shipped home.

So my sincere advice, buy it from Australia, possibly eBay if you want to save some money. I bought it last year from eBay UK and my experience was really good.

Best of luck buddy!
 
I'm in NZ so know what you mean about high local prices.

I trick to watch for though, is that most of the time the rebates are only available to people living in the US so you might not get it.
 
Just bringing your thread back up. If your looking for good deals on Mac products, see if you can find a seller in Hong Kong, or on eBay, selling through Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has no GST and thus usually has prices cheaper than the US. It was ranked the cheapest place to buy a legit iPod back in October or so last year, based on the world currency rates.

I live between Hong Kong and Australia myself and always buy my stuff here. For instance, I bought a black MB for cheaper than it would of cost me to buy the cheapest white MB in Australia. Things are cheap here.

Repairs on Apple products will happen anywhere in the world as long as your under warranty, doesn't matter if you bought it at Point A and live at Point Z.

Also they take any voltage, the power adapter changes automatically.

The cheapest MBP in HK costs (equiv~ AU) $2231 (and EDU discount will bring it out at an even lower $2017). You can buy 2GB sticks of RAM here for (equiv~ AU) $101.
 
One thing to remember, Apple might not respect the warranty from the US in Australia. Remember that a world wide warranty doesn't always mean, world wide.
 
kaiwai said:
One thing to remember, Apple might not respect the warranty from the US in Australia. Remember that a world wide warranty doesn't always mean, world wide.
Click to expand...

They generally do, I've had some big repairs done in Australia for products originally bought in Hong Kong. I can't imagine the US would be any different. The only thing that probably wouldn't be covered in Australia right now is the iPhone, as it's not officially out there.
 
Can anyone here actually explain to me why the prices are ridiculously higher? Shipping cannot possibly cost that much. Why are Macbooks $500 more? I really don't understand it. Shipping and tax cannot possibly cost them $500 can it?
 
Heheh, I created this post ages ago, anyway...

tiamat1990 said:
Can anyone here actually explain to me why the prices are ridiculously higher? Shipping cannot possibly cost that much. Why are Macbooks $500 more? I really don't understand it. Shipping and tax cannot possibly cost them $500 can it?
Click to expand...

There are a few reasons. Tax would raise the price a bit, Apple doesn't seem to like other countries (overpriced laptops, unreleased iPhone) and the prices were set when the US currency were higher.

I have thought about buying my MBP from Asia, but I really cant be bothered going through the trouble of shipping and such. If a friend or I was going on a holiday over there I would, but for convenience I decided I will just buy it here.

In April, although I will have my MBP by then, I will be able to use my ADC discount, so I can probably recover some of the costs by buying something else Apple.
 
Different world prices.

It all comes down to greed my friend. I just did some maths on the mini I am away to order. UK price for top spec - £658 all in. Us price - $1153 = £588 all in. That is £70 uk or $137 usa difference. As they are both shipped from taiwan, which is rougly equidistant from London and New York, the shipping costs the same. Apple also charge 21% sales tax in Europe. Actual sales tax in the UK is only 17.5%, so they are "stealing" an extra 3.5% for no reason whatsoever.

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:
 
Yeah it seems worth it to buy from overseas to save some money, but you needs to makes sure about Custom regulation in Australia.

As I remembered if you shipped item and the value of that item above A$1000 to Australia, most likely you will need to deal with Custom, which involves "other fees" + GST + price of the item. And most likely You will need to pay quite the same price if buy it from Australia.

Just check with Custom in Australia.

But if you know someone from Custom :cool: or you are lucky enough ;), You do not have to deal with all that.

:apple:
 
Well see the thing is my Aunt lives in the US and she comes to NZ almost every three months (I honestly don't know why she moved there...). I could just get her to buy it. It's just the AppleCare thing I'm worried about.
 
tiamat1990 said:
Well see the thing is my Aunt lives in the US and she comes to NZ almost every three months (I honestly don't know why she moved there...). I could just get her to buy it. It's just the AppleCare thing I'm worried about.
Click to expand...
You have probably heard this many a time n its been repeated in these forums millions of times, but Apple Care isnt all its cracked up to be.
I have a Macbook 2.2ghz and i did not purchase the warranty package.
It only covers certain things and i have heard numerous stories of the actual things that go wrong with a mac are not covered by the warranty.
 
then go for it!

tiamat1990 said:
Well see the thing is my Aunt lives in the US and she comes to NZ almost every three months (I honestly don't know why she moved there...). I could just get her to buy it. It's just the AppleCare thing I'm worried about.
Click to expand...

If your aunt takes it out the box and says it is hers at customs, there should be no fees to pay.......
 
I reship for many members here, if you want someone to reship your book let me know have tons of refs on site, I also dont charge any fee.......just do it for Mac love :)
 
On a similar subject, does anyone have any experience buying off eBay? Thinking of picking up a new MBP, and I've found some people who seem to specialise in selling cheap boxed MBPs - for instance, this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEWEST-MODEL-15-MacBook-Pro-2-2Ghz-2Gb-Ram-120Gb-HD_W0QQitemZ180206240996QQihZ008QQcategoryZ111422QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Does anyone have any experience buying from such sellers? They seem to have high feedback ratings and plenty of history, but I'd appreciate hearing from someone who's actually made such a purchase.

I'd rather buy from the Apple refurb store, but there are no 15" MBPs there at the moment (or, it seems, ever).
 
You can also claim back the GST on something if you bought it within Australia and fly internationally (must be bought within last 30 days, >$300). So you get roughly 10% back on the goods.

So if you happen to be going overseas soon (with your new MBP) and plan to buy, don't forget to drop by the TRS (Tourist Refund Scheme) desk.

Link/Info

As always, there a few conditions.
 
denz455 said:
You have probably heard this many a time n its been repeated in these forums millions of times, but Apple Care isnt all its cracked up to be.
I have a Macbook 2.2ghz and i did not purchase the warranty package.
It only covers certain things and i have heard numerous stories of the actual things that go wrong with a mac are not covered by the warranty.
Click to expand...

Really?! Oh ok then. :D
 
timtam said:
Yeah it seems worth it to buy from overseas to save some money, but you needs to makes sure about Custom regulation in Australia.

As I remembered if you shipped item and the value of that item above A$1000 to Australia, most likely you will need to deal with Custom, which involves "other fees" + GST + price of the item. And most likely You will need to pay quite the same price if buy it from Australia.

Just check with Custom in Australia.

But if you know someone from Custom :cool: or you are lucky enough ;), You do not have to deal with all that.
Click to expand...

Get the seller or sender to put a lower price on the item, so that if your are charged a fee, it isn't much. People generally do this anyway, and it's not illegal for someone to sell a laptop under value, so you wouldn't be in the wrong if your laptop cost under a thousand ;)

tiamat1990 said:
Well see the thing is my Aunt lives in the US and she comes to NZ almost every three months (I honestly don't know why she moved there...). I could just get her to buy it. It's just the AppleCare thing I'm worried about.
Click to expand...

The original 1-year warranty or the extra 3-year warranty are international warranties. You can buy in one spot, break it in another, and get it fixed in yet another. All purchases are recorded by Apple so they know exactly when to start the ticker.

myeggsareboiled said:
If your aunt takes it out the box and says it is hers at customs, there should be no fees to pay.......
Click to expand...

It would be better if she took everything out of the box and put it in a computer bag or something prior to the trip though.

New Zealand customs aren't the brightest bunch, they once kept me for an hour in the airport looking for drugs because I was about the age and had 2 passports, of course they turned up nothing and weren't happy.

lbeaumont said:
Thanks for the offer, but Aust customs will prob tax me anyway. /sigh
Click to expand...

We have brought loads of golf clubs through Australian customs in the past, you give them too much credit ;)

tiamat1990 said:
Really?! Oh ok then. :D
Click to expand...

The general consensus (as far as I heard) was that you shouldn't buy AppleCare when you first get your mac, but near the end of the first year if your having issues and think your likely to have some more. No matter when you buy AppleCare, you'll still have a 1-year warranty, and it only gives you another 2-years on top of the first year, so until the end of that first year (apart from telephone support, which you get for free anyway) there's no added benefits to having it.

That make sense ?
 
I have many friends from different countries(England, Germany, including Aussieland but thats a Thinkbook) who have Macs. When they come to visit all they need to do, at least with the Macs, is change the plug at the end of the power pack. As that steps up the power anyway it does not matter if it is stepping it up from 120 or 220 or whatever. Don't take this like gospel but I do know it works...
 
buying from Australia

hi
im trying to get hold of an iMac and the price in UK and Australia differ so much i just wanted to know if there is a possible way of buying from australia online by card and getting them to ship the imac to me in UK

please help me as my projects are getting close and i need to get 1 real fast

p.s. i dont want it second hand or from ebay

Many thanks everyone
 
try amazon!!!

amazon ships Internationaly and doesn't charge tax. You can buy it from they're for a really cheap price
 
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