Hello All
I just wanted to share my recent experience of buying an iMac in Japan and then taking it on several International Flights, for those that might be thinking of doing the same thing.
My old Macbook Pro was starting to come to the end of its life and I had been looking to replace it with one of the new iMac's.
This month I went on vacation to Taiwan and Japan for 3 weeks and noticed a very big price difference between there and in the UK for Apple products, especially in Japan!
So, while in Japan, I took the plunge and purchased myself an iMac with the following spec's:
27" iMac
3.4Ghz i7 CPU
8Gb RAM
1TB Fusion Drive
USB SuperDrive
GTX 680MX 2GB Graphics
Magic Trackpad
Applecare
The total price came to ￥251,400 and I then got a 5% discount for "tax free", as I was taking the iMac out of the country. I paid with my UK Amex Gold Card, and with their exchange rate and fees, the total came to approx £1650 (US$2500).
If I had purchased the same spec in the UK it would have cost me £2383! A total saving of £733!!! An incredible difference!
The only hard part now was how to get it back to the France! (I'm from the UK but living/working in France for 2 years)
Stage 1 - Japan to Taiwan
For my holiday I was based in Taiwan, staying with my girlfriends family. So the first part was to get the iMac from Japan back to Taiwan for the remaining days of my holiday.
The white iMac box does not have any padding, but the iMac is encased in polystyrene for protection. Thankfully the Apple Store were kind enough to give me an outer brown box for the iMac, the ones that they are shipped in. This does have foam padding at the top and bottom of the box, but not on the sides.
I arrived at the airport a bit nervous as what to expect when I checked in. Firstly I went to the Baggage Wrapping service counter and found two very helpful guys. For approx. £10 they wrapped the iMac box in 3 layers of bubble wrap, and then surrounded it with the plastic wrapping. The whole package felt much more secure and protected after this
Next I went to the Japan Airlines Check-In Desk. I explained to the JAL girl that I had a very fragile item of baggage, that was very expensive, and asked what she could do to help. After a few minutes of confusion, broken English conversations, and her discussing the problem with her colleagues, she could not have been more helpful!
Firstly she proceeded to cover the box in Japanese fragile stickers, and then an official fragile baggage tag. It is worth noting here that I had to sign an official document stating that if any damage was caused the airline would not be responsible. After this, 3 luggage attendants arrived and after more confused conversations they brought a special fragile container to put the box in, and then promised to carry the entire thing from the check-in counter directly to the plane, meaning it would not travel on the belts!
Finally the iMac was taken away, and while I was happy that I had done my best to protect it, it was still a very nerve racking flight back to Taiwan.
We arrived in Taiwan and went to the baggage belt. After a few minutes of waiting several Japan Airlines baggage staff came over to the belt and hung around the part where all the luggage came out. I thought that this was a bit strange as had never seen so many staff needed for the belts before. After a few minutes more waiting the alarm sounded and the belt started to move. What was the first item out, yes it was my iMac!! Swiftly followed by all our other bags! The baggage staff took all our luggage of the belt and then over to the Japan Airlines desk in the baggage hall. After which they just left, and didn't bother with any of the other customers bags!
After discussing this with a JAL girl at the desk, she said that the staff in Japan had called ahead to inform them that a very important passenger had some very fragile luggage, and that it should be taken off the flight first and be treated as VIP!! The service from Japan Airlines was exceptional and could not thank them enough!
I took the iMac back to my girlfriends house, but decided not to open it as I had another flight in a few days. Everything looked OK from the outside though!
Stage 2 - Taiwan to France, transit in Hong Kong!
The next, and final stage, was to get the iMac from Taiwan to France with Cathay Pacific. I was more worried about this part as it included a transit in Hong Kong and wasn't sure I could guarantee the safety of my iMac.
Upon arriving at the check-in desk in Taipei, I explained to the CX girl all about the iMac. She covered the box in several Chinese fragile stickers, but could not put it in a separate container as they didn't use them on Cathay Pacfic. Next, 2 baggage guys arrived, and after speaking with the CX girl, told me that they would carry the iMac directly to the plane, avoiding the belts. So off the iMac went! The CX girl also told me that she would contact Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong to make sure that when the box was taken from one plane to the other they would handle it with great care.
Strangely, I did not have to sign any form stating that the airline was not responsible in the event of damage. Not sure what would happen in that case
All of the above helped but I was still obviously very nervous about it.
After arriving in Paris I went to the baggage belt. After a few minutes of waiting my bags turned up on the belt, but not the iMac. I was now very worried! I went to speak to the Cathay Pacific girl in the baggage hall and she suggested that it might come out with the oversized luggage. Off I went to that section but nothing had arrived yet. After around 30 minutes of crazy panic waiting, the doors opened and there was my iMac! Everything looked to be ok from the outside, a little dirty, but OK!
I took a taxi back to my apartment, opened all the plastic wrapping, took the iMac out of the box and....PERFECT! Not a single dent in the box or anything wrong with the iMac. I was so happy!
Some pictures of how it looked upon first arrival in my apartment:
Overall, for me, it was completely worth the time and effort it took to get it back to France. The difference in price was so much that I could afford to get a higher spec iMac, and put the money I saved towards another holiday.
A few things to note for those thinking about doing the same thing:
*> While I travelled in economy class on all my flights, I have Elite Emerald Status with OneWorld. This means I could use the First Class Check-in with Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific, and was allowed extra baggage. While my status no doubt helped my situation, I'm sure that the staff would be just as helpful with a regular passenger.
*> The iMac, all wrapped up, weighed just under 15KG. While this was fine for me because I had a 40KG baggage allowance with Cathay Pacific, the normal allowance for an economy passenger is only 20KG. I believe CX charge US$50 per extra KG, so prepared to pay or travel very light!
*> Make sure that you can get the outer brown box from the Apple Store before you buy the product. I would not recommend the Flights with just the regular white iMac box, it isn't padded enough!
*> You can purchase special flight cases for the new iMac, but they are really expensive and so was not an option for me
*> Get the boxed wrapped in bubble wrap and plastic film. It wasn't expensive and really made the box much more secure.
*> Explain the situation to the check-in staff. When I explained that I was carrying an iMac that was worth £1600 they were very helpful. If you don't get a helpful member of staff, insist on speaking to a supervisor.
*> Remember to check the plug on the new product. My iMac from Japan has a USA style plug on the power cable. Currently I am just using a plug adaptor but will eventually purchase a new cable from Apple
I am sorry for such a long post, but I thought it might be helpful for those thinking of buying an iMac, or any large Apple device abroad. I spent several hours searching for information, and found several posts of people thinking of doing this but none of anyone who had actually done it!
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to help
Cheers
Andrew
I just wanted to share my recent experience of buying an iMac in Japan and then taking it on several International Flights, for those that might be thinking of doing the same thing.
My old Macbook Pro was starting to come to the end of its life and I had been looking to replace it with one of the new iMac's.
This month I went on vacation to Taiwan and Japan for 3 weeks and noticed a very big price difference between there and in the UK for Apple products, especially in Japan!
So, while in Japan, I took the plunge and purchased myself an iMac with the following spec's:
27" iMac
3.4Ghz i7 CPU
8Gb RAM
1TB Fusion Drive
USB SuperDrive
GTX 680MX 2GB Graphics
Magic Trackpad
Applecare
The total price came to ￥251,400 and I then got a 5% discount for "tax free", as I was taking the iMac out of the country. I paid with my UK Amex Gold Card, and with their exchange rate and fees, the total came to approx £1650 (US$2500).
If I had purchased the same spec in the UK it would have cost me £2383! A total saving of £733!!! An incredible difference!
The only hard part now was how to get it back to the France! (I'm from the UK but living/working in France for 2 years)
Stage 1 - Japan to Taiwan
For my holiday I was based in Taiwan, staying with my girlfriends family. So the first part was to get the iMac from Japan back to Taiwan for the remaining days of my holiday.
The white iMac box does not have any padding, but the iMac is encased in polystyrene for protection. Thankfully the Apple Store were kind enough to give me an outer brown box for the iMac, the ones that they are shipped in. This does have foam padding at the top and bottom of the box, but not on the sides.
I arrived at the airport a bit nervous as what to expect when I checked in. Firstly I went to the Baggage Wrapping service counter and found two very helpful guys. For approx. £10 they wrapped the iMac box in 3 layers of bubble wrap, and then surrounded it with the plastic wrapping. The whole package felt much more secure and protected after this
Next I went to the Japan Airlines Check-In Desk. I explained to the JAL girl that I had a very fragile item of baggage, that was very expensive, and asked what she could do to help. After a few minutes of confusion, broken English conversations, and her discussing the problem with her colleagues, she could not have been more helpful!
Firstly she proceeded to cover the box in Japanese fragile stickers, and then an official fragile baggage tag. It is worth noting here that I had to sign an official document stating that if any damage was caused the airline would not be responsible. After this, 3 luggage attendants arrived and after more confused conversations they brought a special fragile container to put the box in, and then promised to carry the entire thing from the check-in counter directly to the plane, meaning it would not travel on the belts!
Finally the iMac was taken away, and while I was happy that I had done my best to protect it, it was still a very nerve racking flight back to Taiwan.
We arrived in Taiwan and went to the baggage belt. After a few minutes of waiting several Japan Airlines baggage staff came over to the belt and hung around the part where all the luggage came out. I thought that this was a bit strange as had never seen so many staff needed for the belts before. After a few minutes more waiting the alarm sounded and the belt started to move. What was the first item out, yes it was my iMac!! Swiftly followed by all our other bags! The baggage staff took all our luggage of the belt and then over to the Japan Airlines desk in the baggage hall. After which they just left, and didn't bother with any of the other customers bags!
After discussing this with a JAL girl at the desk, she said that the staff in Japan had called ahead to inform them that a very important passenger had some very fragile luggage, and that it should be taken off the flight first and be treated as VIP!! The service from Japan Airlines was exceptional and could not thank them enough!
I took the iMac back to my girlfriends house, but decided not to open it as I had another flight in a few days. Everything looked OK from the outside though!
Stage 2 - Taiwan to France, transit in Hong Kong!
The next, and final stage, was to get the iMac from Taiwan to France with Cathay Pacific. I was more worried about this part as it included a transit in Hong Kong and wasn't sure I could guarantee the safety of my iMac.
Upon arriving at the check-in desk in Taipei, I explained to the CX girl all about the iMac. She covered the box in several Chinese fragile stickers, but could not put it in a separate container as they didn't use them on Cathay Pacfic. Next, 2 baggage guys arrived, and after speaking with the CX girl, told me that they would carry the iMac directly to the plane, avoiding the belts. So off the iMac went! The CX girl also told me that she would contact Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong to make sure that when the box was taken from one plane to the other they would handle it with great care.
Strangely, I did not have to sign any form stating that the airline was not responsible in the event of damage. Not sure what would happen in that case
All of the above helped but I was still obviously very nervous about it.
After arriving in Paris I went to the baggage belt. After a few minutes of waiting my bags turned up on the belt, but not the iMac. I was now very worried! I went to speak to the Cathay Pacific girl in the baggage hall and she suggested that it might come out with the oversized luggage. Off I went to that section but nothing had arrived yet. After around 30 minutes of crazy panic waiting, the doors opened and there was my iMac! Everything looked to be ok from the outside, a little dirty, but OK!
I took a taxi back to my apartment, opened all the plastic wrapping, took the iMac out of the box and....PERFECT! Not a single dent in the box or anything wrong with the iMac. I was so happy!
Some pictures of how it looked upon first arrival in my apartment:
Overall, for me, it was completely worth the time and effort it took to get it back to France. The difference in price was so much that I could afford to get a higher spec iMac, and put the money I saved towards another holiday.
A few things to note for those thinking about doing the same thing:
*> While I travelled in economy class on all my flights, I have Elite Emerald Status with OneWorld. This means I could use the First Class Check-in with Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific, and was allowed extra baggage. While my status no doubt helped my situation, I'm sure that the staff would be just as helpful with a regular passenger.
*> The iMac, all wrapped up, weighed just under 15KG. While this was fine for me because I had a 40KG baggage allowance with Cathay Pacific, the normal allowance for an economy passenger is only 20KG. I believe CX charge US$50 per extra KG, so prepared to pay or travel very light!
*> Make sure that you can get the outer brown box from the Apple Store before you buy the product. I would not recommend the Flights with just the regular white iMac box, it isn't padded enough!
*> You can purchase special flight cases for the new iMac, but they are really expensive and so was not an option for me
*> Get the boxed wrapped in bubble wrap and plastic film. It wasn't expensive and really made the box much more secure.
*> Explain the situation to the check-in staff. When I explained that I was carrying an iMac that was worth £1600 they were very helpful. If you don't get a helpful member of staff, insist on speaking to a supervisor.
*> Remember to check the plug on the new product. My iMac from Japan has a USA style plug on the power cable. Currently I am just using a plug adaptor but will eventually purchase a new cable from Apple
I am sorry for such a long post, but I thought it might be helpful for those thinking of buying an iMac, or any large Apple device abroad. I spent several hours searching for information, and found several posts of people thinking of doing this but none of anyone who had actually done it!
If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to help
Cheers
Andrew
