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Buying internationaly?

P

pazaakshark

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 12, 2013
14
0
Hello everybody,
I'm looking to buy a new Mac Pro, in Feburary I'm heading off to Hong Kong and checked their price in HK$ converts to £1872 GBP, (it is normally £2500 in the uk) if i was to buy it in Hong Kong would i be able to use it back in the UK, would it be worth waiting?

thanks!
 
Apart from checking the power supply, you would be able to use it... once you had brought it through Customs and paid any applicable import duties and VAT.

EDIT : According to http://www.dutycalculator.com you would have no import duties, just £380 VAT (roughly) assuming you carried it over yourself. If you posted it, you have to pay the VAT on the shipping charges too.

Don't forget that in the event of any issues with the machine you might have to ship it back to HK for servicing.
 
Ahh thank you very much, well after the tax has been added thats comes pretty close to the price it would cost me with my uni discount, so probably mor worth the effort!
 
That is good news then.

I thought that under the Sale of Goods Act in the UK that the first responsibility in the case of a failure of a Good was the retailer from whom the purchase was made. If Apple are offering to handle the nMP regardless of where it was bought, that makes the AppleCare more useful.
 
As far as I know in Hong Kong they don't have sales taxes so sometimes their prices are lower. For power supply, I think all Mac machines are flexible, the PSU can accomodate 110v to 240v
 
ahh okay so warranty and everything is international, I will buy an adapter for the plug :)

Just curious about getting it through the airport without having to pay tax...
 
pazaakshark said:
ahh okay so warranty and everything is international, I will buy an adapter for the plug :)

Just curious about getting it through the airport without having to pay tax...
Click to expand...

Turn it into a pair of pants and wear them through Customs. No one would think to check used pants. :roll eyes:
Don't forget it is going to weigh around 50 pounds (approx 23 kg) and you want it very securely packaged. Luggage handlers are even harder on stuff than ordinary shippers. What is an excess baggage charge for that weight? Canadian airlines are now charging so much it would eat any savings.
 
Last edited:
Yes, I'm in the States for a month in December and am thinking the same, smuggled in a pair of pants....!!??? Hmmmmm....!! Just thinking about the savings!!??
 
Some things to consider in regard to this:

1. The Mac Pro is 5KG, which means an extra £50-£75 on long-haul flights if you go outside your allowance.

2. The current exchange rate you find online probably isn't the rate you are going to pay for the currency you want to purchase it in because someone is going to make a profit on the exchange somewhere.

3. Putting a Mac Pro on a passenger flight equals a good chance a baggage handler will wreck it, even with it's packaging. They aren't meant to be shipped like that.

4. With the original packaging you are highly likely to get hit for taxes.

You're much better off waiting to see what the Amazon prices are or finding someone who is a student to buy it for you.
 
Umbongo said:
Some things to consider in regard to this:

1. The Mac Pro is 5KG, which means an extra £50-£75 on long-haul flights if you go outside your allowance.

2. The current exchange rate you find online probably isn't the rate you are going to pay for the currency you want to purchase it in because someone is going to make a profit on the exchange somewhere.

3. Putting a Mac Pro on a passenger flight equals a good chance a baggage handler will wreck it, even with it's packaging. They aren't meant to be shipped like that.

4. With the original packaging you are highly likely to get hit for taxes.

You're much better off waiting to see what the Amazon prices are or finding someone who is a student to buy it for you.
Click to expand...

Can you get it on-onboard as a carry-on? If you're nice to the flight attendants, you can fit it in their storage area.
 
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