Going to america in 2 weeks time

[AndyM]

I live in the UK, and thus suffer from seeing how america always has things much cheaper! I am going to New York City in less than 2 weeks time and plan on visiting an apple store (never been to one before).

I am an owner of a Powerbook G4 12" (fell in love with it after visiting a friend in the states 2 years ago). I love the hardware, i use it more of a backed to my Windows PC and whenever i'm on the move, but i feel its a bit lacking in this Core Duo world

Also i plan on getting an 80gb Ipod, i would prefer the thinner 30gb one, but that doesn't even have enough battery life to watch the entire lord of the rings, so not that interested. So 80gb it is.

At the current exchange rate (including state tax) an 80gb Ipod and black macbook costs £1,050 odd, the same thing in the uk costs just under £1,300.

I read these forums quite a bit and have found out certain stuff (always good to hear about faults people report). I have heard that anything mobile that apple sells that its capable of being repaired anywhere (is this true?).

My biggest concern is this whole Core2Duo business, i don't want to buy a laptop that is out of date tomorrow, i know you guys will say that is the nature of the IT industry, which it is, but you know that the day you buy something from Apple that they will announce something better tomorrow. Atleast companies like Dell announce something or have different product types in operation at the same time. I would like my hardware to be latest technology for atleast 2-3 months before new hardware was announced, not 2-3 days.

Any advice people can give me on my comments here and any recomendations?

 

[MacBoobsPro]

I live in the UK, and thus suffer from seeing how america always has things much cheaper! I am going to New York City in less than 2 weeks time and plan on visiting an apple store (never been to one before).

I am an owner of a Powerbook G4 12" (fell in love with it after visiting a friend in the states 2 years ago). I love the hardware, i use it more of a backed to my Windows PC and whenever i'm on the move, but i feel its a bit lacking in this Core Duo world

Also i plan on getting an 80gb Ipod, i would prefer the thinner 30gb one, but that doesn't even have enough battery life to watch the entire lord of the rings, so not that interested. So 80gb it is.

At the current exchange rate (including state tax) an 80gb Ipod and black macbook costs £1,050 odd, the same thing in the uk costs just under £1,300.

I read these forums quite a bit and have found out certain stuff (always good to hear about faults people report). I have heard that anything mobile that apple sells that its capable of being repaired anywhere (is this true?).

My biggest concern is this whole Core2Duo business, i don't want to buy a laptop that is out of date tomorrow, i know you guys will say that is the nature of the IT industry, which it is, but you know that the day you buy something from Apple that they will announce something better tomorrow. Atleast companies like Dell announce something or have different product types in operation at the same time. I would like my hardware to be latest technology for atleast 2-3 months before new hardware was announced, not 2-3 days.

Any advice people can give me on my comments here and any recomendations?

My advice is unpack it as though you have had it for a while. If it is still in the box and labelled up customs are likely to charge you tax on it (again).

 

[AndyM]

Yeah, my plan is to unpack it and probably get arid of the box, or if not, put the box in my suite case and carry the laptop in my back pack. depends on the size of the box.

I'm flying to new york, and then heading up to canada and then flying back from there, i can't really claim the tax back can i?

 

[MacBoobsPro]

Yeah, my plan is to unpack it and probably get arid of the box, or if not, put the box in my suite case and carry the laptop in my back pack. depends on the size of the box.

I'm flying to new york, and then heading up to canada and then flying back from there, i can't really claim the tax back can i?

I dont know about that but UK customs will eat you alive if they see anything they like.

 

[w8ing4intelmacs]

buy on the last possible day, to give yourself the best possible chance of getting a core2duo macbook. even if you don't and the new core2duos come out later, you'll have gotten a coreduo macbook at a great price (by uk standards).

 

[AndyM]

A black macbook on its own in the us (USD to GBP) £861.924, a 2ghz white macbook in the uk costs £899.00. So basically i would get an updated model for less than the same price.

If a problem was to occure with it, would i need the box? or could i just bin it when i'm ready to when i come home?

Also i've been reading http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2808&p=1 and am actually tempted to get a Core Duo even if an update comes out soon after. The fact i would be saving just under £200 is quite a nice sweetner.

 

[zRedbullz]

Firstly, I fail to see how PowerPC chips lack in the duo core world. Maybe it's because it is adequately fast for me.

Secondly, you MUST NOT bring any evidence back with you to show that you may have bought outside of UK tax. This means you need to discard wrappers, box etc.. If the customs randomly stop you, they will search through your whole lugguge looking for clues to try and tax you. Be PREPARED. They are a bunch of right b'tards.

I would advise you to post back all documents and invoices as the customs wouldn't be able to trade or prove their case of your illegal purchase.

Lastly, the WARRENTY issue. If you have any problems with your purchase when back at home, Apple UK may not touch it with a barge pole as it was bought outside of their control. Same goes for most technological products nowadays.

Thoroughly research this before you go ahead. I would rather pay couple of hundred pounds just to have the secure sense of confidence that any problems that may arise will be replaced or repaired.

 

[AndyM]

Lastly, the WARRENTY issue. If you have any problems with your purchase when back at home, Apple UK may not touch it with a barge pole as it was bought outside of their control. Same goes for most technological products nowadays.

I've seen people here say that buying something mobile allows for internation support. This is conflicting to what i have heard, anyone know for sure about this?

And also i love my Powerbook G4 12", it is a very nice bit of kit, but it is also 2 years old in january and i want a laptop that is capable of doing a bit more, like encoding ipod videos much faster!

 

[zRedbullz]

I've seen people here say that buying something mobile allows for internation support. This is conflicting to what i have heard, anyone know for sure about this?

And also i love my Powerbook G4 12", it is a very nice bit of kit, but it is also 2 years old in january and i want a laptop that is capable of doing a bit more, like encoding ipod videos much faster!

International support sounds very vague. To ensure you of this, you are better of contacting Apple to see if they provide ''international support and warrenty'' From what I know, it's a considerable risk to undertake. Your new purchase may be fine, but what if......

Doesn't look I need to worry about changing my trusted G4 Powerbook, I don't own an iPod!. Surprising eh?!

 

[Kidman13]

I know for sure that you do get international warranty on the laptop and ipod. I myself have asked this on these forums and also at an apple store in the US. The guy said as long as they have a apple store you can take it there.

Hope that helps.

 

[AndyM]

Thanks Kidman13!

zRedbullz, i am actually keeping my PowerBook G4 and going to give it to away to my mum as she has a horrible big laptop. But while i have an opertunity to buy a laptop at a cheaper price than i normally can here, i will. I love my powerbook, but i also want a second pc of my own which i can run windows on, and a macbook is the best of both worlds, a nice stunning laptop that can run both Mac OSX and Windows XP.

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[phuong]

i just want to share a little story.
i have a friend photographer in Toronto. last year Christmas, he went to NY and bought a Canon 1DsII. he came back with the camera unpacked. he registered it immedietly when he's home. guess what? two months later, two persons in uniform came knocking on his door.

 

[eidrunner247]

i just want to share a little story.
i have a friend photographer in Toronto. last year Christmas, he went to NY and bought a Canon 1DsII. he came back with the camera unpacked. he registered it immedietly when he's home. guess what? two months later, two persons in uniform came knocking on his door.

Are you kidding? What kind of story is that?! That's not even a story! There isn't even an ending!

Maybe the story ended as such:

The two men were door to door salepeople trying to sell a vacuum cleaner. really it could be anything...

 

[skubish]

I wouldn't bother buying a macbook at least not in NY.
The black MB with 8.38% NY tax is $1624 (£860) compared to £1029 in the UK.
Doesn't seem to be worth the hassle.

 

[manic]

I think tourists are elegible to not pay the tax (or get a refund at the airport). The logic behind this is that they will be taxed again when they return home. To the government, its the same as an export. No point in exporting taxes

 

[generik]

i just want to share a little story.
i have a friend photographer in Toronto. last year Christmas, he went to NY and bought a Canon 1DsII. he came back with the camera unpacked. he registered it immedietly when he's home. guess what? two months later, two persons in uniform came knocking on his door.

Isn't Toronto in Canada?

How is that relevant here? Canadians may have a different system to the Brits.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I wouldn't bother buying a macbook at least not in NY.
The black MB with 8.38% NY tax is $1624 (£860) compared to £1029 in the UK.
Doesn't seem to be worth the hassle.

Exactly. I think this holds true everywhere to a greater or lesser degree. And you will also be stuck with an AC adaptor which does not work when you get home, not to mention, a U.S. English keyboard.

Many people from outside the U.S. don't realize that our equivalent of VAT is added at the point of sale, and only a very few states don't levy it.

 

[phuong]

the two men wore police uniforms.

i didnt say British or Australia are like Canada. i just wanted to tell you, be careful when you want to cheat the system.
it could be that, the camera was of high value (even now it sells for almost 7,000USD), so he "saved" over 1,000 tax, and they didnt like that.
if you "save" some 100 dollars, they might not bother you anyway 'cause it'll cost them more to go after you.

 

[Washington]

Just make sure you put it into your backpack on your way home so you don't get charged input tax/duties on that thing.

 

[Dubba]

I purchased my 12" PowerBook in the US in November 2004; I purchased AppleCare a few months later (again, from the US, as it is cheaper) but registered it in the UK, telling them that I moved because of work.

They have honoured all warranties and AppleCare conditions. I have spoken with senior managers in the US and in Ireland many times over the last few years and have gotten the same response: Apple honours its warranties internationally.

Here are my experiences: my PowerBook has been in for repair twice, both becuase of a faulty logic board. At the time of the second repair, I was informed that if it had to come in again, my machine would be replaced. Earlier this week my Combo Drive refused to work, and I called AppleCare to tell them; they are sending me a new 15" MacBook Pro as soon as they receive my 12" PowerBook, which should hopefully be tomorrow or Monday.

 

[Abstract]

If the customs randomly stop you, they will search through your whole lugguge looking for clues to try and tax you. Be PREPARED. They are a bunch of right b'tards.

No they're not. It's your country's laws, and it's their job.


Firstly, lets clear some things up. The warranty on a MacBook is an international warranty.

Secondly, the laptop keyboard is the US keyboard, not the UK keyboard. Being a Canadian and having lived in London for almost a year, I know there is a difference in the keyboards, and it was rather annoying to not find things where I expect them to be. Just be aware of what you're getting.

Thirdly, you may be exempt from paying taxes. Ask for a tax invoice when you purchase the laptop, take it to the airport, and there may be an office or booth there where you can get your sales tax back. If there's no place in the airport to do this, then it might be claimable by mail only.

Fourthly, don't bring the box back with you. You don't need the manuals because they don't tell you much. Bring your MacBook home in a backpack or something.

Fifthly (?), there will hardly be a difference in speed between a Core Duo and Core 2 Duo MacBook......not unless they offer Core 2 Duo with the same clockspeeds as right now (ie: Blackbook with a Core 2 Duo 2 GHz chip and up) AND better integrated graphics than the GMA 950, which I don't think will happen in the MacBook. There will be a difference, but whether you'll see the improvement over my MacBook Core Duo is another matter. I might see a difference, but it really wouldn't be big enough for me to cry about. When they quote numbers like "up to 20% faster at the same clock speed", it doesn't mean your system will be 20% faster at everything. And besides, "20% faster" might only translate into things happening 1 second faster than the current model. A 20% speed improvement on a process that doesn't take a long time does not mean much.

It really depends on what you do.

 

[Lau]

I'm not convinced you'll be saving enough to make it worth the hassle — what with it having a different keyboard, an American plug, no box, etc. Also, if you did get caught with it and had to pay customs, you wouldn't have saved anything!

However, I can also see the attraction of saving a few quid, and so I would advise putting the charger (with the long lead attached) in your hold luggage, your laptop (with some files loaded (take a DVD or two with you) in your hand luggage, and post the other plug, any adaptors and the manuals and stuff back to yourself (or even to a different address). That way, if your bags get searched you're travelling the way you would if you'd brought it with you (as in if you have both plugs for the charger, that looks suspicious).

Still not convinced it's worth the risk though...

 

[IJ Reilly]

Thirdly, you may be exempt from paying taxes. Ask for a tax invoice when you purchase the laptop, take it to the airport, and there may be an office or booth there where you can get your sales tax back. If there's no place in the airport to do this, then it might be claimable by mail only.

I was not aware of the ability to file for a sales tax refund on export items. Even in countries with a uniform VAT, filing for a refund is a hassle, or at least it was the last time I tried, and then I got back a check for a few pounds drawn on a foreign bank which was virtually uncashable in the U.S.

However, and this is the real issue: If you file the paperwork for a sales tax refund you will have to show that the item you are exporting was in fact exported, which is a mutually exclusive proposition from claiming that you brought it with you from home.

 

[AndyM]

I'm actually used to the american keyboard as my powerbook had it (ordered from apple uk). Just thought it was the normal for macs to come with american keyboards, plus i didn't care.

For the power supply, I thought the only change that needed doing was the end plug, does the power brick need changing or just the plug?

Making it look like it came with me isn't a problem, i will bin the box and even send the manuals home by post. I will put it in my bag and i wont take any other laptop with me.

The saving will be worth it, as it will work out cheaper than the 2ghz white macbook.

When i am at the store in NYC, i will ask about it and see what they recomend and if i need anything else.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Probably just the plug, now that I look more closely at my older PowerBook AC adaptor (rated from 110-220v).

Only you can decide if the small savings is worth the risk of lying to Customs on your declarations.