USA to UK

[bennyboyt]

First off, Hi im new to the forums

second im from the UK (to put my thread into context)

after comparing prices it would be far cheaper for me to purchase from the US than from the UK... however i was wondering if anyone had any experiences of doing that, and any problems they encountered?

I am aware that i would need a different plug AC plug adapter, but apart from that what else?

thanks

 

[JG271]

Hi, more than just a plug adapter you may need a transformer too (110v-240v), or just buy a power supply from the UK store. However...

I'm quite sure that apple don't ship internationally; you have to buy from the store in your own country.

So i suppose you could buy off ebay or if you know someone have them send one over, although there are risks involved with both.
Hope this helps.

 

[Sky Blue]

Apart from the adaptor, nothing. You may have a slightly different keyboard to how your software is set up.
If you have a US Mac but OS X is set to UK keyboard, shift + 3 is a #, I think it's a pound sign on a UK keyboard.

 

[Mr.Noisy]

Hi, Welcome to Macrumors,

What exactly are you thinking of purchasing from the USA? It's helpfull to know, a RAM upgrades one thing but a Mac Pro, now thats another kettle of fish
From what ive read, there is 1 key missing on the keyboard on the macbooks/mbp, which key, i don't know, sorry.

 

[bennyboyt]

thanks for the quick replys,

im looking at either a macbook or a macbook pro... but the price difference seems ridiculously different for me not to try and buy from the US

 

[Sky Blue]

thanks for the quick replys,

im looking at either a macbook or a macbook pro... but the price difference seems ridiculously different for me not to try and buy from the US

If you're going or know someone going to the states, pick one up. Apple won't ship to the UK form US. Even if you can find a 3rd party reseller to do it, you'll pay a ton for importing.

 

[Macky-Mac]

be sure to consider what taxes you'll have to pay. To legally import it into the UK you'll most likely have to add VAT, plus depending on where and how you buy it in the USA, you'll have to add state sales tax to the prices that are advertised.....and of course there's the cost of getting it from the USA to the UK

 

[bennyboyt]

pah how annoying, cheers for letting us know anyway lads much appreciated

 

[Tá Sé feár]

I'll be doing the same myself in about a month. I think the power supply is the only issue alright. My current plan is to get a friend whose going over for a couple of months to send one over with DHL and mark it as a gift..that would avoid taxes right?

 

[marbles]

If any of you are students then you could use your student discount for a machine from the UK ....saves a good bit, also, if you are into developing then you can save via the student developer program

These ideas save the hassle of getting one posted and all that entails


.... unless your going on hols over there and you where to bring one back in your luggage , I wouldn't bother buying from the states

 

[Macky-Mac]

I'll be doing the same myself in about a month. I think the power supply is the only issue alright. My current plan is to get a friend whose going over for a couple of months to send one over with DHL and mark it as a gift..that would avoid taxes right?

most countries (but not all) have a price limit for the value of a gift that can be sent without paying tax and it's usually quite low.....here's a site with more info for the UK HM Customs & Revenue

it looks to me like you would be facing taxes and VAT.....unless you can get the people packaging it to effectively lie about what's in the package and then you run the risk of not being able to collect insurance should it get damaged or lost in shipping

 

[Umbongo]

I'll be doing the same myself in about a month. I think the power supply is the only issue alright. My current plan is to get a friend whose going over for a couple of months to send one over with DHL and mark it as a gift..that would avoid taxes right?

No, gifts are for items less than £30 or something like that.

If you bring it back in your luggage you will pay state sales tax and are liable for VAT when bringing it back in to the UK, though VAT can be avoided it is illegal. So legally costs work out almost the same. Ordering from a US online store you are liable for VAT and delivery costs which usually makes pricing similar.

Both of these methods mean you will get a US keyboard and power supply, and there may be warranty issues, especially on non-mobile computers.

 

[PaulMoore]

I bought an iBook and iPod in the US and brought them straight back to the UK- I went to an Apple store in Boston just before boarding my return leg.

I paid sales tax in the store but it varies from state to state. If I'd bought it from Amazon while I was over there I wouldn't have had to pay that either.

No-one asked me to pay anything extra in the airport on departure or on arrival even though they were still new in the box... but obviously legally you should not make the mistake I did, and walk through the 'nothing to declare' channel when you get back...

But I'd second all the posts above about getting something shipped over- the extra costs will cancel out the savings. Doing it in person if you're in the states anyway is the cheap way of doing it.