Private Import of US Hardware into Europe?

Hanno asks: "There are US companies selling Japanese gadgets not available in the US to local customers. But what about buying American hardware in Europe? I'm thinking about buying a US laptop that is not sold in Germany and the import, payment and warranty issues are giving me a headache. Has anyone else done this and what was your experience?"

"Here's the story: Fujitsu Germany does not want to sell the P2000 laptop over here in Germany - after some I research, I managed to contact one of their laptop product managers and he told me that Fujitsu-Siemens Computers Germany will absolutely never sell it, no matter what.

FSC also does not offer to import the laptop from the US sister company and obviously, they do not provide support or warranty for a US-only laptop in case it gets broken over here.

Well, frell you, FSC, thanks for your consideration of customer input. But the P2000 is still a pretty unique piece of hardware, even the price is ok, and there is no competing product on the European market (at least none that I know of).

Next problem: Most US mail-order shops do not ship outside the US anymore. (This includes Fujitsu's own webshop. Even the P2000 giveaway sweepstakes is US only...) And of those who do ship to Europe, most do not accept foreign credit cards anymore, at least not those who are known for good customer-support. What other payment option should I consider? Any shop you can recommend?

Finally, how about support and warranty with Fujitsu US and/or the store I bought it from? Do foreign customers get any such support at all? Has any of the readers who bought a US-only product and brought it to Europe tried to get support later and what was your experience?

(In case you wondered why I am not asking about it: Customs is not a problem. Buying US computers and having it sent to Germany is customs-free, I'll have to add the German sales-tax to the price, though...)"

Comments

Find/borrow/make a US friend

[Troodon]

Give the money to someone you know in the US, they purchase the item and send it privately as a gift onto you after testing that its not dead on arrival. The fun begins should a hardware fault later develop, if you want to use the warranty then you'll have to stump up the cash to send it back to your friend so they can initiate the support stuff.

Re:Find/borrow/make a US friend

[Hanno]

Sure. First problem is: Private transfer of money is quite expensive compared to just paying directly with a credit card - my US-based friends don't accept Mastercard. Second possible problem is: Once I purchase the laptop through a friend, his name will be on the bill, making this a private purchase and thus not tax-deductable in Germany.

And the support problems were in fact part of my original question. I'm aware that this could be a problem and that's why I'm asking others who did this what their experiences with overseas export were.