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

Well... Heres my advise.

[SuperCal]

Well I'm an American, who loves to have the coolest toys. When I buy Japanese gadgets I usually assume that I won't be able to use the warenty or find someone who can speak english at the tech support line. I have been very lucky in that when I needed warrenty work the companies I delt with were very reseptive and only required that I pay the difference in shipping from Jappan. Also I have only bought very popular gadgets that had at least a small english language following so I was able to find my own tech support when I needed it. So while I have never had a problem that wasn't worth the gadget I still wouldn't spend any more then I was willing to lose.