Getting A Laptop With The Low U.S. Dollar

An anonymous reader submits "I am heading to the U.S. pretty soon and am keen to take advantage of the low US$ to buy a laptop. The differences in prices are astounding - on dell.com (US) you pay $2049 for a Precision M60 - in the UK this costs 1620.33UKP, or $2999. That is a fair difference! It makes it cheaper for me to fly to the US to buy it and carry it home than it is for me to buy it in the UK. Now, that said, it isn't particularly easy to find a place to buy a laptop from, since most of the places don't ship to the UK (or it takes weeks) and it is difficult to get stuff delivered to your hotel ... any suggestions of how I can get a good laptop in the New York area when I am only there for 4 days?"

Comments

Easy answer

[SeanTobin]

First off, I'm assuming you want a mail order dell laptop. The simplest way to go is to get a mailbox in New York via a company like The Mail Box or a UPS store. They give you a full address that is not a PO box, and they will sign for packages for you. Pre-pay for 1 month. That's step 1.

Step 2 is order your laptop and have it sent to your brand new address. You are going to want expedited shipping here - probably next day shipping because it might take a few days for them to ship it.

Step 3, pick up your cheap laptop when it arrives and consider the difference as... profit!

Re:Easy answer

[jazmataz23]

except that it takes as much as a month to get a laptop shipped from Dell, but nice try...

Re:Easy answer

[SeanTobin]

I ordered 2 laptops from Dell last year. They both shipped the business day after I ordered them.

Re:Easy answer

[wallclimber21]

I just opened a mailbox at a UPS Store. You have to fill in a bunch of documents before they can sign for packages. You also have to provide official ID. I'm not so sure this can easily be arranged without being there.

Place for a laptop in NYC

[ubeans]

Try J&R near city hall.

Apple Store!

[American AC in Paris]

any suggestions of how I can get a good laptop in the New York area when I am only there for 4 days?

Try the Apple Store in Soho. They'll have great laptops.

<tongue_in_cheek>Don't forget to declare your new laptop to customs, though--if you don't, you'll be a damned, dirty tax cheat. Nobody likes a damned, dirty tax cheat.</tongue_in_cheek>

(Oh, bear in mind--you'll be stuck with a US QWERTY keyboard. No Euro key or Pound key, among other things--you'll need to remap and remember...)

Re:Why??

[Anonymous Coward]

yeah great idea...except there aren't dell direct stores in NEW YORK...which is what the poster wants and where they'll be...

Export Restrictions?

[Dekaner]

Doesn't Dell ask you to affirm that you will not export the computer from the United States as part of their checkout process?

From Dell's shopping cart:

Export Intent
I WILL NOT export this order outside the United States.
I WILL export this order outside the United States.

The export of any product and software purchased from Dell must be made in accordance with all relevant laws of the United States, including and without limitation, the U.S. Export Administration Regulations. This may require that you obtain a formal export license or make certain declarations to the United States Government regarding product(s) to be exported, their destination or their end-use.

Ship-To Prohibitions: Please be informed that your designated ship to address must reflect the address of the ultimate end-user. Dell will not process any order which specifies an address of a freight forwarder, warehouse, distribution center, airport, hotel or PO box.

Re:Step 4

[legoburner]

The allowance per trip is just GBP 145 according to the London Heathrow website.