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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?"
Order laptop in advance via credit card. Have the laptop shipped to a trusted friend or colleague. Pick up when you are in town.
Many retail establishments can offer mechandise on the spot here, thought not always the same level of customization that Dell offers.
Or you could just declare it, still make a saving, and sleep soundly in the knowledge that you're not a dishonest, tight-arsed little toerag.
But you don't! I found visiting the US highly confusing because I'd expect to pay the price on the tag, instead of the quoted price plus some awkward percentage that varied from place to place... You never know quite what you're going to have to pay.
Instead, here in the UK everyone quotes the price you actually pay, including VAT! (They have to, by law.) After all, that's the most important thing at the checkout. You can work out how much of that goes to the government if you want to, but that's hardly a major concern when you make a purchase.
VAT is hardly exploitation. It's not as if we don't know it's happening. Look on it as a public contribution to ensuring our country is run reasonably well and that it looks after its people. After all, you generally get what you pay for -- if you don't pay much, then you get a country that doesn't look after its people very well, as the US has found...
(Oh, and please don't call all other governments 'socialistic'. It doesn't do much either for international relations, or for your image here.)
Ceterum censeo subscriptionem esse delendam.
Seriously, I'm not trolling here. How could they tell by a cursory examination whether you had this with you when you left home?