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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?"
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!
Karma: SELECT `karma` FROM `users` WHERE `userid`=138474;
Not sure why this warrents an ask slashdot when a quick search found this:
Gateway Stores
Circuit City
Dell Direct Stores
Or if your feeling artistic:
Apple Stores
Try J&R near city hall.
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...)
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
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.
That in the USA we have different voltages, frequencies and plug shapes for power than you do in the UK.
Also, we drive on the right; you should catch the hang of it quickly if you cross your hands before putting them onto the keyboard.
"Provided by the management for your protection."
It goes without saying I'm not affiliated with them in any way, just an extremely happy customer. The inicial cost might appear steep but it's offset by your first major spend, really.
Mother is the best bet and don't let Satan draw you too fast.
Brand new, just fell off the truck....
Free Mac Mini Yeah, it's
Make a sign that indicates you have a couple thousand on your person and that you are in the market for a laptop. I helpful citizen sales rep will shortly arrive to arrange your purchase.
The US has become Mexico.
People are coming here to exploit our weak currency!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
This
Seriously, the best place to buy stuff. I got a genuine Rollox wristwatch from a dude there.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
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.
Any good hotel (4 star and up, and good chain 3 stars) will sign for packages for you; just call the hotel, tell them you have a reservation, and ask how can you send a FedEx package to them for your personal delivery when you check-in. Get the name of the concierge/manager that gives you this information and ask for them by name on any follow-up calls. Give the info to Dell, make sure they put your name and "(Guest)" on the delivery and make it c/o of the person you have the name of, if possible. And don't forget to tip.
I can't imagine a decent NYC hotel not doing this; as a long-time business traveler, it's a perk you expect and is quite common.
Never flown internationally, but here's my question: How would they know?
You show up at the airport after your four days in New York, lugging a laptop and carrying bag. Just like probably 25% of the other passengers flying that day. How do they know you just purchased this laptop last night? Couldn't you just say "Yup, headed home from my business trip" or something? Or do they make you declare everything you have on you before entering the country? Seriously curious here.
The best reputable dealer in NYC is J&R Music and Computer World. They have a good selection of laptop computers that you can buy and take away right there; naturally they don't have Dell since Dell sells through the web only.
You can start by taking a look at their selection on their web site here. You'll pay the relevant sales taxes for New York (under 10%) but you'll get a much better deal than the Dell you are looking at.
Of course it's totally you to you whether you declare the thing when you arrive back in the UK and pay the relevant UK taxes.
John.
Hey, be very careful, or Her Majesty's revenue collectors will nab you off the plane and charge you VAT on it.
I had that experience coming back to the UK during a break in working in the US, and the SOB's saw my newish Apple 5300, and whisked me off to a cash machine (ATM) to pay 300 quid (450 dollars). Which for a research assistant was a lot of money. Mofo's. They know their stuff, and the guy who got me (I wasnt hiding it btw, just wasnt declaring it either), said it is something very common to happen.
Anyway, I got the last laugh as their delaying me in the middle of a British Airways transfer from the international flight to a domestic one ending up costing BA a 2 hour security related work stoppage and a 737 sitting at its gate for 2 hours while they argued about who would take my dangerous transferred luggage off... apparently around a million quid.
Winton
The allowance per trip is just GBP 145 according to the London Heathrow website.
Warhammer forums
If the item has been used by the individual before returning to the UK, it is considered "personal effects". More details can be found here
It's something I'm interested in. Especially since the Dell Dimension XPS isn't available in the UK.
A few years ago I bought my Canon Digital Elph from buy.com and had it shipped to the New Orleans hotel where I would be staying. The front desk handed me the package when I checked in.
That capability may have changed due to the rampant fraud in the intervening years. Today most sellers will only ship if the address is OK with your credit card, but you could make a call and arrange that.
I tried doing the same trick when I bought some sandals at the last minute and had them shipped to the el-cheapo motel I would be staying. I asked the front desk each day if the package had arrived. No. The seller shipped after I checked out.
The amazing end of the story was that my package was still stored at the motel when stopped to check when I returned the following year. I wasn't even staying at that motel that year.
Ever dream you could fly? Get up from the Flight Sim. I Fly
The thing I've noticed when people say it costs $XXX in the use and XXX in the UK is that they don't realize that US prices do *not* include tax. All the UK prices do. They never add the US tax to the US price or subtract the UK tax from the UK price.
As a former Best Buy employee, I've seen this happen a lot.
It happened mostly during the holidays. People are visiting relatives in the states, and they're taking advantage of after-Thanksgiving sales and such.
Let me first say, the pricing has very little to do with the 'weak US dollar'. It's just simply cheaper to buy things like computers here. How many computer manufacturers are based in England, compared to the USA?
Basically, they'd give us the same reasons you are. They'd typically buy a machine for $2000 which would cost $3000 or more in England/wherever they were from. They'd buy a notebook bag and pack it all up and leave the box and everything at the store, so it looked normal when they went back through the airport.
We actually had some repeat customers every year, and they would buy more than 1 laptop, and sell them when they got home!
Reminds me of the old Mexican joke about a man who crossed the US/Mexican border every day with a wheel barrow full of dirt. The customs officials asked him each time he crossed whether he had anything to declare. Pointing to the dirt he would reply "Nada" and the guards would let him pass. In time they became used to his crossings that they no longer thought anything about what he was doing.
Turns out he was smuggling wheel barrows.
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.
1) Call the Apple Store ahead of time and make sure that they will have exactly what you want set aside for you when you arrive.
2) Purchase a UK power adapter from a UK Apple dealer before you go. The day before you leave the US for home, ship all the manuals and paperwork back to the UK, along with the US power adapter. Take nothing but the laptop and a UK power adapter in your bag through customs.
3) Call your credit card company beforehand and make sure that they will clear your charge for the purchase.
4) When you get back to the UK, look into buying a UK keyboard for your PowerBook. IIRC, the key faces can be detached and replaced from the notebook fairly easily.
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.)
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No, it is not considered PERSONAL EFFECTS, UNLESS YOU HAVE OWNED FOR 6 MONTHS or so.
For all the rest of you suggesting claiming innocence if you are stopped, HM Custom & Excise have access to VERY comprehensive databases. If they suspect you just bought it, they will check up. I highly recommend if you are stopped that you tell the truth and dont attempt to conceal the fact you bought it. They will question you if they find a laptop in yoru baggage, and it will be childs play to find out that it was just purchased. You will then be subject to a much larger penalty.
See my posting below. The office who stopped me, actually ended up entertaining me with lots of stories about guys who deliberately "tattered" their laptops with sticky tape and the like to attempt to make it look used. Trouble is those things come with serial numbers. They are also on the look out for high end guitars as well apparently there's a brisk trade in Gibsen's etc.
Sure, try to go through the green channel with an innocent face, but if you are stopped, and asked, tell them you bought it in the US.
Winton
Spread, my little hegemony. Spread.
First the keyboards, then the language! Before long, we'll have them speaking English in the UK! Mwahahahaha!
Shipping might be possible. To avoid a custom's tax you might have to indicate that the unit isn't new and is being shipped back from a conference for safety reasons. If you did try to get it out of the country with your flight you should definitely not take it in the box. You should mail the paperwork and CDs to your home from the US and put the laptop in a well-worn laptop case. That way they'll be less likely to assume it's new (like they'd think that much anyhow).
You are required by law to tell them.
If they even begin to think that you didn't tell them about something you ought to have, they can pull you aside and search you and your baggage. They have zero sense of humour about this kind of thing. They have every reason to want to catch you, since the fines are much higher than the taxes, and they look good catching smugglers. It's their job.
If they ask you, and you lie, you can be easily caught. They will look at the data plate on the laptop and see the country of origin is the US. They will notice how new it looks and ask you to prove when you bought it, or when you brought it into the country and paid the VAT on it (you better have an accompanying entry stamp in your passport). They can also trace the serial number and determine when it was manufactured and sold.
This is why it is a good idea to register any foreign made products prior to leaving your home country. The US has a form for this; I assume the UK has one, too.
I can attest to the lack of humor. I was re-entering Australia after a two-day side-trip over to New Zealand. I had two food items in my bag -- a bag of US chocolate candy that had already cleared Oz quarantine where I had been told it was no problem, and a bag of Oz-produced, Oz-purchased chocolate easter bunnies. I didn't report either one. They have an X-ray machine that detects chocolate. :-( They were not amused.
The person who mentioned "personal item" if the computer is used while overseas is wrong. This exemption is for people who have resided abroad, not just visited. Governments, especially the US, are quite nit-picky about the difference. It is intended for people who have lived overseas and in the normal course of living have bought things like clothing and furniture to use while residing overseas, but want to bring them back home.