U.S vs U.K Apple Store

just wondering if there isn't any real reason to buy a mac of the U.S apple refurb store? by the way i live in england , why shouldn't i just ask my cousin to bring one over when they next come?
i would save around £300 !!!! thanks..
p.s.
if people do this what is the point of the U.K apple store ??
(are there any members in this forum who are from the uk?..)

The only thing I can think of is duty at the airport

I would have to agree about the duty at the airport. But honestly, I don't see how they can properly police it once an item like a laptop comes out of its box. There's a UK Apple Store because not everyone has friends coming to the States and willing to try to put one over on customs.

There's a lot of UK members here, and the price difference is a hot topic. I wish someone would find out once and for all the cause of the price differences. If there's a lot of complaints and a justifiable reason, there has to be a way of finding out.

I'm a UK member and wish I'd had the mac bug when I was in Florida in January. I'd have bought 1!

If you take it out of the box and either put it in your hand luggage or in a laptop bag then I think you may get away with the import duty.

It's just another way of getting your hard earned anyway. Just like fuel tax.

fleurya said:

I would have to agree about the duty at the airport. But honestly, I don't see how they can properly police it once an item like a laptop comes out of its box. There's a UK Apple Store because not everyone has friends coming to the States and willing to try to put one over on customs.

There's a lot of UK members here, and the price difference is a hot topic. I wish someone would find out once and for all the cause of the price differences. If there's a lot of complaints and a justifiable reason, there has to be a way of finding out.

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There's a few reasons:

1. Tax. The US price is without sales tax, the british price includes 17,5% VAT.

2. Logistics. Apple obviously has a much larger retail presence in the US, so the economies of scale probably mean they have less logistical overhead. Things such as corporate taxes are usually a bit higher as well (free healthcare isn't entirely free - but if you've ever had a major operation you'll thank your stars you've got it).

3. Expectation. Most CE products still work out being more expensive in the UK than in the US. Why? Good question - but since that's not uncommon, I guess they can just "get away with it", since the relative price is the same (an iPod costs the same amount more than a Sansa player in the UK as it does in the US).

Note: This is just what I assume some of the reasons are. I could be off though of course...

thanks but is it worth it? it might break!!! should i take the risk?

Avenged Origami said:

thanks but is it worth it? it might break!!! should i take the risk?

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AFAIK all Apple computers come with a warranty that is valid internationally, so even if my German Macbook breaks when I'm on holiday in the US I can get it fixed (and vice versa).

One thing to consider: the keyboard layout would be US rather than British.

I guess the only risk is your trust in your friend. If he puts it in a laptop bag and carries it on the plane with him, the only risk is his clumsiness. Don't even think about having him check it into baggage under the plane, unless you want to see the inside of a destroyed laptop when he gives it to you.

EDIT: ah, I see you meant something else by break. I assumed the warranty is good no matter where you use it.

I'm from the UK and I would totally get a family member to bring me some Apple goodies home if they visited from the US!

Customs at Heathrow tried to charge me duty for an SLR that was 30 years old once. I'm not sure I'd trust it being 'out of the box', unless your cousins coming solely on a tourist visa.

I find it somewhat ironic that UK people are griping about taxes. I seem to remember something in history class about a group of people, oh ... about 220+ years ago, who fled the burdensome over-taxation of Britain to make a new start of it in some place across the ocean from them ... hmmm ....

Seriously, one of the main reasons UK Mac users pay more is your taxes. The other, I suspect, is y'all are willing to pay more so they charge more!

It's pretty much just the taxes. Thats with everything, There are probably hidden charges for transport from america - UK. or china to england, as UK is further from china.

ANd basically the british government are money grabbing *Insert not nice word*.

But next year I'm heading off to cali and I'm going to buy me a lot of apple goodies. maybe macbook pro & air. Because it will end up being the same as just one macbook pro over here in UK.

XD

JohnTheMacGeek said:

I find it somewhat ironic that UK people are griping about taxes. I seem to remember something in history class about a group of people, oh ... about 220+ years ago, who fled the burdensome over-taxation of Britain to make a new start of it in some place across the ocean from them ... hmmm ....!

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They say that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps all the iBrits will revolt and move across the ocean once again.

Wouldn't you need to buy a different plug adapter afterwards too? Isn't America running on 140 volts and the United Kingdom on 240 volts? Or would it not make a difference?

clint1986 said:

Wouldn't you need to buy a different plug adapter afterwards too? Isn't America running on 140 volts and the United Kingdom on 240 volts? Or would it not make a difference?

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True, but the power adapter can handle both voltages.
You'll just need to pull out the US prongs and pop on the british version (or buy an adapter).

J_K said:

I'm a UK member and wish I'd had the mac bug when I was in Florida in January. I'd have bought 1!

If you take it out of the box and either put it in your hand luggage or in a laptop bag then I think you may get away with the import duty.

It's just another way of getting your hard earned anyway. Just like fuel tax.

Click to expand...

As a UK resident returning from the states at most UK airports have you seen the customs desk you pass? Usually its a guy reading a newspaper, and sometimes there isnt even anyone there!

The only way youw ill get taxed is ifyou buy it on Ebay and even then it might work out cheaper, i bought my first mac ( a mini) on ebay from america and it still worked out cheaper than buying it here even when i got hit with import duty!

I am thinking seriously about buying my next mac in NYC in october as it will save me about £400!

Yeah.
Tell me about it.
Fortunatley, the long hauls have like 400 people and they only stop the really dodgey looking ones.

I'll be going to Las Vegas next year so maybe I'll pick a new one up then.

Jaygray said:

They say that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Perhaps all the iBrits will revolt and move across the ocean once again.

Click to expand...

I'm not so sure they want to do that. We seem to be marching down that same path ... and we're likely about to elect a democrat to office!

I did a cost comparison before I bought my macbook and called and questioned the apple folks.

1) You have to buy the apple care in the same country you purchase the mac product. This is according to the customer service.

2) They will not ship from the US to the UK because of legalities import export rules.

3) I did a price comparison. I paid 1, 743 Euro for my new Mac Book (includes microsoft office and applecare) in the US this would of cost me 1,928 bucks. Its a 500 euro difference, and the reason being in the US I would of paid 8 cents on the dollar for tax, and here I paid 17%.

We're getting screwed here people.

I know there are export laws as well due to encryption and what not, although I don't know if those apply to the UK or not.