Thinkpads Forum

Hi,

I am going to purchase a T60p but was wondering if any of you had bought a laptop from the Us and had it shipped to Europe. The prices here are so ridiculously high and lower spec but I am worried about import duties.

Does anyone know how they work on what the charges are?

Many Thanks.

Depends on what country you're in!

Why not put your location in your profile so we don't have to ask and can give you the best answer.

Regards,

James

I doubt it will be much cheaper. Not only do you have to pay custom duties, but you may also have to pay local VAT on top of the customs charge. Which will effectively cancel out anything you're saving by buying it overseas.

for example here in norway it's like:

base price + 10% costoms from baseprice (*)
+ 25% VAT from baseprise + customs

* customs percentage depends on the type of goods you import
The same principle is true in most european countries.

If you're in the EU you can try to find a dealer within the EU from a country with low VAT. I guess the best bet would be Germany with 16%

kwramm wrote:I doubt it will be much cheaper.

Historically that's not been the case on upper level model Thinkpads.

The savings have usually ranged from 1/4 to 1/2, as i said it primarily depends on the country. There's no duty on "used" computers from the US in most of EU. But you will wind up paying VAT everywhere and sometimes a "fee" to Customs.

Saving 1/4 on a 6K Euro Thinkpad is certainlly not a small savings.

Regards,

James

Wow. At such savings it would even be an excuse to take a "free" trip to buy a machine here.

a t60p ranges from EUR 2900,- to EUR 3200,- in the EU (www.geizhals.at) which is around USD 3900,- Add shipping, VAT and customs to a US import model and you get a very similar number. There's really not that much of an advantage here. Maybe 200 - 300 euros.

And when your unit has defects in the first 30 days you most likely have to return it to where you bought it - i.e. over the pond. Also shipping time and the time your new notebook will be held at customs will count towards your 30 days return limit.
Don't forget that you're not getting an european keyboard layout either (depends if you really care about that).

On the positive side, when you buy at a local dealer in the EU you can ask your dealer to make a dead pixel check, squeaky palmrest check, docking station check, general system unit check, etc. So there are no surprises when you buy your notebook and you get a perfect machine.
Since many IBM dealers are smaller shops here, it's pretty good dealing with them and they'll do a lot to make you happy.

Overall I think the risks involved with ordering overseas are just not worth the little bit you save. That's just my take on it. Guess whatever floats your boat works

James, there are signs that Lenovo may be *starting* to change their attitude towards global pricing. They have previously made statements in the press regarding their desire to be more effective in the global market.

Only today, I noticed that the 2007-69M (Aust. equiv of 2007-63U, but with WWAN) has dropped from a preposterous AU$6049 to a merely pricey AU$4299. I bought my 2007-63U for ~AU$3600 (incl. shipping & taxes).

The gap is starting to close -- let's hope this trend continues...

Although impossible due to different country tax policies and market demand, I really wish big companies can find a way to sort of standardize worldwide pricing. Instead of spending alot on huge billboard advertisements on main thoroughfares (considering the small demand in my market), I wish they provide more varieties and lower acquisition cost so guys like me won't have to look elsewhere.

Like in my case, for the T60 I ordered (2623D6U) cost me US$1690 including a 1GB RAM upgrade. If I chose to buy a similar model here first, I have to wait at least 2 months since its not in the local lineup. Second, I willspend around US$3500 for it. So even if I pay an extra $300-400 more for customs duties importing my computer, I think its worth as long as there's a worldwide warranty since there's a chance in getting a defective unit.

The US$1500 I save can be used to pay the monthly wages of something like 8 of my of my employees.

jagged wrote:Although impossible due to different country tax policies and market demand, I really wish big companies can find a way to sort of standardize worldwide pricing.

Apple already does this.

Apple does? my mac mini was EUR 499,-
same as in the US. Except it is dollars over there and USD 499,- is much less :/

kwramm wrote:a t60p ranges from EUR 2900,- to EUR 3200,- in the EU (www.geizhals.at) which is around USD 3900,- Add shipping, VAT and customs to a US import model and you get a very similar number. There's really not that much of an advantage here. Maybe 200 - 300 euros.

I might be guilty of hyperbole WRT pricing, or just confusion after this thread.

But I'll repeat that it primarily depends on what country you reside in that decides whether or not you could realize significant savings importing a Thinkpad from the US.

Regards,

James

what you could do, not that you would.

is setup a shipping/forwarding address in the US [google it].

then do a wire transfer over to lenovo to pay for your laptop - as they only accept Amex or American CreditCards.

They will then send the laptop to your 'new' address, which will at your request declare it at whatever value you want - and forward it to you.

This can save you over 1200AUD.

Not that you'd ever do that though.

By the way - just in case you were to go through with it. From time of order until it hits your door step - i would imagine the wait would be just over two weeks.

Just a thought...

Thanks for all the replies - I was hoping that I would pay a few hundred USD's in which case it would still be well worth it but looks like it would be a lot more!

PS. Totally forgot to mention it - I am in the U.K.

Good luck. At first I thought this thread was about mail-order brides!