Why is my T61p order so incredibly expensive?

[Ancient]

Hi @all

The thread title saiys it all really.
I live in austria so i cant buy a t61p directly from the lenovo website
So i wen't to a lenovo retailer here they offered me the following:
http://www.ba-computer.at/product_info. ... s_id=65623

Unfortunatly the site is german but i guess the specs are clear to anyone.

Now together with the additional 2 GB of Ram this think costs me about 4000 Euro.
That is about 5,524.9 US Dollars.

On th eother hand if i configure this system on the lenovo website it is "only" about 3500 USD

Am i being ripped off or a TPs just so much more expensive outside the U.S ?

Many thanks for any info

Ancient.

[bill bolton]

Am i being ripped off or a TPs just so much more expensive outside the U.S ?

That is indeed an unfortunate fact of life.

If its any consolation, most US prices you see on web sites are exclusive of retail sales tax. Depending on the exact circumstances, the actual price a US buyer could pay may be up to ~10% higher than what you see on the web (or on the shelf sticker).

Cheers,

Bill B.

[snife]

Lenovo pricing is a mystery to everyone - they have what they call TopSeller models which for T61p are about 700 UK pounds cheaper (i live in the UK but just for comparison) than the equivalent specs for a non Topseller model - i dont pretend to understand it but this is what you need to get your dealer to get for you I think.

Unfortunately there are no TopSeller models at the moment with the T7700 which adds a bit to the price too, the closest one is a 64606XG model which has the same specs I think but with the T7500, that one should cost about 1580 UK pounds.

This would be about 1000 Euros cheaper than the model you are looking at so you really need to ask yourself whether this is worth it for a 0.2GHz bump (imho, its not!)

[GarryF]

Unfortunately there are no TopSeller models at the moment with the T7700 which adds a bit to the price too, the closest one is a 64606XG model which has the same specs I think but with the T7500, that one should cost about 1580 UK pounds.

That's lenovo web price, you can probably get it over £200 cheaper than that via a retailer.

[tomh009]

Unfortunately there are no TopSeller models at the moment with the T7700 which adds a bit to the price too, the closest one is a 64606XG model which has the same specs I think but with the T7500, that one should cost about 1580 UK pounds.

This would be about 1000 Euros cheaper than the model you are looking at so you really need to ask yourself whether this is worth it for a 0.2GHz bump (imho, its not!)

Exactly. From the same reseller, this looks to be almost identical except for the T7500, and priced far lower:
http://www.ba-computer.at/product_info. ... s_id=65660

Aftermarket 2 GB modules are no fairly inexpensive, and you can then sell your 2x1 GB to make up for some of the cost.

[andyP]

I don't know what the sales tax rate in Austria is, but according to the information I have is that the TP in question has a RRP of €3.310,00 plus tax. That makes it €3.983,90 here in Germany 19% tax

TopSellers have been announced; 6460-6YG with XP and 6460-6XG with XP. The RRP is €2.222,00 plus tax. They have the T7300 instead of the T7700, have 2x 1024 RAM and no Intel Turbo. - That is alot of price diffence

[snife]

The 6XG model has both T7500 and Vista, and tomh has given a good link for it and they seem to be even offering it below TopSeller RRP, the information i have states that it does actually have 256MB VRAM rather than the 128MB listed on that site.

[andyP]

The 6XG model has both T7500 and Vista, and tomh has given a good link for it and they seem to be even offering it below TopSeller RRP, the information i have states that it does actually have 256MB VRAM rather than the 128MB listed on that site.

You're of course right on all points, T7500 - (another incorrect info sheet from Lenovo has just landed in the shredder). Vista was my error - got destracted. And the graphic is the nVidia Quadro FX 570M with 256.

[yves]

You can purchase direct in the US

Ask Bill Morrow

I purchase all my TP from him

Very reliable

[snife]

Unfortunately, in Europe, we get absolutely screwed on import tax these days so ordering such an expensive item from the US would not be a good idea.

[Goran]

Unfortunately, in Europe, we get absolutely screwed on import tax these days so ordering such an expensive item from the US would not be a good idea.

I'd say that's too simplified. There are taxes and customs everywhere - but in the end, Europe always pays more for the same thing. And when something is exported, taxes in the country of origin usually don't apply.

[santalink]

Unfortunately, in Europe, we get absolutely screwed on import tax these days so ordering such an expensive item from the US would not be a good idea.

I think even with import tax and custom fee, the cost for OP's US$5,000 T61p should be around US$3,000 if he get it from US.
The downside is it's International Warranty Service may not cover his country.

[zverg]

Unfortunately, in Europe, we get absolutely screwed on import tax these days so ordering such an expensive item from the US would not be a good idea.

I'd say that's too simplified. There are taxes and customs everywhere - but in the end, Europe always pays more for the same thing. And when something is exported, taxes in the country of origin usually don't apply.

yeah well that's only sorta true. for me to get tax refunded from the canadian gov't you have to spend over a certain amount of money..

[tomh009]

If a Canadian vendor ships to the US (ie anywhere outside Canada), they don't need to charge any sales taxes -- no need to request refunds in that case.

[zverg]

If a Canadian vendor ships to the US (ie anywhere outside Canada), they don't need to charge any sales taxes -- no need to request refunds in that case.

i'm talking actually going to canada to buy things (the closest ikea is about two hours from me in ontario.. closest one in the states is 6-7 hours away).. it sucks. you have to buy a lot of stuff to be able to get a refund.

I just go there, look at stuff, write down everything I want, then come back home and order online

[tomh009]

That's true, yes. Same for us -- if I drive to Buffalo and do some shopping there, I'm stuck having paid NY sales tax, with no refund.

We do have a good IKEA selection, though.

[Ancient]

Thanks for your opinions on the matter.

Well yes i want the most powerful specs out there so i recon ill stick with it i was just wondering if im being ripped off or if that is the price i have to pay as EU customer for those specs.

Thanks alot

Ancient.

[Johan]

@ Ancient:

You've got PM.

Johan

[corsac]

And is it possible to order from France on US website or something like that?

[mattbiernat]

Hi @all

The thread title saiys it all really.
I live in austria so i cant buy a t61p directly from the lenovo website
So i wen't to a lenovo retailer here they offered me the following:
http://www.ba-computer.at/product_info. ... s_id=65623

Unfortunatly the site is german but i guess the specs are clear to anyone.

Now together with the additional 2 GB of Ram this think costs me about 4000 Euro.
That is about 5,524.9 US Dollars.

On th eother hand if i configure this system on the lenovo website it is "only" about 3500 USD

Am i being ripped off or a TPs just so much more expensive outside the U.S ?

Many thanks for any info

Ancient.

it will be cheaper for you to wait until the summer is over and fly over here to US and buy one

[wackydan]

A Lenovo business partner can mark up the price to a higher level than the MSRP.

You can not compare the prices you find from one country to another. It goes beyond simple currency conversion. Products cost more or less to sell in various countries depending on competitive influences, tariffs, other taxes, the relative wealth or lack of wealth of the customer base (charge what the market will dictate).

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

I bought my T61 in the US, I live, as you can see, in The Netherlands, in Europe.

Yes, we have a 19% VAT, so that costed me 235 euros

But at the end, all in, I still save a 450 euros on a ~1500 euro config.

It's worth it.

B.t.w., I got my T61 before I could even preorder it on local shops

[ryengineer]

snip.....
Yes, we have a 19% VAT, so that costed me 235 euros
But at the end, all in, I still save a 450 euros on a ~1500 euro config. It's worth it.

Nice!

However lenovo might give you a hard time with warranty matters...

[dr_st]

19% VAT!

I thought no country has higher VAT than Israel (we have 15.5%, was 18% at one point).

[Ancient]

19% VAT!

I thought no country has higher VAT than Israel (we have 15.5%, was 18% at one point).

we got 20% in austria

[tomh009]

19% VAT!

I thought no country has higher VAT than Israel (we have 15.5%, was 18% at one point).

Yours is not all that high, really. Most European countries are higher, and many others, are, too. Norway and Sweden are at 25%! Check out the summary table on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_added_tax

[yves]

I am in France

I purchased my T60P, T41P, X31, CF29, in USA

I juste call Mr Bill Morrow (owner of thinkpads.com)

He accept CC

I get the same quality of service as if I purchased my T60P in Paris

Except that I pay $3000 instead of XXXX euros

[Vali]

Got mine for ~$2800 or 2200 Euros. In Romania we have 19% VAT. The reason why the "p" are so expensive is also that these systems are maxed out. I could have got it much cheaper if configurable.

I've bought it from a Romanian retailer, 3 days after I made my decision it was on my desk.

I wanted to buy from US also, but if I run into something the 3 year warranty is very useful. Actually the warranty is the thing that made me purchase it from Romania.

Regards,
v.

[snife]

Unfortunately, in Europe, we get absolutely screwed on import tax these days so ordering such an expensive item from the US would not be a good idea.

I'd say that's too simplified. There are taxes and customs everywhere - but in the end, Europe always pays more for the same thing. And when something is exported, taxes in the country of origin usually don't apply.

Agreed but in Europe and particularly in the UK, customs have gotten insane, it would be fine if you only had to pay the VAT but you also have to pay duty (which is not the same as tax apparently) and processing fees etc and they charge all these on the full price including delivery charges, for example, I recently order a pair of $60 trainers from the US, my total bill from Fedex was about 35 pounds which was more than the item cost.

[jcvjcvjcvjcv]

My FedEx bill was € 235.37; just the 19% and 7 euros for FedEx because the paid the tax before I paid it to them.

Yeah, warranty might be hard, but at the end the will agree i guess. I have plenty of time, so I can call them everyday if I have to when I need warranty.

And what the heck is it for stupid thing that Dell gives you standard international next business-day onsite warranty (3 years) on the Latitudes, while you have to pay $300 to get the same at Lenovo .

Two weeks after I ordered my T61 there was a modell on Euclid for the same price, but if lacked the 802.11N wifi and it didn't have Turbo Memory, but it had IWS.