Purchasing Macbook Pro in USA Duty free ?

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joutei

308 posts

Ultimate Geek

#104193 16-Jun-2012 11:29

Hey guys,

Traveling to the United States soon, just wondering if I can get a macbook pro duty free in the united states?
Does anyone have any idea the price and what shop , etc ?

much appreciated

Cheers

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#641747 16-Jun-2012 11:41

Topic already covered in many threads. You should expect to pay duty and GST on any goods brought into the country totalling $700 or more. You may be lucky and get away with it, you may not, but I would factor it in to your calculations.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

boby55

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#641749 16-Jun-2012 11:44

If you do purchase overseas. Ditch the box, Buy a case, bring it back as if you brought it with you on your trip and post the receipt back in the mail.

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#641751 16-Jun-2012 11:55

As said. If you bring goods worth more than NZ$ 700 you have to declare it and pay tax + GST.

joutei

308 posts

Ultimate Geek

#641753 16-Jun-2012 12:06

I was planning to ditch the box and bring it back with me on hand luggage.

Just wanting to know if anyone has an idea on the prices duty free.

Cheers

sbiddle

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#642013 17-Jun-2012 09:47

There isn't really such a thing as "duty free" electrical in the US.

You're issue is purely the fact you'll need to make a legal declaration when you enter NZ, and if you're going to lie on that you obviously need to understand the risks of doing so.

johnr

19282 posts

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#642023 17-Jun-2012 10:33

I purchased a new Macbook Air when in the US late last year and decleared it when passing thru customs the tax was just over $100,

th3r3turn

258 posts

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#642031 17-Jun-2012 10:53

boby55: If you do purchase overseas. Ditch the box, Buy a case, bring it back as if you brought it with you on your trip and post the receipt back in the mail.

That would be the first thing i do! how are they to know that you got it while over there. I Say go for it, and lets see what happens! BTW your be saving around 500-700NZD for the macbook pro retina display, but from what i have read there is a waiting time of 3-4 weeks!

on a side note, would live to know the easyest way to get a MBP Retina Display from the US!!

BTW get the apple care, that way your safe if it breaks down.

Tradepub

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21brandon21

145 posts

Master Geek

#642298 18-Jun-2012 01:03

Just use it as your shoulder carry/Hand on Bag. They won't know. Don't bother declaring it, they're laxed. They don't even Screen you in New Zealand. You're only going to make yourself pay $100. I recommend you ditch the Box, Instruction Manual and Receipt. And you'll be fine.

nathan

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#642312 18-Jun-2012 06:14

its possible to not pay US state sales tax by getting the items shipped interstate to you, you need to buy from an online retailer that doesn't have a retail shop in the place you are shipping it to

checkout http://www.appleinsider.com/mac_price_guide/ I believe Mac Mall is generally cheapest

Yes you are liable for GST when you bring it back into NZ

If you don't pay that GST and avoid it you are just ripping off every other NZ who pays their taxes

th3r3turn

258 posts

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#642313 18-Jun-2012 06:45

nathan: its possible to not pay US state sales tax by getting the items shipped interstate to you, you need to buy from an online retailer that doesn't have a retail shop in the place you are shipping it to

checkout http://www.appleinsider.com/mac_price_guide/ I believe Mac Mall is generally cheapest

Yes you are liable for GST when you bring it back into NZ

If you don't pay that GST and avoid it you are just ripping off every other NZ who pays their taxes

mean so what if i have a postal address in one part of the US, i just buy from another part of the US.

Digmarx

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#642314 18-Jun-2012 07:08

Aside from the legal/moral issues described above, the interstate-shipping-to-avoid-sales-tax option warrants a bit of research on your part. I believe some states are starting to tax some interstate purchases. A quick search turned this up from Amazon: "Items sold by Amazon.com LLC, or its subsidiaries, and shipped to destinations in the states of Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, or Washington are subject to tax."

DjShadow

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#642342 18-Jun-2012 08:39

Does raise an interesting point this, the new Macbook Pro with Retina display is being retailed in NZ for around $3500 whereas in the USA its $2199 USD, do the exchange rate conversion on the Westpac NZ site and comes out at around $2627, so could still workout cheaper importing one with GST added on.

Edit: Just checked the Customs (NZ) website and they charge 0% duty on computers so would be just GST

nathan

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#642347 18-Jun-2012 08:43

in NZ if you are buying for non-business purposes you are covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act so basically you get a 3-4 (maybe even more) warranty included in the price

surfisup1000

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#642364 18-Jun-2012 09:28

DjShadow: Does raise an interesting point this, the new Macbook Pro with Retina display is being retailed in NZ for around $3500 whereas in the USA its $2199 USD, do the exchange rate conversion on the Westpac NZ site and comes out at around $2627, so could still workout cheaper importing one with GST added on.

Edit: Just checked the Customs (NZ) website and they charge 0% duty on computers so would be just GST

It's all a bit of a scam the way kiwis must pay more for imported goods.

If the prices were fairly set then people would not need to go to all of these efforts to self-import.

Really, why should kiwis pay $400 more? It is still shipped from china whether you live in the USA or NZ.

We even pay much more for downloaded software, so you can't argue economies of scale.

nathan

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#642368 18-Jun-2012 09:34

often when comparing US prices, those US prices don't include state sales tax

but I'm sure the NZers paying more thing has a lot to do with going through another middle man/distributor etc

also I think a large part of it is the retailers obligations under the NZ Consumer Guarantees Act, which affectively gives you a longer warranty, if purchasd for non business use

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