V-Flyer

Hi All

Is it possible to buy an ipad in duty free at Heathrow, if so does anybody know how much it is?

Yes from
Dixons Duty free

No ideas on prices as none on the website but you can always give them a ring.

Thanks tontybear, I'll give the store a ring to find out how much it is, then I shall work out how much it is in the US before I decide where to buy. The dollar isn't to bad at the moment.

I'm going to wait until I'm in the U.S to Buy my new iPad because they are something like $640 which works out just under £400 ish if I'm right so that's where my new iPad awaits haha

http://www.businesstraveller.com/discus ... ng-gimmick

Scroll down about three quarters to see prices in April.

ISTR for the original iPad, the price in Dixons Duty Free was about £30 or so less than high st retail price. Buying in the USA will always be much cheaper - you could pretty much double or triple that discount IIRC?

Thanks Darren, more like £15 difference now then! Definitely worth buying in the US, especially with the exchange rate improving.

I looked at this recently and here's my verdict:

iPad 64GB WiFi version:

UK Apple Store / High Street £559
US Apple Store / retail $699 + tax say 8% in CA = $755 (which at £1 : $1.6 makes it £472)
UK duty free £543

i.e. Duty free is totally not worth it.

Also, by my reckoning, Apple is not skimming UK customers, because:

UK £559 - 20% VAT = £466 before VAT which is LESS than the US price of £472 at the same exchange rate. Comparing untaxed prices is surprising. y)

Don't forget that sales tax in California can be as high as 9.75% now, depending on what county your purchase is made. But you can still get the tax refunded before you leave the country.

pvfpaul77 wrote: But you can still get the tax refunded before you leave the country.

Since when? You've never been able to reclaim state sales tax to the best of my knowledge, unlike VAT.

Are there any support/warranty issues buying in the US?

DocRo wrote:Are there any support/warranty issues buying in the US?

None at all - all Apple products have a standard 12 month worldwide warranty so no issues about buying overseas at all.

Darren Wheeler wrote:

pvfpaul77 wrote: But you can still get the tax refunded before you leave the country.

Since when? You've never been able to reclaim state sales tax to the best of my knowledge, unlike VAT.

I could have sworn this was the case, but I guess I'm mistaken.

However if you order an iPad (or any goods) online and have it shipped to a US address in a state where the vendor doesn't have a physical address, then you won't pay the sales tax.

Just a word of warning, if you want an iPad2. I was in the US this month and the Apple stores in Boston and Tampa stated that you'd need to be in a queue outside the store by 6.30/7am to have a chance of getting your hands on one, and even then they sometimes won't have enough to go around.

The savings (about £80) are definitely there to be had though.

Tinkerbelle wrote:

DocRo wrote:Are there any support/warranty issues buying in the US?

None at all - all Apple products have a standard 12 month worldwide warranty so no issues about buying overseas at all.

The only thing not covered by the standard Apple Worldwide warranty are iPhones. iPhones can only be exchanged in the country of purchase.

Thanks everybody for your input, we are going to Florida I'm not sure what the sales tax is but it is always going to be cheaper than here. Only 5 days to go, its so exciting... the next decision is what to choose from the upper spring menu??? Pork loin maybe..

Diane Hulme wrote:Thanks everybody for your input, we are going to Florida I'm not sure what the sales tax is but it is always going to be cheaper than here. Only 5 days to go, its so exciting... the next decision is what to choose from the upper spring menu??? Pork loin maybe..

Diane

Sales tax in Florida is 6.5%

(prices has risen dramatically in the last few years)

David

Diane Hulme wrote:Thanks everybody for your input, we are going to Florida I'm not sure what the sales tax is but it is always going to be cheaper than here. Only 5 days to go, its so exciting... the next decision is what to choose from the upper spring menu??? Pork loin maybe..

Diane

Sales tax in Florida is 6.5%

(FYI general prices has risen dramatically in the last few years)

David

pvfpaul77 wrote:...... But you can still get the tax refunded before you leave the country.

I had heard you could get the tax back, but only if it is over $100, which it won't be on an iPad. However I'm not sure it is possible because of the fact that there are state tax and local (county) taxes collected by different bodies. That would make it a nightmare to find out who would repay it.
Unlike in the UK where the greedy buggers at HMRC get the whole 20% VAT ):

Some US stores offer discounts to international visitors - Macy's gives 10% which is a bit better than the NY sales tax of 8.8% so that's the best option. I'm sure some others do too.

Cheers

Martin

Is there a way of avoiding the salestax by buying over the internet and getting it delivered to your hotel ?

vji6697 wrote:Is there a way of avoiding the salestax by buying over the internet and getting it delivered to your hotel ?

It depends where you are in the States. In some states there is sales tax on internet orders but not in others. In some states the tax even applies to the delivery charges.

In the past few years of ordering from amazon.com for delivery to hotels I have been charged sales tax for NYC but not Boston or San Francisco.

So it is worth checking even if you jst do a dummy order using a hotel as a delivery point.

clarkeysntfc wrote:Just a word of warning, if you want an iPad2. I was in the US this month and the Apple stores in Boston and Tampa stated that you'd need to be in a queue outside the store by 6.30/7am to have a chance of getting your hands on one, and even then they sometimes won't have enough to go around.

I had the same story from the Apple Store in Knoxville, TN.

I presume you are not looking for a 3G one. But if you are don't buy a Verizon one as I don't think you can unlock it for a UK sim card....you have to get an AT&T one to be able to do that.

Also the sales tax is 7.5% in some counties of Florida

Sunshine 8D

I shouldn't really be looking as I think I'm still happy with my 1st gen iPad (bought on launch in California) but the papers in Malaysia where I'm on holiday have lots of ads.

The iPad 2 has just come out here, and prices start at 1500 MYR, which is only just over £300! I think that's an incredible price, but doubt I'll be able to find one if I go hunting.

That's for the wifi 16GB unit, which is £399 in the UK. No extra tax, and it should be within the customs allowance.

http://store.apple.com/my

When I was in LHR yesterday I very nobly went into Dixons to price an iPad for this very thread. The 16GB was £387.38 and the 32GB was £462 something. That was for the Wi-Fi version. I didn't price the 3G one