Prices of Apple in UK/AUS?

[Cassady]

Hi!

I gather that both UK and AUS are not that much cheaper than ZA when it comes to laptop prices?

Especially when factoring in Customs prices etc? Heading out to both via Dubai mid-June, and figured I'd ask? I'm thinking that peripherals/accessories might be a bit cheaper, especially the stuff not normally stocked this side (TB enclosures etc.).

Anyone have ideas?

 

[noxibox]

Getting it from the UK is normally only much cheaper if you can claim the VAT back and not pay anything on the South African side. You can also sometimes get good refurbished deals.

 

[Cassady]

Getting it from the UK is normally only much cheaper if you can claim the VAT back and not pay anything on the South African side. You can also sometimes get good refurbished deals.

Thanks. Will look into the VAT thing. I.r.o. Refurbished models - presumably need a UK credit card and physical address? I'm only in the UK for a bit more than a week - so probably too tight, time wise?

 

[zippy]

Thanks. Will look into the VAT thing. I.r.o. Refurbished models - presumably need a UK credit card and physical address? I'm only in the UK for a bit more than a week - so probably too tight, time wise?

You dont need a UK credit card or physical address to buy anything while you are here in the UK. As long as the card works overseas it should be good. Just keep the slip to claim the VAT back at Heathrow when you leave.

If you are in London, the Apple store there will definatly have what you need, but not refurbs though. That might be a problem.

 

[surfs-up]

I travel to the USA once a year, and to the UK 3 to 4 times a year. Apple products in the USA are around 10 - 15 % cheaper than here - that is, if you DON'T declare it and pay VAT like you are meant to when you arrive back in the country. If you declare it when you return, and pay VAT, then the pricing is about the same.

For the UK, because they have such a high VAT rate (20 % !!!!!!!), I found it slightly more expensive to buy Apple products in the UK - you can see for yourself - go to apple.co.uk, and get the price and multiply by 18.4 !!!!! you will probably find it is more expensive there after our weak rand exchange is factored in and their high 20 % VAT included.

If you still want to buy an Apple product in the UK, and want to claim the VAT back, you need to get a "VAT 407" form from the Apple store. Take this completed VAT 407 form, together with invoice and Apple product STILL IN IT'S BOX, and show it to the VAT refund guys at Heathrow airport. If they are happy, they will stamp your 407 form. Now the tricky part - if you want a FULL refund, you have to post the now stamped 407 form back to the dealer that you bought it from, together with your C/C number or bank details, into which they must transfer the VAT money back to you. Ye.... I know, you will be back in S.A and wondering if it will ever get paid back....

If you want CASH back for you VAT claim, you take the stamped VAT 407 form through security at Heathrow. Once you are through security you have to go to the Travelex people that exchange money. Hand them the 407 form, and they will give you cash. HOWEVER, these guys are sharks. They charge you a commission. The last time I did it, they charged me almost 40 % of what I was supposed to get back. So I lost half my VAT claim to the Travelex sharks. After travelling back and forth so many times, I have come to the conclusion that it's not worth the bother of buying there in the UK. You might be worse off or break even at best. It's too much hassle, and you are not going to really benefit. AND, if they stop you at O.R.T when you arrive back in S.A, and search your suitcase, and find your goods.....the S.A customs will charge you 14 %......which is why you could be worse off than buying locally.

I don't know about Australia, as I don't travel there.

 

[Cassady]

I travel to the USA once a year, and to the UK 3 to 4 times a year. Apple products in the USA are around 10 - 15 % cheaper than here - that is, if you DON'T declare it and pay VAT like you are meant to when you arrive back in the country. If you declare it when you return, and pay VAT, then the pricing is about the same.

For the UK, because they have such a high VAT rate, I found it slightly more expensive to buy Apple products in the UK. If you want to buy an Apple product in the UK, and want to claim the VAT back, you need to get a "VAT 407" form from the dealer. Take this VAT 407 form, together with invoice and Apple product STILL IN IT'S BOX, and show it to the VAT refund guys at Heathrow airport. If they are happy, they will stamp your 407 form. Now the tricky part - if you want a FULL refund, you have to post the now stamped 407 form back to the dealer that you bought it from, together with your C/C number or bank into which they must transfer the VAT money back to you.

If you want CASH back for you VAT claim, you take the stamped VAT 407 form through security at Heathrow. Once you are through security you have to go to the Travelex people that exchange money. Hand them the 407 form, and they will give you cash. HOWEVER, these guys are sharks. They charge you a commission. The last time I did it, they charged me almost 40 % of what I was supposed to get back. So I lost half my VAT claim to the Travelex sharks. After travelling back and forth so many times, I have come to the conclusion that it's not worth the bother of buying there in the UK. You might be worse off or break even. It's too much hassle, and you are not going to really benefit. AND, if they stop you at O.R.T when you arrive back in S.A, and search your suitcase, and find your goods.....the S.A customs will charge you 14 %......which is why you could be worse off than buying locally.

I don't know about Australia, as I don't travel there.

I really appreciate your detailed reply – this has answered all my questions, and then some.

It's pretty much confirmed what I suspected – not really worth the effort, to maybe (maybe) come at R1k(?) or even less, "better-off"... not to mention the later hassles should something go wrong, with me sitting in ZA...

I'll do a bit of a shop – but will probably focus on peripherals that are not easy to get in ZA. Case-in-point is the Doxie Flip, or one of their other portable scanners. Not really stocked here, and importing via USAdress.com etc., sees you get burned with the courier/shipping costs. If I can pick it up that side, and bring back – it's worth it. But for the high-end pieces (i.e. laptops etc.), not so much...

 

[bwana]

Hi!

I gather that both UK and AUS are not that much cheaper than ZA when it comes to laptop prices?

Especially when factoring in Customs prices etc? Heading out to both via Dubai mid-June, and figured I'd ask? I'm thinking that peripherals/accessories might be a bit cheaper, especially the stuff not normally stocked this side (TB enclosures etc.).

Anyone have ideas?

I bought my 15" MBP from Dixons duty free at Heathrow and saved more than R5k. That was at the end of December so ymmv when it comes to current exchange rates.

 

[Cassady]

I bought my 15" MBP from Dixons duty free at Heathrow and saved more than R5k. That was at the end of December so ymmv when it comes to current exchange rates.

How does Dixon's work exactly? Just checked their online site (and remember wondering the same the last time I went though Heathrow) – they list prices on some of the items, but not on others. MBA's you need to "reserve" them? Any ideas?

 

[Cassady]

How does Dixon's work exactly? Just checked their online site (and remember wondering the same the last time I went though Heathrow) – they list prices on some of the items, but not on others. MBA's you need to "reserve" them? Any ideas?

Ah... needed to do some digging. Found it now... 1799GBP for 15" rMBP 512GB / 16GB... +/- R34k... That's about what I'd hope to pay here... Exchange rate is bringing tears to my eyes ATM... Joy.

 

[bwana]

How does Dixon's work exactly? Just checked their online site (and remember wondering the same the last time I went though Heathrow) – they list prices on some of the items, but not on others. MBA's you need to "reserve" them? Any ideas?

That's right - I reserved it online (http://boutique.heathrow.com/index.php/shop-by-brands/manufacturer/dixons-travel) and it was ready and waiting for someone to collect on their way to SA.

Ah... needed to do some digging. Found it now... 1799GBP for 15" rMBP 512GB / 16GB... +/- R34k... That's about what I'd hope to pay here... Exchange rate is bringing tears to my eyes ATM... Joy.

That sucks - I paid £1619.

 

[Cassady]

That sucks - I paid £1619.

Wow. Good price that. Lucky B$#%!

 

[surfs-up]

Oh, about Dubai...I always fly Emirates, so I always stop off at Dubai. Everyone says how cheap Dubai is for electronic goods - yes, if you go out the airport and bargain for a good price in the city, you can save. But, at the Dubai airport prices are high - supposedly "duty free" prices are similar to what you pay here.

But I saw you can beat them down a bit. One time in Dubai airport I asked about a 128 GB iPad mini with cellular. After doing sums it worked out to about the same as here - I think it was R 9500. I told them their price was high, and he offered it to me for the equivalent of R 8000. So do your sums with the exchange rate at the time and you may save....but then you risk getting stopped at ORT customs on your return home, finding your goods, and if they do find it they will ask you if you left S.A with them. If you say you did, they will ask you where your declaration form is when you left S.A (When you leave S.A, you are supposed to fill in a form detailing all your valuable goods with their serial numbers. If you return to S.A and can't show them your declaration form, proving that you bought it in S.A before you left the country, they will assume you bought it overseas, and will charge you VAT on it)

 

[surfs-up]

Ah... needed to do some digging. Found it now... 1799GBP for 15" rMBP 512GB / 16GB... +/- R34k... That's about what I'd hope to pay here... Exchange rate is bringing tears to my eyes ATM... Joy.

It sounds like you are after the 15" rMBP that I am using here. I got the top of the range 15 " rMBP,which I bought locally from CitiMac in Durban in February this year, for a little over R 34 000.00. An absolutely awesome laptop, very very fast. The change from my ageing 2010 15" MBP is like night and day in terms of speed - thanks mostly to the SSD, and also the quad core i7 and 16GB RAM.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Aus is usually more expensive and UK not far behind and only makes sense if you can dodge customs and shipping.

 

[andrieso]

Eish, not boasting here, but when I look at what things cost in South Africa, I am really fortunate to work close to Dubai and source my Apple products (or just about anything else) there at about 70% of what they would cost in SA. My MacBook Pro 15", top spec, cost me the equivalent of 24k ZAR. iPhone 6 64GB cost about 9k ZAR. Same trend for all of the Apple products I have bought this year so far.