US Ordering

[ZeroG]

Anyone ever ordered anything from a site based in the US ?

Considering ordering a laptop from the US but wondered if it would be a good idea. I'm now looking into getting an Asus G73JH Gaming Laptop rather than a Dell M17x.

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/13605...ium-64-Bit-Laptop-Notebook-Black/Product.html

That is the laptop from Play.com which is a better spec for less money than the Dell. www.asuslaptops.co.uk have it slightly cheaper but I have never used them before and they have mixed reviews. Looking on American sites it seems to be quite a bit cheaper and even after the import tax we usually have to pay I think it could mean good savings over the UK price but I don't know if it's enough to offset the hassle of having an American laptop (Thinking about possible returns etc).

 

[Deep Blue]

The nice thing about dell is that you can get collect and return or onsite warranty cover.

The spec of the asus is good, not sure you have any protection if you buy products from outwith the EU if things go wrong. Just my 2 cents

 

[ZeroG]

The couple sites I've looked at, XoticPC for one, mention Glabal Warranty on the laptops.

 

[Deep Blue]

Well I'd email them and ask them if it could be repaired in the UK then? Dell certainly do a global warrenty.

 

[ZeroG]

Yeah I'll do that when I get home. The US machines are much cheaper - One's I've looked at range from $1400 - $1800 which even with any import tax should be a bargain.

 

[ZeroG]

I emailed Xotic PC with a few queries and got a fast reply which is good.

Xotic PC's Bank Wire Transfer info will be emailed to you after your order is submitted. You can then print off this info and take it to your bank and have the bank wire transfer completed by a bank representative.

The ASUS G73JH-A2 and the ASUS G73JH-A1 are currently pre-order items from Asus. Due to the extremely high demand and limited supply from Asus, the approximate wait time for any new G73JH order is a little over a month to a month and a half.

The included AC Adapter will be compatible with the international power requirements, however, you will need to purchase an international power cord for the AC Adapter.

The Asus models do have a global warranty coverage and you can send the notebook to your local Asus repair facility.

The only difference between the 2 models seems to be the A2 comes with just a dvd re-writer and the A1 comes with a blu-ray reader. Might be better to get without blu-ray as the drive is probably region locked.

The base price of the A2 is $1,549 and the A1 is $1,645. Not a huge difference there but compared to UK prices that's a saving of almost £1k so even if there was an import tax to pay on it that's still a massive saving.

 

[ZeroG]

The main difference between the G73JH-A1 and G73JH-A2 is the installed optical drive. The A1 model will have a blu-ray reader pre-installed, while the A2 model will have a standard DVD-RW pre-installed. You can view both the A1 and A2 models on Xotic PC's website with pricing at the links below:

G73JH-A1 model: http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g73jha1-order-p-2731.html - Starting at $1,645.00

G73JH-A2 model: http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-g73jha2-order-p-2761.html - Starting at $1,549.00

The blu-ray reader can be setup based on your region and would be done through software.

With an International wire transfer payment we generally receive the payment within 2-5 business days.

The only thing I really need to find out before making my decision now is how much I'd pay on import tax/VAT

 

[Deep Blue]

Yup and where your local ASUS repair facility is (probably europe)

Looking good though, maybe you can order one with a UK keyboard too?

 

[ZeroG]

If I've done it right according to http://www.dutycalculator.com the duty/VAT I would pay is £212.85.

Duty equals to nil because this product is duty free.

Delivery seems to be about $219.00 which is usually factored into duty price but since duty is £0 it looks as though I'd pay about $1900 total.

 

[ZeroG]

Just found this on http://www.dutycalculator.com

Certain products are subject to a "nil" rate of duty on import into the EU.

Although too numerous to list here, examples include:
• Most Household Furniture
• Books
• Computer Software
• Desktop PCs
• Digital Cameras
• Laptops
• Mobile Phones
• Video Game Consoles

 

[BlitzThose]

asus laptops are extremely reliable and were even rated best in a recent laptop manufacturer survey ahead of even toshiba, so its a safe bet you will never have to use one of there warrentys.

however alienwares/dells repair service has impressed me since i had to use them a few months back to get a replacement dvd drive. i phoned at 4:45pm and the engineer was round at 11am the following day with the new drive. cant fault that response time

a plus for the alienware is its got plenty of tolerance in the cooling system which is extremely effective for a laptop and thus allows for substantial overclocks e.g http://service.futuremark.com/resultAnalyzer.action?resultId=12857977&resultType=14

the r2's with i7's and 4870's are can just make it over 20k with a push

also in a month or 2 alienware should have duel 5870's as a option for the same price as there current 4870 options

 

[ZeroG]

Yeah there's no doubt that the Alienwares are nice but the problem is for the same spec as the Asus you're looking at least £2,000 - £2,300.

 

[ZeroG]

Well I couldn't wait any longer. They've answered all my questions so I just went ahead and ordered. I've worked out the final price to be £1,446.13 (roughly £215.00 of that is VAT from importing it) so that's a saving of about £323.86 over the UK price.

I'll just have to wait until the order is filled which could take a month or so due to a shortage of them.

 

[MadmaN]

nice will have a look when you get it

 

[ZeroG]

Was having a right shit of a day until I seen this in my inbox

New status: Phase 4 (Order Shipped)
Some additional notes placed on your order:

Your order with Xotic PC will ship today!

You can track your packages below.

 

[Bloodnok]

w00t!

 

[ZeroG]

If I decipher this correctly they should be delivering this today \o/

DUNDEE, GB 20/05/2010 9:17 OUT FOR DELIVERY
20/05/2010 9:07 DESTINATION SCAN
EDINBURGH, GB 20/05/2010 7:00 DEPARTURE SCAN
20/05/2010 6:22 ARRIVAL SCAN
EAST MIDLANDS AIRPOR, GB 20/05/2010 5:24 DEPARTURE SCAN

 

[gemini]

Nice

 

[ZeroG]

Slight hiccup, no one was in today. But they are delivering to my work tomorrow but the downside is I have to pay the £194 VAT on the spot when they deliver.

 

[gemini]

wtf ?

Guess thats a downside of ordering in from abroad.