Purchasing Laptop from US Site Instead of AU

lemewinks on 14/03/2021 - 12:31

Does anyone have any experience buying laptops from the US instead of the Australian site?

For example, I'm looking at a Dell XPS 15. If we price compare on US vs AU for:

DELL XPS 15 9500
10th Generation Intel Core i7-10750H
Windows 10 Home
8GB DDR4 RAM
512GB M.2 SSD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti 4GB GDDR6 GPU
15.6" FHD+ (1920 x 1200) InfinityEdge Non-Touch Anti-Glare 500-Nit Display

AU: $2099 https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/laptops/15-9500/spd/xps-15-9…
US: $1699 USD = 2188 AUD with 17% coupon (SAVE17) = $1816 AUD https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-xps-15-lapt…
(Just realised the AU link above is for i5 processor because i7 isn't available with 8GB RAM so price is even better in US store..)

I would save almost $300 buying from the US store here, I assume the only thing I would have to do is replace the power cable.

Am I missing something here?

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • AndyC1 on 14/03/2021 - 12:40

    https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-xps-15-lapt…
    "Orders from this site will only ship to United States."

    • lemewinks on 14/03/2021 - 13:23
      +1

      Well this sure foils my plan.

      • jel10 on 14/03/2021 - 13:35
        +3

        There are forwarding companies ie Shipito, who provide a US address, then they will send to your AUS address.
        Note this involves 2 lots of shipping ie Dell -> forwarding company, then forwarding company -> you.
        This may erode most of the price benefit if you have to pay for both of them.

        • apsilon on 14/03/2021 - 13:49
          +5

          Shipito run scams so wouldn't suggest using them but there are other freight forwarders. Of course you need to pay shipping, GST and duty which would easily consume that $300 saving.

          • Bunnyburger on 02/04/2021 - 23:51

            @apsilon: Hey just wondering what do you mean by that? I've used Shipito a few times and it turned out alright. But I read management has changed in the last few years.

            • apsilon on 03/04/2021 - 06:55
              +1

              @Bunnyburger: I've posted details here before that you should be able to find via search but basically when you pay for insurance they don't actually insure the package and if there's a claim they simply say the carrier denied the claim. They didn't expect me to actually check with the carrier. If they do one dodgy practice like that you can be sure they're doing others.

              • Bunnyburger on 03/04/2021 - 18:24

                @apsilon: Agh I have a tablet with them. I'm probably screwed. The parcel arrived at their warehouse and was signed for but it hasn't been checked in for days.

                They open every parcel by default right?

                Did you manage to obtain some resolution with them?

                And did they charge you and pocket the GST?

                • apsilon on 03/04/2021 - 18:38
                  +1

                  @Bunnyburger: They never failed to deliver so don't be too worried. That said I haven't used them for a few years now. It's a bit of a long story and took a few months but yes, got the shipping fees back via a charge back and they accidently also paid for the damages. Yes, accidently, as I said, long story. Only thing I didn't get from them was an admission of guilt. There were no GST charges at the time so that wasn't something I had to worry about.

                  • Bunnyburger on 04/04/2021 - 16:45

                    @apsilon: Thanks for the reassurance. I really hope it's just some backlog buildup.

  • Ocker on 14/03/2021 - 15:45
    +3

    Allow say $A150 for freight costs and your landed cost would be about $A1,970. GST would be $A197, documentation and customs clearance fees (say) $200 and your total imported cost would be in the order of $A2,360 or so.
    Loss making exercise I reckon

    • Quantumcat on 14/03/2021 - 19:31

      Yes exactly, plus if there's an issue that needs warranty attention you might need to either send it overseas or it won't be covered (no acl). You'd have to save a lot to make it worthwhile. And here not even saving anything

  • xuqi on 14/03/2021 - 15:46
    +1

    Consider the Outlook. Everything I've bought from them look as-new, and comes with full new warranty:

    https://www.dell.com/en-au/outlet/refurbished-xps-15-9500-la…
    https://www.dell.com/en-au/outlet/shop/laptops-tablets/xps-l…

    • lemewinks on 14/03/2021 - 16:42

      I've never purchased any refurbished electronics before but considering the savings I might give this a go. Cheers.

      • xuqi on 14/03/2021 - 17:11

        I’ve never been able to tell the difference between their new, and factory refurbished units.

        They also sell as-units there.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join