Hello I really want to buy a netbook. I am not fused on brand, have about $500 to spend. My friend is going to Taiwan next week and i am wondering if i should get her to pick one up there for me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. ie brand/model/places in Taiwan/warranty
Thanks
hi there
i would recommend that you do your research. maybe go to the local officeworks, harvey norman or jb hifi and check out what you want first. they differ with screen size, operating system, type of hard drive and build (some keyboards and mouse button placements are better than others)
with the issues that scotty mentioned above, i would prob buy it here in Australia then get your friend to take it overseas, she can then claim back the GST paid on the netbook. this is what i did with my eee pc 1000H.
feel free to ask me any questions about my experience with the eee pc 1000h.
thanks so much for that. A lot to consider!
How much did u get the asus for?
What do u mainly use it for?
If i want to claim tax back on it do i have to get her th purchase it with her passport and plane ticket?
I dont have a computer now so have to use my phone :(
Hi there, this probably too late to help you but here is my experience.
I bought an ASUS laptop nearly 2 years ago in Taiwan at one of their PC expo. They were able to offer me 2 years international warranty (I've not had to use it) and I requested to have it pre-loaded with English version of Windows XP Home which they were happy to comply. The only thing is I had to take the laptop to an ASUS service centre myself to get the English version of XP Home installed, they also gave me the English version of the XP start-up disc.
You do need to research price & models. With the current exchange rate from AUS dollar to NT being not so great, it might not be that much cheaper buying in Taiwan.
To get claim GST back from the Tourist Refund Scheme at the airport, the tax invoice of the purchase needs to be made out to the name of the person travelling. No passport or ticket required when buying. The person travelling need to show the item + invoice + passport + boarding pass to the TRS desk after they've checked in to claim the money back.
Problem with getting a netbook in Taiwan:
However the popular brands there are the same as here — Acer, ASUS, MSI, etc. You can even buy netbooks in hypermarts there (think Walmart and Carrefour, which are everywhere in Taiwan), if shopping in crowded electronics markets is not your thing. While I probably won't buy a computer there due to warranty issues, you can find a lot of "accessories" for netbooks.