Acer 2012WLMI - Where cheapest to buy in UK?

My girlfriend is currently on vacation in London and I was thinking of asking her to buy the Aspire 2012 for me while she's there as it's significantly cheaper there than here in Iceland.

So I'm looking for recommendations where it would be cheapest for her to buy. Also, I won't make her spend a day looking for a store that sells it, so I wan't to be able to tell her exactly where to go to buy. So that means no online retailers please

Also, do all stores have a tax-free option for foreigners? If not, preferably only recommend a retailer with the option of getting the tax refunded.

I appreciate any help you people can give me in order to buy my very first laptop for a reasonable price

Edit: Whoops! Forgot to mention which city she's in, now added

 

Oh, and just for reference, the best prices for the 2012WLMi are around 1050 GBP including VAT

- Odie

 

Not sure about actual shops, because you usually get the best prices off the net.

However, I've heard that there is a road in London full of computer shops, I think it's called Tottenham Court Road, theres lots of laptop shops where you can negotiate good deals apparently.

All shops charge VAT, but I think that as long as you buy from a shop that is vat-registered, you need to fill out a form at the airport and show them the reciept and they will refund you the VAT (17.5%), I'm not 100% sure of the procedure, so you should ask your girlfriend to double-check and make sure not to leave it till she gets back to the airport in case the policy has changed.

I hope that helps

- Odie

 

Thanks!
Any and all suggestions still appreciated. Something near Londons city centre would be ideal, but anywhere in London should be managable.

I'll maybe ask her to check that street out, but I would preferably just give her a direct address so she doesn't have to spend a whole day buying something for me.

Also, it doesn't have to be the cheapest, just suggesting actual stores that also have websites I can look at and are based in London would be appreciated

 

Well, from what I understand, that road is full of computer shops that are willing to bargain on price or throw in extras, so if you really want the best prices, you should either order off a website (because you can compare them) or (kindly) ask your girlfriend to spend a few hours going to that road and bargaining like mad with the shops to get a good deal.

Most other shops (Dixons, PC World, etc.) will not bargain on price, and usually have relatively high prices anyway, unless they have a sale on.

As I said, the best UK price I have seen is around 1050 pounds including VAT (17.5%)

I got mine for 1030 with 1 Gb (2x 512mb sticks) of kingston ram instead of the standard 512mb (2x 256mb sticks), a belkin carry case and a microsoft notebook optical mouse. However, I purchased when I was on holiday in the middle east and hence did not pay any tax.

- Odie

 

I am now a proud owner of 2012WLMi, my very first laptop!
It was bought on Tottenham Court Road for 1150 pounds with tax. Not the cheapest price but within the limits I wanted.

If it weren't for your suggestion Odie I probably wouldn't be typing this message on my laptop!
Thanks alot for your help, very much appreciated.