Ummm... How do people from UK buy Alienwares from the US?

Since US is cheaper then UK, I would like try to buy a Alienware 17 from US?


Is it safe?
Can you buy it in a monthly payment?
How long would it take?
Would the warranty still work?
It is cheaper right?

Sorry for these stupid questions.


Thanks anyways.


Accelerator.

 

I think after import taxes and shipping costs that price difference will disappear. No idea about this (wait for a AW rep to comment) but maybe they wouldn't offer a US warranty to someone from the UK?

 

They're not stupid questions, actually - very important ones. I'm from the UK also, so it is something that is quite important to me as well as many others, including yourself. I'll try and answer some of your questions:

1. It is safe if you do it the right way through a legitimate shipping/forwarding company such as BundleBox or ShipItTo - Google them for more info. You could also look at buying from Alienware resellers instead of Dell directly.

2. Unless you are a US resident, I do not think you would be eligible to take out a finance agreement over a set number of months. If you want monthly payments, your best bet would be to use a UK credit card OR arrange a UK bank loan. If you go for a bank loan, do NOT pay with a bank debit card, I'll explain why. Purchases made on a credit card fall under certain laws - you have consumer protection for CC purchases that debit card purchases do not provide. In the UK, purchases made on a UK credit card make the credit card company jointly liable with the seller regarding faulty/problematic transactions - even if you only put £1 of the cost on the CC.

You may be thinking "How do I use my credit card if I've just taken a bank loan OR you have cash in your current account from the bank loan?" - the answer is simple. You make a payment to your UK credit card using those loan funds that puts your credit card account "in credit". Then you make the purchase. Either that, or you purchase outright on the CC - if you have sufficient credit limit - and then pay off the CC with the bank loan or your own cash. That way, you are protected by UK credit card legislation. Also, bank loans tend to be cheaper than credit card purchases for interest rates - unless you have an offer for purchase rates from your CC provider (eg. 12mths 0% for purchases) and clearing you CC purchase with bank loan funds will also give you a set monthly payment to the bank loan provider, instead of fluctuating & costly payments to a credit card.

3. How long is a piece of string? - it can vary depending on specification you order, parts availability at time of order and how long it takes to build and ship from Dell or a reseller to you in the UK. As a typical example, if ordering from Dell UK, it would normally take around 2-3 weeks from order to arrival - that's assuming there are no part shortages etc. Ordering from abroad may add to that time because you have the additional step of getting the goods to you from the US once they have been shipped by Dell US to your freight forwarding service - eg. BundleBox. If you look at their web site, you can get an idea of lead time until you get it once they have had your item from Dell US.

4. Warranty is transferable - if you buy in one country, you can get Dell to change this quite easily with your service tag on your machine. In essence, this is not a problem so you would be fine warranty wise.

5. No, it is not always cheaper. You have to factor in UK customs charges etc - if you are doing things strictly legitimately, you will be looking at adding another 20% on top of your TOTAL US purchase price including shipping fees. If you buy a machine for $4,000 and it costs $200 to ship it to the UK - the likes of BundleBox will want paying for their service, too - you can expect to add 20% of $4200 to your bill when it lands in the UK....another $840, which often outweighs the benefit of purchasing from the US in the first place.

There are ways around some of the above, but by doing so, the risks can go up. As an example, if you knew someone in the US, they could take delivery of the machine, swap the service tag into your name and then send you the opened goods. Basically, you can avoid UK customs by doing this because you are sending something which you already own back to yourself...technically. The risks are apparent.

Other minor things to consider are with the machine itself. Not necessarily big things, but when buying from the US, you will get a US keboard layout. You will also get a US power lead, not a UK one. If you are okay with a US keyboard, fine. The power lead is an easy fix - just buy a UK power lead for a few quid.

Have a look at some of these threads for inspiration!

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/729829-ordering-dell-us-shipping-europe.html

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/452304-how-order-dell-us-non-us-citizens.html

Hope my reply helps.

 

From my investigation,

You need a coupon and/or deal with some Dell rep, with a total of discount of atleast 15% for it to be worthwhile if you will be buying from US.

Dell UK:
Alienware 17 4800MQ, 770M: $2860

Dell US:
Alienware 17 4800MQ, 770M, $2249
+VAT 2249 *1.20 = $2698
+ Shipping: $2698 +200
Total price : $2898

With 15% discount
Alienware 17 4800MQ, 770M, $2249
Discount: $2249 * 0.85= $1911
+VAT: $1911 * 1.20 = $2293
+Shipping: $2293 + $200
Total price: $2493

Dell UK and Dell Norway just recently had a promotion where they had 10-20% discount on some of the Alienware's. Few of us from those countries managed to snatch one before the campaign ended, plus we got some additional discounts by talking to the Dell reps in our countries.
I suggest you keep your eyes open for more of these offers, well, unless you got a coupon you can use in US. You can also call them and ask for further discount, but the word is that they are standing their ground now and refuse to go down since the models are new and selling like crazy.

 

It also helps if you know the right people. When/if you have enough posts, PM me and I'll help you with buying from the Dell UK through a rep that will get you a discount.

 

In the UK, it's slightly worked differently - as the buyer ends up paying duty on the shipping costs as well as purchase price. It doesn't make a huge difference but it does make it ever so slightly more expensive. In interests of transparency, a UK example - based on the above figures - would be as follows:

Dell UK:
Alienware 17 4800MQ, 770M: $2860

Dell US:
Alienware 17 4800MQ, 770M, $2249
+VAT (2249 + shipping $200) *1.20 = Total price : $2939


To the OP - as you can see, the US prices can easily be wiped out with VAT. As Cloudfire pointed out, ideally you would need some kind of discount code/offer to be on to make it entirely worthwhile.

Good to see the UK 'money saving torch' still being carried on! +rep!

OP can either PM you or myself for UK sales rep help. I don't mind helping out where I can still...

 

I see. Well it still not as bad as here in Norway. 25% VAT. And our government complain about many norwegians avoiding these taxes by making deal with the seller about the items value. Well doh, they kinda forced people to go this route. Pretty sick tax level on just about everything here in Norway

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Ouch! - and I thought the UK had it bad with a 20% sting in the tail!!

I imagine many of us non-US folk forget about US sales tax that our brothers in the States have to pay.....not exactly 100% up on that...

 

Does the VAT go for US citizens too? If not, they're so lucky...

 

Yes in certain states they pay taxes. California for example. I believe its 7.5%. And the tax percentage varies from state to state.
But some states doesnt have tax, like Oregon.