Dell USA vs Dell Australia, Big difference found

Hi everyone, first time using this site so I'm not 100% in which section I should have posted this so any nudges in the right direction will be greatly appreciated.

I've been looking in to getting myself a gaming laptop, smaller the better for travelling and the best I can manage to find is the m11x from alienware.

I've tried to find out the cheapest place to source it from (alienware isn't exactly the budget option) and I've come across a huge difference in price between the Dell US site and Australian site. See below:

Australian site:
The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

US site:
Error Encountered - The Dell Online Store


(sorry links arent working, if you customise the M11x R3 to have and i7, 4GB Ram, 500GB HDD, Nvidia 540m 2GB, the US sites quotes around $1200.00 USD where as the Australia site quotes about $1850 AUD, exchange pretty much on par at the moment)

Note that the US version has an extra 250GB for the HDD but still costs over $600 less.

Dell US won't ship to Australia so does anyone know how I can make this happen? I'm guessing the thigs I need to consider are:
Import Tax (10% right)
Shipping (with whom and how that works I've got no idea)
Tax invoice or other information required to salary sacrafice / claim on tax.
Power converter (can grab from any electrical store in Aus I guess)
Warranty, will I actually still have it (My guess, again, is that I would be able to use the Dell US international support.

If anyone can help that would be great. Also if this needs to be posted in another section that I couldn't find please let me know.

Thanks in advance

Andrew

 

You can play games with this if you like but purchase for "export" is a no-no. Not that you cant find a way to pull it off but I wouldn't bother or take the chance.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/456885-aw-dell-ordering-advice-how-save.html
You can actually transfer the warranty from a country to another country.
Hope this link will help you a lot!

 

HIDevolution can help you with that.

Tax an shipping on top of the M11x price. Dont need a power convertor.

 

Thank Divine Aura, thats a great thread. The transfer of the warranty will save a lot of hassle and possibly some extra shipping cost if things go wrong.

Brabostaan I was looking for ages to find a site exactly like HIDevolution. Great site, the extra tax will hurt when I bring it in the Aus.

I actually managed to find an interesting site Price USA | Shop where you want. Did some research and it seems legitmate. More or less you pay for someone to collect your purchse in the States and they send it on to your address in Aus. They take a fee but with site like HIDevolution it doesn't seem worth it.

At the end of the day I'm thinking Ebay, refurbished model for about $300 less? Any advice on refurbished alienware?

Thanks dor the replies by the way

Andrew

 

If you import it you still need to pay tax and shipping. Best thing is to find a coupon, let HID use that coupon to purchase your M11x and send it to you. HID can also help you to reduce taxes.

10% coupon: 0PXL?WHJQ42FSV.

Hurry for it expires or to many ppl used it.

 

Yes. Been there, done that, with 2 M11x R1s. The steps are:

1. Visit Dell USA, find the M11x webpage, and spec the cheapest R3 you can. Note that the 3G does not work in Oz, so don't get that.
2. Contact PriceUSA, give them the info and links, and get a quote. They will charge about $150 for shipping and handling.
3. You may want to get a screen anti glare/reflection protector from Photodon as well - get PriceUSA to get that and combine the order.
4. If you proceed, you have to pay PriceUSA, and they will order it, collect it, then ship it to you.
5. Effectively, PriceUSA buys the laptop and sells it you you 2nd hand.
6. If PriceUSA's 2nd hand price on the documents if greater than $1000 then you pay GST.
7. After you get it, ask PriceUSA nicely to arrange a warranty transfer to you.
8. After you get it, go to a local shop and get the RAM and HDD you really want. Use the old, slow HDD as a USB backup, or try to sell.
9. Enjoy !

Good luck !

 

Yea dude, it's ridiculous.

I was in the US last year with my fiance and ordered my M11x R3 directly from Dell, this system cost me $800 rather than over $2,200 back here in Australia.

Nebula Red with Soft Touch Finish
Intel Core i5 2467M 2.3GHz
8GB DDR3 1600 MHz Kingston Hyper-X
1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M
128GB Crucial M4 6Gb/s
Intel Advanced-N WiFi Link 6205 a/g/n 2x2
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit
1 year Advanced Warranty

 

What's ridiculous is your claim...how did you come up with the 2.2k figure?

Interestingly enough, I asked HIDevolution recently about the warranty - they said it wasn't valid in Australia and I had to send it back to them if I wanted service :/ This put me off my X51 purchase, seeing as people who have received theirs have reported faulty optical drives.

 

What's ridiculous is Dell Australia's pricing.

I just configured the same machine (with a 256 GB SSD, since that was the smallest), and it came up with:

$2,488.99

Don't believe us ? Go to:

Alienware M11x Laptop ? Featuring 2nd generation Intel® Core? processors | Dell Australia

and configure it yourself.

 

Well see right there, you're wrong on both accounts. If anything, i think it's rather ridiculous to call someone out on something you haven't even bothered to check!

Firstly, the M11x R3 base i5 model is priced at $1,800 in Australia. Add 1 year accidental warranty, 8GB Kingston Hyper-X, and a 128GB Crucial M4 and you're sitting at the $2,200 mark.

Secondly, the warranty is absolutely valid in Australia. All i had to do when i returned from the US was jump on the Dell website and fill out a change of country/ownership form. This is the exact reason why Dell warranties are loved, because they are transferable to 2nd hand buyers.

Thirdly, who cares about an optical drive? If you can knock over $1,000 off your Alienware configuration by ordering overseas, surely the least you can do is replace a $20 optical drive IF it happens to arrive faulty. Even then, warranty still covers it.

Maybe do some damn research next time, eh?

 

Tell me about it....the difference b/w a comparable m17r3 in Australia to the US is nearly 6-800 AUD

If you try to spec it seprately (without buying into the whole 750gb raids and what nots) the AU price jumps to just over 1K

 

Except I have. Considering that I have an m11x R3, which was bought from Dell AU. The base model i5 is $1499, not sure where you pulled the $1800 figure out of.

You're also not doing a fair comparison are you? "Add 1 year accidental warranty, 8GB Kingston Hyper-X, and a 128GB Crucial M4" to the base model i5 in the US, it doesn't come to $800 now does it?

Is there a gap in pricing between the US and Aus sites? Definitely. I'm not arguing that. Is the difference almost triple though, as you seem to make it out to be? (800 vs 2200) Definitely not.

I suggest following your own advice, or continue to dig that hole zealously


As to the warranty, that is a different matter - which I am not calling you out on.

My initial impression was that it would be valid; I'm not sure why HIDevolution would say it wasn't, seeing as it cost them a sale.

 

I built my exact system (as i bought it from Dell) on the Dell AU site and it came up to $1,800. There are also 3 base models, i was referring to the 2nd and you are referring to the 1st.

I have no idea the cost of the warranty in AU but it has to be at least $50-100 extra, the SSD has an AU RRP of $230 and the Hyper-X has an AU RPP of around $150.

So that's where i got that figure from.

My M11x R3 came up to $1,050 and after discounts and rebates i got that figure down to $600. I got the SSD and the RAM combined for about $200 which makes my total investment $800.

I never said Dell sold it for those prices, i said "this system cost me $800 rather than over $2,200 back here in Australia".

 

...Let's put that quote back in context:

"I was in the US last year with my fiance and ordered my M11x R3 directly from Dell, this system cost me $800 rather than over $2,200 back here in Australia."

Also in a thread with a title "Dell USA vs Dell Australia, Big difference found ", it's rather asanine to factor in the cost of third party upgrades, no?

Edit: And it's not exactly a fair comparison if we're doing discounted price in one country vs full RRP in another (seeing as Dell AU do have coupons, and the third party upgrades you mentioned can be had less for their RRPs)

 

wow this seems a bloody massacre of a mess!

I5 4gb ram more or less most basic I5 config (500gb HDD & 6205 wifi aussie vs. 750gb HDD & 1000 wifi card) 999.99USD vs 1498.99Australian money.

Now, i didn't look for option to configure everything, as it is way too time consuming, but yeah price difference is like 1/3 of the price...

UK one is 799.01£ now, bumped to 4gb ram and 750gb HDD with the 1000 wifi card.

according to google :
999.99 U.S. dollars = 926.34553 Australian dollars
799.01 British pounds = 1 170.64772 Australian dollars

So yeah here you go US version is still the cheapest, which is BS. also, how come aussies and americans get a customized name plate. i hate you, they wouldn't give me that in UK. this is RUBBISH! they make them in pretty much same chinese factory anyways, ! NOT COOL.

anyways, dunno if it is worth importing, but there is a BIG price difference.

now then no more bickering please, i believe i sort of sorted it out.

Kk thx.

 

There is no doubt there is price gouging in ausi, but remember usa store has no tax this is added depending on location of the buyer. We have 12.5% gst so expect a 12.5% difference at best.

Whenever i run the numbers there is little saving depending on specs by the time extra freight is added in + handling fees. However if your going to go to the great USA then this is a totally different proposition.