Dangers of fitting an imac inside airport luggage

So as some of you may or may not know, I will be going on a 9-day cruise on feb 11th, aruba has a lot cheaper prices than venezuela, so I'm thinking of getting a 2nd mac for the house to replace our old p3 windesktop.

Anyway, I thought of a mac mini, but the price of a new monitor here would rival the mac mini itself, so I was thinking if it would be too hard to fit a 20inch imac without it's box inside some big luggage, protected with clothes and what not and corner crap thingers to protect the screen. Would it be safe? I have to do it this way to avoid customs.

The other option is a macbook, but my brothers like to game from time to time, so the hd2400 is a way better choice than x3100 crappo. The upside is the macbook is easier to carry and I can claim it as a personal laptop that i took with me, something which would be harder with an imac. obviously i prefer the imac, so if there is a way of stuffing it safely inside some luggage, then thats the way i will go.

So yeah I wanted some input on people that have 20 incher imacs.

thanks!

 

yea i guess you could do it. you might also wana get a really big ziplock bag or sumthin to put it in to protect the screen. or you could get one of the carrying cases for it and say that you brought it in that.

 

I suggest getting a bag and filling it with mad amounts of clothes, getting foam holders to go around the screen, maybe even a foam box, and some kind of plastic covering to go over the screen to prevent scratching and such.

 

buy a large bag, and cut it up when u get the imac. tape each piece to the imac box

haha

 

Get another Macbook Pro... problem solved! Some of life's problems are real simple aren't they?

Seriously, do it. With Bush's $600 tax rebate (or more), you'd be supporting the economy, and that money you weren't expecting will make it feasible to upgrade from a Macbook to Pro ... and will make you much happier.

 

Buy an iMac case and say you brought it with you on vacation in it like someone previously mentioned. Also densely pack clothes around the case so that it cannot move around too much in the bag. Just be sure not to go over the bag limit.... which would increase the chances of your bag being opened for inspection.

 

If the Imac is going to be sitting in a cargo hold I wouldn't really recommend leaving it in a suitcase unless it has some sort of heavy duty protection around it (original foam packing etc). Baggage handlers are very very rough with luggage, but this might be slightly different on a cruise ship (I imagine it wouldn't be though).

Is it possible to buy the Imac and get through customs saying that it was was needed for business? As in you brought it along with your laptop for a business presentation or something.

 

Personally I wouldn't risk it. I've seen how they treat luggage and they usually don't care if a suitcase takes a 15 ft drop when unloading them from the plane. I would take anything fragile as carry on (just make sure you check your airlines size restrictions).

 

I wouldnt risk it, first off they toss luggage into the airport like trash.. unless you have a lot of clothes dont do it. Also if customs find it, they will take it away you are not allowed to bring computers hidden in luggage like that under clothes, they might think you put a bomb inside.

 

Yeah... if it is not allowed they will unpack it behind your back if they see a computer in the X-Ray machine... so you may want to reconsider.

 

I think I will try an imac case, if they have any there. Hopefully they aren't too big to take with me inside the plane...

 

I think your safest bet is the iMac case and the iMac inside. Lugguage is too dangerous, and there is a chance that it could get lost. Than what are you going to say to officials? "I lost my luggauge.. it had my bran new iMac in it!"

 

the imac case shouldnt be too too big to fit on the airplane. what airline are you flying?

 

Even if it did get lost, luggage is only insured to something like 300USD-500USD---much less than the machine itself.

 

Also, if there are electronics or something interesting in your checked luggage, the xray inspectors will open your bag, see what is there, repack it terribly and all that work to make sure the corners don't break, etc. will all go to waste.

 

oh i forgot about that. i know for laptop computers they make you put it in a separate bin when going through the xray machine... im not sure how good that will work out with an imac but its probably possible to do if they require it to fit in a bin and go through xray. one time they pulled me aside with my ps2 and just put a wand over it to make sure it was ok (maybe tell them its an imac you brought with you for travel and have them separately inspect it?)
idk! im just trying to think of different ways to help!

 

It may be worth it to spend a bit more on a Macbook Pro. The graphics are nearly as good(or better, depending on the model) as the current iMac and there'll be much less of a chance of you getting hassled for it. Plus you get the extra portability.

 

Thank you all for your answers. Security in venezuelan airports in national flights isn't that crazy, I'm sure I could ask an officer to inspect the bag separately... in any case, I'll wait and see, not sure I can afford another macbook pro, since I also kinda wanna buy a macbook air if they have one before the 18th... we'll see. I'll let you guys know!

 

good luck fez!

 

Be sure to let us know when you set off eh? Will you be active while on your trip?

 

I wouldn't send anything of real value through checked luggage. I have had things taken from my checked luggage on two separate occasions. I am sure most airline employees are honest, but why tempt them with a new computer?

 

Here ya' go!

http://www.ilugger.com/index.cfm?pid=17&kwd=leaderboard4&gclid=CKTGktylnpECFUtyOAodvDSmOg

 

A friend of mine that was going to school close to me would take her iMac through the airport when she flew home (lived 600+ miles from school). Not sure how she packaged it or anything though....

 

buy a case as suggested and pack very very thoroughly

 

Thank you, but I will need something that i can buy at a physical store. If i dont see anything, i will most likely buy something else.

I hear the cruise has a cyber cafe, but are you kidding me?! i wont be near 50 yards of that thing. ITS A CRUISE!! I will be too busy chasing after american girls with my latin accent

 

uh huh u need to do the chasing then ey? i would have thought that latin accent would have them all glued to you (scoffs) lol well have fun but let us no how many little pieces it ends up in im betting around a hundred thousand including the glass shards

 

umm may I ask why you want it without the box? I think the box is actually pretty good to protect the imac... Anyway, If I were you, I would pay UPS or something to ship it. Just say it is a old computer and it is a gift. Of course, I believe macbook pro is a good solution.

 

ditto the MBP

 

Yeah the mbp is a better solution, it's just more expensive, not sure if I will be able to afford it. I can't keep the box because then it will be less likely that the customs officer will believe me if I say that it's a previously owned item. I will think about sending it with ups or something, shouldn't be that expensive since it's national.