How safe is buying a notebook internationally?

Hey everyone! I am in love with the w1vc laptop and would love to get my hands on it! Through a link from the official ASUS website, I found a store in UK, willing to ship this laptop to me to Canada. The company calls itself KL computers, http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk
Now, i am concerned with the possibility of being ripped off, since im sure they perfectly know that i won't come to england to kick their butts if they don't send me the laptop. They don't accept credit card as payment for security reasons, however if i pay by bank transfer, i can no longer dispute the funds in case something goes wrong!

My questions would be: should i be worried?
and
How can i protect myself from a possible scam?

Thank you!

Katerina.

 

Hi Katerina,

I would not advise you to buy from U.K for various reasons including lack of warranty and the danger of being scammed.
You could get it from a USA dealer like www.proportable.com or a local Canadian dealer.


W2 appaears to be the equivalent model in USA.

 

You really need to use a source like reseller ratings or these forums to know how something like has been handled in the past. We do at least one bank transfer a day and for the most part people understand our reputation and basically that is their "guarentee"... If we took someone's money and didn't send them a system, regardless of if they couldn't do anything about it legally..... they could certainly ruin our reputation and that is worth a lot more than the cost of a computer or two.

.... basically.. if you can follow me here... if you can't find out a lot about the company you're buying for, if they scam you, they probably aren't going to care about the websites you frequent and tell everyone what they did...... Basically.. it's all about reputation. A legit company has nothing to gain by screwing you over and if they do it, and they are well known.... you'd know about it.

 

does it make a difference, though, if they are the "official" asus reseller? - and the way i found them was through the asus website, by clicking on "where to buy" button.



- lapboy: being from canada, how is buying something from the states safer than buying from uk? ill still have to do bank transfer..noone has my laptop here! and w2v is too big for me...and it's too expensive: w2v here costs $3200 CAD + tax, whereas UK's w1vc will cost me 2400 CAD + tax. That's a big difference.

p.s

i will check out reseller ratings though, thank you.

 

1. I bought my W3A from this supplier last April and service was very good. They are definitely not a scam.

2. Note that UK notebooks have a UK keyboard with shift-3 being £ and # moved elsewhere.

3. In theory, the Asus international warranty should apply if you have any problems.

4. I have previously bought a couple of Fujitsu notebooks from the US using PayPal. This may be an alternative way to transfer the funds.

John

 

John, thank you very much!

I feel relieved!

 

The only thing I can add is that its a well know fact that everything in the UK is a hell of alot more expensive....just look at the cost of a song on iTunes for eg. I would take a quick look for a re-seller in France or Germany etc, that will ship to the states, another option is Australia. It could save u a few hundred $$$.
a

 

Underpantman: i did check out australian prices and the UK one ended up being much cheaper with better specs! In an Australian store the w1v with 512 RAM costs around 3100 CAD plus tax - only $100 cheaper than the $3200 w2v here - the much discussed reason for not bringing in these laptops to North America - little price difference between these 2 laptops.

At KL computers, the same w1v laptop, but with 1GB RAM costs $2400 CAD plus tax (2100 USD). That's a $700 difference in price plus an extra 512 Mb of RAM! Shipping is only $100. I don't think i'll find a better deal.
Also, they won't charge me VAT. A lot of stores would charge you initially and then you have to go through hassle of getting it back yourself.

 

What about customs duties and sales tax at the Canadian end ?

It might be worthwhile to make enquiries ,prior to ordering ?

There has to be a catch., or lots of people would have done it before you

 

Duties when ordering from the US from a company in the UK are something in the lines of 25-30% ..... ordering from the UK from a place in the US basically has the same import rates..

.. It's not a catch, but it's your government taxing you for not buying from a business in your own country...... the rate is high otherwise more people would do it and it would hurt ecconomies!

 

I'm one step ahead of you
I already talked to Customs and in Canada, hee hee, there are NO duties whatsoever on purchasing a computer from UK. $0! No brokerage charges, no additional shipping fees. Only Canadian tax - which ull be charged on top of any purchase in Canada. I guess, the Queen is good for something Therefore, what i'll be paying is: price of computer, canadian tax, and 100 pounds for shipping (which includes the shipping insurance)

 

ur total is like 3k CAD right?

1200 pounds for lappy times two = 2400 CAD
+ Canadian 15% Tax = 360 CAD
100 pounds for shipping times two = 200 CAD

Total is $2960

Pretty Decent I think,

W1Vc is a nice lappy, i was acutaly thinking of importing too and to Canada aswell, but i backed out.

You must be wondering why?

Well i have no real explanation just some very biased opinions lol.

Firstly every new laptop that is released or even upgraded has problems, lots of problems minor or major. And you'd havta deal with them. This is not always the case but often it is.

For example:

ASUS Z71v - Battery problems and screen sparkle
ASUS Z70va - Red Ghosting, heat and possible noise problems (not always)
ASUS W3V and W2v - Audio problems are occuring right now.
the W1 series is experiencing audio problems too.

Now this new W1vc is nice, hopefully alot of bugs are worked out, but certainly are gonna new ones to deal with.

unfortunately all brands suffer from problem when first released, basicaly almost any electronic has problems when first released, look at those patethic Xbox 360s, Ipod Nanos, brand new line of cars.. the list goes on and on.

Of i like ASUS not an ASUS hate here, I basicaly want the Z70va and I know it will have problems and I will do my best to work em out. whenever i get my lappy lol.

PS. i have heard the W1vc MAY have battery problems don't know for sure, this is just a rumor i have heard, thot I should jsut pass it along.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Thank you for the detailed reply!
I realize that no notebooks are perfect, but what am i gonna do, not buy one at all? I need it for work - i am an architecture and industrial design student. So, graphic performance and speed are at the top of my list. Audio problems wouldn't bother me much, because of this. I don't play computer games either. The battery - i'll most likely be operating it through a power outlet and not rely on a battery.

And, on the last note, i am absolutely anal about the appearance of a product (being a product designer) so that is an important factor to me as well. Bringing a good looking machine to client consultations and meetings will give me more brownie points too.

 

What about buying from a Cananadian reseller and shipping to U.S.? Any problems/tax disadvantages there? With due respect to proportable, canadasys seems to have really good pricing and with the exchange rate it's even nicer from my perspective! Will they even do it??

 

You might want to check out other US resellers as well (no disrespect to Justin intended) if you're looking for the lowst price out there.

 

If I were you, I stay away from buying internationally as far as possible.

Canada's taxes, duties, shipping, and customs/brokerage fees will hit you pretty hard, especially when you're buying something more than $2000. Also, if there is anything wrong with it, then you're out of luck. No trip back to the store.

 

- Customs told me that there are no duties. (i hope they don't use of those off the street telephone customer service representatives)
-ups express has no brokerage fees
-asus international warrntly should apply in case something is wrong, and we have a service centre in my city. The british store told me i wouldn't have to send it back. But i'll definitely make sure of that twice.
-no one in N. America has that particular model. I definitely am not looking at ebay for this.

 

ok good katerinag, go for it bro, trust me you'll be excited and happy once u get it, i know i would be happy if i ordered it too.

I personly have not checked up on the Customs part so hopefuly ur good on what u said before about it.

I dont know anything about UPS bokerage fees, but i guess u know ur stuff on that.

Yup ASUS International Warranty will work pretty much anywhere their Service centers are and good thing there's one near u .

As for a reseller of this model in the US, i think there is only one, but i wouldn't but from them cos they charge 2 times more.

Just like most people don't buy big ticket items like lappies off Ebay, so ur good there

i have Also heard there was a delay of these models for the Micro Anvika store, not sure if this delay affected Harrods, Micro Anvika 2nd store, and the place ur getting it from. So you may wanna check up on the availabilty on it.

Other than that, PLZ write an extensive review !! Best Wishes

Thanks in advance,

MysticGolem