Magsafe USA to UK

[vato]

Hi im thinking about buying a new macbook from ebay usa as its cheaper than buying from the apple store in the uk, i was wondering is the warrenty universal, would i still get one year. Also if a buy a UK magsafe will it charge the US macbook.

Thanks!

 

[swiftaw]

Yes, and yes, or you could just buy the World traveller kit and swap the plug. ALso note that if you are getting it shipped from the US to the UK you will need to pay import duty on it.

 

[vato]

Yes, and yes, or you could just buy the World traveller kit and swap the plug. ALso note that if you are getting it shipped from the US to the UK you will need to pay import duty on it.

How much would that cost? Wouldn't that come out of the money i pay the seller on ebay?

 

[swiftaw]

How much would that cost? Wouldn't that come out of the money i pay the seller on ebay?

That would be entirely up to you and the seller to decide. Not sure exactly how much it would be, but I would guess around 25% of the value would be about right.

 

[iBlue]

How much would that cost? Wouldn't that come out of the money i pay the seller on ebay?

It shouldn't. They don't pay your importing fees.

The import duty/VAT is applied when it hits customs here. (uk) It can depend on how it's shipped. Sometimes they'll deliver the package and collect later (such with FedEx lots of times) or the Post Office will hold the package at a centre until you pay the fees and you collect at that time.
Some info here. I am too lazy to read through all of that and calculate it but there it is.

In short: expect to pay at least £100 on customs charges and VAT.

 

[vato]

Pff i might aswell pay the extra £60 and get it from the apple store then.

 

[emotion]

Pff i might aswell pay the extra £60 and get it from the apple store then.

yeah, that's the conclusion most people come to.

As for the original question. These laptops are designed to be carried all over the world. The power supplies are all the same.

 

[reflex]

For £60 it definitely doesn't seem worth it.

 

[iBlue]

Pff i might aswell pay the extra £60 and get it from the apple store then.

Yeah, unless you are visiting the US and bringing it back with you by hand, the fees can make it not so worthwhile. Plus the keyboards are slightly different.

But for future reference power supplies on most of these modern machines are autoswitching.

 

[aristobrat]

But for future reference power supplies on most of these modern machines are autoswitching.

Which is really, really cool!

I just got back to the US from a vacation in Germany and Czech Republic, and all I had to do to get my MBP to charge over there was (like others in this thread have said) pop off the US plug from the adapter and replace it with the continental Europe one. Worked perfect!

 

[iBlue]

Which is really, really cool!

I just got back to the US from a vacation in Germany and Czech Republic, and all I had to do to get my MBP to charge over there was (like others in this thread have said) pop off the US plug from the adapter and replace it with the continental Europe one. Worked perfect!

yup. I moved from the US to the UK with a powerbook and iMac in tow. Just popped in new UK leads and good to go.

 

[originalnewbie]

I got a macbook brought over from NY 2 weeks ago - if your just going to be staying in the UK and don't need any of the extra plugs in the World Connector Kit you could do what I did - either use the UK standard plug from Apple's iPod charger or the magsafe power adapter can be conneted to a 2 pin plug - used for CD and Radio players.

 

[MagicUK]

Might want to check out Swiss Travel Products World Travel Adapter.

http://www.porta-charge.co.uk/accessory_0253.html

You can pick these up at most UK Airports!

Item: P-297
Manufacturer's Code: SWA001
Size: 6.1 x 5.1 x 5.7cm
Weight: 114 grams
Compatibility:
EURO
Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Azores, Balearic Islands, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Channel Islands, Chile, Comoros, Congo, Croatia, Dem. Rep. of Congo (Zaire), Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cyprus, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Madeira, Mali, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, St. Vincent, Senegal, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, Vietnam, Yugoslavia (former), Zambia

UK
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Channel Islands, China, Cyprus, Dominica, El Salvador, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Tanzania, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

USA
American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, China (without holes in blades and slightly shorter blades), Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Maldives, Mexico, Micronesia, Montserrat, Netherlands, Antilles, Nicaragua, Niger, Okinawa, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U.S. & British), Yemen

AUS
American Samoa, Argentina, Australia, China, El Salvador, Fiji, Guatemala, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Okinawa, Panama, Papua New Guinea, St. Vincent, Tajikistan, Tonga, Uruguay

 

[aristobrat]

I saw something like that in Target last night. Pretty cool how one device can morph itself to work with just about any country, without you having to lug around a gazillion different pieces.

 

[MagicUK]

Done me throughout Europe, SE Asia, The US of A, and those dam data centers that don't seem to know what country they are in.

Now all you need is the USB to Serial cable, the Zip-LINQ Ethernet + Cross over cables, and the 80 GB iPod video and your ready to tackle any IT job out there.

Live fast, Retire early!

 

[pulsewidth947]

Import tax works out to be around 25%. This is because not only do you get charged an import fee, but then the courier charges you for being charged. I had a Mac Mini when they first came out from the USA. I didn't even think about it but I just cut the plug off and wired a UK plug on the end! 3A fuse in it and bobs your uncle.

But seriously, unless you are picking a laptop up while you are in America, don't bother getting one from there - you probably wont see any discount.