Moving to Europe, Ship my iMac????

[jciapara]

Hi, so I bought my 24 Inch iMac 4 Months ago and now I am going for a masters program to Germany for 2.5 years, so I would like to take my iMac with me, ok my options are the following:

-Ship it via Fedex to Germany and I pick it up there when I arrive (I don't know what kind of taxes do I need to pay (maybe too much for me)
-Take it with me in the flight well packed and documented (I've read in other threads some people have done this but I don't know exactly what kind of protection they have provided)
-Carry on is out of the question I think since the size is much larger than any airline will allow.
-Sell it and buy a refurb laptop (MBP or MB) and maybe external monitor (although I think it would be much more expensive also in Germany)
*A note on this, how much do you think I can get for my iMac in case I decide to sell it?, I bought it as I said 4 months ago 24 inches, 2.4Ghz, 4gb Ram and what would be the best deal for me to buy a refurb MBP (without paying a large difference), I also have a Powerbook G4 1.25Ghz which I'll also sell in case I sell my iMac, which would also help me in getting money for the MBP, how much can I get for this one (any ideas). (I would prefer MBP instead of MB since I own a Powerbook which I love still and would like to stay with the same Performance/Design)

Do you guys know about the taxes I need to pay in case of shipping (I would love to keep my iMac and not sell it)? Does it make any difference how long I've had my iMac because I will be flying to Germany in September so it would be already like 8 months old, can it not be shipped as a Personal Item without paying taxes?.

I am open to any suggestions that will help either keep my iMac or get the MBP. Thanks guys for any help you can provide.

 

[Darkroom]

you could check it in on the plane... but if you take it to europe with you, you'll need to buy either a new cord or adapter so it's compatible with their plugs.

 

[jciapara]

How to pack it?

Any idea on what would be the best way to pack it?

The original box inside a suitcase with extra protection (what kind), I can Imagine how people at airports treat checked baggage so I think it will need really good protection.

 

[midas]

Do not leave it in the luggage department!!!

Just an advice from experience. Last summer at an European airport somebody drove over my father's (and other passengers') luggage with one of the machines they use to move the luggage from the plane to the airport. He could not even recognize his suitcase when it came out - the suitcase and everything inside was totally smashed.
By law when I travel I always take all electronic equipment with me on board.
If I was you, I would call the airline and find out what should I do to in order to take the imac on board; do I need a special permission, etc.
Otherwise, I would probably consider getting a mpb. Good luck.

 

[VideoFreek]

Here's some advice directly from the German consulate's web site regarding duties and taxes payable when moving personal effects to Germany. Bottom line is, from the circumstances you describe, you won't owe duties or taxes on your iMac.

Regarding shipping, best bet would probably be to ship it via a commercial shipping service (DHL, UPS, etc.), securely packed and insured. That will not be cheap, however. I'm not sure I'd trust the gorillas who handle baggage on commercial airlines.

If you DO decide to sell it and buy one over here, some advice: bring a keyboard with you! American keyboards (I assume you're from the States) are hard to come by over here, and the "International English" keyboards you can get from Apple over here just aren't the same.

 

[jciapara]

Thanks for the URL

Hey Man, thanks for the link, from what I can understand is that if I have the university letter of admission and the documents of the StudentenWerk (for dormitories), my computer is more than 6 months old and I am staying for more than 1 year, I don´t need to pay taxes, only shipping expenses, which would be great. I will definitely send an email to the contact there to ask him what my obligations on taxes might be.
Thanks again.