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Silly me! <-- want me transport iMac in a Plane to Germany?

Neo91

Neo91

macrumors member
Original poster
May 12, 2007
31
4
Hi,
Im from Germany, but Im in Canada now and I want to buy an iMac here, because i would save 250Euro. So I could buy 2Gb Ram more in Germny. But How can I transport the iMac to Germany. I cant use the Post Way, because I have to pay Duty for the Post way. They are controlling it in Germany. But they are never controlling my lugguage, when Im arriving in Germany. So hat would be the best way to transport a 24" iMac? Im allowed to have a second bag, so the iMac has a complet second bag space. How should I protect it? Can my iMac survive? I know its a stupid thread! But I want to know some other opinions, because I would use a lot of airbags and blankets (i think its very cold up there). Is that enough??

thx

bye
 
Neo91 said:
Hi,
Im from Germany, but Im in Canada now and I want to buy an iMac here, because i would save 250Euro. So I could buy 2Gb Ram more in Germny. But How can I transport the iMac to Germany. I cant use the Post Way, because I have to pay Duty for the Post way. They are controlling it in Germany. But they are never controlling my lugguage, when Im arriving in Germany. So hat would be the best way to transport a 24" iMac? Im allowed to have a second bag, so the iMac has a complet second bag space. How should I protect it? Can my iMac survive? I know its a stupid thread! But I want to know some other opinions, because I would use a lot of airbags and blankets (i think its very cold up there). Is that enough??

thx

bye
Click to expand...

I did the same, sent with baggages. Had no problems since. Delta Air company.

chears,
 
Neo91 said:
Hi,
Im from Germany, but Im in Canada now and I want to buy an iMac here, because i would save 250Euro. So I could buy 2Gb Ram more in Germny. But How can I transport the iMac to Germany. I cant use the Post Way, because I have to pay Duty for the Post way. They are controlling it in Germany. But they are never controlling my lugguage, when Im arriving in Germany. So hat would be the best way to transport a 24" iMac? Im allowed to have a second bag, so the iMac has a complet second bag space. How should I protect it? Can my iMac survive? I know its a stupid thread! But I want to know some other opinions, because I would use a lot of airbags and blankets (i think its very cold up there). Is that enough??

thx

bye
Click to expand...

Hey...good luck with your flight...back in 2000, when i moved from new york to Montpellier in the south of France, I took my G4 450mhz tower with me...put it in its original box, wrapped it in paper so it wasn't obvious to the world that it was a computer and paid lord knows how much for the xtra weight...i moved with a ton of junk...it got to france fine...

figured if the computer survived the gorillas at ups when they delivered it to my apartment in manhattan i figured (unless it got heisted or lost) it would make it fine to europe...I also took my sony 21" monitor and it survived as well...

still, we could all use a bit of irish luck when flying with so much valuable stuff...

i'm considering doing it again this april when i visit friends and family in new york...bring back a mac pro or a macbook pro...not decided what i need yet...i could save a bundle if the dollar stays weak against the euro...

pack the box good, lots of tape around all the seems...lots of paper and tape around the box...go for it!

M
 
reminds me of elementary school where you had to drop an egg in a box off the roof so you had to pack it perfectly so it wouldn't break.. only the egg is worth thousands lol
 
Is it really worth EUR 250 to put your machine at a such a terrible risk of damage or theft? Not to mention that in the remote chance you're inspected by the Zollamt, you'll have to fork over 19% VAT plus possibly duty plus stiff penalties for not declaring it, which I'm told can double the taxes!!

I'd probably try it with a laptop, but I wouldn't subject an iMac to the bag handlers.
 
VideoFreek said:
Is it really worth EUR 250 to put your machine at a such a terrible risk of damage or theft? Not to mention that in the remote chance you're inspected by the Zollamt, you'll have to fork over 19% VAT plus possibly duty plus stiff penalties for not declaring it, which I'm told can double the taxes!!

I'd probably try it with a laptop, but I wouldn't subject an iMac to the bag handlers.
Click to expand...

Plus that the german customs are certainly on the lookout for people bringing electronics over from the US. Because the low exchange rate and low taxes. As said you could risk it with a laptop or a camera - you can always claim you didn't know and perhaps avoid the penalties - but they are going to take you to the cleaners if they catch you with an iMac. Its not even said they will let you keep the computer. Even after paying the fines.
 
safXmal said:
Plus that the german customs are certainly on the lookout for people bringing electronics over from the US. Because the low exchange rate and low taxes. As said you could risk it with a laptop or a camera - you can always claim you didn't know and perhaps avoid the penalties - but they are going to take you to the cleaners if they catch you with an iMac. Its not even said they will let you keep the computer. Even after paying the fines.
Click to expand...

Except hes coming from Canada not the US.
 
check the specs!

Double-check the power supply specification before you even consider doing such a thing. EU uses 220-240V and if your hardware only has 110V power supply, it will not smell fine after you plug it in.

I don't know what's the power supply situation now, but at least some time ago Apple used to not have universal power supplies on the iMac so that's your #1 concern.

If the power supply is universal, then you just need to remove the stand from the display to make it possible to carry the thing in your luggage. The manual should explain how to do it, because that's what you have to do if you should want to attach it to VESA mount, which is not that uncommon.

EDIT: it seems iMac now accepts 110-240V so no worries there.
 
Neo91 said:
no because I will use it just for mayself, i wont sell it!
Click to expand...

Doesn't matter. You are going around import duties by asking for a way to get around them. If you have a question that doesn't involve going around a set tax system, then ask that question. If you don't have such a question, then kindly respect the rules.
 
JFreak said:
I don't know what's the power supply situation now, but at least some time ago Apple used to not have universal power supplies on the iMac so that's your #1 concern.
Click to expand...

At one point (if I recall correctly) they had 110 supplies in the US models and universals in the international models. The Canadian site says that they're universal but it'd be a good idea to check the specific box before you buy it.

On the other hand, please don't use the forums to solicit advice for lawbreaking.
 
Two years ago, some friends and I went down to the CPL gaming tournament in Dallas, Texas, and I just took my PC tower with me as my carry-on luggage rather than bringing a smaller suitcase (my friends transported my monitor). I don't know how it works on international flights, but as long as it fits the size requirements and isn't a banned item, you might be able to just carry it on with you (I'm sure you'd have to remove the stand, though).
 
If you use the original box it has plenty of protective material to keep it safe on the plane. On top of that your bags are normally insured. Keep in mind that by German customs policy you will still most likely be legally required to pay a duty if you are truthful.
 
I'm in a similar situation here.

I will move next month from Switzerland to Brazil and I'm allowed by law to bring with me whatever I want (excluding cars) for my personal or professional use without paying taxes.

So, I would like to bring an iMac given that here in Switzerland it costs less than half of the price of the same one in Brazil.

The problem is that there is no chance I will put it in bag and check it in. I want to bring it with me in the cabin, along with my Macbook and a digital SLR.

So, is it really possible to (easily) remove the base stand? I don't think that it is the case for the 20" iMac.

Also, is there any alternative to the iLugger? I can't find anything like that here in Switzerland and I really don't want to pay U$ 119,00 + postal taxes for a bag that I will use once and forget about.
 
I do believe that the law is that if you are actually moving to a country within the EU, like Germany, as long as you have paid your sales tax in the country where you live, you can bring with you all your personal posessions, without having to pay any duty. So enjoy and good luck with the moving.

On another note I do know that Apple do not like people in Europe flying off to the States to buy what are almost half-priced machines. If you do then Apple offers NO warrenty if your machine goes wrong unless you go back to the States to get it fixed.
 
To Nordichund:

Yes, this is the law for European countries. Since I'm a Brazilian moving to Brazil I have to follow the Brazilian law, that states that if you lived outside the country for more than one year you can bring whatever you want without paying taxes.

About your second statement, I'm not sure if it is true. What is the global warranty coverage for then?

http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._global_warranty_on_all_computer_systems.html
 
alexandrend said:
To Nordichund:

About your second statement, I'm not sure if it is true. What is the global warranty coverage for then?

http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._global_warranty_on_all_computer_systems.html
Click to expand...

I´ll have to check it out again, but the last time I looked at buying Apple Care was that it was only valid in the part of the world where you lived and bought you machine in, ie Europe, North America etc, since again the prices are so different.
If you could give me a link to the info about global warrenty I´d be interested to read it and is it only for specific machines or all Apple models.
 
CanadaRAM said:
There's no way in heck an iMac 20" or 24" in or out of its original box is going to meet the size requirement for carry-on luggage.
Click to expand...

The 24" has a removable stand. Sitting in front of mine right now I can see that it will easily fit in the overhead bin on any 747 and most aircraft more than 3 seats wide. The 20" will be fatter since you cannot disconnect the stand, but it is also a lot smaller. I think it would be quite easy to take it on the plane with the iLugger.
 
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