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to buy from ebay or not - iPad dilema

K

kultschar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 26, 2010
812
78
I do not live in US (im from UK but now live overseas with no Apple shops :mad:)

Anyhow found myself constantly on ebay last night weighing up the pros and cons of gettting an ipad ASAP!

Cheapest 16GB is around £400 mark (from US). Not a great price if you live in US however it is most likely to be the actual UK price from what I gather. Hence looking at it from this point of view its like buying one from the Apple UK shop in advance (if UK pricing rumours are to be believed)

However I normally buy my Apple gear from US (all 4 iPhones I have had are from ebay and decent cost) so should I just wait for a good US deal after all the hype has died down. Im guessing as this is different then an iPhone (i.e. not having to go thru carriers etc and contracts) that the ebay market will soon be selling them at normal Apple prices like ipods and Apple hardware etc or........... Am I being naive and the prices will be sky high for a long time due to either:

1) Apple cannot meet demand
2) US ebayers will continue to sell for profit due to other countries having to wait until the iPad is launched?

I gather that preorders have now stopped and Apple shops are now telling people if you have not pre-ordered then good luck getting one soon due to demand so I guess ebay prices are going to increase over nex few days before launch and who knows what after????

Any advice appreciated especially from overseas people (non us) like myself!!! Got a damn itchy trigger finger but not sure what to do - ARRGHHHHH!!:)
 
Remember that there will very likely be customs fee(s) if you import in from US. eBay sellers don't include that in their prices so you may end up paying more than it would cost in UK
 
Hellhammer said:
Remember that there will very likely be customs fee(s) if you import in from US. eBay sellers don't include that in their prices so you may end up paying more than it would cost in UK
Click to expand...

Actually no custom fees where I live (im lucky!!)
 
kultschar said:
Actually no custom fees where I live (im lucky!!)
Click to expand...

Any reason why? AFAIK if you import from US to any EU country, you will be hit by custom fees, not 100% sure though and great if you don't have them.

Just to remind you so there won't unpleasant surprises :cool:
 
Hellhammer said:
Any reason why? AFAIK if you import from US to any EU country, you will be hit by custom fees, not 100% sure though and great if you don't have them.

Just to remind you so there won't unpleasant surprises :cool:
Click to expand...

I live on a British Island which is not in the EU!!!!! We are tax free but sadly no Apple shops, hence why I have to use the internet for purchases!
 
kultschar said:
I live on a British Island which is not in the EU!!!!! We are tax free but sadly no Apple shops, hence why I have to use the internet for purchases!
Click to expand...

Jersey?

Might be better off waiting for Amazon. I'm pretty certain they'll be getting them. They did have them listed a while back (availability for June!) but those listings are gone. But a) you won't get scalped and b) you'll have an easier time with any return that might happen.
 
Or...you COULD just ask a forum member to purchase and mail you one. No ebay fee no worries.


kultschar said:
I live on a British Island which is not in the EU!!!!! We are tax free but sadly no Apple shops, hence why I have to use the internet for purchases!
Click to expand...
 
I just ike to say buying one of these off ebay so close to launch and having it sent to another country is just a recipe for disaster.

Scammers will be running hard with these on ebay for the next month or two.
 
Dodgeroo said:
Jersey?

Might be better off waiting for Amazon. I'm pretty certain they'll be getting them. They did have them listed a while back (availability for June!) but those listings are gone. But a) you won't get scalped and b) you'll have an easier time with any return that might happen.
Click to expand...


Falklands!!!!!!
 
Mpalmieri1203 said:
I just ike to say buying one of these off ebay so close to launch and having it sent to another country is just a recipe for disaster.

Scammers will be running hard with these on ebay for the next month or two.
Click to expand...

Im not too bothered about this as I am a pretty experienced ebayer who has bought over 15 iphones from US ebay (everybody here has them due to me!!)

I have had no prob getting money back off the odd scammer via paypal over the last 8 years!

Just the decision of shall I wait or not lol. News now saying iPad stock all pre-sold for this week so guess ebay prices due to rise with such news
 
well if you wait prices might go down but probably not by much
I think in the first week prices will sky-rocket due to the number of people who stood in line but did not get one
 
harry*333 said:
well if you wait prices might go down but probably not by much
I think in the first week prices will sky-rocket due to the number of people who stood in line but did not get one
Click to expand...

Sod it - I will try and snag one off ebay, using the projected UK prices as my maximum bid!!!!!

Now the storage size dilema lol
 
What happens though when demand shoots through the roof and you have an auction won for 400, but the seller pulls it says he doesn't have it or whatever, so he can relist it for a much higher price when he finds out he can get twice as much for it.
 
marksman said:
What happens though when demand shoots through the roof and you have an auction won for 400, but the seller pulls it says he doesn't have it or whatever, so he can relist it for a much higher price when he finds out he can get twice as much for it.
Click to expand...

They seem to be going for a steady inflated price i.e. 600 odd for 16GB model, there don't appear to be any "bargains" and sellers guaranteeing the profit from the off
 
Kultschar, there was a similar topic on one of the other iPad forums and the poster was UK based. One suggestion was to use a third party service such as this one.

http://www.bundlebox.com/

They act as a middleman, handle the forms and repackaging, and apparently have had good ratings from people who have used them.

All the best!
 
Morro Bay said:
Kultschar, there was a similar topic on one of the other iPad forums and the poster was UK based. One suggestion was to use a third party service such as this one.

http://www.bundlebox.com/

They act as a middleman, handle the forms and repackaging, and apparently have had good ratings from people who have used them.

All the best!
Click to expand...

I looked at this and it ended up with cheaper options on fleabay.

Cheers anyhow!
 
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