Nextstudio

jmacpherson@hedwig:~$ 

Why bother?

The time has come to retire my trusty notebook computer. The USB has stopped working and it hangs occasionally leading me to suspect that something important on the main board has gone awry and only two weeks outside IBM’s warranty. After tossing up various options I’ve decided to replace it with another ThinkPad. Regardless of the brand chosen it seems that here in Australia we’re charged close to double the price available to consumers in the United States. It appears that all manufacturers are working on the “US 50c to the Aussie dollar” adage. (at the time of writing the Australian dollar buys $0.88) In the case of Lenovo (new owners and makers of the ThinkPad brand) the models on offer are not even as good as those costing twice as much. Since I have family in the US it would be remiss of me not to at least investigate importing a computer.

Choosing a model

The model I’ve chosen in the US has a 15.4” wide screen (1680×1050 pixels) a dedicated graphics chip, a gigabyte of RAM and a 2Ghz processor and costs US$1,253 (AU$1,425). I’m only including these details for comparison to the Australian equivalent – or the closest I can get which seems to be $2,899 (with a 14”, lower resolution screen). The only negative difference on the US model was the warranty, which could be matched for US$99 (AU$112). As long as I can keep shipping and taxes below $1,362 I’ve made a saving.

A call to Lenovo to confirm they will honour the warranty (provided it’s correctly imported), and a quick perusal of the customs site indicates that I shouldn’t be up for much more than a couple of hundred dollars in duty and I think I should be up by around a grand.

Lenovo warranty

According to the Lenovo Australia website they will honour the warranty on a laptop brought into the country but might require that correct import documentation be provided.

Customs 101

According to this site the US postal service (USPS) is not only the cheapest way to ship such items around but they also provide affordable insurance and declaration labels to smooth the process out once the package arrives in Australia. Will update as I experience this process first hand.

Ordering

Well that seemed easy enough. Ticked the options I wanted, next, select the 3 year warranty, enter my credit card and my uncle’s address and the order is away!

Update 1: 17/07/07

Okay first ordering hurdle encountered. I’ve received an email from Lenovo asking me to arrange for an additional shipping address to be added to my credit card file. My bank says they can’t do this.

Update 2: 18/07/07

It turns out they won’t accept any foreign credit cards at all, only US debit/credit cards, cheques or electronic transfer. This is obviously not an option for a lot of people. They have, however, held the funds so they are currently not available in my account. Time to transfer some money to my uncle and call in a family favour.

Update 3: 24/07/07

Have just experienced the fun of international bank transfers. You’re charged a decent chunk of cash at both ends (AU$30 here and $10 on the other end and you need addresses and routing numbers of banks, account holders etc. and it all has to be done in person at a branch. In the age of internet banking, it’s pretty arcane, actually. Not surprised how well PayPal does despite their fees and practices given the effort required.

Update 4: 26/07/07

Damn! Order cancelled, do not pass ‘Go’. Now writing out a list of instructions for the folks overseas to purchase it online.

Final update: 27/01/08

Okay well the summary is that I don’t have a lot to add to the experiences of others. I have to thank my aunt and uncle in the US for proxying the order for me as IBM/Lenovo in the USA didn’t want to have anything to do with overseas credit cards.
In the end I obtained a computer for a substantial saving and since it shipped with some RAM that failed after a week, I can confirm that the warranty is valid and honoured by the Australian branch.

The only real annoyance was that the package was dropped inside our building’s front door by an Australia Post courier. Given the postage paid, declarations and paperwork and customs clearance, I was disappointed that the “signature required” package was left unattended at the very end of its journey.

New computer is great and now my USB works. Woohoo.