Chris2500dk
Top Veteran
- Location
- Copenhagen, Denmark
A UK dealer wouldn't pay a US sales tax though. $2100+20% = $2500, £1955 = $3000.
USD 2100 +10% US sales tax=approx USD 2300.
Sales tax in the US is not national, it's local. When it's all said and done, it's set by each individual city/county. I can pay 8.75%, drive over a block and pay 7.75%. It ranges from 0% to 11.5%. So 10% is near the top. There are states where it's 0%. Also there are still plenty of online retailers that will not charge sales for items shipped to states they have no physical presence in. With my CCs, I can add and remove shipping addresses at will. I can easily add the address of the hotel I'm staying in and have things shipped there in 2 days and thus avoid sales tax. Also online pricing tends to be lower than physical stores and you can get cashback that can be up to 10%.
As for the warranty, this is where "grey goods" can help out someone buying in the US to take back home with them overseas. "Grey goods" are items sold in the US without a US warranty. They have an interntional warranty instead. Because of this, they are significantly discounted in the US. For a overseas buyer visiting the US, this is a win since that international warranty will serve them well back home.
You can save significant amounts of money buying electronics in the US versus in Europe. I ran through all this with someone I met from Germany looking to buy a laptop.. I got an email from him a few weeks later saying even after all the random costs, he still saved about 600 euros buying from the US over buying the same laptop in Germany.
Apples with apples.
We can compare "outsmarting the systems" schemes or we can assume the buyer is a straight shooter. Of course there are Europeans who buy abroad and try to get away without paying their countries import tax when returning home. That's a different game, though and to each its own. If you think saving at all cost or better risk is smart, go for it. I'm not going to risk anything for a few hundred bucks, it's not worth it. The majority of oversas visitors go to brick an mortar shops in the US (ever visited B&H in NYC) and pay US sales taxes. And when travelling back home comply with the law and declare goods at the border. By the way do you mind mentioning a few of trustworthy (i.e. excellent customer feedback) dealers who would ship to hotel adresses? I wouldn't know of any.