Apple picker PR You've probably heard of someone buying an Apple product in the US and saving a lot of money. But how is it nowadays? Is it still worth it? In this article, we will show you how it is with shopping in the USA.
Prices
Thanks to changes in the exchange rate, Apple has sharply increased prices on the Czech market compared to the past. Today, the price of a new iPhone 7 128GB in the US is $749, i.e. roughly CZK 17. In the Czech Republic, the same phone is sold for 300 CZK, which is a saving of 24 CZK on a single phone! Plus, thanks to the ever-strengthening krona, the price of the iPhone in the US will keep getting lower and lower.
Outside of the iPhone, there are big price differences for electronics in general. An interesting fact is that some products are not available at all in the Czech Republic. The best way to compare prices is to look at the American Amazon, which is the largest e-shop in the world. In addition to electronics, it is also worthwhile to look for clothes and possibly cosmetics in the USA. All this can be bought much cheaper than here.
Taxes
When purchasing in the US, please note that prices are exclusive of "Sales tax", which is similar to VAT. This is charged on the basis of the location to which the goods are delivered, and is usually in percentage units. Sales tax can be elegantly avoided by buying, for example, on eBay from another person, in which case you will most likely not be charged Sales tax, because the first buyer has already paid it.
Another tax to think about is domestic VAT. This is calculated only when the EU borders are crossed, based on the price stated in the customs declaration. Each customer fills out the customs declaration himself, and private carriers (Fedex and DHL) do not verify the veracity of this data except for random checks. The correctness and veracity of the filled-in data is the responsibility of the recipient of the package.
Shipping from USA
The problem with buying in the USA is that American e-shops, including the Apple Online Store, do not ship abroad. It is therefore necessary to have an American address and then send the package to the Czech Republic. One of the services that can arrange this whole process for you is called Planet Express. Just sign up in just a few steps and you will be assigned your own US address to which you can then have your shipments sent.
You will be notified by email as soon as the package arrives. If you receive more packages, you can use the so-called consolidation, which consists of combining several packages into one. Thanks to this, you will achieve maximum savings on postage, as the goods are packed in the smallest possible boxes to achieve maximum savings.
After that, you just need to fill in the address, choose the carrier, and that's it. Depending on the specific carrier, the package can be at your place in the Czech Republic in as little as two working days! The price of shipping a small package with an iPhone will cost an average of 30 dollars, which is approximately 700 CZK.
Warranty
Many buyers are concerned about the warranty on electronics. Fortunately, it's common these days for manufacturers to offer a worldwide warranty, including Apple. All you have to do is bring your device to any authorized service center, where they will verify the warranty period via the serial number and carry out a repair, which is usually solved by replacing the entire device with a new one.
This international warranty lasts for one year, which is amply compensated by a better price. If you are interested, you can purchase an extended warranty, so-called Apple Care. For other manufacturers, the worldwide warranty needs to be verified, however, this is already quite common for most global manufacturers.
Summary
By purchasing in the USA it is very easy to save, and it is also very easy. Just register on Planet Express, get an American address and order goods with delivery to your virtual mailbox. After that, you can forward the package to the Czech Republic with a few clicks, where you will receive it within a few days. Do you have any experience with shopping in the US? We will be happy if you share your experience, advice and tips in the comments!
But come on, a saving of CZK 7000? 749 USD + 30 USD for shipping * 23,50 (today's selling rate USD/CZK) = 18306,5 + 21% VAT = 22150 CZK. And all of a sudden, the declared savings of 7 are real savings of CZK 2239. And instead of a 2-year warranty, we have a phone with a one-year warranty + worries about sending the goods to a company in the USA, picking up the package after x weeks in the CZ.... hopefully it won't be damaged... well, just great.
..according to the text, the main "trick" to save money is to lie about the real price of the shipment - you write that it is a mockup of a phone priced at $10 and voila, you don't pay 21% of the real amount at customs, but only $10.
That's the only way, otherwise the prices without VAT in America +- correspond to the prices without VAT in the Czech Republic and if you pay the local American tax, even if it's only 5%, and 21% at customs, you won't improve the price a whole lot.
But as you write, the package can be lost, broken and insured for the admitted amount :D so another risk to take..
So this trick isn't very effective if they pick the package at customs, and since everything goes through x-rays and the $10 Apple box will be suspicious, they'll probably pick it 90% of the time, so you won't do anything. Maybe by Christmas the chance will drop to 70%. And does the author seriously think that the purpose of the article is to incite fraud? Probably not.
I'm rather surprised by the statement that Fedex/DHL don't verify it... I myself have a lot of experience with purchases from abroad in a number of fields, and for some time there have been more problems with DHL and similar problems than with the post office, and I've also experienced a totally messed up process even with an honestly declared price, there are also various "customs fees" (higher than CPOST), etc. What is claimed in the article "used to be", I can also confirm this from my own experience, but the situation has changed quite a bit and today I wouldn't bet on it anymore :-(
I don't understand that in a PR article, the server will allow incitement to unfair behavior ... to argue that it is a commercial message and that you are not responsible for its content is quite an alibi. At least read it before you post it.