Buying from Lenovo.com from overseas

Hi, I live in the Philippines.

I am very interested in availing the discount promo of lenovo.com's Member Purchase Program. Of course, it also says "valid in the US only" so I guess the straightforward way is not an option. Additionally, I don't have any contacts in the US that I can call upon to order one for me.

Later, I came upon a courier service called Forexworld where you can have US purchases delivered to their place in NY and they will take care of sending it to you in Manila.

Now, hypothetically, if I were to take that path, I have some questions regarding the delivery process which I hope you people might be able to help me out with.

The following notes are found in the Lenovo website, shortly after I mock-"checkout" an order of a Thinkpad T61.:

"You must call the phone number on the back of your credit card to ensure that your desired shipping address is part of your credit card profile. This will avoid a delay in the processing of your order.

"Lenovo does not ship to P.O. Boxes, APOs, hotels, or public mail centers."

Here are my questions and I'm not really sure if they are relevant or not, but they are the cause of my worries:

Will Lenovo allow this? In other words can I indicate in the "delivery address" that it is to be sent to a Forexworld address, when in fact my Mastercard as well as Paypal accounts explicitly says that I'm half a world away?

Now let's suppose it arrives at the Forexworld office. Will the delivery crew require Chin Petaling (me) to sign a receipt?

I hope I am clear to you. Thanks in advance.

 

Well, first of all, the forex website wants to add the remote access thingy from MS. You know, the one that allows someone to remotely help you "fix" your computer?
So I would do some google investigation of the company first.
Second, if you can call you cc company and add their shipping address, you dont have to be there to sign.
I would NOT use a debit card under any circumstances, you have almost no recourse if something goes wrong.
If you have amex that woud be best.
Make sure you investigate this front company thorougly. I am very uncomfortable with a website that wants me to addon remote access programs to my hard drive.

 

While there are certainly ways, through friends, family , etc to purchase a lenovo system in the US from another country, I would strongly advise you to go to the Lenovo support website and investigate which models have international warranty. Here is the direct link
Accessing support and getting service in your home country could be an issue if you purchase a model that isn't supported there.

Food for thought...

 

My god, you are correct. I had been using firefox with noscript so I haven't noticed. And with regards to the company, a lot of online folks in the Phils gave it glowing reviews, and if I'm really serious about it I'll probably pay their office a visit.

I'd like to be clearer with the "cc company" thing you mentioned, sorry..

And as mentioned, will I still be taking unnecessary risks using Paypal / Mastercard?

 

I have here a sample order. Is "7662" the machine type given by your link? I can't find any other appropriate number to use.

If a list of telephone numbers is displayed for my country, does it mean warranty is supported?

 

Paypal will fu in an instant if there is a problem. Just google "Ihatepaypal".
MC should be fine, AMEX has some additional extended warranty bonuses and will atually take your side first instead of assuming you are a criminal like paypal.

 

hm, food for thought...

 

Just configured a T61 on lenovo site, how do I know the 1 year depot warranty is international?

 

I've always liked this description of Amex from alt.sysadmin.recovery.

 

Your best result would still come from having a friend in the states.

Some family of mine are missionaries in the Philippines, so I've gone through your dilemma (I do all of their IT work). Shipping is a no-go (a desktop computer worth $300 can be $400 to ship) so I end up finding friends who can carry along an extra box as part of their checked airline baggage.

My only other option is to go through a company that has a lot of travelers to Asia, and either has them bring things, or does it via contracting for cargo space on ships already making the voyage. It can take 6-8 weeks to get something over there, but it's $80 per box vs. that $300-400 UPS or FedEx bill, and it has been reliable. But that doesn't help your issue of purchasing it in the States, so your best bet is to find someone trustworthy who lives over here.

 

For thinkpads bought in the U.S. with standard warranty, is the warranty international?

 

Not necessarily. You have to check that.
PS: There is a solution to the original problem/question: you can buy overseas, but a pre-built system. Bottom Line Telecommunications and Euclid Computers sell pre-build ThinkPads for a good price. They ship overseas.