How to get a Thinkpad from US?

Hi there,

I want to buy a Thinkpad, and I am living in Europe (in Germany).

On the US-Lenovo website, it is possible to buy the notebook from Lenovo directly. And it is possible to highly custumize the laptop.
However, Europe, this is not possible. One has to buy the notebook from sellers, and the notebook is usually not configurable. There are just plenty of different models of a series outside.
Also, the price in Europe is much higher for a Thinkpad than in the US.

That are the two reasons why I would like to buy a notebook from the US.

But I wonder if it is possible. Does anybody know if it is and how?
I heard of the possibility of buying a Thinkpad from ebay.com. But the Thinkpads there are not configurable.

I look forward to your answers,
Christoph

 

Ebay systems are not configurable, but I bought a new maxed out configuration and it's wonderful.

 

In this shop Notebook.de you can configure your Thinkpad. However it will be much expensive than buying in the US (even if you have to pay the duties fee).

Also, most US-notebooks warranty isn't valid in Europe. Be sure to check if a certain notebook warranty is covered in Europe. Use this link to check the status of the International Warranty of a specific computer: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=LOOK-IWS#sw.

I recommend you to buy your computer from eBay. Just check if they ship to your location and always confirm if the computer type is covered by Europe's warranty: http://computers.listings.ebay.com/Laptops-Notebooks_IBM-Lenovo_W0QQfromZR4QQsacatZ140083QQsocmdZListingItemList.

You can then buy a German keyboard from Notebook.de. They're really easy to replace. I also live in Europe and my Thinkpad came from the US. I saved 1 500€ (compared with Notebook.de).

 

You may want to investigate the possibility of a friend/business associate in the US having the computer shipped to their door, and then forward it on to you.

Of course, this raises security issues, as well as warranty, tax, and customs.

End the end, it depends on how much work you are willing to go through in order to save some money and get the configuration you need.

 

Hi trekzone,

I went through the very same problem when trying to get a T61P into France.

If you want to customise the laptop you will need a friend in the U.S. who you can trust to send to Laptop to you, this is the only way to get a customised Thinkpad into Europe that I am aware of.

Other stores like Notebook.de don't actually customise the Laptop, they charge an (expensive IMO) premium to swap out the HDD, RAM and/or Keyboard etc... Basically changing Customer Replaceable Units (CRUs) on your behalf. You could do this yourself, not void the warranty, and save a lot of money. What exactly do you want to customise ?

Otherwise here are your options :

1. Buy the Laptop from the U.S. and get it sent to you (via a friend or ebay-seller) without declaring it to customs, this means you CAN NOT insure it in the post. This is the only way to avoid paying the ~20% VAT (Value Added Tax, it's 19.6% here in France and will be similar for Germany). However, if lost in the post you will receive NO compensation and there is still a, somewhat remote, chance that Customs will find your Laptop anyway. You still have to pay for non-insured shipping (slightly cheaper) and a new keyboard, Vista will be in English.

2. Buy the Laptop from the U.S. and get it sent to you whilst declaring it to customs. You will have to pay insured shipping fees, ~20% VAT and Customs processing fees. When your laptop arrives in Germany the German Customs will send you a letter informing you of it's arrival and an invoice for the ~20% VAT and processing fee, once payment is received it will be shipped to your house. Customs can be quick but I've heard of it taking weeks (although German Customs should be more efficient compared to their bureaucratic French counterparts). Then you will have to pay for a new German keyboard, Vista will be in English.

3. Buy it in Germany.

What I did was to calculate the total cost for the Laptop for all 3 options and then weigh up the how long they would take, the risks associated and the convenience of each option.

After I did this I got my visiting relatives to get me one from Australia . Australian prices aren't cheap but better than Europe, and the tax there is just %10, no VAT either.

I guess this is all pretty obvious but I hope it helps. If someone had given me this at the beginning I would've saved a couple of weeks of what if-ing.

Hard decision to make, Good Luck !

 

I forgot to mention that there was talk that after Lenovo ironed out the bumps of the online-customisation-ordering-system in Canada they were going to roll it out elsewhere. Still considering the problems Canada has had I wouldn't count on this as a short, or even medium, term solution.

In fact you should probably forget that I mentioned it

 

Six months ago when I was interested in an X61T I faced a similar dilemma as the TS. There were just too few X61T configurations available in Sweden and none of them had all the features I wanted (SXGA+ among other things). Also, because of several factors (low value of USD, high Swedish VAT (25%), lower price levels in the US and very generous Lenovo online discounts) a maxed out X61T would cost almost three times as much in Sweden than in the US.

Therefore I decided to purchase my Thinkpad in the US and bring it back to Sweden. My plan was basically to order my desired configuration to my friend in New York and simply travel there and collect it once it was delivered. Because of the price difference US – Sweden, I could easily buy a plane ticket, spend some time and money in NY (I did not have to stay at a hotel) and get an X61T configuration that was unavailable in Sweden, for less money than a lesser equipped X61T would have cost me if I had bought it in Sweden directly.

If the price differential between US – Germany is as big as the price differential as US – Sweden, a Thinkpad purchase in the US would land you a “free” trip to the US (if you have a friend that can handle your order and who you can visit) with additional spending money available.

I do not know how efficient the German customs officials are at the airport. In Sweden they generally look for alcohol, tobacco, firearms and drugs (therfore I always leave my alcohol, tobacco, firearms and drugs at home when I am travelling ). However, I do remember those old movies when the border guy with the mean looking German shepherd always stops you, just as you thought that you had made it.

If you are concerned about customs you can minimize the problem by fully unpacking your Thinkpad and carrying it with you as any other normal person would carry his personal notebook on any trip. If you are ultra-paranoid buy the corresponding German Thinkpad keyboard before your trip and bring it to the US. Also, buy the correct German power cord. The US keyboard can then easily be swapped for the German one before you travel home. Should you be stopped in customs it would truly require an ultra-anal customs official that would care to continue to scrutinize your Thinkpad, once he sees the German keyboard and german power cord (needless to say, do not travel with the US keyboard or the US power cord).

 

Thank you all so much for your informations!
That will be so helpful...

Ordering a laptop from the US turned out to be a more complex issue than I thought.

Ways of getting the laptop...
Actually, I have a friend living in the USA. So this may be one possibility, if she is willing to help me.

Just after reading the post of jketzetera it came to my mind that another German friend of me is right now in the US, visiting a friend there. She will stay about 12 more days. I still can't believe this coincidence...
Its really a nice idea that one could just do like if it would be ones normal laptop. I think customs can't proove that the laptop has been bought right now in the US, can they?
However, I am not sure whether I will be able contact my Germany friend in the US or not, or if her friend is willing to buy the laptop for me...

I also had the idea that I could ask a seller from ebay.com to order my laptop with the configuration I want. And then he could just sell the laptop to me via Ebay. What do you think of this possibilty?

The warranty...
I checked the International Warranty... sadly European countries are not included at all.
Thats a real problem! Because the warranty is quite important to me. I intended to buy a 5 year depot-warranty. The service of Lenovo has a very high reputation in Germany, which was actually a main reason why I decided for a Lenovo.

How did you handle the warranty issue? Do you have a warranty valid in europe at all?

I checked some Thinkpad models of ebay.com on their international warranty. Some of them do have warranty in all european countries. How is it possible for the sellers to get this global international warranty in America?

About the VAT...
I don't know much yet much about this kind of tax.
On ebay.com I found some sellers which sell Thinkpads worldwide, and mention that they will send the system as a replacement, so one does not need to pay the VAT. Actually, that makes sense. But even if one would have to pay the VAT, it woudn't hurt that much I think.
I wonder whether my friend living in the US could also send me the laptop as a replacement or not. Because she is a private person.

@jketzetera
Actually I think German custums officials are quite efficient... Last time when I came back from abroad my luggage was checked... However, i never have seen a German shepherd with them

My preferred configuration of the thinkpad

• nVidia dedicated graphics card
• WXGA+ Screen
• 5 year warranty
• other minor things, which are not so crucial... but would be simply nice if one could configure them

It is good to know that I could by a germany keyboard.
But I don't mind using an US-keyboard at all, so that will be no problem.

I just wonder why Thinkpads are so much cheapter in the USA than in Europe. I checked brands as Sony... with them the price is about the same in the US and in Europe.

I look forward to hearing from you again,
Christoph

 

You will pay the VAT if you hadn't paid it before for the same product.
There are two sites that I know of that ship ThinkPads internationally: Bottom Line Telecommunications and Euclid Computers.

 

There's no 5 year warranty in Europe. SO you can stop looking for that. You won't find it.
Search eBay, you'll most likely find what you're looking for already pre-built (unless you're after the latest Penryn processors).

Contacting an eBay seller to ship a custom laptop for me was what I did. I had to pay him extra to "compensate" him for his work though. Try sending Thinkpad sellers a message through eBay. But don't send the request to too many people at the same time, or your account will be suspended.

One thing that's curious: The custom Thinkpad didn't have European warranty (machine type 8000 something). But after placing the order, they ended up sending the eBay seller a 6457 machine (that has warranty in Europe). Don't know why... Maybe you'll have the same luck.

 

@arlab:

Thank you for the tips.
From which ebay-seller did you buy the laptop?
Actually, the only one which I could find who has laptops with global international warranty is ThinkpadUSA.
Did you pay any VAT oder not?

 

The eBay seller I bought from, doesn't sell no more in eBay. But if I remember correctly ThinkpadUSA also replied to me saying that they could fullfill my request.

I did pay VAT. 21% over the marked value. But I still saved 1 500€, so it's totally worth it.

 

I do not know the situation in Germany but in Sweden when importing goods, you are liable to pay import duties + Swedish VAT. The import duties + VAT is paid if customs discovers that the package sent to you from abroad contains goods that have a commercial value. The same thing goes if you personally are transporting the goods and are stopped in customs (e.g. at the airport).

However, the probability that you will be stopped by customs at a Swedish airport and that the customs officials will scrutnize a "regular" (i.e. unpacked) notebook, in hopes of charging you import duties + VAT, is minimal.

On the other hand, considering how Germany went all James Bond on Liechtenstein, perhaps one should not underestimate the efficency, diligence and dedication of German customs/tax officials

 

Hi,

I have recently imported my T61P from ThinkpadUSA into the UK. I hot a 6457 from them which has 3 years warranty including Uk support. I'm not sure about Germany, but in the UK import tax is calculated on the claimed/declared value of the item. I only had to pay import tax to the value of £54GBP which was based on the declared value of the shipper (Thinkpad USA). I also ordered a UK keyboard which took about two minutes to install. I estimate that I saved about £500-600GBP buying this way so it may not hurt to try ThinkpadUSA to see what they can do for you.

 

Finally, I decided not to buy one from the US. There are several reasons.

If I would find someone, like ThinkpadUS to order the Thinkpad for me with the wished configuration, I cannot be sure to get an international warranty. If I want to be sure, I have to buy a preconfigured one. However, I could not find a Thinkpad which is suitable to me, and is shipped worldwide by the seller.

I called Lenovo in the US and in Germany as well about warranty upgrades. It turned out that it is possible to upgrade the warranty only in the country where the notebook has been bought. And global international warranty extension is not possible in general.

Moreover, I don't get any response of ThinkpadUSA.
Also, I calculated the prices, and my calculations say I would only save several hundred Euros (because of VAT, shipping costs, some German equipment which one would need to buy... and there are no really maxed out offers I could find). Also because in Germany are quite some nice deals actutally.

After I made my decision, I found a really nice seller in Germany. It is only for study/teaching related persons, like students...
The deals are really incredible in my opinion (well, for German measurements of course, can't compete with US-deals of course at all). And it is also possible to custumize the preconfigured notebooks, even though there are not as much options as on Lenovos american online shop, but much more than on notebook.de. Also, the prices for the custumizations are quite acceptable. And they have the latest preconfigured notebooks from Lenovo available as well.

Here's the link www.campusdiscount.de

Thank you again for your big help

 

Hi guys,

Have you managed to get a notebook from the US 'as replacement' yet? From which store exactly?

It sounds an interesting concept.

Cheers!

PeeR

 

No. But what you could do is ask the seller to tag the laptop with a lower price. Like $1000. That way you don't pay much VAT.

 

Do you know any consultants/colleagues/relatives/friends who plan to go to U.S. soon? Ask him/her to get a Thinkpad in the U.S. and bring it back to you.

 

check out this thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=207682&highlight=refurbished

 

Thanks for your help guys, I asked the other topic too... who knows where the smart hang out

 

Actually, you dont have to pay the Mehrwertsteuer on notebooks imported into Germany.

 

Correct, but you have to pay the "Einfuhrumsatzsteuer", which is 19%.

 

LinXitoW,

Thanks for the interesting information.

Do you pay VAT on notebooks retailed in Germany? If yes, then it's bad business to retail notebooks in Germany, compared that you can import them for yourself, without having to pay VAT.

Cheers!

 

I'm living in the UK,in the last week I'm working on the issues of buying a thinkpad in US. really tough work,oh. I get lenovo to send the laptop to my friend in US and then forward it to me, but scaring that not declaring it to customs( this means you CAN NOT insure it in the post) will make me lost the machine and the money all.
Is there anyone who knows how safe it might be sending a laptop from US to Uk? or recommand a good delivery company to me?
Cheers.
By the way,it's really expensive to get the same laptop in UK.

 

Hi kyo-yuki
How do you get Lenovo to send the laptop to your friend in US? As far I know, Lenovo do not ship to addresses that do not match the billing address. How do you pay for ir? Paypal maybe?
Thanks a lot.

 

Hi ferossan,
just make lenovo ship to the billing address,which is in US.My friend pay the money then I pay forward to my friend.It's really horrible experinces.
and they don't accept paypal who's address is out of US,which make me wanna cry.

 

hi

i live in sweden. i recently bought a thinkpad r61 from US. i configured the thinkpad on website and shipped it to a friend in US. i paid on the lenovo website using visa card. i also got a laptop backpack and some additional ram shiped to his home. he put the laptop and ram inside the backpack and mailed me to sweden. he mailed via USPS. the service he used was express mail worth 62-67$. it includes 100$ insurance. my friend did not take any additional insurance. he declared all the items in the package and mailed it as a gift. i received the package in about 8 days. it cleared the customs without tax. i cannot guarantee that if u do the same there will be no tax.