Sparkysparks101 wrote:
Apologies if asked many times before
Many, many times before
Has anyone had experience of ordering on another countries website for pickup in store when you get to the country? (Based in UK but order on the USA website to pickup in the USA) Any issues with using a foreign passport for ID when picking up etc?
I can't speak to the experience of online ordering for pickup. I can tell you that Apple does internet sales legally. Many other companies do not. But this means that Apple operates separate online stores in all major markets so that it can properly comply with global taxes, consumer laws, environmental regulations, etc. Any attempts to bypass that system will, at the very least, set off big red "FRAUD" alerts throughout the system.
And that's assuming you even make it that far. Apple jumps through a lot of hoops and spends a lot of money to be able to operate legally in the UK. Apple, and especially the UK, doesn't like it when people try to circumvent this process. People often complain that outside of the US, Apple's prices are higher, services are reduced, and support is more difficult. What you are attempting directly contributes to this. This is a UK sale that Apple would treat as a US sale.
Context: We’re in the UK and the GF is looking to buy an iPad in New York in November. We’re thinking of ordering on the USA website, paying in advance using fee free credit card and then collecting in person from the store using a UK passport as the ID.
The problem here is the "paying in advance" part. I would be surprised if that works at all. I don't know what you mean by "fee free credit card". I would be surprised if the purchase would go through on such a card. See my point above regarding fraud.
All that being said, you can most certainly walk into the Apple Store in New York and buy a new iPad. No problem. They probably won't even ask for ID. They will charge you New York state and city sales tax. I think that will be about 8.875 %, but I could be wrong. In the US, that is considered exorbitantly high, but it probably less than what you are used to. But don't try any of that, "oh, we're tourists so we don't have to pay local sales tax." The USA doesn't do that shtick. 😄 Pay up, buddy!
And then the fun will continue at the airport on your way back home. You will likely be expected to pay your local sales, use, and VAT tax on top of the tax you paid in NYC. Plus, you'll owe import duties. Don't get me wrong, this all perfectly legal. It's just going to cost your more money and a couple of hours at the airport.
