Customs in Shannon Airport

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selfbuilder

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Hi, I am travelling to the US in September and I am hoping to buy a laptop while out there. Of course the wife is hoping to buy as much clothes as she can bring home. I am weary of coming through customs in Shannon Airport with our new laptop and clothes and being screwed for the tax. Does anyone have any tips about getting through customs with a new laptop and not being taken aside.

Thanks for any help to set my mind at ease.:confused:
 
remove all tags etc from clothing - if you do buy the laptop just carry it in a laptop bag - not in box. are you sure buying a laptop in us makes sense for you ? check power, warranty etc to make sure all are covered here.
 
Why not avoid all the warranty issues, and steal a laptop here? That away you can avoid being screwed by the laptop manufacturer.
 
If you are going to use the laptop from the mains you will have to buy a voltage converter because over in the states its all 110v and in europe its 230v.you can buy a converter for about €50 in maplins.
 
Laptops have dual-voltage power supplies -- otherwise business travellers would have to carry around voltage converters. The electrical sockets are different, so you will need a cheap adapter for that, or just change the plug.
 
A friend bought a Dell laptop this time last year for €1,200.

I've just ordered virtually the same one, spec. is a bit better, for €605.

How much are you hoping to save by buying a laptop in the US? I kind of wonder could it really be worth it!
 
I am hoping to buy a MacBook or MacBook Pro. I would save €400-500 by buying in the US. I believe that there are similar savings to be made on other makes as well.
 
if you buy an apple in the US then your warranty etc is for over there so would have to deal with US helpdesk with all queries. can be annoying & more time consuming than normal
 
got two laptops last month in USA. they have an power adapter attached so you just need a plug adapter not a voltage converter. Just walked through customs bring a few programs with you and load a few docs on before you come home so it won't look too new if you are asked to open it. Also mail home instruction books and recipt. We got it in Circuit city there is a shop called Best Buys that is good as well. We were in Florida. Saved a fortune
 
selfbuilder said:
I am hoping to buy a MacBook or MacBook Pro.
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Ok, I get it now ;) The other half is waiting with excitement for an announcement of a bunch of new laptops in the next few weeks. But no chance of us going to the US for a while, so the new Mac will have to be bought here. But I'm happy with a PC.
 
Just take all tags of clothes, if customs are anything like Dublin airport you'll not even see them!!!
 
If its a MacBOok theres an upgrade just out since 15/05. Check apple.ie store. Just ordered one.
 
selfbuilder said:
We are arriving in Shannon airport at about 8.00am. Do the Customs work this early?
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Not on a Sunday ( well at least they didnt last time I passed through )

What is it they say about the best place to hide something is in plain sight ! I know of someone who brought a rather expensive piece of stuff in right on top of the rest of the bags, didn't even get a look by Customs.
 
Purchased a baby Stroller on a recent trip to the US.Was going to unpack it from the box and push it through (note I didn't have Macer Junior with me) instead opted to leave it in the box. It came out through the oversized luggage and I breezed past customs.
 
If you buy any expensive electrical stuff, dump the packaging and post the receipt home to yourself.

If you buy an iPod or anything like that, set the date and time and maybe copy some files onto it while in the shop. Just a precaution, but could prove invaluable.
 
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