Buying a phone in the US
score:3
I investigated buying an iPhone, so I can only answer on possible issues.
Often the US is not as cheap as it first appears. First, in the US prices are published without taxes. Secondly, if the total value of the goods you bring back are more than EUR 450 you'll need to pay custom taxes. You also need to buy a local charger or plug adapter.
In the case of an iPhone, the price was still lower in the US, but it was more in the 20-40 eur range. This plus the limited support if the phone turned out to be defective made me decide not to buy an iPhone in the US.
I also ran into issues by ordering online, with the objective to let it be delivered, while in the US. This turned out to be impossible in many cases. Some online shops only accept American credit cards and most that do accept foreign cards, only will deliver to your home address.
Personally, I think that buying electronics in the US is only beneficial if you can accept the limited warranty and if you are able to deduct the customs taxes from your local taxes (e.g. tax deductions in case of running your own company).
While I was in the US, someone I met went to Best Buy, to investigate the Nexus. I don't know if he ended up buying one. I went to Best Buy myself and was able to pay with a foreign card. I recall that we discussed bringing our newly bought phones back as if it was our phone before going to the US, i.e. throwing away all receipts and packaging. Again throwing away receipts might limit your warranty even more, but more importantly, customs apparently do check serial numbers on some occasions.
As said, I ended up not buying an iPhone, but I did buy up to 200 dollars of electronics, saving me about 45 eur versus if I had bought it at home.
Upvote:2
If you buy an unlocked phone, you should be able to use it. I use a Nexus 4 purchased from Google play, and have used it with a SIM purchased in the U.S., Mexico, and the UK, with no problem.
More post
- 📝 Who has priority on a dual carriageway when turning right?
- 📝 Does "2 days" before departure mean 48 hours for the COVID-19 tests to enter China, or does only the day of the COVID-19 tests matter?
- 📝 Can the Wizzair Discount Club membership holder's companion travel without the holder himself?
- 📝 Spirit Airline Flight Delay
- 📝 Must hearing aids be taken off when passing through security?
- 📝 Passport validity required to enter UK and Schengen countries for Indians with valid visas
- 📝 Options for sleeping at Heathrow during a long layover
- 📝 Which countries refer to themselves by their shape?
- 📝 Can we appeal a refusal of Schengen visa?
- 📝 Kenyan citizen, transiting through UK on the way to Jamaica
- 📝 Is it okay for me to sponsor my husband to UK for 6 months
- 📝 For a 90 day Egypt tourist visa how do I prove the duration of my stay?
- 📝 Transit visa for Dubai
- 📝 Extending my travel to the USA under VWP
- 📝 UK visa application query
- 📝 Beijng Capital International Airport with asthma
- 📝 How dangerous is Bratislava for pedestrians?
- 📝 Do I have to transfer landside, and do I have enough time? (British, LGW-KEF-UAK)
- 📝 What if a new romantic interest wants you to carry stuff through customs?
- 📝 Can I cross from the eastern side of Kosovo to Serbia by bike?
- 📝 Leaving USA and returning while on a 6 month visa
- 📝 Skipping a return flight on two way ticket
- 📝 Canadian Citizens residing in the US on an E2 business visa wanting to travel to Canada to visit sick and elderly parents and children
- 📝 Road trip in Europe while German resident permit is pending
- 📝 Personal items allowance when visiting UK
- 📝 Where's this park in Yokohama, in Ep. 31 of "Terrace House: Boys & Girls in the City"?
- 📝 On the definition of "Country of Residence" in the US customs form
- 📝 What's the process of transit these days in countries with a covid ban?
- 📝 Entering the United States on a return ticket from Mexico under the VWP
- 📝 Is it safe & easy to travel from Israel to West Bank by taxi?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Buying a phone in the US
- 📝 Buying a phone in Turkey instead of registering old phone: what happens to the latter?
- 📝 What's the likelihood that CBP checks my phone with advanced techniques such as seeing deleted files?
- 📝 What is a cheap & effective option to get basic cell phone coverage while visiting the UK?
- 📝 Cheapest possible way to make phone calls to the USA when visiting multiple European countries
- 📝 Buying and insuring a car in the US for a roadtrip
- 📝 If the phone number of the contact person on my DS form changes, will that be an issue at port of entry?
- 📝 Repatriation Flight - Buying flight through a tour company and getting the reservation code of airline
- 📝 Buying a left-hand drive car in the UK for long European road trips
- 📝 Buying a German train ticket when there is no ticket machine at the departure station
- 📝 What is the advantage(s) to buying tickets beforehand vs at the station for rail travel in Europe?
- 📝 Can I travel from the USA to Spain without buying a round trip ticket? What are my options?
- 📝 Buying the cheap return day cruise tickets (from Stockholm to Tallinn) and not taking the return leg of the journey
- 📝 I don't receive the OTP code for changing bookings on IndiGo for international cell phone numbers
- 📝 Buying Holi accessories after the event has ended
- 📝 What is preferable, Eurail Pass or Buying Pass on the spot?
- 📝 Will my European phone (Nokia 1208) work in the USA?
- 📝 Making phone calls from Poland to the rest of the world over VOIP
- 📝 Austria - Czech Republic - Germany - What is the best option for mobile phone
- 📝 When buying flight with AAdvantage points do you still pay $ at the end?
- 📝 Is the Apple SIM pricing comparable to buying a local sim-card?
- 📝 What to expect about the mobile phone usage during a flight to China and based on the CAAC regulations
- 📝 Buying duty free before a connecting flight within the uk
- 📝 Traveling to the USA - Phone coverage and solutions
- 📝 Is it possible to visit Qatar during the World Cup without buying a ticket?
- 📝 Why is buying an airline ticket from the company more expensive than from an aggregator like Skyscanner?
- 📝 What are the options to maintain a backup phone while travelling in the US?
- 📝 Buying a flight ticket to the UK for a foreign national
- 📝 Who is responsible for informing about flight changes when buying the ticket through a third-party site?
- 📝 Do Schengen visa authorities phone employers to verify employment? My boss received a call but the caller didn't identify himself