There comes a time when you can wait no longer. For me, that time just passed.
As you probably already know, Apple yesterday started taking pre-orders for its “revolutionary and magical” iPad. With no UK release date or pricing in sight though, I decided to take the leap and import my iPad from the US. On Friday night I placed an order for a Wi-Fi only 16GB iPad .. but I live in the UK, and apple.com only accept US payment with a US address to boot – So, How did I do this?
Easy. The company I am using to do this are called BundleBox. Founded by former Google executive André Schmidt, Bundlebox is a small start-up based in the heart of London, UK. Basically, they act as a transatlantic shopping service which allows you to shop for goods in the USA, from websites which don’t offer the ability to pay with international debit or credit cards, like Apple.com, and have them shipped to you in the UK or you can choose from a number of other international destinations.
Why did I import? Well, first and foremost Bundlebox are so far the first and only company I have seen who have received confirmation from HMRC that they can completely waiver import duty tax on the product.
This means ordering the 16GB WiFi version works out at £465.20, and this price is inclusive of all shipping costs and VAT – saving roughly £30 on the rumored UK launch price. The second reason is, I want it. Now. I want it so badly, I would run over hot coals. Not sure if that has anything to do with the Halo Effect. The fact that BundleBox can almost guarantee the delivery of my iPad about 30 days earlier than the official UK launch, makes me happy. Anyway .. Moving on.
The Process
The process is pretty straight forward. You register on the site and immediately receive a unique US billing address. You then place an order for your goods via their “Buy For Me” service. You are charged immediately for the price of goods ordered. They are then delivered to your US BundleBox address, and you receive confirmation via e-mail they have arrived.
After they arrive at your BundleBox address, (multiple items can be packaged into one order to save on shipping costs), they ask you confirm they are the products you originally ordered, and invoice you for shipping costs plus VAT.
So, on Friday night that’s just what I did. I received the confirmation e-mail seen below about 30 minutes afterward which stated BundleBox had succeeded in pre-ordering my iPad from Apple.com and that it was en route to my BundleBox. I expect Apple will ship the product around 1st or 2nd of April, with hopefully delivery happening on April 3rd, as promised when pre-ordering. After it arrives, BundleBox say they can assure a delivery time to the UK of April 6th, providing Apple ship the product when promised.
The company has temporarily suspended taking orders for the iPad due to high demand. Being my first import ever, I’ll be sure to let you know how the process goes and when I do actually receive my iPad, hopefully very soon – so far I can’t fault the service, its been great!
Are you importing your iPad from the US to your home country? If so, which model and which company are you using?
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