New to Laptops, some maybe silly dell questions

[Yakuzan]

I had a 20% coupon for a full xps m1530 and a -299$ on the m1330 which are still valid. Just subscribe to the Dell newsletter they send deals often.


P.S I'm also ordering from Canada.

Note: I used the 20% a couple days ago.

Here what I got left:

[golin]

to be honest i've never bought anything online before, i used to be REALLY paranoid about my credit card number getting stolen, i wouldnt have the first clue to how to ship it to canada... can i ship right from dell ? or do i need someone i know in the states to ship it to me ?

I live in Israel and everything here is twice as expensive. I often ship things from different countries. This is not always a good deal, you have to consider each case.

When deciding to ship you have a few options:

1. Dell US ships to Canada - The easiest option but this is highly unlikely as they will be killing their own Canadian market.

2. Shipping to someone in the US - if you have someone you can ship to who lives in the US they can either ship it to you when they get it or give it to you in person if they are traveling to Canada.

3. Using a shipping company - This is the option that usually scares people. There are several companies that offer you a service that includes an address in the US and shipping. You order the product from Dell and gets it shipped to that address, the company then ships it to you. Usually they offer secure shipping in Fed-EX style. I have used such companies extensively with no problems but obviously you need to shop around for one with a reputable credit. i am afraid I can't recommend one as I use Israeli companies.

When deciding on buying something like a laptop abroad you need to consider these issues:

1. Warranty - I have recently spoken to Dell US and was told that they offer international warranty. Obviously, not having warranty will be undesirable so you should verify this.

2. Taxes - Each country is different in this aspect but almost always you will be required to pay some kind of tax when importing things by mail. You should definitely find out what the Canadian rules are.

3. Shipping costs of the whole thing - Shipping costs would obviously be higher than regular shipping. You should factor it all in and see if it's worth it.

4. Credit card regulations - Some companies won't accept foreign (even international) credit cards. This is done to prevent you from doing exactly what I am suggesting. I am not familiar with the Dell policy on this so you will need to find out. If they refuse Canadian cards you can either have someone in the US buy it for you or sometimes PayPal will work.

5. Electrical equipment concerns - I am not sure if it is relevant when shipping between the US and Canada but obviously there are different electrical standards in different countries. You will need to verify that it is the same standard or alternatively that using converters is possible.

These are the main issues I can think of now, I think it covers most of it. It may seem like a long post but It's not really such a big deal, you can often accomplish international shopping, I do it all the time.