Ordering a laptop from the USA?

[Guest fraser]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a 14" gaming laptop and the only one I can find with a GeForce 7800 (or ATI x1600), DVI and a webcam is the Asus A8Jm. However, it's not available in the UK.

A company called Portable One is selling them and is willing to Fedex me one. Has anyone out there done this? Is it safe? I order from abroad all the time, but not laptops with delicate displays and moving parts. Frequently DVDs I order have fallen out their holder in transit. :)

What's your thoughts? I know I'll need to pay VAT on it etc what with Fedex being Fedex. Do they insure it for transit damage? The portable one guys do burn in tests for one week before shipping, so I'll know it worked when it went in the box... ;)

[Guest JamieDow]

The insurance is best checked with the store but I have only ever bought a full system in person from the US. I would personally go ahead depending on the company, if you have support issues though it's going to be hard to get hold of them.

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

I just bought a new Thinkpad T60p from the USA, saved a packet even factoring in import duty.

FedEx should insure it for damage.

Check the warranty situation, and be aware you'll get a US keyboard, if that's OK, go for it... enjoy the weak dollar :)

P

[Guest Paul (MVP)]

Incidentally, my Thinkpad is 15" but has the ATI FireGL v5200 256MB (GL optimised x1600), and i'm lovin it!

P

[Guest fraser]

Thanks for the replies folks! 15" is way to big for me, my current is a IBM T22 which is tiny compared to the 15" ones. Of course, I'd argue that the 17" ones cannot be called laptops*!! I'm going to be taking it abroad with me, so size matters.

The company has a great rep, seems to be a bit like modaco where a few enthusisats got together and started shipping the configs that people were asking for. They promise zero bright dots and a weeks worth of stress testing. Plus they can bump the harddrive up to 160gig, throw in 2gig ram and get a 2.16GHz dual-core processor. It's going to cost me some, but it will be a beast!

Already checked the keyboard issue, good shout Paul. They are unable to supply UK ones unfortunately. I looked it up though; it's "Alt-Gr 4" for the pound symbol! :)

I think I'll go ahead with it; glad to hear others have had success. Cheers!

* actually, since some bloke slow-cooked his crotch and received bad burns, they are calling them "notebooks" way more often now. Damn lawyers...

[Guest genaldar]

Fedex (and UPS and DHL) include some insurance as part of their cost. But generally its limited to $100, if you want more coverage you have to pay more. I would definetly suggest you make sure the company your buying from is willing to buy more insurance (even if you have to pay for the extra cost).

[Guest fraser]

That's a really good point genaldar, I'm just about to mail them to confirm the order and I'll check that!

[Guest goochy1]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a 14" gaming laptop and the only one I can find with a GeForce 7800 (or ATI x1600), DVI and a webcam is the Asus A8Jm. However, it's not available in the UK.

A company called Portable One is selling them and is willing to Fedex me one. Has anyone out there done this? Is it safe? I order from abroad all the time, but not laptops with delicate displays and moving parts. Frequently DVDs I order have fallen out their holder in transit. :)

What's your thoughts? I know I'll need to pay VAT on it etc what with Fedex being Fedex. Do they insure it for transit damage? The portable one guys do burn in tests for one week before shipping, so I'll know it worked when it went in the box... ;)

I'd advise against it just in case something happens

[Guest fraser]

Well, in the end I went for it and it went perfectly. Received it 3 days after shipping, perfect condition. Absolute beast of a pc, in a small laptop. I'm very impressed. The guys at Portable One were really helpful and responsive and it was that most of all that convinced me to go ahead.

Thanks for the responses everyone!