Recommend a laptop store in / around Brooklyn?

August 12, 2008 2:58 AM

I'm going to the states for the first time in October this year (08) and would like to take advantage of the GBP / Dollar ratio at the moment to pick up a laptop whilst I'm there - something around the £500 / $1000 dollar mark. I'm staying in the Marriott in Brooklyn, so am planning to travel around by public transport - can anyone recommend a decent laptop store in the area where I can pick one up? Wintel, not Mac - I work with too many other wintel devices to make the switch just yet.
posted by jjleonard to shopping (19 comments total)

I've done this before. You will be potentially liable for import duties when you come back through customs, but in practice you won't get caught. The easiest way is to order the laptop from amazon.com for delivery to your hotel or someone you know in NY. AFAIK this avoids NY sales tax and makes for the greatest savings.
posted by roofus at 4:11 AM on August 12, 2008

Amazon charges tax for purchases in NY currently, after a new state law went into effect June 1. There's a bill in the Assembly now that would repeal that tax, but there's no guarantee that it would be in place for your trip. Just something to think about.
posted by pupdog at 4:23 AM on August 12, 2008

Easiest thing would probably be to find a Best Buy close to where you're staying using their store locator.
posted by Grither at 4:25 AM on August 12, 2008

I'd say check B&H and J&R online prior to the trip and see what's available - They're both in Manhattan, but pretty easily subway accessible. Yes, you'll have a decent size box on the train, but you won't be the only one...
posted by pupdog at 4:35 AM on August 12, 2008

The largest computer/electronics store near Brooklyn is J&R near City Hall in Manhattan. It should be easily reachable by public transportation from wherever you are. If the weather is nice, you can also walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, which terminates near City Hall. Here's the Google Maps link.

J&R would be good for touching the laptops, which I think is more important than for laptops, because keyboard layouts can drive you nuts. But the least cost option would be to order from one of the online retailers that currently don't charge New York sales taxes. Newegg would be fine, as would be Buy.com. Newegg is better for computer components rather than complete systems, though.

If you're in the city long enough, you can get a feel for the laptop at J&R and then order that model online. Note that in New York City, for a $1000 purchase, you'll pay something like $90 in sales tax. An online vendor may be able to ship overnight for less than $90.

You should consider the lack of warranty support for most machines in Britain. If you don't care, then fine. If you do, then do some research online for laptops that have worldwide warranty support, which primarily will be the business-orientated laptops, like Lenovo. Note also that the keyboard layouts may not match up with what you're familiar with, if that's an issue.
posted by chengjih at 4:36 AM on August 12, 2008

Having done this, I would point out that there is not only the issue of no warranty in the UK, the US keyboard is slightly different (e.g. no £ key) and, of course, the electricity is different so will you need a plug converter. Both are minor issues and easily solved but they are issues. But nthing J&R.
posted by TheRaven at 5:06 AM on August 12, 2008

I understand that you don't want an Apple, though as Moochu points out above, the new Apple laptops can run Windows XP so you could operate the computer exactly as a PC if you so desire. Apple has a worldwide warranty so no matter where you buy it, the computer will still be under warranty. Plus the plug adapters are removable so you can slot a UK power plug into the end of the US laptop power transformer, avoiding any ugly extra boxes. You will, however, encounter a price differential on an Apple - they're more expensive than other PCs, on the whole.
posted by skylar at 5:21 AM on August 12, 2008

J&R would be a very cheap cab ride or a reasonable walk, even carrying a computer; the Marriott is about as close as you can get to the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side, and as chengjih's map indicates, the store is right on the other side.
posted by staggernation at 5:35 AM on August 12, 2008

you said you dont want a mac but whats wrong with a macbook running XP?

1. At $1,100 for the lowest-end model, before NY sales tax or any UK VAT, macbooks cost more than the specified $1,000

2. Though Apple's price/performance ratio is often fair immediately after a refresh, it gets less competitive as other companies bring out newer products. And it's quite a while since the last refresh.
posted by Mike1024 at 5:44 AM on August 12, 2008

Thank you all! Looks like J&R is the best bet - I'm in Brooklyn for about 5 days so the 'browse offline and buy online' approach could suit me dependant on delivery times. Support doesn't bother me hugely unless the device is so horribly unreliable that I need to constantly send it back for repair, and i've never been in that position in the last 10 (ish) years of laptop ownership.

I understand that Apples would be a good bet, but I'm not quite ready to go down that road. I'd rather wait a year or so and save for a decent Macbook pro rather than buy the lowest end one at the moment. This device would be used for lugging around between customer sites in conventional projects where we're recommending wintel products, and a Mac would be nice but not necessary at this point.

I take it disposal of the box prior to my return to the UK would be the best way to avoid any import duty - what about the TSA's oft mentioned policy of seizing laptops? Does that usually happen inbound to the US our outbound? Is it something I need worry about?
posted by jjleonard at 5:55 AM on August 12, 2008

@Grither: thanks for the Best Buy recommendation - I wasn't sure what their reputation was like, though. I've heard good and bad stories about them.
posted by jjleonard at 5:56 AM on August 12, 2008

I've done this before without any issues. I just took my usual, slightly-used, laptop case with me and used this to transport the laptop home after turfing out the original packaging. I've lost count of the number of times I've traveled into and out of the US with a laptop and I've yet to have anyone (UK or US side) show any interest in it. This includes occasions when I've been tagged with the dreaded SSSS brand. Warranty issues are more likely than this and IMHO the cost savings at the moment would justify the risk
posted by Jakey at 6:21 AM on August 12, 2008

jjleonard, one thing to be aware of should you choose to order online and have it delivered: Overnight delivery means "overnight after we process the order." This almost always means, in my experience, that the computer takes three days to arrive. So don't order it online on the fourth day and expect to receive it on the fifth. Odds are, you'll be gone before the package arrives. Instead, order it on the first day and receive it on the third or fourth.

On top of that, of course is what kind of mess you'll be in if the order is otherwise delayed, back-ordered, or is delivered but turns out to be faulty or the wrong thing. It happens all the time. I'd recommend you buy in person and just accept that you're going to pay sales tax.
posted by Mo Nickels at 7:35 AM on August 12, 2008

the US keyboard is slightly different (e.g. no £ key) and, of course, the electricity is different so will you need a plug converter.

These are good points, but one thing to remember is that although the glyphs on the keycaps may be US-standard, the key mappings will be adjustable through software, no matter the OS. And the voltage issue is moot because nearly all laptops' external power brick does the transformation to DC with no problem from either 110 or 220. You can pick up a UK (or Euro) physical power cable from Maplins, which will connect to the external power transformer.
posted by squid patrol at 10:08 AM on August 12, 2008

You should not need a plug adaptor, just a UK ended "8" lead to plug into the power box
posted by A189Nut at 10:10 AM on August 12, 2008

Theoretically, to stay within the law you should specify to the shop that you're planning on personally exporting the laptop back to the UK. They should provide you with a different receipt which will allow you to claim back the US sales tax (assuming you buy retail) at US customs. You then declare the laptop to UK customs on entry, and the charge is 17.5% standard VAT on sale price, with 0% duty, as the personal limit for gifts, new goods etc from outside the EU is £145.

If you wish to ahem, avoid VAT, take a used laptop bag with you, a thumbdrive of ordinary files, and a copy of open/MS office to install (or buy one in the US, that's cheaper too).
Dispose of the packaging, snail mail yourself the receipt*, and at least power on and use the laptop. Claim you took the laptop out with you, and that it had previously been imported to the UK, with duty paid, if challenged (you don't pay VAT or duty on goods you take out and then bring back, obviously). You won't be challenged though; huge numbers of travellers take laptops in and out now, and even random searches at UK customs don't go into this level of detail that I've seen. Bringing in a half dozen, on the other hand...

* I specifically mention the receipt as a family member was once busted by french customs for importing jewellery above the limit that they bought in Andorra, because they found the fresh receipt upon a cursory search of the handbag at the border.

You don't need to worry about the TSA much at all; they pay much more attention to people coming in than out, though potentially they can search you in either direction (customs duty only applies on inbound though). UK customs are the people more likely to give you grief coming home, though again that's slim.

Your biggest issue is going to be the US keyboard having slightly different symbols on it. You can of course map the keyboard as UK in software, and just know that hash means £; or if you get one with a worldwide warranty you can even claim the keyboard has become damaged, and get a UK one sent out instead. I did this with my partners french dell, to switch from french to UK, but to be fair the keyboard was actually damaged. Laptop keyboards take about 5 minutes to swap with a screwdriver, it's really simple. You can also buy them as a spare part, of course.
posted by ArkhanJG at 10:19 AM on August 12, 2008

Ah, ignore the bit about claiming back the sales tax - only louisiana apparantly still operates a sales tax rebate scheme for foreigners- my info is out of date on that one. Best bet is to purchase from an out-of-state internet seller if you wish to avoid NY sales tax.
posted by ArkhanJG at 10:28 AM on August 12, 2008

Huh. Apparently there's quite a few stores that refund sales tax for foreign visitors, upon production of a non US passport - like Macy's.
posted by ArkhanJG at 10:36 AM on August 12, 2008

Thanks for the advice on the VAT position - *naturally* I'll do my duty vis a vis the correct payment of VAT upon my return to the UK. (cough cough). I'm quite happy to pay the sales tax, as the difference in US and UK prices combined with the weak dollar makes the sort of devices I'm looking at (thanks to an afternoons' cursory research on the internet) significantly cheaper over the pond.
This was my first question on AskMefi - and the experience was an exceptional one!
posted by jjleonard at 1:53 PM on August 12, 2008