My Wallets Going to Lose Some Weight...

July 29, 2010 5:02 PM

I'm having a Canadian friend buy me an iPhone 4 in Canada (I'm in America.) How much is this going to cost?

According to this Toronto website, sales tax (on all taxable items) is 13%. Is this correct? That puts it at almost USD$100 just in tax!

About how much will shipping cost going across country lines?

Not only will there be sales tax, but there will also be import tax, correct? How much is that?

Is there a better way to get an unlocked iPhone 4?

posted by 47triple2 to Shopping (12 answers total)

So if you ship it privately there may or may not be any import taxes or duties depending on how you declare it. Your friend could just say "books" on the customs declaration and while it's technically illegal, most people don't write anything at all on small personal packages sent across the border via Canada Post. And yes, HST is 13%.

The Canada Post website will let you calculate exact postage but it will probably be around $30 CDn to ship regular parcel post. UPS or DHL or FedEx may or may not be cheaper.
posted by GuyZero at 5:58 PM on July 29, 2010

Best answer: you can calculate shipping by calling the post office and giving them the weight and your desired speed, your canadian friend's zip code and then your zip code. or go here:

canada post parcel rates


and here is a guide for import tax

import tax guide

the sales tax? if it's 13%, then it's 13%, right? exchange rates are pretty easy to calculate.

don't know if there is a better way to buy an unlocked iphone4
posted by lakersfan1222 at 6:00 PM on July 29, 2010

oops, still getting the hang of the html thing....it looked okay on preview
posted by lakersfan1222 at 6:02 PM on July 29, 2010

Is there a better way to get an unlocked iPhone 4?

The early termination fee for AT&T's plans is $325 minus $10 per month on the plan. Wouldn't buying an iPhone in the US and then canceling the AT&T service after a month (= $200/$300 +$55 +$315 = $570/$670) and unlocking the phone yourself be cheaper than paying $659/$779 plus all the cost of shipping?
posted by Rhomboid at 6:08 PM on July 29, 2010

Well, if you get one from the USA with AT&T and then terminate, it still won't be unlocked. Unlike Canadian iPhones (bought from Apple Canada), which can be used on any carrier.
posted by MiG at 6:18 PM on July 29, 2010

Hence the phrase, "unlocking the phone yourself."
posted by Rhomboid at 6:48 PM on July 29, 2010

Find an Albertan to buy you one. We're the Oregon of Canada, as far as sales tax goes.

That would put your 13% down to 5%.
posted by Sallyfur at 6:53 PM on July 29, 2010

It's legal to jailbreak your iPhone now.
posted by ewiar at 9:23 PM on July 29, 2010

Best answer: Even thought it's legal, that doesn't mean it's not a pain in the ass, and apple will continue to break the unlocks / jailbreaks at every update. Getting it unlocked by the carrier makes life much easier, you don't have to worry that the next firmware update will break your unlock.
posted by defcom1 at 9:41 PM on July 29, 2010

Response by poster: Thank you all!

Defcom1 says exactly what I was thinking. I don't want to have to deal with the jailbreaking process if I don't have to. Also, as a bonus, resale value will be (slightly) higher because it is factory unlocked.
posted by 47triple2 at 9:47 PM on July 29, 2010

Unlike Canadian iPhones (bought from Apple Canada), which can be used on any carrier.

Huh? Our iPhones are carrier-locked. Is the iPhone 4 any different? The 3gs phones were definitely either locked to Rogers or Fido.
posted by dobbs at 10:16 PM on July 29, 2010

dobbs, yes the iPhone 4 is different from previous models. It won't be tied to a contract from a particular carrier if it's bought outright from Apple Canada.
posted by squeak at 8:00 AM on July 30, 2010