Looking to purchase a laptop from the US then get it shipped

[deniall]

Hey,

I was wondering if it would be possible for me to order a laptop from newegg, and have it shipped to my address in the USA, then have someone ship it to me here in Singapore.

Are there any restrictions/laws that would prevent me from doing something like this? Will I have to pay taxes in Singapore on that shipment?

Any information would be great! Thanks

[zzm9980]

You're legally required to pay GST on anything over S$400 (or there-abouts).

There are plenty of services that will do this for you. vPost run by Singpost is one, but there are dozens of others. Search the forums for vpost and you'll find lots of threads rating them.

That said, which laptop model? You can generally find equivalent prices to those on Newegg in the computer malls in Hong Kong. You can find tickets to HK for not much more than what you'll pay in shipping and GST on the laptop if you shop them around. Even better if you have miles.

[deniall]

Ok. Thank you for that information. I'm going through newegg because I still have my newegg account and can get a good financing deal .

Looking at vPost, I don't think I need the total service like this. Is there a way I can separately pay the GST on the package, say if I get it shipped DHL, or FEDEX to me?

[nakatago]

Ok. Thank you for that information. I'm going through newegg because I still have my newegg account and can get a good financing deal .

Looking at vPost, I don't think I need the total service like this. Is there a way I can separately pay the GST on the package, say if I get it shipped DHL, or FEDEX to me?

GST is on anything >400 SGD. For some weird reason, even with shipping and GST, sometimes it's still cheaper to get from the US (or abroad for that matter.

DHL , FedEX I think will handle the GST then just charge you later. SingPost (if your deliveries will use USPTO) will NOT give you your package until you've paid GST. You can either go to Paya Lebar and pay in SingPost (Customs, actually) there or you can tell SingPost to authorize the post man to receive GST payment.

If you're going through SingPost, normally, they'd post you a notice about the GST. You can skip the wait for that mail by tracking your item and when it arrives in Singapore, then call SingPost telling them you're expecting something and would like to pay GST upon delivery (involves emailing them a form; the guy on the other line can walk you through the procedure). That should quicken things up.

BTW, check with US postal services; I read somewhere that they would no longer carry lithium ion batteries via air. Haven't seen a follow up on that.

[Strong Eagle]

Hey,

I was wondering if it would be possible for me to order a laptop from newegg, and have it shipped to my address in the USA, then have someone ship it to me here in Singapore.

Are there any restrictions/laws that would prevent me from doing something like this? Will I have to pay taxes in Singapore on that shipment?

Any information would be great! Thanks

Look closely at the warranty if you do this. Most US models have only a USA warranty whereas something purchased in SG or HK have worldwide warranties.

[taxico]

i've been an HP user since ibm sold thinkpad off to the red chinese.

HP's business line have 3 year world wide warranties.

all you do is change the cord (from the adapter to the power socket in the wall) to a local one.

a few weeks ago i just bought another hp laptop from an american online retailer (3rd time buying HP from outside of the US), and it was sent to me in singapore in less than a week. 5 days, i think.

even with GST it's much cheaper than buying it locally. if you can accept refurbed units, they're a steal... IMO!

if you use fedex, etc, i think you've to use them to process the GST and also allow them to charge you the admin fee.

USPS/singpost would charge you only for the GST i think but vpost has its own charges (but you knew that).