Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

tell me if I say something wrong in this.. :p
scenario:
- I'm going to visit a friend in the USA in three weeks
- I take 500 euros cash with me to give to my friend, or make an international bank transfer for whatever personal reason, lets say an old debt
- he buys a N900 from Amazon shipping to his address and paying with his credit card
- I arrive in USA, stay there a week while I unpack the N900 and begin to use it as my daily phone
- I come back to Europe with the N900 unpacked in my pocket as my regular phone.
(- Of course, warranty would be usable only returning the N900 to my friend somehow..)

Where is the duties+vat catch? They cannot know I didn't have the phone when I arrived in USA right?
If it is illegal, take it just as a scenario; I don't see anyway how anybody would know the truth..

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

boarder officer at airport is accidentally n900 fanboy: HEY WAIT A MINUTE. THAT PUPPY CAME OUT LIKE 3 DAYS AGO. NO WAY YOU COULD HAVE HAD THAT PHONE ALREADY!

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

@thecursedfly

I don't know why it's illegal (strange that it would be.. are you saying your not allowed to buy anything in any other country besides your home country since you wouldn't be paying the home country taxes?). It just seems silly that it would be its in the rulebooks to prevent rich people or big companies from exploiting it (which is likely).

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

i think there are different laws when it comes to shipping a package international and taking bagage with you when traveling international.

look up the bagage customs. maybe somewhere here: http://www.cbp.gov/

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

Why does the N900 cost so much more in Europe than in the US? (649 in France, 599 in NL or DE, but only 437 Euros in the US) VAT alone doesn't account for a 37%+ differential, does it?

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

*socialist-mode on* because they have a perfectly running two class system in wich the worker class earns even less money than the worker class in several european countries. but don't worry, we catch up! *socialist-mode off*

funniest thing is, that even exported products from the eu, are cheaper for europeans if they order them in the US. not in every case, but it works for bigger things like cars or high end computers for example.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

Illegal yes, but impossible to get caught unless someone is both stupid enough to leave the phone inside original package and unlucky enough to be chosen randomly for customs check.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

'they' also have a voting system where you have the choice to vote for a pro-war/non-pro-war president. :D

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

Again: It doesn't have to be illegal to bring the device into the country without VAT or duty. It depends on the country.
@thecursedfly: Simply check the customs regulations for your country. Maybe they even have a web page. It could could be that the value limit for bringing goods into the country toll-free is higher than the price of the N900. It is in some countries. Note that this limit is typically way higher than the limit for something shipped to you through the mail or UPS/FedEx.

Re: Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU
 

there is nothing to worry about! billing will be about 376eur and you are free to bring any equipment with you with an overall of 430eur. so buy your phone in the us and you are fine to bring it with you, but if you want to buy some more stuff keep in mind that you got only 55eur left to spend on new stuff and import it to the EU. this 430eur is only for stuff you bring with you, you are forced to pay taxes and vat if you send it home or anything like that. the 430eur is free per person.