How to Buy iPad Outside US and Ship Worldwide
Apple officially released the iPad on April 3 but it’s for U.S. only. With the recent announcement from Apple, for international customers, the iPad will only be gone on sales in your city starting from late May. You still have to wait for over a month to get this “magical” tablet device.
Like me, if you can’t wait for Apple to launch the iPad in your country, here are a couple ways to get an earlier hands-on of the iPad.
Buy it on eBay
Within hours after iPad was released in U.S. on April 3, resellers who managed to get the iPad from Apple retail store began to list the product on eBay for sale at a premium. The average price of a 16GB WiFi model is around US$660, which is around US$160 higher than the list price. The price does not include shipping. So, you need to further add up the shipping cost and custom duties (if any). That means, be prepared to pay an extra of US$200 to get an iPad on eBay.
With the excitement of iPad on eBay, the company has also setup a mini-site at ipad.ebay.com that dedicates for iPad listings. If you’re a regular eBay user and don’t mind to pay a hefty premium for the iPad, you can simply check out the site and buy an iPad. It’s shipping worldwide.
Use Personal Shopping Service
If you do not know how eBay works and want to find a cheaper way to get an iPad, this is another option – Personal Shopping Service. In brief, the personal shopper helps you order the iPad in U.S., pickup the shipment and then ship the iPad to your designated address. This kind of service usually charges you a fee over the total price of goods you order.
Personally, I used the personal shopping service provided by USUnlocked to get my iPad. From the day I placed the order, it only took 7 days for the iPad to arrive my home (It may take longer depending on the country you live in). Of course, you need to pay a premium for your iPad that includes tax, service fee and shipping charge, which is around US$140 in total. If you compare with the general bid price in eBay that you have to pay at least US$200 extra over the list price, the personal shopping service is slightly cheaper.
To use the personal shopping service, what you have to do is to register an account in USUnlocked.com. Once registered, you can submit the iPad request with the model and list price included. The USUnlocked staff will then send you a quotation. If you are happy with the price, you can then pay the payment via Paypal. That’s it.
Other than USUnlocked, there are other providers offering similar service such as MyUS.com and OneNow.com.
For those who can’t wait for iPad’s launch in your country and do not mind to pay for a hefty premium, you can pick any of the above options to buy an iPad from U.S. now.
