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Comment by c1sc0 | Hacker News Reader

So, any US HN user willing to send a european developer an iPad for a reasonable price? Exactly how are we supposed to debug our apps without access to hardware?

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Yes, it's a real shame that Apple treats developers this way. They are expected to develop top-quality apps but only using the Simulator.

A more normal behavior would have been to provide international developers a way to order iPads from day one. Something like the ADC Hardware Purchase Program but for iPhone developers.

I think most folks who have serious iPhone development businesses ordered in the US and forwarded by FedEx overnight.

Yeah, and then Apple would be surprised by the huge US demand, no ?

Of course anybody wanting the iPad already did something similar but it's a drag and non-US developers/companies shouldn't "smuggle" iPads out of the country but buy them in their respective countries.

I used MyUS.com to forward one, got it on April 7. It's not allowed by Apple, but I like to see them try taking it away from me now ;) (Hint, don't use 'Suite' in your shipping address, that's apparently a red flag, just the number will do.)

How did you pay at the Apple Store? Do you have a US issued credit card?

Nope, Dutch credit card. I think there's a small chance they'll call you out based on a non-US card, but it worked for me.

Wow! Did not know about that. And personal shoppers, too!

I bought an iPad about a week ago. It's lightly used (some scuff marks on the back). I'm willing to part with it and wait for the 3G model instead.

Email me if you're interested. I paid $550 (incl. sales tax). first_name@last_name.com

Haven't used them yet but there is a start-up called budlebox.com who will act as po box for you in the states and forward goods on to you.

I used Bundlebox on US pre-order day and received my iPad here in the UK four days after the US launch. They had to do some voodoo to make it work since Apple cancelled most orders to freight forwarders (I believe it involved getting them sent to 101 random people in the same neighborhood if the postage labels are any indication).. Ultimately, it all worked out fine - they're not scam artists.

All that said, I bet they're getting some heavy demand due to this so if you want one, get in quick. People who ordered merely hours after me were disappointed as their orders had to be delayed due to Bundlebox's capacity to deal with the weird shipping arrangements. And it wouldn't surprise me if Apple is getting wise to these sorts of activities.

(I know someone who cancelled their order upon delay and got a refund quick, so I can't entirely vouch for these guys, but they seem legit.)

FWIW, I've navigated this thread a few times and every comment left was voted down to 0 within a few minutes of being made. I voted them all back up to counter it, but someone's playing silly beggars here.

On the plus side, I've now been won over as to why down votes on stories aren't a good idea..

Out of interest, what was the charge on an ipad for their service? The rates are hard to figure out on their site.

I paid £390 for the iPad itself (including US sales tax of 6%) and the Bundlebox fee. This is about equivalent to the anticipated UK price of £399 for the 16GB Wifi iPad. Then I paid £120 for the VAT (a necessary evil, alas) and 2-3 day delivery. With slightly slower delivery, it'd have been £100.

So it was £500-520 in total. This seems reasonable considering I have an iPad almost two months early - gives me a nice head start on some things.

I thought to use bundlebox, you bought an item (in your case an ipad) had it shipped to the free bundlebox address they give you. When it arrives, they then send you an email saying there is something in your bundlebox and quote you a price on what it will cost to ship it to you. They also calculate your VAT/custom charges and factor that into the price. Only then do you give Bundlebox any money. Given that the VAT was £120 and you possibly didn't pay any customs handling fee, what was the remainder price they quoted you?

I used Bundlebox's "Buy it for me" service as I don't have a US card. Therefore, I paid up front for the iPad and their service fee for that. That's the £390 I mention.

The £120 part was the delivery plus the VAT on the purchase value and the delivery. So I think about £40 delivery and £80 VAT or something like that. No other fees were due, as the iPad attracts no duty.

ah, didn't know they did that - thanks.

So you paid the US sales tax and the UK VAT ?

It seems the Bundlebox guys didn't think this through -- they should perhaps relocate in a state without sales tax ? You are basically paying VAT twice.

Yes, this is the only downside, but I believe that would also apply if you bought direct and had it shipped to BB. At 6%, though, it's less onerous than our 17.5% VAT, and was about $24 in all (plus VAT..)

If I could get my hands on one, I'd do it... but I can't find one nearby and they're 5-7 days online :\

It's sad to think the rest of the world is waiting (as far as developing goes).

Yeah, be nice if there were some provision for paid-up iPhone developers to jump the queue a bit.

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