parcel forwarding from Japan - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2022, 12:42:18 pm
content: Hi everyone,I have been looking around to get a non-China made laptop and I must admit this restricts the choice quite a lot. I eventually settled on a Vaio made in Japan, but unfortunately it seems there is no i7 based Vaio laptop available to buy in Europe (you can only get i5 based ones).I have the option of buying it from Japan and then using a parcel forwarding service, but I am not very familiar with these and I thought I'd ask for some advice first. The item costs about 2k EUR so not something to be playing with on first-time-see websites.I am tentatively consideringhttps://www.forward2me.com/Does anyone have experience with them, are they legit? Are there other recommendations?Unless, of course, you know where to buy a new i7 Vaio in Europe from...Regards,Cristian

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 23, 2022, 08:09:26 pm
content: i7 is not necessarily better than i5. Actual part number matters. For example my laptop has i5 CPU and is faster than the same model with a bit older i7 CPU which on a first glance is from the same generation as i5 (i7-8550U and i5-8265U) but actually it's not.https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i7-8550U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-8265U/m320742vsm566107Not to say there are different models with different size/weight and performance/CPU lineups. So "give me VAIO with i7" brings very little information about what you actually want.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2022, 09:32:00 pm
content: SX14:- i7-1195G7 passmark 11076- i5-1155G7 passmark 10473Hardly seems worth it.But there are other options as well like 16 vs 32GB.They sell them in USA as well. Probably find cheaper prices in the US.

author: Momchilo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2022, 10:07:26 pm
content: You can take a look at the manufacturerSchenker. They build all laptops in Germany. But I assume that some of the components come from China. Probably the same for Vaio, but I don't know. Since you live in the EU, probably cheaper than buying a laptop in Japan and having to pay tax and possibly customs on it in Romania.You can buy their laptops via Amazon and many other shops.

author: strawberry
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2022, 12:22:15 am
content: Quote from: Momchilo on March 23, 2022, 10:07:26 pmthese days even flea market is not VAT exemptprivate customer buy outside EU payed at web store or at customs. VAT + import tax(paid above some value...)you can clarify at local customs web page. not hard... inside EU payed at store. VATshipping from outside EU will be longer and cost more

author: brumbarchris
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2022, 09:33:17 am
content: I am actually considering a Vaio based on the i7-1195G7 with 16GB of Ram and 512GB SSD.Thank you for the tip with Schenker, although I am not sure what exactly they assemble. I know that Wortmann, for instance, a similar German company also sells "made in Germany" laptops, but these essentially come pre-assembled close to 100% and only a minimal amount of elements are added in Germany, in order to allow stamping them as "made in Germany". I would imagine this is the same for Schenker.My understanding is that Vaio owns much more of the assembly process, in comparative terms. Admittedly, they must also be using some China-made components inside, I think that is unavoidable at this stage.Regards,Cristian

author: ralphrmartin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2022, 06:02:40 pm
content: Once or twice I have successfully bought books directly from amazon.co.jp, but that's simpler as there is no import duty on books in the UK. Perhaps you can find a laptop supplier who will ship to you on amazon.co.jp?

author: _Wim_
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2022, 08:19:01 pm
content: Quote from: brumbarchris on March 24, 2022, 09:33:17 amSchenker are in my opinion just Clevo rebranded laptops:https://www.clevo.com.tw/index-en.asp

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2022, 10:55:20 am
content: Quote from: _Wim_ on March 24, 2022, 08:19:01 pmAt least that is Taiwan and not mainland China (if the reason for not purchasing Chinese goods is a political one).