My brother is going to the states soon, i want an iPhone 5 and i saw that a 16gig one is $USD200. Would it be wise to get my brother to buy me one? or will it cost to connect to vodafone etc when I get it?
12:59 pm 14/09/12
Ivan Peters
Newbie
posts 3
2
0
That $200 price is the price with a two year contract with a carrier. There is no official word to my knowledge that it will be available without a contract or what price that would be. The 4S was available without a contract for US$649. When you add GST, that's about the same as you can currently get a 4S without contract in NZ.
Technically, if you bring something the value of an iPhone into the country, you are supposed to declare it and pay GST. Remember, also, that the prices you see quoted in US$ are before sales tax. The sales tax varies from state to state and even sometimes town to town.
So, considering the hassle and the fact that you lose the benefits of the consumer protection act, and the (small) risk of getting stung for GST anyway, my opinion is that the saving is not worth the effort.
Ivan
3:05 pm 14/09/12
ventura
Cambridge
Member
posts 42
3
0
All iPhone 5's sold in the states at this time are locked to their carriers and on plans. An unlocked 5 is not yet available. This means you will not be able to use it here. There are different models for different carriers also, as each use different LTE bands. Which one we get here has not been released. The 16Gb is $649US outright on a contract. The $200 is on a 2 year contract and locked.
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