DR800 on BestBuy

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

You need to buy it so that you can give me a full review so that I can decide if I want to buy it. You'd be performing a great public service.

I'm definitely picking one up so I'll be happy to do some comparisons to the Sony and Kindle devices.

[Mr. Goodbar]

Originally Posted by badbob001

On the Bestbuy.com website, it also says: Available Online Only

Very true, but the agent I spoke with on the phone said that is typical for new to stock items and that it should be changing, although she wasn't sure if it might be online only for a period of time and then be available in the stores as well. We'll have to wait a few more days to figure out what's going on.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goodbar

I'm definitely picking one up so I'll be happy to do some comparisons to the Sony and Kindle devices.

Excellent! I look forward to your review.

[nikkie]

They changed the text on the web site, it now says "Coming soon" where the order button should be. I hope "soon" means tonight at midnight! Hah.

[smerrall]

Originally Posted by nikkie

I hope "soon" means tonight at midnight! Hah.

Living on the other side of the world helps me for once. I get to monitor the site during the whole out-of-business-hours interval. I'll be keeping a close watch for the next 7 hours. I just need to trick them into sending it to me.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by FutureBSD

What would you guys recommend when I'd like to buy on of this devices from the US and ship it over to germany?
I don't have any contacts in the states to buy a device and ship it over to germany.

If you've some solutions that would be great :-)

I've ordered about half of my readers in the US (I'm from Germany as well).
To give you some rules of thumb:
- US price + 10% fee to your distributor
- ca. $ 40 for shipping
- ca. € 50 for tax and VAT if you have to pay them (sometimes you're lucky)
Usually, the result is quite simple: The US price in $ will add up to the very same amount in €. With Sony 900 I've been lucky, about 7% (in €) below the US price (in $). With Kindle 2, customs partially did kill the fun. It added (in €) about 10% above the US price (in $).

So, if you estimate 1:1 the very same amount, you easily can decide, whether shipping from the US makes sense or not.
Keep in mind: In case of warranty, you'll run into troubles. Usually, you can't have it repaired here, but have to ship it back to the US.
(Just wanted to tell you this. You probably shouldn't worry too much about warranty. In my experience, those gadgets either are defect from the very beginning or never at all.)

Personally, I don't order in the US to save money, but to have my gadgets ahead of time. Or to have them at all (Sony 700 never officially made it to Germany, if I remember correctly).

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Excellent! I look forward to your review.

What would you like to know? DeReader or myself may be able to answer your questions already?

[catharsis]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

You could use a forwarding service like this one.

Has anyone used USUnlocked? Are they trustworthy and what costs do they have?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by catharsis

Has anyone used USUnlocked? Are they trustworthy and what costs do they have?

I have used Shipito twice, they are very good and trust worthy. You can check their site to compare charges.

[harrids]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

I have used Shipito twice

with bestbuy?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by harrids

with bestbuy?

No, with Amazon for restricted electronics, but what difference does it make? You order online at Bestbuy and pay with your credit card, have them ship to the US address you get from Shipito or some other service and they ship the item from there to you. The things to watch out for are charges (including shipping charges!) and reputation/reliability of the service.

[harrids]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

but what difference does it make?

Quote from bestbuy's international ordering rules:
"Best Buy does not ship to known freight forwarders, and orders to such will be canceled."

That's why i'm asking.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by harrids

Quote from bestbuy's international ordering rules:
"Best Buy does not ship to known freight forwarders, and orders to such will be canceled."

That's why i'm asking.

From the address Bestbuy cannot actually tell it is a freight forwarder, it is an address with your name and a street address given to you. My suggestion is to discuss this by sending an e-mail to shipito or another company of your choice.

[Sweetpea]

Hmm, having a reliable contact in the States could help here...

And I wonder why BestBuy makes a difference between addresses... Why should they care where I ship it to as long as it's in the States? I mean, what's the difference if I send it to somebody who I know who then sends it on to me or to some company I know who then sends it on to me?

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Hmm, having a reliable contact in the States could help here...

And I wonder why BestBuy makes a difference between addresses... Why should they care where I ship it to as long as it's in the States? I mean, what's the difference if I send it to somebody who I know who then sends it on to me or to some company I know who then sends it on to me?

That must be pressure from Irex, given the fact that Irex is charging so much more for shipment from Europe. Even though I don't pay the 19% VAT it would still be much cheaper for me to buy from the US. Irex probably wants the $399.- to be a US only deal.