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.
Hi there.
I’ve bought a 64Gb IPad recently, and have connected it with iTunes (I already have a 3GS iPhone, jailbroken and unlocked, connected to iTunes). What I don’t undestand is why all things are loaded to my ipad (photos, songs, videos) except from apps. I know is jailbroken but what about free apps. None works
Thanx
@koules,
Did you check the “Sync Apps” checkbox in Apps tab of iTunes? Try to enable the checkbox and sync with your iPad again.
Solved my problem. Aparently you have to authorise your PC to accept a new iPhone or Ipad or Ipod. You can check up to 5 devices.
So when u will got ur iPad?
@Nick,
Already got my (should be my wife’s) iPad two weeks ago. When did you get yours?
got one for my team to develop some ipad apps. so how you import some apps to there, i heard someone say need US iTune account.
That’s great. Looking forward to your iPad apps.
I have registered an US iTunes account. Actually, iTunes provide you an option to register the US account without credit card. You can also register one.
Dude, all you have to do is redownload all those apps to your ipad from your ipad appstore. That’s what I do with my iphone after I authorized more than 5 pc. Itunes won’t transfer all my apps to my iphone so I just download em all with my iphone appstore. If you have wifi it won’t be such a big deal.
What is the difference in terms of price and delivery time between
Website requires a US billing address? – US Unlocked Card
vs
Website requires a US billing address? – Personal Shopping Service
in US Unlocked for buying an ipad and iphone 4 to ship to Hong Kong Thanks
Just as you mentioned the site U.S unlocked to ship products from the U.S to any country,do you know of a similar site from which i can order ipads and iphones from the U.K..Anxiously awaiting reply.
Just as you mentioned the site U.S unlocked to ship products from the U.S to any country,do you know of a similar site from which i can order ipads and iphones from the U.K..Anxiously awaiting reply.
This post was written when iPad was not released worldwide. You can now order iPad and iPhone directly from Apple UK (http://store.apple.com/uk).
The reason why i asked that is there any site like U.S unlocked in the U.K is because the iphone4,though available in the U.S since a long time is locked to at&t and is available unlocked in the U.K,so it would be very convenient for me if you can name one or two trusted sites like U.S unlocked in the U.K so that i may import it to my country where the iphone4 is still not available officialy and also are these sites safe,i mean can i trust them with the transaction and safe delivery at doorstep.
If I purchase an ipad from an apple store in USA… do I need to pay for shipping chages (not sure if they say free shipping charges..) does it include free shipping to singapore… pls advise…
Great article, I am a shoe & Fashion lover in Italy, I have been using http://myuspostoffice.com and http://getmyusmail.com for the last five years and find them to be much superior to myus.com. I have just renewed my annual membership for $79.99, what makes them good is the fast service they give me, I receive my Amazon shipment in AM and they ship it to me in afternoon. You should give them a look. They also accept Paypal and my international credit card. They can ship to UK by US post office and give me the freedom to declare my own values for taxes. I do not know if I can get an Ipad in UK
Jennifer
London UK
How did you find US Unlocked? I am thinking of using their credit card service.
@Lauren,
Just do a simple search on Google. You can find it.
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