Buying a Google Pixel tablet in Canada for use in UK

eevamaija

Hi all,

Just looking for a bit of advice. I live in the UK but my home country is Canada and I'll soon be there for a visit. 

I might pick up a Google Pixel tablet in Canada as a favour to a friend who lives in the UK, because they work out quite a lot cheaper there and it would help him to save the money (he would pay me back). I'm aware that this can have implications with having to pay duty when bringing the device into the UK at customs. 

Basically I wanted advice on whether this is a good idea overall and anything to consider. Especially the following:

-Are there implications with setting up the device in the UK? My friend would of course register/set up the device entirely in the UK after I buy it in Canada. Are there likely to be any issue with this regarding compatibility etc? (sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm very clueless about this)
-Charging/energy supply - I assume we would just need a plug convertor for the UK - is this correct? I have used Canadian devices in the UK before and vice versa, and I assume with something like a tablet it's ok as they are meant to be portable. 
-The cost of the tablet would probably be over the duty free limit, coming into the UK. (It depends a bit on the exchange rate but it would probably be around £450.) If I'm obliged to pay duty, does anyone know what it would be in percentage terms etc? I've tried to look up some info on this and it seems rather vague. 

I'd appreciate advice on whether this is a good idea or whether it's more trouble than it's worth. Thank you! 

flaneurs_lobster

Warranty can be an issue, if there's a fault then the terms usually say that the kit should be returned to the retailer/point of purchase. 

PHK

Using the gov.uk calculator for a tablet computer from Canada says you'd just pay VAT at 20%

It looks like there's only one version of the tablet but I don't know if Google have different firmwares for different areas.

Brie

see if you can get the specs on it before you go.  That will tell you how it charges. 

When I take my UK purchased tablet (Lenovo) to Canada I just use one of my family's chargers as the bit that plugs into the tablet is the same here or there.  Mine is a usb-B connection as opposed to my android phone which is a usb-C (which are supposed to soon become universal for all devices in Europe apparently).  Either way you can have a UK or Canuck plug into the wall with a plug type the same as you could plug into a computer (a micro B I think) which has the usb-B or usb-C male connector at the other end.  So it's only the bit that you plug into the wall socket that's country specific.  

eevamaija

flaneurs_lobster said:

Warranty can be an issue, if there's a fault then the terms usually say that the kit should be returned to the retailer/point of purchase. 

Thanks for mentioning this as it had slipped my mind and could be quite important. I'll do a bit more research, but I don't think Google has something like international warranty. 

eevamaija

By the way, this is such a new device that I wonder if the price will drop at least a bit in the UK in the next few months or if it will take longer than that. Black Friday is something else to look out for.

I do feel a little wary about buying in another country for use here because of potential hassles. My friend is someone who recently arrived in the country under difficult circumstances and he wouldn't need extra hassle, to be honest. (I also personally think he should go for something a bit cheaper but I guess tablets are generally fairly expensive these days.) 

DullGreyGuy

Does the tablet have 5G? Different countries have different spectrums and some do regionalise their devices to cover the spectrums in the countries it's sold in. Bought the Mrs' iPhone in N.America and it has a few spectrums my UK one doesn't, is missing one or two that my UK one has but aren't ones used by O2 anyway.

Normally you'd just switch the power adaptor rather than mess with a plug convertor... some even come with different plug attachments. 

PHK

The Pixel tablet is wifi only and there is o e global version hardware wise

facade

VAT (and duty if applicable, it looks like duty is zero, but that can't be right HMRC claim 12.5% on laptops from China) is charged on the UK price, not the price paid abroad.

There is also the problem of warranty, if it breaks you would have to take it back to Canada for repair under warranty, the serial number will tell Google where it was purchased, and there will not be any EU warranty on a Canadian device.

Cisco001

I personally don't think VAT is an issue if you bring it back in person and showing the tablet is in use
You bin the box, open it and put it in a case, log in with your emails, save a few bookmarks and few photos, etc.

Warranty is a problem

eevamaija

Cisco001 said:

I personally don't think VAT is an issue if you bring it back in person and showing the tablet is in use
You bin the box, open it and put it in a case, log in with your emails, save a few bookmarks and few photos, etc.

Warranty is a problem

Yeah, I'm kind of thinking warranty is actually the biggest overall issue here, and may make this more trouble than it's worth. Even if warranty is for a limited time, you kind of want to know it's there if you need it.