VAT or Buy in Tax free country??

[Mercman1]

All - I thought I'd post my question on here to get some thoughts.

I am thinking of the buying the new DJII 116300 when it comes out - qu is where should I buy it?

I am due to go back to the UK in July and was thinking if I get one there, would it be better to buy there and claim the VAT back when leaving the UK or buy in a tax-free country like Saudi/Bahrain??

I've read one of the threads on this forum that seem to indicate that Bahrain was the cheapest place for AD purchase and so was wondering what would be my best course of action??

This all depends on where and when the watch will actually surface in the real world...but I'm planning to be first in the queue to pick one up, so a bit of forward planning going on here.

[farhanm]

I just bought a DJII in Greece. I was actually in Dubai first, which charges no tax, but they dont need to discount at all. Not too much bargaining going on int Dubai! In Greece the price was lower than my local AD to begin with, plus I'm supposed to get an extra 23% VAT tax back on that lower price as well. I've already filed the paperwork, but whether I actually get the refund, who knows, considering the way Greece is going. All in all, I will have saved about $1500-2000 compared to buying locally plus paying sales tax.

Hope that helps.....

[Mercman1]

Thanks Farhanm...good for you mate..sounds like you bagged a great deal, as long as Greece doesn't fold completely and you actually get your VAT back ;-)

I hoping that the AD in Bahrain might be open to some discounting, but I'm still not sure if the discount would be bigger when compared to a purchase in the UK with a small discount and then a 20% VAT refund on top of it??

I'm thinking the latter, but then the challenge is finding an AD in the UK that will have one of these in stock for the few weeks that I am in the UK....anyone got any ideas who might have some in stock around July time??

[Sam Philip]

In the UK you can get a small discount for a DJ 116300 and get the VAT refunded so it would be a very good deal

Try Watches of Switzerland, Mappin and Webb or Goldsmiths, they will be able to get one for you while you are in the UK as they have many stores in the UK

Other option is call them and ask them to get one down for July, most are willing to do that

[JGX]

An alternative is to buy a single share in Signet Jewellers (LSE - SIG - Currently £27.73) and that will give you a 10% Shareholder's discount at Ernest Jones! That plus the reclaimed VAT means that you'd save somewhere in the region of 26% if buying in the UK. . . Even more if you're quick and buy before the possible UK price increase!

[esm]

you wont be getting the full 20% VAT refund if bought from high street ADs.
I highly doubt any UK ADs will discount the newly released pieces.

There is a likelihood that ADs inside amsterdam airport will have it sooner than most other ADs in Europe... you get Tax free price on top of it too

[Mercman1]

Awesome responses - thanks everyone for your insight...some very good options here.

Looks like I'll be making a few calls and emails and checking out the stock market :-)

I'll let you know what I ended up doing...it all hinges on whether the DJII 116300 will actually be available in July!

Here's hoping....