Here's an example from the UK. This seller has been operating for months on eBay selling millions of pounds worth of Apple gear.
15" Macbook Pro. 2.2GHz Processor. 256 GB Storage
===
from Apple [0]
£1,599 including VAT
£1,332 exc. VAT
--
from Electronic King Inc. on eBay [1]
(shipped from UK)
£1,219 presumably no VAT.
--
Apple USD price $1,999 = £1,328.
--
The seller has a UK address as contact details. And is using a mobile phone and a gmail address (ebayprincess05--@gmail.com).
There must be something more than avoiding VAT happening here. I thought for a while that this might be a fraud. Even with them evading the VAT I can't understand how they're turning a profit. My assumption was that they're building up feedback before just disappearing with a week's worth of sales. But 46,000 feedbacks is way beyond what's needed for that. Some of the feedback definitely looks suspicious - a high proportion of low-feedback buyers have bought exactly two of the same item.
I bought my MacBook off eBay cheaper than on the Apple site or Amazon. It also came with AppleCare. It was brand news as well. It has a US keyboard (@ symbol over the 2) and came with a US plug AND a UK plug.
15" Macbook Pro. 2.2GHz Processor. 256 GB Storage
===
from Apple [0]
£1,599 including VAT
£1,332 exc. VAT
--
from Electronic King Inc. on eBay [1]
(shipped from UK)
£1,219 presumably no VAT.
--
Apple USD price $1,999 = £1,328.
--
The seller has a UK address as contact details. And is using a mobile phone and a gmail address (ebayprincess05--@gmail.com).
There must be something more than avoiding VAT happening here. I thought for a while that this might be a fraud. Even with them evading the VAT I can't understand how they're turning a profit. My assumption was that they're building up feedback before just disappearing with a week's worth of sales. But 46,000 feedbacks is way beyond what's needed for that. Some of the feedback definitely looks suspicious - a high proportion of low-feedback buyers have bought exactly two of the same item.
[0] http://www.apple.com/uk/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
[1] http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Apple-Macbook-Pro-2-2GHz-2-2-G...