Shipping a replacement laptop to my daughter studying abroad. Worried about hefty fees and VAT. Any tips or experience?

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I’m in Chicago, and my daughter is in Florence, Italy for the Spring semester. She was getting by fine with a 2017 MBP that had some minor screen damage from a falling light fixture in her apartment last year (happened when my wife was on a FaceTime call with her). It still functioned fine for almost a year until it got a little flaky the last week or two. Now the display is suddenly non-responsive (can barely make out a small band at the top of the login screen), and nothing shows up when connected to an external display. She took it to Apple Store in Florence, and their only solution was a 1200+ euro repair.

Not a great position to be in. We’d like to upgrade her machine sometime soon, but we were hoping to put that off a little longer—and certainly not have to buy something in Europe with a gun to our head. A family member has an M1 MacBook Air that is not currently being used, so I think the best option is to ship that to her.

I got a pretty reasonable shipping quote from a nearby specialist, but the rep wasn’t super friendly or helpful in anticipating the what the fees and VAT were likely to be. Basically he said he couldn’t know, but I was really just looking for a ballpark. I’m guessing it could be 22% of the original retail price of this 3 year old machine. That makes my stomach churn, but honestly, spending $300 to “rent” this laptop for a few months wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Anyone have experience shipping an existing (not new) laptop to Europe? Since she is there on a student visa, is there any chance she could get out of paying the VAT or receive some sort of refund? The rep said for VAT, the value may be determined by the original purchase receipt. Is that correct or is there a way to factor in depreciation?

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If you don’t get an answer here, maybe you can have your daughter ask around at the university in Florence to see if anyone there has had any experiences with that.

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Anything above 150€ is taxed heavily in customs and electronics are always a target. I would check with another rep and with different couriers because, between shipping and customs, it might cost you almost the same as a new laptop, even if this is not a business transaction.
Has she considered getting an M1 Air refurbished? The keyboard might be in Italian but could be a cheaper alternative.

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See here what FedEx says about “Temporary Import”:

https://www.fedex.com/en-gb/shipping-channel/customs-clearance/temporary-import.html

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Before considering all the crazy options: I think with your daughter already being in Europe, it may be the best idea for her to consult with local authorities (customs) what is the best option how to get a used laptop to Italy that already is being owned by her and that will not stay in Italy when she is finishing her studies.

Getting information first hand probably is the easiest thing to do.

My personal experience as an auditor/accountant in Germany: customs is willing to help you if you play with open cards and provide them with all relevant information beforehand. I think that Italian authorities are the same if your daughter contacts them politely how to go forward before sending the laptop.

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Thanks for all the answers. Still trying to feel this out and see what she can find on her end. I’ll let you all know how it goes.

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