How can I safely import the Pixel 3a from Germany to Portugal?

[Bluishbark]

Hi everybody.

 

I live in Portugal, and I want to buy the Pixel 3a (it's the only smartphone within budget with a decent camera/software for me, in fact I want 2 of them; one for me and for a family member) and I was looking for ways on how to get it safely to my country/address for the price of 399€ + accessories + shipping. It's not sold officially on my country in the Google store, but it is sold on France, Spain and Germany; since they're part of the EEA I shouldn't have to pay any additional VAT rates, nor should they get retained at airport customs and presumably it's totally legal being in Europe (if it's not, please tell me why).

 

I know that I can use a parcel forwarder to have them delivered to me, but I'm worried that they might open the phone box, fiddle with the phone and possibly damage/replace some original goody before it arrives to my home, which is something I don't want! Alternatively, I could board a plane and go to Germany or the other options., and buy the phone there, but the trip price might well exceed any attempts of having the parcel handled at a warehouse and then expedited to my location, plus I'd have to have an adequate interval in mind.

 

What would be the safest way, do you know of a company that is reliable, quick and won't open my phone for inspection, etc, and preferably that doesn't charge too much?

[Radioactive Snowman]

3 minutes ago, Bluishbark said:

Hi everybody.

 

I live in Portugal, and I want to buy the Pixel 3a (it's the only smartphone within budget with a decent camera/software for me, in fact I want 2 of them; one for me and for a family member) and I was looking for ways on how to get it safely to my country/address for the price of 399€ + accessories + shipping. It's not sold officially on my country in the Google store, but it is sold on France, Spain and Germany; since they're part of the EEA I shouldn't have to pay any additional VAT rates, nor should they get retained at airport customs and presumably it's totally legal being in Europe (if it's not, please tell me why).

 

I know that I can use a parcel forwarder to have them delivered to me, but I'm worried that they might open the phone box, fiddle with the phone and possibly damage/replace some original goody before it arrives to my home, which is something I don't want! Alternatively, I could board a plane and go to Germany or the other options., and buy the phone there, but the trip price might well exceed any attempts of having the parcel handled at a warehouse and then expedited to my location, plus I'd have to have an adequate interval in mind.

 

What would be the safest way, do you know of a company that is reliable, quick and won't open my phone for inspection, etc, and preferably that doesn't charge too much?

Just use a well reviewed forwarder, flying to another country just to buy a phone is madness

[Bluishbark]

9 minutes ago, Radioactive Snowman said:

Just use a well reviewed forwarder, flying to another country just to buy a phone is madness

You're right, it would cost me an additional 170€ or so, and I'd definitely do more than just buy the phone, but the primary goal would still be the phone and it might not be such a great idea as I initially thought it'd be, especially since it's not an urgent purchase.

[Origami Cactus]

Why use package forwarders and risk with bad warranty?

Why don't you want to buy directly from amazon.de ?

I don't live in anywhere near deutchland and i've bought phones from there, and they ship just fine, and you get the great amazon warranty.

 

Woops not sold by amazon, but by third party. My bad.

Idk why amazon shows the prime logo on a product if they don't sell it themselves.

[Bluishbark]

5 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

Why use package forwarders and risk with bad warranty?

Why don't you want to buy directly from amazon.de ?

I don't live in anywhere near deutchland and i've bought phones from there, and they ship just fine, and you get the great amazon warranty.

I didn't even thought about that possibility. I've noticed that there's one seller on amazon germany that has it for around 355€ with shipping included; it's not handled and shipped by Amazon, but it has a 97% satisfaction rating off of a few thousand reviews, so it might work. I'll check that out Cactus, thank you for the suggestion!

[Origami Cactus]

1 minute ago, Bluishbark said:

I didn't even thought about that possibility. I've noticed that there's one seller on amazon germany that has it for around 355€ with shipping included; it's not handled and shipped by Amazon, but it has a 97% satisfaction rating off of a few thousand reviews, so it might work. I'll check that out Cactus, thank you for the suggestion!

Ye, i edited my comment, sorry for leading you on, but it was not "sold and shipped by amazon", so you wouldn't get that warranty sadly.

 

I only buy from amazon if it is amazon themselves, i don't mess around with third party sellers.

 

If you want to buy from 3rd party, always read about their warranty and stuff!!!

 

Maybe some store in spain has the phone, portugal is next to it no?

maybe amazon.ES or something.

[Bluishbark]

12 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

Ye, i edited my comment, sorry for leading you on, but it was not "sold and shipped by amazon", so you wouldn't get that warranty sadly.

 

I only buy from amazon if it is amazon themselves, i don't mess around with third party sellers.

 

If you want to buy from 3rd party, always read about their warranty and stuff!!!

 

Maybe some store in spain has the phone, portugal is next to it no?

maybe amazon.ES or something.

I usually always look for items that are distributed solely by Amazon, and you're right that I shouldn't try and mess with these 3rd party sellers, especially since I don't live in the country of origin, I don't speak german and it might be big trouble if the phone comes faulty or dead on arrival from shipping damage, mishandling at terminals, etc., !

 

I suppose it won't be worth it then from my research so far, this because I've tried on all the Amazon websites I'm aware (Germany, France and Spain; UK, with the conversion rate from £ to €, it'll be too expensive with shipping) and on Amazon spain, altough it's sold/shipped directly by Amazon, the regular Pixel 3a is 478€ :(, without shipping included! That's more expensive than a brand new Pixel 3a XL from Google's website.

 

Phones are wayyy too expensive these days, it's really difficult to find a nice one for less than 500€.

[Origami Cactus]

1 minute ago, Bluishbark said:

I usually always look for items that are distributed solely by Amazon, and you're right that I shouldn't try and mess with these 3rd party sellers, especially since I don't live in the country of origin, I don't speak german and it might be big trouble if the phone comes faulty or dead on arrival from shipping damage, mishandling at terminals, etc., !

 

I suppose it won't be worth it then from my research so far, this because I've tried on all the Amazon websites I'm aware (Germany, France and Spain; UK, with the conversion rate from £ to €, it'll be too expensive with shipping) and on Amazon spain, altough it's sold/shipped directly by Amazon, the regular Pixel 3a is 478€ :(, without shipping included! That's more expensive than a brand new Pixel 3a XL from Google's website.

 

Phones are wayyy too expensive these days, it's really difficult to find a nice one for less than 500€.

Ye, i have always bought a last gen flagship, gotten it for about 200-300€, but they have gotten more and more expensive.

[Bluishbark]

6 minutes ago, Origami Cactus said:

Ye, i have always bought a last gen flagship, gotten it for about 200-300€, but they have gotten more and more expensive.

That's so true! I cannot even start to comprehend how it's possible for Apple to charge 1679€ for an iPhone 11 Pro Max 512GB or Samsung at 1229€ for a Note 10+, and I see people already with those phones on their hands and they don't mind paying 55~60€ a month, for two years, for either phone model and this assuming they haven't asked for credit at their banks or received some form of discount coupon or monthly fee reduction from their telecom provider.

 

It's completely insane :(, and I've also tried looking for the Pixel 3a on amazon Italy (they sell it for 500€ there, and Amazon Netherlands doesn't even have any of the two models). A OnePlus 7T will probably cost 599€ or more around here, and altough faster, it's quite a bit more expensive.