Hello everyone,

I'm going to Finland soon, and I'll probably buy a laptop while there.
The thing is, i foundsome nice ones in a UK website. But I'm not sure how everything works, between deliveries and taxes. Does anybody around have any experience with that?

Thanks

Thank you Mnemon

The thing is, I am going to study in Finland for a year. And I tried my way around some finnish websites, but the translation is so unreliable that I'm thinking about importing from a UK-website, there I can understand everything.

About the Delivery. I'm asking because I live in Brazil. Here it goes kinda like this, for most companies:
They try to make the deliveries during business hours, when most people aren't home. If they don't find anyone, they come back twice, if they still don't find anyone, they leave a message and you have to pick up at the nearest office. So far so good.
The problem is, anyone can receive it an sign the form.

I don't know how companies usually do it there, and I'm afraid I won't be home to receive the laptop depending on the day. I'm kinda nervous about this, y'know? xD

I don't have any experience of buying exported stuff from Finland but I don't think it will be much of a problem. Of course
such things could depend on your country's laws.

But if you are coming to Finland anyway I suggest you order the laptop in advance and pick it up from the store when you arrive in to Finland. You could send them a post describing when you will be in Finland so your laptop won't be sitting in the shop with no information. That way you will not have problems with the customs and you will not need to pay any delivery expenses.

Here are couple websites that can help you with the prices. They should be fairly straight forward to use although they are in Finnish.
http://hintavertailu.muropaketti.com/g21/kannettavat-tietokoneet
http://hintaseuranta.fi/osasto/kannettavat-tietokoneet/26312

I could also post some sites I mostly use for computer parts but I'm not sure if I'm allowed unless you show some interest in those since it is kinda of topic and could be interpret as advertising (not sure how strict they are).

check:
verkkokauppa.com
jimms.fi

the best price finding site: http://hintavertailu.muropaketti.com/

everyone speaks english, So just email any of the companies and youll get answer in no time.

verkkokauppa is the biggest one and They sell alot To Russian tourists for example - atleast They should have UK layouts.

warranty and post costs Will probably be more pain if You buy from UK.

Just noticed your new post.

I almost always use the option to send the package to post office. They will check your identification and can handle the payment (if you want to use cash for example) and it's usually the cheapest method of deliveries.

I have only once used home delivery method and during that they asked identification from me.
Here are some information on the to door method of delivery.
http://www.posti.fi/english/parcels/domesticparcels/parceltothedoorstep.html

Well as iippo said I too use http://www.verkkokauppa.com/ and http://www.jimms.fi/ which is my favorite.

I suppose I could help you with the site if you need something translated.

btw, may i ask which city? There are some pretty good computer shops in the biggest cities - so it might be actually even easier than you know atm.

if you dont mind posting the actual laptop models you were looking, I / other finns might be able to help you to find that models (uk-layout) price in finland.

Hey everyone, thanks the posts

What I am looking for a is a notebook that I will use some heavy software like SolidWorks and DrafSight (AutoCAD like). Also, dual boot Windows and Ubuntu for FORTRAN programming. And of course, play some games.

I had my eyes on these:
http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusV-17/
http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/optimusV-15/

Going for an i5 with a GTX860M and a 750Gb 7200rpm HDD fits almost exactly into my budget, wich it's EUR1000 btw. It's scholarship money, so I can stretch a couple extra euro from my pocket if needed.
Theses configuration are roughly what I want.

If you guys take a look, it does ship to Finland, for 48€
I was looking for a 15" because 17" raises the price a bit, but theses 2 are at the same price level, the only difference is that the 17" doesn't have a backlit keyboard.

I've looked up the sites you guys have posted, Verkkokauppa seems to be the most translation friendly. I've seen some nice ones with simmilar configurations. I believe those on PCSpecialist are a bit cheaper for being barebones, so there is no brand overprice.

What do you guys think? Is it worth to pick it up from UK or should I keep digging those other finnish websites?

From the look of it that PCSpecialist seems like a good website and they probably do have lower prices (yes the brands are bullshit). I would say go for it if you trust the site. I may consider doing the same if I ever need a new laptop.

This might be a stupid question but what about the MoBo. I did not see any motherboards there, do they choose one for your configuration and add it to the price? Have you considered getting an SSD?

The laptop MoBo depends on the model you pick. And then they give you options for the other components, and they are usualy already compatible. The desktops are another story.

One of the particular reasons for wanting to buy a barebone, is the OS. I already have a Windows key, and buying from them allows me to get a OSless laptop. This makes the price go down by 99 euro.

And about the SSD. I have considered picking a small one (they have 120 and 240 Gb) for OS installations and a 500Gb for files and games, but the price gets a bit steep. So I opted for the 750Gb. And since storage is the easiest exchangeable part of a laptop, I could easily buy one later. That is somethig I've considered too. Since the CPU and GPU are mostly permanent, I'll focus on them, and the exchangeable parts I can upgrade later.

I checked their SSDs and i must agree its better to buy one afterwards.

Well good luck to you with the computer and welcome to Finland. I hope you know what you are getting into with our winters :).

Thank you for the welcome, and I hope I don't freeze there! I'm going during the summer, so I can get used to it.

Anyway, I believe this topic is done. Thank you all for the input on this matter. Also, I'll have this topic in mind, since you guys posted some nice finnish website for future reference.

And iippo asked about the city, and I noticed that I didn't post it. I'm going to Helsinki/Espoo region

I just spotted theses two, especially the firstone seemed quite interesting to me atleast.

http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/GP60-2PE-099NE

http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/GE60-2PC-016XNE

It seems that the nvidia 8xxM series of gpus are bit slow in coming to Finland. Jimms had some models, but Verkkokauppa didnt have any...which i find odd.

The barebone laptop is sound idea - the only thing i personally find bit troublesome about it though is the warranty/repair side of things. With luck you ofcourse will never any need, but i had before Acer laptop and about every single part of it broke at somepoint. Luckily i could just take it to the shop and they would fix it (had extended warranty, best investment ever :D ) - but if it had broken abroad, i have no idea how easy that would have been.

Anyways, GL with you future laptop and welcome to Finland :)