Detailed tutorial: how to buy a product through the Apple online store abroad

I don't need to say that things here in Brazil and I'm not just referring to Apple products, obviously are expensive. In several cases, we are talking about double or even more than we pay for buying in the United States or some other country.

Of course, not everyone can purchase a product abroad, but if you have a trip planned or know someone who is going to travel and is willing to bring the product to you, it is good to know exactly how to make the purchase. And the purpose of this article is exactly that: explain how to buy your product on the Apple website and have it delivered to your hotel / friend's house / in a rented house or, then, pick it up in person at a company store.

I will use the American Apple online store as an example, but you can do the same process in any other online store from Ma. I also chose to do the step-by-step on a computer, so that you can view the forms in a more complete way , since via mobile everything is limited to the smaller size of the screens of iGadgets. 😉

Choose the product you want to buy and then click “Check out with other payment options” (checkout with other payment methods).

You will then be asked for your Apple ID and password or, if you prefer, make the purchase as a guest when choosing the option “Continue as Guest”. Particularly I prefer to enter my Apple ID because, thus, purchases are registered under my registration and I can access the information in an easier and simpler way.

Choosing how to receive your product

Here we have the first decision to be made: if you want to send the purchased product to some address (hotel, friend's house, etc.) or if you want to pick up the product at an Apple store. In this first example, we go with the traditional way (placing a delivery address).

Delivery at the hotel, at the home of a family member / friend, etc.

For that, all you need to choose is the option "Ship" (dispatch) instead of "Pick up" (pick up) and click on "Continues" (Continue).

In “Shipping Address” (delivery address), fill in the fields normally, putting the address you want to receive the product:

• First Name = First Name
• Last Name = Last Name
• Company Name = Company Name
• Area Code = Area Code (DDD)
• Primary Phone = Primary Phone
• Street Address = Address
• Apt, Suite, Bldg, Gate Code = Apartment, Sute, among other things
• Zip Code = Zip Code

If you happen to be sending the product to a business address (the company that a family member or friend works for, for example), don't forget to mark the option “This is a business address”. This will help couriers to choose a schedule more in line with deliveries to commercial establishments.

At “Shipping Notifications” (shipping notifications) are optional, but I recommend you to put at least the email (field “Email Address”) to monitor the progress of product delivery; if you have a cell phone number (you purchased a SIM card from an operator to use during your trip, for example), it is worth entering it (fields "Area Code" and "Mobile Phone") so that you can receive informational SMS about delivery.

After that, click "Continues".

Pick up at a store

THE Personal Pickup It is a very useful service for you who are staying in a hotel that does not take orders, for example, or simply prefers to stop by a specific Apple store to pick up the product.

To purchase a product using this delivery method, simply choose the option "Pick up" in “Delivery & Pickup Options” (delivery & pickup options).

Then enter the zip code or city you want to view the list of nearby stores and the date when the product you want to buy will be available for pickup at each store. Just then choose a store and click "Select" and then on "Continues".

In “Pickup Details” (details of the withdrawal), you choose who will withdraw the product (yourself or someone else). If it's you, check the option “The billing contact for this order will pick up these items” (the billing contact for this order will pick up these items) and provide a cell phone number to receive product availability notifications at the store. If you do not have a cell phone to put in, indicate a landline even for them to contact you in case of any problem (again, it has to be an American number; put in the hotel, the house you or your friend / family member is in, etc. .).

If someone else is going to pick up the product at the store, click “Someone else will pick up these items” (someone else will pick up these items) and fill in the fields with your friend / family member information. There is still the option “Send pickup notifications via text message to the phone number above” (send receipt notifications via text message to the phone number above), it is very useful for your contact to follow the progress of the order.

By clicking "Continues", you enter the payment-related section itself (more on that below).

Some observations on the Personal Pickup:

• This information is not available on the company's website, but according to an employee, the product will be available to be picked up at the store for 20 days. After this period, the purchase is canceled (the product goes back into stock and the amount is refunded on the card you used to purchase it).
• Unfortunately there is no way for you to choose a date to pick up the product at the store (for example, three weeks from now). The best thing to do, in this case, is to leave to buy the product on a date closer to your trip (or that of your family member / friend).

Form of payment

Here where many people are in doubt and do not know how to proceed, after all Brazil is not listed in “Country of Billing Address” (country of billing address). The best option, then, leave it checked "United States" (United States) and fill in the billing address fields with the same data as the delivery address. Another option is to take the first five digits of your zip code here in Brazil and see if the numbers match any ZIP code American. If yes, use an address with this ZIP code.

Want an example? The first five digits of my CEP are 22451; l in the USA, this zip code exists and is located in Virginia (VA). I then searched for an address with this zip code through Google Maps and I am using it. 😜

In “Billing Contact” (billing contact), fill in the fields with your personal data reminding you that you will need to put in a phone number, be it the chip you are using, the hotel or any other.

J in “Payment Method” (payment method), you can only use the PayPal option if you have an American service account (there's no use trying to use your Brazilian account, which doesn't work). The way, then, is to even use a credit card. The good news is that even those who do not have an international card can now shop online on foreign websites.

• Debit / Credit Card Number = Credit Card Number
• Security Code = Security Code
• Expires / Month / Year = Card expiration date / Ms / Year

Might not work for you? Of course, as this is directly related to the credit card security industry that you will use to make the purchase. If the transaction is denied, you can try to contact your card support and say that you are the one making the purchase. If by chance the subject of the billing address comes up, you explain that there is no option to put the correct address (from Brazil and that, therefore, you had to improvise).

Everything properly filled? click in "Continues" and, if all goes well, you just bought your product!

Here is another note: in many cases (pre-sale of products, launches with a delivery time of a few weeks, etc.) Apple does not charge immediately after purchase; it simply leaves the order “open” and charges when the product is very close to dispatch. So, don't be surprised if you happen to buy something and not receive any notification of your credit card (if you receive this type of notice) right after the purchase.

Because of this, it may be that everything goes perfectly well in the step-by-step described by me above and, after a few days / weeks, you receive an email from Apple saying that the purchase was denied on your card or something like that ( precisely because she left it to do the collection later). If this happens, do not despair because the company gives you the chance to either change the payment method or contact your card to try to authorize the debt.

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If by any chance your question was not answered in this article, use and abuse the comments. Ns, no , we will be happy to help not to mention readers who are experienced in international purchases and will be able to complement / give more tips on the subject. 😉

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