Oh, prepare to be mind-blown. Let me tell you how it works. Someone goes to the US (such as a direct flight to NY or ATL), they hop off the plane, load a backpack full of laptops, then fly back and resell them without paying import taxes or VAT. It works even better if the person flying is flying for work and someone else buys the ticket.

It's not scalable, but works pretty good when a group of friends purchases them.

Cost of MBP in the US: $2,799 (€2,390)

Cost of MBP in NL: €3,199 ($3,746)

Cost of plane ticket from NL to US: (pre-covid) ~€600

You have to get rid of the packaging, and dump all the manuals etc or otherwise you might get a date with customs to explains why you have 10 unopened MBP's in your backpack and you get a nice import fee + VAT or you can leave them at the customs office. Also, you get about 10% tax added when buy.

Last time I did this, when the officials saw the number of laptops in my carryon they sent me over to the diplomat line for faster processing.

That's funny, when I flew in LA from Bali, I got stuffed in a room for four hours because I had a rock in my suitcase.

Returning from Singapore I was asked if I had any "rare feathers"... I said no but was still taken aside and searched.

I like processing through Newark, New Jersey the best. They seem to have the least propensity for wasting your (their) time, or else a very good nose on who the actual problems are in the crowd and focusing their attention on them. [edit: and these use beagles to check luggage! How cute is that.]

LOL, what happened then?

There is only anticlimax :) The ‘executive’ screener was kindly about helping me sort them into a line of individual trays and then back into the luggage and didn’t show the slightest curiosity about any of it.

>> You have to get rid of the packaging, and dump all the manuals

Good thing Apple laptops don't come with manuals. There isn't much much more than a couple stickers and a microfiber cloth in the box.

On the topic of exploiting the VAT system, it's interesting to read up on the missing trader fraud and carousels in general.

I do exactly this for our US/EU startup, which is located a few countries away from the nearest Apple Store.