Travel and Tech: A Guide to Saving on Apple Products by Shopping in Vietnam

This case study shows how to save money on a MacBook Pro by purchasing it in Vietnam. A person achieved a saving of ₹36,500 by making the purchase outside of India, where Apple products are subject to import duties, GST, and higher prices. This person went to Hanoi to take advantage of the lower costs, arranging an inexpensive flight and visiting many stores to get the best deal. Detailed instructions were provided on getting VAT refunds for even more savings. In India, the 24GB RAM MacBook Pro would cost ₹1,85,000. However, in Vietnam, after the VAT refund, the price was only ₹1,48,500, which gave a savings of ₹36,500. The total expenses, which included the MacBook purchase as well as the 11-day trip, added up to ₹1,97,000. So the trip itself cost around ₹48,000. The total expense was more than the cost of purchasing the laptop in India, but the person effectively had a trip for an extra ₹12,000.