I am looking for a member of the website interested in writing an iPhone buying guide. Following on from the excellent work done by laughingbird, a buying guide will be a much needed addition to the How to section of the forums.

Having brought my iPhone in August, I no longer have any idea how to aquire one over here but am sure newer members to the iPhone club will be able to help out with advice and tips on the best way to aquire one.

The article will ideally cover;

-iPhone sources (ebay, Mac Pro etc.)
-Prices
-Shipping
-The fact there is no warranty
-What the phone will and won't do on our network.

Anyone interested please PM me or post here.

Any help is very much appreciated by myself and the rest of the MTAU team

I'll give it a crack (I think) - if anyone else wants to do it, feel free, you'll probably get it done before me

iphone buying guide by krafty

OK so you too want an iphone?
i sure did, i had always used PDA's digital Camera and of course a mobile phone. I watched the video on apple's US website promoting the iPhone and i saw a product i thought had hit the nail on the head.
I heard all the talk about the iphone around the traps and thought i'd like to have one too.
I actually saw an iphone a few weeks back and was allowed to slide my finger across the screen. WOW.

Ok so i wanted to buy one. So i did the usual, i hit the ebay pages checked out the prices. Ok i can afford one even at those prices. I've never bought a premium priced mobile phone before... value for money i suppose.
The ebay prices were a bit excessive and throw in USD $40 for postage i wasn't too impressed.
I contacted a few of the sellers and asked for a better deal on getting 2 units. Would they do a better price and combine postage costs? Postage was not an issue but these dudes are only in it for a quick buck and they know as soon as we (other nations not having a home grown iphone) get the homegrown units they will no longer have a captive market. So they are not too keen to negotiate on price. $550 USD if i bought 2 plus 2 was the best i could negotiate. But did i trust them NO WAY JOSE.
So I let it slide a few days, I had my cooling off period.
I searched the forums
I saw that people had used a reseller in the USA. They had a web address. I looked at their webpage and looked for the contact us link. They were a shop and had all their details listed. I checked the time zone and gave them a call in business hours. They were real folks with a genuine business.
And asked if it was OK to order 2 phones. No problems.
So i asked them their preferred payment method.
I paid,

2 Hours later i was told my sister had just flown to the US for work for 2 weeks, I rang her and told her to pick up a 16 gig unit for me. This has been done. Sorted.

I was sent a confirmation email from the US reseller & a shipping number soon followed.
The US reseller did charge more than the price on the apple website, but they are offering a non apple sanctioned service and i the consumer are a pawn in the supply and demand equation.

My iphones arrive tomorrow according to the shipping details so i will hopefully have a shiny new iphone 8 days after making the transaction.

Too easy mate.

1) Find a friend/family member in the US, preferably in a state that doesnt charge sales tax eg not CA!
2) Place an order for 1 or more iPhones on the Apple Store with your credit card. Ship them to your friend/family member.
2a (optional): Place orders for iPhone case (its recommended to prevent step 8 below) and any other acessories you choose.
3) Get your friend/family member to ship the iPhone (and any accessories) on to you (recommended: Express Intl Priority USPS - most cost effective bang for buck vs time to get here). Cover it with Paypal. Buy them something nice from an online store for their troubles.
4) Recieve iPhone. ZiPhone the bugger.
5) Buy a headphone converter cable or new pair of headphones after you attempt to connect your nice headphones to the iPhone and realise it's got a #*$#$ recessed jack.
6) Buy a US to AU power converter plug thing to use the charger here. Or do what I did and use a pair of pliers to bend the prongs on the US plug about 30 degrees inwards.
8) When the iPhone breaks, contemplate suicide, selling it on eBay, going without it for weeks while it goes back to the US for Apple to repair, or doing backyard repairs on the guts of your broken iPhone yourself. (or PM me, I might be able to help)

There that wasn't so hard now was it.

Oh - prices in USD off the top off my head - $399 for the iPhone + about $27 sales tax (damn you California), and I think $30-40 postage. I think it came to about AUD500 in total. Worth every cent!

shit bugger fark damn! i didnt realise it would only cost $500aud or id have bought one instead of ipod touch! DAMNED!

on second thoughts iphone isnt right for me anyway, plus im happy with three and my e65

anyone got a link for mac pro?

Mac-Pro.com ?

And it's only ~$500 AUD if you know someone over there who can do all that for you. That is strictly at cost too. That's why on eBay it is $50 to $100 more for the other person's time/troubles (buying, shipping, eBay listing/selling fees etc) for you.

mac-pro will cost you $574 USD per unit. 8 gig unit that is.

AUD$660 with shipping by the time you get it to Aus. Not bad really.

before jumping onto a purchase from mac-pro, make a note that this guy puts $150 on top of the RRP price of the 8 gig unit, then charges $49 postage even when the postage receipt that comes with the phones says $33.

Yes he has what we want, but i would shop around next time for a better deal.

I know it has been posted here before but http://www.priceusa.com.au seems to be a great way to procure an iPhone in Aus!!

I have just placed an order for a couple of them, with shipping!... total price came to a little under $600 and thats with the 5% you pay to the chick that runs the company!

Seems to be the cheapest option apart from having a mate in the US to get it for you and ship it over.

Forgot to mention that my friend in the US is happy to recieve and on-freight more iPhones for me so am thinking of doing a bit of a bulk buy. PM me if interested.