B&H Photo Kicks Off Pre-Orders for New Apple Devices, Offering Tax-Free Purchases in Some States

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Pre-orders for the 2018 MacBook Air and iPad Pro have kicked off on Apple.com, and because the devices are brand new, we won't see discounted prices on them for a while. Still, third-party retailers like B&H Photo offer the chance to save a bit of money at the onset of your new Apple purchase, depending on the state you live in.

According to B&H Photo's guidelines, the retailer currently collects sales taxes in Alabama, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Vermont, Washington (state), and Wisconsin. For all non-listed states, residents won't have to pay sales taxes on orders placed within those states, although B&H Photo informed me that more states will be added to the tax collection list soon.

bh photo new apple stuffNote: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with B&H Photo. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

B&H Photo is selling 24 models of the new MacBook Air, including quite a few custom configurations. According to a company representative, customers can expect launch day shipping for all base models of the new products, but it's not a guarantee. Some devices indicate a shipping date of November 8 and later, following Apple's launch on November 7.

Note: B&H Photo appears to be dealing with a traffic volume issue, so some links may appear temporarily broken, but they all should work after a few refreshes.

For MacBook Air, the full list can be found on B&H Photo, and we've provided a few below:

The retailer also has numerous configurations of the Mac mini up for pre-order already:

Lastly, you'll find Apple's new iPad Pro on B&H Photo as well:

Lastly, B&H Photo has the second generation Apple Pencil up for pre-order at $129.00, also matching Apple's price. On Apple.com, you can also order a few accessories for the new MacBook Air and iPad Pro, including the Leather Sleeve, Smart Keyboard Folio, and Smart Folio.

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Top Rated Comments

yanksfan114 Avatar
yanksfan114
93 months ago
**DISCLAIMER**

Just because your state is not listed and B&H doesn’t collect sales tax does not mean you do not owe it. It gets reported on your state return at the end of the year. I have had many clients getting letters lately from states that require retailers give them out of state customer purchases. Purchase wisely.

Source: CPA who hates state taxation
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rotlex Avatar
rotlex
93 months ago
Love B&H and pretty much buy everything I can from them!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ryanmcv Avatar
ryanmcv
93 months ago
The only states they can legally offer "tax free" in are the five that don't have sales tax. Failure to collect it in all other 45 states is a violation of new federal tax law.

If they aren't charging sales tax for online sales in anything other than those below, they're about to get hit hard.

* Alaska
* Delaware
* Montana
* New Hampshire
* Oregon

This is patently false. I assume you're referring to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.) that allows states to collect sales tax on goods purchased online, regardless of where the merchant is physically located.

However, it is still up to the states and their legislatures to actually pass and implement a revised tax law. The Supreme Court decision did not magically change the tax code in all 50 states. All it did was remove any restrictions that may have prohibited states from collecting tax on Internet purchases.

I don't know all of the details, but I highly doubt that every state has passed a new tax law already. It's only been a few months since the Supreme Court decision.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GizmoDVD Avatar
GizmoDVD
93 months ago
I'm sure it'll ship in 2 months like the Apple Watches.

Hard pass on B&H
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
redscull Avatar
redscull
93 months ago
Buy it on amazon
Amazon is great for many things, but I never buy tech off Amazon. Too high a chance that you will get a crappy counterfeit item that genuinely looks 100% authentic, logos and all, until it breaks.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PBG4 Dude Avatar
PBG4 Dude
93 months ago
These posts of “tax free” purchases can be very misleading. Some states have gone after online vendors for lists of sales to their states, then sending letters to end purchasers charging them tax and threatening penalties if not paid in certain time frames.

One example off the top of my head, NewEgg sent a list of all purchases >$1,500 to one state which then sent out sales tax collection notices to those purchasers.

As someone who wants a smooth road to drive on and my refuse/recycling picked up weekly, I understand taxes are a necessary evil. These MR posts on how to avoid paying your fair share in taxes are mildly infuriating to me.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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