Even though the iPad will go on sale in Canada at the end of the month (May 28), our friends north of the border are buying them by the boatload on the grey market.
It’s not hard to smuggle an iPad across the border, but Canadians have to jump through a couple of hoops to download apps from the U.S. App Store.
Reader Tyler Hojberg emailed us with the details.
It’s really easy to get one in Canada, far before their release. I looked on a local ad site and bought one from a fellow Apple fan. Put me back $675 and an hour and a half long drive to pick it up at a predetermined Starbucks. At least 10-12 fellow Canadians I know made the trip down to the States to pick one up and “smuggle” it across the border.
I purchased my iPad from a site called kijiji.ca. Where, if you type in “iPad” you can find listing for at least 30 iPads in the Greater Toronto Area, maybe more.
So clearly people are at least making their way down from Toronto to pick them up, most likely in Buffalo. Which is a good 2-3 hour trek. The average running price up here (if sold under the table) is around C$700 for 16GB, C$850 for 32GB and as much as C$1,000 for the 64GB. Although the base model is more widely available.
It takes a few steps to start up the iPad. Since the US store is the only App store available, the iPad won’t be able to download any apps unless you create an American account with a prepaid credit card.
I went to a convenience store and got a prepaid MasterCard for $25. Then registered it with an American address. All I did was google “Grocery Stores in Texas” and registered my prepaid to the first address I found. This step is necessary because with a Canadian credit or iTunes card, it won’t create the account.
Then after creating the American account, the iPad is totally unlocked, no restrictions. The person I bought it from was familiar with this method, and through daily conversation is apparent that if you have your eyes set to get the iPad in Canada, you know about the process and are committed to following through.
There are not many iPads around the Niagara region. So it’s a must to take the journey down to a major city like Toronto or Hamilton to get one. I would have made the trip to the States, but am waiting for my passport in the mail. A minor set back.
If you are found having bought an iPad in the states and are now Canadian bound, if the border guards find the device, it’s a 13% tax charge.
The peripherals are more scarce, and harder to find. They run about C$50 a dock, C$80 a case and C$120 a dock and keyboard. So as you can tell, it’s not a complicated affair to get an iPad, just a well-thought-out plan.
No issues with the device and I haven’t (yet) seen a regional error message about not being in the States.
So that is that. iPad not in Canada you ask? Yeah right.
