6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 Yes, either way, if the Amazon package is not delivered, then a refund is available.

 

However, on the seizure issue, disagree. There have been reports here on TVF by other members who have tried to import streaming devices lately via private couriers and had them seized by Customs for being unlicensed, and no way for the buyer to actually license them at that point via NBTC.

 

If I was planning to order and have delivered for import to Thailand a streaming devices these days, I wouldn't send it via a private courier.  Not saying every one would be seized, because that's obviously not the case. But I believe the likelihood is greater when the shipper is a private courier because of their more hands-on Customs interaction.

 

 

 

You may be correct.. BUT if Customs seized the box your out the money.  I am guaranteed my money back.

1 minute ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

I ship stuff all the time via USPS from the U.S. and almost never pay any customs duty on anything. But I try to keep the declared value per shipment under $50 or so, which gets covered by Customs exemption for small packages.... Obviously, the Shield is beyond that.

 

It's a risk either way: IMHO, the risk of going Amazon Global with a private courier is that Customs seizes the box as an NBTC unlicensed device and you'll never get it.  The risk going USPS is much less than Customs will seize the device AFAICT, but you might have some duty owed. Usually with USPS sent packages received by ThaiPost, any electronics duty is typically just 7 percent VAT if any. YMMV.

 

Yes at $50. most will get through. There is no risk if Customs seizes the device [which they won't, they will just have the carrier return it to the sender] as the Global Shipping Program guarantees delivery.

On 6/27/2018 at 5:07 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

This one goes a bit over my head tech-wise... But it seems there's been a lot of discussion in the tech forums about whether the just released MiBox Oreo update and the coming Shield Oreo update will incorporated something from Google called " Project Treble."

 

From what I have loosely gathered, it seems inclusion of that technology would increase the likelihood of either device getting steady and regular updates in the future from Google -- as opposed to the 1 major OS update and fairly few security updates the MiBox has had during its several year lifespan thus far.

 

I haven't seen any update on this in the past few days. Does anyone know if "treble" is being incorporated into the Shield or MiBox via the latest Oreo updates?

 

The following XDA thread has an explanation about this, and includes a list of treble enabled mobile devices, including quite a few from Xiaomi. But I'm not seeing any mention of any Android TVs on that list.

 

The thread does say "Google requires every Certified Android device launching with Android 8.0 Oreo and above to support Treble."  But I'm not sure if "launching" with 8 is considered the same as being updated to 8 in this case.

 

https://www.xda-developers.com/list-android-devices-project-treble-support/

Treble is embedded in Android 8 Oreo. The Shield's new update does have it.

I am part of the Shield Beta Program.My Shield has been updated twice in the last 30 days and currently running 7.0.2

On 6/27/2018 at 2:34 PM, suzannegoh said:

Why do you want the update?

When Google moves to a new version, the App Developers are required to update their Apps as well. The updated Apps are more stable and run faster. That's why we update...

On 7/17/2018 at 8:04 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Apparently, the Shield is eligible for Amazon Global international delivery, and when I mock it up, it ends up adding about $42 to the price for covering delivery to Thailand plus a customs guarantee.  I don't know if that add-on for international would be reduced or by how much once the sale price takes effect.

 

But keep in mind, officially, the Thai government sometime back decreed that it's illegal to import streaming TV devices that haven't been licensed in advance by the Thai government/NBTC.  And given that Amazon Global shipments typically use private couriers where customs oversight is, let's say, intense, I'm not sure how that route would fare.

 

If it were me, I'd look to avoid Amazon Global and the private couriers and instead look for a way to have the box sent from the U.S. to Thailand by USPS or generic airmail, though I realize, not everyone's set up to do that.

 

 

If you opt for USPS it will cost $29.00 and you are at the mercy of the Thai Post for import fees and VAT as very few packages sneak by these days.

IMO, your better off paying Amazon the $42.00

I just posted my Amazon Shield experience above. Now my eBay story.

I ordered a SkyStream Two on eBay. This is a high end box like the Shield. I had it shipped via the eBay Global Shipping Program.

This morning I received a call from DHL telling me I need an import license or the box will be sent back to eBay.

I told them I received the Shield that was shipped UPS with no issues.. They couldn't care less.

I called eBay, explained what is going on. They said wait till the last arrival date which is July 26. If DHL has not delivered the package, call eBay and they will issue a full refund.

Let's see what happens...

On 4/12/2017 at 11:13 AM, SooKee said:

Further on the NVidia Shield.  I notice that the Shield now displays on Amazon (USA) as CAN be shipped to Thailand.  VERY hefty import deposit to be paid though!!! 3,495 baht if paying with a Thai credit card.  OK if that charge doesn't get levied and you get it back, or at least most of it.  Really REALLY expensive if you don't!!!! 

I bought the Shield from Amazon 6 weeks ago. I paid $179.99 plus $44.50 import fees and VAT. Got it in 5 days via the Global Shipping program. Three weeks later I received a $10. refund for over payment. You can get the Shield now for the same price.

https://www.amazon.com/NVIDIA-SHIELD-Streaming-Player-Controller/dp/B01N1NT9Y6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1531984086&sr=8-3&keywords=nvidia+shield+tv+2018

6 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

CM Immigration has some history of operating on their own rules and procedures that are not necessarily indicative of what's done in BKK or elsewhere.  I wouldn't automatically assume that something that may be occurring in CM is also going to be done everywhere else.

 

Looks to me that this just may be a CM thing.

3 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

The no cash is a US rule -- the income verification as now mentioned for Chiang Mai is a Thai IMM (new?) rule.

The cash rule was a reference to an announcement. 

There is no announcement on the BKK Embassy website regarding any income affidavit changes. This what is posted.

The Thai government requires all U.S. citizens with Thai retirement visas to verify their income when they renew their retirement visa annually. Please fill in and print out this income affidavit online for Bangkok (PDF 79KB) or for Chiang Mai (PDF 178KB).  Please remember not to sign the form before you come to the American Citizen Services Unit.  You will need to sign it in front of a designated officer.

I just got my Income Affidavit at the US Embassy Reach Out meeting in Khon Kaen on June 20th.

There was no mention of any rule change requiring income verification.  One would think they would have said something like they did when the no cash rule was announced.

I have both SCB and Bangkok Bank and feel SCG is much better. Try checking any charge with BKK Banks to see who the charge is from.. Can't do.

SCB shows who is charging your account. Big plus for me..

My Gmail is working fine. No delays.. 

1 hour ago, canopy said:

I believe amazon guarantees you won't pay more than the import deposit. I have ordered many times, happily at that. Had just one surprise so far when the truck showed up from DHL for extra fees I had to pay on the spot which were pretty stiff. I contacted amazon who were not happy to hear this and promptly refunded me for it, sight unseen. Their customer service is outstanding.

 

I remember the days before before Amazon when I would have things shipped to Thailand manually. Learned very quickly DHL/UPS/FedEx completely ream you, sometimes charging more to receive a package than it did for the person to send it to you. Huge ripoffs every single time. Immediately switched solely to use USPS which is much better. Some packages come in with no fees at all, but they sometimes add large customs fees randomly and arbitrarily, though not as bad as the others. But now with Amazon they take care of everything, there is no hassle or ripoff scams, you know the price up front, and it's smooth sailing to your door.

 

I have had the same experience as you describe. We all need to keep in mind that we choose to live here in Thailand and can't get many items that are available to us in our home country.

Over the years, I have had many item delivered via the post with no customs charges. On the other hand, I have had many items with custom charges due. 

I have also had customs charges levied on items that I know are customs exempt. I have had items that the customs fees are 10% and been charged 30%. There is no arguing with the post or private carriers as they couldn't care less if you accept the package or not.

For me, not going to the post office and dealing with the above issues is a huge plus. I will gladly pay Amazon's estimated customs fee knowing that if it is over actual, I will get an automatic refund. Plus.. you can't beat Amazon's customer service.

13 hours ago, elgenon said:

It may be a dumb question but can you buy with a debit card? As a tourist (3 months) I'm told that's all I can get.

Yes, you can use your Thai Bank debit card.

46 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

Generally it depends on how things are shipped.    Using UPS, DHL, FedEx etc., especially if they claim to be providing some sort of global shipping service, they will gouge you on the shipping cost and the amount they choose to charge you for customs clearance.  Quite often you have to prepay customs duty, so it is the shipper who decides on the amount.

 

If the same thing can be sent though the post office you may or may not charged customs duty and, if you are, it is almost always a good deal less than the shippers decide you should pay.

 

Any time I see Global Shipping Program on eBay or Amazon or other seller, I look for another source from whom to buy.

 

 

 

If you buy from a legit source they will declare the amount paid on the customs declaration.

If it's over $100. and delivered by any carrier including the post, they will charge you customs fees.

With Amazon or eBay Global Shipping, the fees are fixed. The postal service, UPS DHL etc.. you are at their mercy.

Amazon has two Global Shipping Options... Global Shipping and  Expedited  Global Shipping.

I have used both and Global Shipping takes on the average 2 days more but cost is a lot less.

So if you can wait the extra few days you can save quite a bit. 

1 hour ago, Berkshire said:

Yes, I hope the OP reports back on how much the customs folks will need to release his package.  Customs will customarily (in a manner of speaking) get their pound of flesh for items purchased online.

If the OP used the Global Shipping option, there are no additional Thai Customs costs.

1 hour ago, Lammbock said:

I notice that the import tax is quite high on Amazon orders.

I frequently order from Amazon and don't find the import tax to be out of the ordinary. In fact, Amazon returns funds when they over estimate the import charges.

1 minute ago, MikeN said:

Well that varies from person to person, as not everybody has a credit card with a US bank account you know ! For me it's cheaper to pay in baht with my thai debit card than my AU credit card. (and I read something about Amazon redirecting traffic and forcing Australians to shop at the .au site if they use an Australian credit card or an Australian address at the international site, so I possibly would not be able to use it anyway)

Good point. I always shop Amazon US and never thought about how they may handle other countries. 

16 hours ago, poanoi said:

 

 

 

my experience with amazon is that they require a US address or you cant order

Nope, Thai address is fine.

1 hour ago, moontang said:

How is the camera?  Looks. like a bit more horsepower than ASUS, but ASUS is reputable..I did notice they advertise Canada/US warranty in the States, so yes, the international warranties may be something that died.  ASUS is shipped from ROC, and I would generally choose them over PRC.

I do very little with the camera, but my wife is camera crazy. She said that the Xiaomi camera takes better pics then her iPhone7.

26 minutes ago, MikeN said:

Amazon now have a mobile app, Android and IOS, for international buyers. Set your location and currency in the settings, and it shows everything that will ship to Thailand, in baht if you prefer. Supposedly including any customs fees too .....

If you use the Baht price, the item costs more as of today, Amazon uses 35 to the $$.

It's cheaper to use your CC.

I highly recommend the Xiaomi MI A1. 4G RAM 32G Memory.  Under B5000. It's Pure Android 8.0 and gets updated every per their agreement with Google. Probably one of the best phones I have ever owned.

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.search.8.57857dbac9NB5m&q=xiaomi mi a1 32gb&_keyori=ss&from=suggest_normal&sugg=xiaomi mi a1 32gb_7_1