poobaisle

On 2/4/2020 at 11:28 PM, roaming2019 said:

my fiancee made roughly 150000 baht  after paying facebook ad last month.  

Hi! You want to dropship items from Patunam market to the US market ? Or you want to dropship chinese products in Thailand ?

Congratulations to your fiancee by the way. Why don't you ask her how to proceed. She is doing very good.

On 2/1/2020 at 5:41 AM, gamesgplayemail said:

At least a good reason to have a Thai wife... doing business using her name and ID card ❤️

 

The system is stupid ? Cheat it as much as you can ! They will never catch you if you are smart ❤️

 

 

Yes, however with or without Thai wife dropshipping with Lazada is not worthy. As Lazada keeps the control of shipment it kills the concept of dropshipping. Cost will be higher and delivery time will be longer for dropshippers. 

10 minutes ago, poobaisle said:

On Thai Lazada website, the 1st checklist point to be a Local Seller is "You are based locally". What does it mean according to you ?

In Thailand, Lazada Ltd., is engaging E-Commerce business incorporated pursuant to the laws of Thailand under registration number 0105555040244 and having its registered address Unit 2901, 29th floor, Bhiraj Tower, 689 Sukhumvit Road, North Klongton Subdistrict, Vadhana District, Bangkok 10110 Thailand. They have warehouses in Thailand and they also maintain inventory from here.  

12 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

The main difference is that a corporate account allows you to do FBL (fulfillment by Lazada).   You can not set up an FBL account as an individual.  FBL means that Lazada maintains your inventory and ships for you.  More importantly, it means that, in legal terms, you are conducting no business within the Kingdom since your inventory is located in SIngapore, and Lazada (not you) is shipping it and collecting revenues for it from buyers.

On Thai Lazada website, the 1st checklist point to be a Local Seller is "You are based locally". What does it mean according to you ?

3 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

I look at it all in a very pragmatic way; I am hurting no Thai citizens by my actions and I contribute a fair share of money to the economy by living here.  If Thai officials suddenly got on my case about this, I'd just go somewhere else like Vietnam or Bali where Expats are treated and respected more properly than they are in Thailand lately.  Fact is, I'm getting pretty fed up with a lot of things here in the Kingdom in those regards.

Many of the members on this forum are expats having their life and family here. They have good attorneys too and be sure that they are also very pragmatics. They just don't want to mess up with local authorities because they don't have the possibility to move to Vietnam or Philippines in case Thai officials get on their case. They can get banned from Thailand from 1 to 10 years. Believe me they know what they are talking about and they know people and friends who had to leave because they didn't comply with the law. The question is not if they are harming Thai citizens by their actions or if they contribute a fair share of money to the economy by living here. That are western thoughts... irrelevant here.

2 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

Dropshipping is really an unworkable model today.  It was moderately workable until the world really got digitally connected and until AliExpress became a popular international platform but now (IMO) it's just a waste of time and only touted by YouTube Guru types as a get rich scheme.  Just my opinion of course.

I never claimed dropshipping from AliExpress either. 

Is there anyone to tell me what's the difference between individual and corporate account on LAZADA please ?

26 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

BTW, if you are thinking of actually selling on Lazada, think hard.  I decided it just was not worth the effort...of course, that's just me ????

Just a question of following the trend in this part of the world and diversification. Also, dropshipping doesn't need much investment to put an option just in case ????

1 minute ago, poobaisle said:

Now I understand. Since 2017, Thai authorities have drastically tightened their regulations precisely to make the concept of "work or working" very clear. Unfair but very clear! As soon as you spend time in Thailand on an activity generating revenue (wherever it is, inside or outside of Thailand, whether you are shareholder or manager) you are considered as a worker and you need a WP. 

Also, keep in mind that you have the law and the spirit of the law. The spirit of the law is that Thai authorities want foreigners living in Thailand and doing business online to get a work permit. Whether your business is fair, ethical or moral doesn't matter in a local court of justice. You are a foreigner and you'd work in Thailand without WP which is against the spirit of the law they just put in place.

3 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

Frankly I don't remember since it was back in 2017 and just a one-time consultation but any good Thai attorney can explain it over the phone in a few minutes since it's a very clear cut question they get asked often by Farangs.  Again, look back earlier in this thread for more specific details that I can't recall off the top of my head right now.

 

Now I understand. Since 2017, Thai authorities have drastically tightened their regulations precisely to make the concept of "work or working" very clear. Unfair but very clear! As soon as you spend time in Thailand on an activity generating revenue (wherever it is, inside or outside of Thailand, whether you are shareholder or manager) you are considered as a worker and you need a WP. 

2 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

You are quite incorrect.  The term "work" is a very vague one.  You need to understand specific Thai Immigration's interpretation of the word.  That's why I was very careful to consult with a good Thai attorney.  According to the Thai Immigration definition of the word "work" I am not violating any regulations of my visa.  In other words, I am not working in Thailand.  I do not conduct any business within the Kingdom.  I am not currently selling on Lazada but if I were, there would be nothing that violates terms of my visa simply because I am not conducting any business within the Kingdom.  The shipper of record when you sell on Lazada is Lazada in SIngapore since they act as the warehouse location under FBL.

 

The only "work" I do in Thailand is manage my US-based business accounts via laptop, just the same as a retiree might manage his/her stock portfolio or other investments.  My only income is as a shareholder in my US-based corporation (i.e.: no salary).  There is NOTHING illegal, underhanded, or immoral in what I do.

Since this forum is about sharing knowledge maybe you could provide us with the name of your attorney then ?  

5 minutes ago, WaveHunter said:

I am not a drop shipper and never claimed to be; it is not a viable marketing model IMO. 

Ok. Thank you to clarify this point. What about the VAT ?

On 2/21/2019 at 2:36 PM, WaveHunter said:

You can not set up a Lazada seller account and take advantage of fulfillment by Lazada as an individual.  You need a corporate account.

I don't understand what's the point of using FBL if you are dropshipping on LAZADA... Your dropshipper whether it is Aliexpress or any other will do the fullfillment instead of LAZADA. However, if you have a corporate account, you need to pay back collected VAT from the 1st baht you earn. Just eating up 7% on your profit margin. As an individual, you don't have to worry about VAT as long as your total income is below 1.8 millions THB.

About the legality of working with or without a WP, unfortunately Thai authorities just consider where you, as a person and not as a corporation, are physically located. Everybody living for some time in Thailand knows that and if you found an attorney telling you that he can set up the perfect mecano to avoid that, trust me he is wrong and he knows it. 

On 2/19/2019 at 2:08 PM, FritsSikkink said:

Because I am getting a proper visa, work permit and DO pay tax and don't like it that there are people who don't give a <deleted> about the rules and ask for advise on their illegal activities.

Another thing one needs to remember, is that US citizens in Thailand do not have the same constraints than other expats. Maybe that explains why some get easily <deleted> off on this specific topic.

On 2/19/2019 at 2:13 PM, WaveHunter said:

Drop shipping business model does not work well on AMZ.  Most sellers on Amazon (or Lazada) opt for private-label (i.e.: purchasing products overseas like from China and branding with their own seller-logo. 

 

FBA simply means fulfillment by Amazon.  Under this model, AMZ provides warehousing for the inventory, and complete fulfillment once a sale is made (all for a fee of course).  LAZADA has a similar seller model referred to as FBL).

 

As to the legality of a Farang conducting an FBA business while living in Thailand, many "digital nomads" (including myself) make their living doing this without the need for a work permit, and do it quite openly.  There is nothing illegal or dodgy about it, and it does not violate any Thai Immigration regulations if you do it properly.  I consulted with a Thai attorney about this so I am real comfortable in saying this.

 

Many digital nomads are quite open about it here in Chiang Mai, posting on YouTube and social media, and I know of no one who has had any run-ins with Thai Immigration over their enterprises irregardless of what type of visa they hold.

 

I am not really interested in networking with anyone on this; my business is doing just fine thank you, but I thought I'd provide this feedback for anyone interested in this topic.  

 

Just to add, I'm happy to answer questions or provide feedback but I do NOT want to get into any silly debates over the legalities of conducting this kind of business here in the Kingdom.  As the moderator advised, keep it on-topic.

Maybe you should consult another attorney...

On 2/19/2019 at 12:48 PM, CangguSurfer said:

Wrong to make such assumptions.  My business is incorporated in the USA. I am fully complaint with Thai regulations.  

Hello,

Thai authorities don't really care where your business is incorporated. From the moment you start working from Thailand you need a working permit. I fully disagree with that but that's how it works in Thailand. 

On 2/21/2019 at 12:06 PM, WaveHunter said:

Actually you do not need to have a registered company here in Thailand in order to sell on Lazada, and as I have tried to explain before, you do not need a work permit or special visa either.  Here's why:

 

Technically speaking, because of the way Lazada is set up, you are not doing business here in Thailand at all as a Lazada seller. This takes a little thought so read carefully and don't just jump to conclusions!

It's important to understand that Lazada does not just operate only in Thailand.   Lazada operates in all major "ASEAN" countries (Vietnam (Lazada.vn), Singapore (Lazada.sg), Malaysia (Lazada.com.my), Thailand (Lazada.co.th), Philippines (Lazada.com.ph), and Indonesia (Lazada.co.id).

 

Secondly, it's important to understand that Lazada is specifically set up to serve cross-border sellers (any company based outside ASEAN such as the USA, Europe, or Australia) from their Hong Kong logistics hub.  Sellers in Europe, the US, and Australia ship products directly to the Lazada hub in Hong Kong.  Lazada then takes care of delivery to end customers in Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

 

Therefore, and here is the key point; the seller's entire sales chain occurs outside of the Kingdom.  Lazada, not the seller is fulfilling the orders to customers in Thailand.  The seller is only doing business with Lazada, not the end customer, and this all occurs in Hong Kong, not Thailand.

 

In order to participate as a Lazada seller, corporate registration can be from anywhere in the world, though it makes a lot of sense for a cross-border seller to set up an offshore corporate entity in either Hong Kong or Singapore (where Lazada is actually based) since it greatly facilitates the importation process.

 

Setting up a company in Hong Kong can be done in less than 2 weeks, and costs around US$1000. You don’t need to be a resident in Hong Kong or have any connection to the Chinese territory to do this.

 

So, that's it in a nutshell.  No Thai business registration required; no work permit required.  As far as Thai authorities are concerned, you are simply a foreign business person managing your foreign business from your laptop.  It is as simple as that!

Hi there, 

I'm a bit surprised by your answer... In the eyes of Thai regulations, whoever living in Thailand and engaging into any kind of activity from the Thai territory needs to secure a working permit. That apply even if you initiate trade business with countries out of Thailand. That's harsh but these are Thai regulations. It is as simple as that!

Hi, I would like to have some feed back based on your experience of setting up a private limited company in Thailand as non US-Citizens. I am still confuse about the practice of the minimum registered capital required for a private limited company where foreign shareholders do not hold more than 49% of the shares. Sometimes it says it needs to be 2 million baht minimum unless your wife is Thai it can be only 1 million baht. Also, in some case shareholders can bring only 25% of the registered capital some other times legal website indicate that the paid in capital must be 100% of the registered capital... because one of the shareholder is foreigner (even though holding less than 49%). It is quite confusing.  

Another part that is also not so clear is when the foreign shareholder is director. I understand, he then needs to apply for a work permit and the fact he is employed by his own company required the equivalent to 4 Thai citizen employements within the year of incorporation. Does it mean the fact that a foreign shareholder is director means he needs a work permit ?

I know many of you will tell me that I need to see an attorney, get legal advice etc.. which I did of course. Nevertheless, I am interested to have feed back from people who had the same questions in mind and found the answers.

Thank you guys !

Hello folks,

Anybody knows why I cannot send SMS with my DTAC prepaid card. Everything is configured properly, I have a positive balance of 150 THB, I can receive SMS but I cannot send any of them. Is there a different credit for SMS or a quota or something like that. So anoying...

Hello folks,

Anyone can help me with finding a way to configure the DTC tracking device (SW-R E-serie). Usually these devices are configured using specially formatted SMS commands. Format is different for different brands/models but I wasn't able to find which model they use... Basically, I am re-using the boxes to be monitored with Traccar after terminating my contract with DTC.

Thank you for your help

Poobaisle

E-series version Eng Brochure.pdf

Hello folks,

Anyone can help me with finding a way to configure the DTC tracking device (SW-R E-serie). Usually these devices are configured using specially formatted SMS commands. Format is different for different brands/models but I wasn't able to find which model they use...

Thank you for your help

Poobaisle

E-series version Eng Brochure.pdf