macgt3

17 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

Hope Buriram isn't reprimanded by higher ups.

Are you implying that what the officer did was illegal?

If not, then why would he be reprimanded?

8 hours ago, jimn said:

You must be using the wrong online system, zero docs are required. You need to apologise for accusing me of trolling

I could not do my 90 day reporting online until my address got moved from Chiang Rai. Apparently, that’s called the TM-30. Bangkok Immigration refused to have me moved. They claimed we must do this in Chiang Rai. 

I would have to fill this form out online along with the 90-day. More specifically, my wife tried filling it out because allegedly that has to be done by the owner of the place you’re staying at. 
 

Online directions for TM-30 say to upload the following documents:

- Her Tabian Ban

- Her ID

- Copy of my passport

- Copy of my visa

- Enter a bunch of other data

I never claimed to know what online form asks for what documents, but I do know that uploading documents was necessary to get my address moved and reported online. 
 

Point remains: we didn’t have to deal with any of this nonsense in the Buriram Immigration office. I filled out nothing. Literally signed my name on several pages and was on my way. 

18 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

LOL ...no using the missus is not against the law.

 

 

BUT....relying on them often backfires (Immigration and elsewhere)

Believe me, I’m not concerned. I’m not tied down to this place like some of you may be. If it’s time to go, I go. It’s not like I have to stay here. 
 

Not that I don’t enjoy staying here. It’s just that I can enjoy myself back home ,as well. 

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

In that case you didn't even need to deal with Burriram immigration.

You could have done your 90 day report to Bangkok immigration online.

Now you will need to do another TM30 when you return to Bangkok.

Be aware that you can file your TM47 using your Bangkok address from anywhere in Thailand either online or via mail.

Guessing your wife doesn't know that. 

 

 

 

According to my wife, we wont have to do TM-30 again. We needed to change my address from Chiang Rai to Buriram and now I’m officially registered at her house in Buriram.  
 

Her reason for doing so was to avoid all the immigration BS in Bangkok. She found out through other couples that doing anything immigration related in Buriram was easier, including the 90 day report. This ended up being true. 
 

Bangkok immigration office would not let us move my address from Chiang Rai. We spoke to multiple officers and they all told us this could only be done in Chiang Rai. We don’t know why, but that’s what we were told. That’s one of the reasons why we didn’t attempt it online. Since we were in the area, it was easier to stop by Chang Arena and get this over with quickly. 

4 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

The office, at the stadium you went to was due originally  to be at the border near Ban Kruat, which has never been opened as planned 5 years ago. I know the pleasant "maskless" officer quite well, even in the midst of Covid waves he was reluctant to wear one. So to come back to your question, there is another Immigration office, somewhat larger and quite nice too, about 4 km down the road, and, in the fullness  of time, the stadium one might move to its final destination at the border.

Good to know ????
 

Looks like Ban Kruat is a lot closer to where we stay than Chang Arena. So if the office moves there at some point, that would be awesome. 

1 hour ago, MrJ2U said:

Sounds painless. 

 

 

Nice report.   Almost makes one want to move to Burriram.

 

Almost. 

For the record, we live in Bangkok and I don’t see myself ever moving to Buriram.
 

We stay in Buriram about once or twice every three months because that’s where my wife is originally from. 

3 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Pretty much sums up your thread.

You have the wife take care of everything and not even remotely aware of the requirements to live in Thailand.

TM30 being one example. ....

 

"If that burden is ever placed on me, I’ll gladly leave Thailand. No problemo." ....

 

Sums it up. 

 

I never once claimed that I’m even remotely aware of the procedure. So what’s your point exactly?

I simply shared how easy and quick it was to report in Buriram. That’s all. Is that against the rules? lol

19 minutes ago, jimn said:

What is wrong with the online system its the easiest way of doing the report. I registered with the system last year and once registered the reports are easy. I did my latest report this week whilst lying on the beach. Input name, passport number, arrival date, extension or visa end date and submitted. I had the approved 90 day slip back in my e mail the next day. All done from my phone. Simple.

What’s wrong with the online system is that it asks for a <deleted> ton of documents to be uploaded. Definitely more than just “[inputting] name, passport number, arrival date, extension or visa end date and submitted”. Not sure if you’re trolling or just making stuff up.

1 hour ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

I am not sure if you are trolling.....but Immigration status and activities are YOUR responsibility.

 

 

Your ignorance of the procedures is likely to bite you at some point. Giving up on the simple online reporting is perhaps an indication of your attitude.

 

You may or may not be aware how corrupt that office(r) is.

I disagree. It’s handled by my wife and that’s not against the law lol. 
 

So it’s certainly not my responsibility. Never was and never will be. I refuse to deal with immigration BS here. We have a deal where she takes care of immigration paperwork here and I take care of it back home in the US for her (which is much simpler BTW). 
 

If that burden is ever placed on me, I’ll gladly leave Thailand. No problemo. 

I only watch CB Media because he covers the motorsport scene around Thailand better than anyone else I know of. 
 

Every other farang is just hanging around Bangkok/Pattaya drinking beers or eating from street stands. It’s the same thing over and over again. 
 

Happy to check out some of the recommendations posted herein. 

BTW, I just asked my wife. She told me that the TM30 was filled out by the immigration officer. He asked for her Thai DL and nothing else. 

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

The TM30 is for change of address. 

You changed your address and did not file a TM30. 

As stated earlier you were so lucky with the helpful treatment you received at Burriram.

 

Most offices would have not been so helpful.

Your swipe at CW is not required as you are not aware of the requirements. 

You’re right, I’m not aware of the requirements. That’s because my Thai wife takes care of all that for me.
 

According to her, everyone in the BKK immigration office told her that she can only change the address used for 90 day reporting in Chiang Rai because that was the address under which my visa was registered. 
 

No such “rule” in Buriram. Address was changed on the spot. No questions asked. 
 

I’m also confused by your references to me being “lucky”. Are you saying that this won’t happen again?

I only saw one officer there running the entire show. So unless there are different officers on different days, why would my next 90 day report there be any different?

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

You were very lucky.

Not even required to file a TM30 change of address? 

No surprise that you had issues at CW. Which would be down to you and not the immigration office. 

I’m not sure what TM-30 is TBH. If it’s required, then I’m pretty sure it was filled out for me, but I can’t confirm if that was the case. What I can confirm is that I didn’t fill it out and neither did my wife. 

2 hours ago, AlexRRR said:

Your not going to get a good price for a low end phone even if its a month old, i was going to get around 24,000 to 27,000 on a phone that cost me 53,000 in AU and is only now going on to 10 months old.

 

You need to be realistic, demand for a Pro model is a lot higher than some low spec toy you picked up in the states, and no matter what your selling going to cop a bath if you want to move it fast, law of the universe.

 

Me i would be just a lot happier with a lighter phone and i dont want to put up with tire kickers and a bunch of scammers that now routinely hang around lot of these websites, but plenty of folk watch there pennies and have time or you could have done what i have done and thats to just put up with it for a year or two more then do a change over.

I don’t think it has anything to do with the phone being low spec, because it’s not. Many people prefer smaller screens at a cheaper price point. 

iPhone SE latest Gen has the same identical A15 chip as your 13 Pro Max. It’s actually a newer iPhone than your 13 Pro Max. There’s a market for it. Otherwise, Apple wouldn’t have released it when they did and stores in Thailand wouldn’t be selling it new for 23,900. 

It’s a phone that normally sells used for 17-18k baht in US. And the prices I was quoted at MBK (9k - 11k) were still very much in line with yours (roughly 50% of what they cost new). 
 

The realistic part of me sent the phone to US yesterday where it will sell for at least 5-6k baht more. 
 

But since you’re not from the US, I wouldn’t expect you to understand how easy it is to sell things there. Yes, we’re spoiled, but generally speaking iPhones sell like hotcakes there, especially if you throw them on Craigslist or eBay. 
 

IMO, keeping your iPhone for another year is not a good idea if you’re already set on upgrading because iPhones retain the most value in their first year. I sold mine that way every year for nearly 15 years straight and recouped at least 70% of the value each time. So, upgrading never cost me much.
 

I didn’t realize how bad the used phone market is here in Thailand until now. I bought a new iPhone 14 Pro 256 space black at Icon Siam over a month ago, which is why I wanted to unload my SE. I change phones often because my job requires it and the US market makes it super convenient to do so. Clearly, the dynamic here is very different. It is what it is. Had I known all of this, I wouldn’t even attempt selling it here. 
 

Seems like everything is more expensive in Thailand. Maybe food isn’t, although that depends on what one eats. Can’t think of anything else. 

36 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You are still jumping to conclusions while still maintaining your information was completely correct, it demonstrably is not and yet you still haven’t admitted you missed out on one of the versions.

You are also inferring that my sole reason for not being interested is the support for the Thai GSM/EDGE bands, while there are more reasons that I didn’t bother with enumerating, the restrictions of the GSM/EDGE bands is one of them. I am not so parochial in the countries I visit. You may, or may not, visit places where your version has connection challenges.

Your argument makes no sense whatsoever because the topic at hand was iPhone SE and the US model supporting the same identical GSM/EDGE bands as the Thai model. As a matter of fact, all variants of the SE support the same identical GSM/EDGE bands. There are no differences there. So what you said about GSM/EDGE bands simply doesn’t add up. 
 

First off, GSM/EDGE bands are archaic nowadays and hardly any carriers use them (unless you live in the middle of nowhere). But even then, every recent iPhone supports those same bands, regardless of what region you bought your iPhone in. 
 

And because the US variant supports more bands than any of the others, it means that it will work in more places around the world vs the other variants. Hence why it’s the best choice for anyone who travels a lot. 
 

At the end of the day, you’re splitting hair. Every SE variant - no matter what region it’s from - will work everywhere in the world and you’d hardly ever notice a difference. The phone is designed to switch bands for an optimal optimal connection, and there’s hardly any carriers that only support one band. 

On 11/6/2022 at 12:47 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Thats pretty much what I do.... I have the standard iPhone 13 (I don’t need the extra camera quality etc).

 

Currently trying to sell my iWatch Series 7 (stainless)...  took it to MBK where I’ve had previous decent experiences selling my phone.

I was low-balled so badly I burst out laughing at one point !!... shopped around 4 shops, maybe I was unlucky and just went to the wrong shops. No one was really interested in offering a competitive price but wasted my time checking out the watch etc.. I suspect their tactic was to take up 15 mins checking out the watch by which time they figured you were invested and would accept the low offer. 

 

 

This is exactly what happened to me today. Every place took their sweet ass time molesting the phone to no end before quoting a ridiculous price. One place even offered 9000 baht, which is basically half of what I can get for it in the US. I also burst out laughing, which they didn’t appreciate.
 

The most annoying part was that each merchant had to “call their boss” to check on the price. They must cater to straight up suckers who will give the phone away for scraps. 
 

Too much scum working there. I’d say it’s the first time I felt somewhat uncomfortable in a Thai mall lol. Actually, “Thai mall” isn’t even a good way to describe it because hardly anyone working there looked Thai. 

On 11/6/2022 at 11:56 AM, AlexRRR said:

Update on the journey to sell my 13 Pro Max.......Apple @ Central world  had no 14 pro's in stock (but everyone else has) still i inquired about a trade in if they were available now it wasnt an offensive amount but since id already had done the rounds at MBK my brain quickly shut it down on hearing the amount and if MBK wasnt anywhere i could get to id just take it....was something like 24,000 change over on a 14 Pro 256gig.

 

The best deal if done on the spot @ MBK was 16,000 change over on the 14 pro 256gig brand new, which i thought was pretty good, checked 4 places 2 came in @ 18,000 the third would match the last one 17,000 and tempted me if on the spot possible 16,000....

 

I wanted a few days to mull it over, weight was the issue but i do like the big screen previous phone was a XR which i took with me and i loved the size of that, suited me very well, the 14 pro matched it bar weight, it is heavier, in the end i decided not to go ahead with it as the weight drop even significant still was a bit on the heavier side, checked out the basic 14 and 14 max, way lighter and i recon since i change my phone every 2 to 3 years i might just stop buying the high end next time and go for the lightest.

 

 

 

 

I will personally avoid MBK from now on. I went there today and was extremely disappointed. I got offered 11000 baht for my 3rd Gen SE 256GB, which is in like-new condition and with 10 months of warranty left. 
 

Afterwards, I drove to Central pin-klao and shipped it back to US for 985 baht with Fastship. Should be there in 3-6 days. As soon as my sister receives it, I’ll throw it on eBay, where I sold plenty of iPhones. I know I can get at least 16000 baht equivalent for it. Possibly more. Shipping statewide is dirt cheap, too. 

May not seem like much, but the extra 4-5K baht is worth it IMO, even if I factor in the eBay fee. It seems incredibly difficult to sell a smartphone for a good price in Thailand. Lesson learned. I’ll never attempt it again lol

On 11/6/2022 at 7:08 AM, sometimewoodworker said:

Your claim that “Nothing I said was incorrect” and your information is clearly wrong then, isn’t it?
 

1) As there is the A2784 that is not listed, claim (There are exactly 4 variants of the SE)

2) You are attributing words and claims I did not say, I said that “GSM/EDGE (support varies by country)” I did not say that the “Thai variant includes different GSM/EDGE bands”

3b) You bought a phone from AIS  it was locked so claimed “If you buy a new iPhone from AIS or True and you don’t pay full price, it will be locked to that carrier” 
3b) we bought a phone from AIS it was discounted, it is not locked. 
Therefore AIS sells both locked and unlocked phones so contradicting your claim above.
Likely that the supply of a locked and unlocked version is dependent on the discount offered and along with the contract.

 

So your information is not as absolute as you like to think and you jump to unsubstantiated conclusions.

Nice try, but you were clearly wrong. You didn’t actually say what you claim you said. I’ll quote it for you:

”The support for GSM/EDGE would restrict my personal interest in the model you have as the USA region requires different bands”

You were clearly stating that the USA SE variant is one you’re not interested in because USA region requires different GSM/EDGE bands, which doesn’t make sense because both variants (Thai and US) support the same identical GSM/EDGE bands. You were implying that because GSM/EDGE bands are different in the US, then the phone wouldn’t be compatible with some GSM/EDGE bands here, which is flat out incorrect. The US SE variant will work optimally with any carrier in Thailand.

3 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Really

1) A2595 (United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Mexico, Saudi Arabia),

2) A2782 (Japan),

3) A2784 (Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan),

4) A2785 (China),

5) A2783 (other countries and regions)

 

That really looks like 5 variants to me!!!

The website I took a screenshot of showed only 4 variants, but you were still incorrect by claiming that the Thai variant includes different GSM/EDGE bands. It doesn’t.
 

Every single SE variant is identical, apart from the bands they support and the fact that US variants don’t have the stupid writing on the back of the phone. 

2 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

SWMBO bought her last iPhone from AIS, she didn’t pay full price, it wasn’t locked. So it seems that your information is not correct there, is it?

My wife bought an iPhone 13 Pro Max directly from AIS last year at a significant discount. It was subsidized as part of the “Handset contract with promotional package (12-month contract)”. When we did my visa run, we inserted a Vietnamese SIM card and it was SIM locked. We couldn’t use it and the carrier in Vietnam confirmed that it was locked. When we returned to Thailand, we went to AIS and asked them to unlock it, which they told us they couldn’t do because the plan she’s on doesn’t allow it until the contract expires. 
 

And it makes sense. Otherwise, anyone  would buy such an expensive iPhone at a discount, stop making monthly payments, leave Thailand and use it with any carrier outside of the country. AIS would either lose money or break even at best.  

11 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Sorry your information is incorrect the model numbers are

the 

It is also very likely, as I said, that the Apple warranty is restricted to the North American + Mexico or A2595 area as that is region where you bought the phone.

That the phone is unlocked may be a selling point there, it would not be one here where unlocked phone are the standard.
 

So your best market will be North America, plus areas where the A2595 model is sold.

 

The support for GSM/EDGE would restrict my personal interest in the model you have as the USA region requires different bands 

Nothing I said was incorrect. The USA model is the model that supports the same identical 5G bands that the Thai model supports, plus two extra bands that the Thai model doesn’t support. 4G and GSM/EDGE is identical. 
 

I didn’t say anything about warranty, nor did I ever imply that it’s something people don’t care about. The only thing I said is that the US model iPhone SE is the one that will work anywhere in the world (only exception being the Japanese model, which includes a few 4G bands that neither the US nor Thai variants support). 
 

Also, not sure where you get your information from, but unlocked phones are the standard in the US. Subsidizing works in very much the same way that it does in Thailand. If you buy a new iPhone from AIS or True and you don’t pay full price, it will be locked to that carrier. Same as US. If you buy any iPhone from an Apple Store for full price, it’s always fully unlocked. 
 

I work with iPhones and Android phones for a living. I’ve had every iPhone since iPhone 3G and I sold every iPhone I ever had on eBay. The situation now requires me to sell it in Thailand, but if I can find a decent shipping price to US, I’d rather go that route because it’s typically easier to sell anything in US vs other parts of the world. I already got quoted 1k baht by Fastship for shipping to US in 3-5 days. 
 

As you can see, the A2595 is the best variant to have anywhere in the world (other than Japan). The sole difference between Thailand’s A2783 is that the A2595 supports more 5G bands, which makes it a better choice, unless somebody cares dearly about warranty (or lack thereof), which can be easily factored in by adjusting the price. 

5 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

You have an iPhone that while it is the latest SE is like all iPhones a model that has been specifically designed for a market/area, so if bought in Thailand and sold to the USA it is likely that the 1 year guarantee will be void unless it is shipped back to Thailand.

 

in short there are several different models of SE 256GB not just 1

 

 

There are exactly 4 variants of the SE and mine is the US/CA one. It’s fully unlocked too.
 

I bought it from an Apple Store in US. It is technically the best of the 4 because it supports the same bands as the others, plus additional two bands that the others don’t. 
 

So the US variant is actually a true global SE, despite not being referred to as “global”. The Thai variant is referred to as “global”, despite missing two bands that the US variant supports. 

So what’s the consensus?

I also want to sell my iPhone here in Bangkok. I have the latest SE 256GB unlocked in mint condition used for only 2 months. Apple Store sells them new for 23,900 Baht, but I know that the trade-in would be too low for my liking. I thought about listing it on eBay because the price I can get there is around 18,000-20,000 Baht, but I’m not sure how expensive shipping from Thailand to, for example, USA would be. 
 

Thoughts?