snarfer

I'm in the process of designing various prototype electronic products. I get receive various items, like circuit boards, ICs, etc.. sent to me from the US and China. Then I turn around and send them back to the US. I have no work permit or business license, and not really sure that I would need one since I don't do any business in Thailand, nor at the moment do I actually get paid for any of this. Call it a hobby.

Anyway, I have to pay VAT on everything I receive in the mail, and I wonder if there's a way to get this refunded when I mail it back. For example, one of my friends in the US just sent me a lighting fixture which he valued at 3000 USD (I told him not to, but he wanted the insurance). I will probably have to pay some 7000+ baht VAT on it. I will reconfigure the light and send it back to the US. Can I then get the 7000 baht back? How?

Reviving this dormant thread once more -- I too need an aluminum fabricator.

So far I found a machine shop that does OK manual work, also a place that does sheet metal cutting, bending, laser cutting, punching.

However I am having no luck finding a good welder for prototype projects.

Also I need a manufacturer of folded fin heatsinks.

I am located in Bangkok and would prefer a shop somewhere convenient to mass transit if possible.

I have VOIP accounts with Gizmo Project, Truphone, and Vyke. I also signed up for Grandcentral, which appears not to be accepting new members any longer. I have ended up with two free US DIDs and one free UK DID all of which ring my Nokia phone whenever it is registered to a wifi network, which is any time I am at home or within range of wifi. I found that for outgoing calls to the US I get the best call quality, and no annoying delay, when using Truphone. Unfortunately it is also the most expensive at 6.5 US cents per min to almost anywhere. Vyke is by far the cheapest with a flat rate of 4 US cents per call (talk as long as you want) to Europe and N. America, but it sounds terrible. Gizmo is in between. None of them have any annoying ring-back requirements and all accept credit cards.

I recommend Transmission for a torrent client for Mac and Linux. For Windows I think uTorrent is probably best.

Personally I run my torrent client on an Asus WL-500gP router flashed with Oleg Linux distro and connected to an external usb hard drive. That way it runs 24 hours a day with minimal power consumption and I can leave my notebook off when I am gone.

Probably it is not quite the same on True's DSL modem, but I have set up my TOT DSL modem, a SpeedTouch/Thompson ST536 v6, to give lowest possible priority to P2P traffic. Seems to work well. I also have a VOIP phone connected to the same network and have noticed no degradation in voice quality during downloads.

For torrent files I find btjunkie.org to be a useful search engine.

This thread is intriguing in that it reflects my actual experience in the Thai film/commercial world. A few people have told me in no uncertain terms that the situation is completely hopeless: "the entire industry is controlled by the mafia," "don't even bother because there are only two Thai directors doing all the commercial work." At the same time I get completely the opposite reaction from others: "there's no competition at all here" "would you like to shoot some spots for my toy company?" "is there any way you could get some of your friends from LA to come out here too?"

I'm wondering how others have handled the visa and tax issues. It's one thing to work as an extra for cash, but I'm talking about working as a freelance commercial cameraman with rentals and so forth.

I have been using my credit union account with First Entertainment FCU and it appears that I pay about 50 baht for a withdrawal of 10,000 baht from all different Thai ATMs. The credit union charges me nothing. I believe that the 50 baht is partially a fee imposed by the Thai bank, and some sort of currency exchange fee. I have examined my bank statements and calculated out the currency exchange rate and it never exceeds 0.5% including all fees.

Typically a wire transfer will impose a 1% currency exchange fee, plus a per transaction fee of at least 15 USD, so this appears to be a very good deal, especially compared to my account with Washington Mutual Bank, which costs about 7 USD a transaction. Similarly, a friend has used his Chase Bank account with horrible service fees. And I believe that even HSBC charges a 1% currency exchange fee.

I highly recommend looking into opening a credit union account.

I'm a Swiss/US dual national, and I work in the film business in various capacities, primarily as a Director of Photography. I've spent quite a bit of time in Thailand on 30 day VOAs, splitting my time between the US and Thailand. However I don't have a Thai wife or family or anything like that.

Recently I've come across opportunities to work in Thailand. I understand that there are some special rules for foreign workers who come to Thailand for short term employment in films, as actors, directors and so forth, but I've never heard of anyone actually taking advantage of them. It seems that the foreign workers are mostly paid cash. In my case I don't think this is a viable long-term strategy, as my daily rate plus equipment rentals for a typical commercial is going to add up to an amount of money far in excess of what people generally feel comfortable walking around with.

I have two interrelated problems: staying in the country for 90 days or more, and working in the country legally. I assume that I can just get a multiple entry tourist visa in Los Angeles, but I would prefer a more kosher alternative. Obviously I cannot get a work permit, as I work for multiple employers on a temporary basis. I have considered starting my own company in Thailand, but there would be no way to employ the requisite number of Thais permanently in order to satisfy the WP regulations.

At the moment I am leaning towards incorporating offshore, such as in Hong Kong, and simply sending my checks there. But I'm not entirely clear on the legality of this. Are foreign companies allowed to do any kind of business in Thailand? What about equipment rentals and consulting?

Any help on these issues would be appreciated.