Crash999

2nd hand cars are expensive because new ones are expensive.

Not really. Well, relatively speaking 'a car' is an expensive item compared to anything else you might purchase or rent in Thailand, I'll grant you that much. BUt looking at the same vehicle, for vehicles produced/assembled in Thailand or under ASEAN free trade rules, the car is NOT more expensive than in Europe.

I suppose I should have said they're more expensive relative to other markets as for sure there are some, like Singapore as an extreme example, where cars are more expensive than Thailand.

I'm not familiar with all of the European markets, but from what I've seen of the UK it is as a whole definitely less expensive than in Thailand- ranging from a bit for lower-end cars to a huge amount for more expensive stuff. For example to get into a BMW 3-series in the UK one would have to pay just over 20k pounds or about 1.3m baht, Thailand (where they're assembled) is 50% more expensive for almost the same animal. And that's not considering any of the bigger engines which are far far more expensive in Thailand. A base Accord is slightly more expensive at 1.25m vs 1.15m.

And of course the US is far less expensive.

Anyway, as a whole I don't see the depreciation curves being unusual in Thailand except for some older cars that tend to retain value for a long time. Then there are unusual cars which due to demand stay at a relatively stable value. I sold my Supra for actually more than I bought it for and today the same car has appreciated another 200k Baht.

I just dont get the price of 2nd hand cars here.

They are so expensive when i compare them to the UK.

2nd hand cars are expensive because new ones are expensive. For a good idea of market costs, pick up one of the weekly Thai car listings magazines such as 'Rot'. Not sure if the mags are available in Phuket but in Bangkok you can find them in all the major magazine sellers.

My recommendation would be to go for a used Corolla or somesuch- plenty around, reliable, and cheap to service.

Hi Dave,

Unfortunately, in order for you to receive the goods you'll need the original bill of lading. And since the Thai company won't give it up unless you pay, you will be paying without seeing the goods. The risk is not only that you don't like the product but it is in fact not at all what you ordered- it could be junk as unless someone inspected the product you won't know what's being shipped to you.

There's no easy answer, unfortunately.

The fault is with the furniture company. They still own the goods so the pressure is on them to work it out with you as they'd incur any extra costs from their shipping company. It's normal for them to ask for payment as the risk from their perspective is that you decide you like the stuff, keep it, and then your money never arrives- they'd have no recourse.

It comes down to how much do you trust the company in question. You need to make a decision quickly, though, as storage/demurrage costs are never cheap and it'll take time for them to receive your payment.

- Crash

Agree with Jim- best to draw one up in Thailand. Process is quick and relatively inexpensive.

A couple years back I was drinking at a bar counter in the Sukhumvit area. Another farang and I both check-binned at the same time. I paid for my single drink with a 1000 baht note but when I got my change back it was only coins. I looked at the bin itself and realized that the bartender had by accident swapped the trays and given my change to the farang a few seats down. The moron, although receiving hundreds of baht instead of coins, had kept his mouth shut and pocketed the change. At first when the bartender asked for it back he refused and claimed he got back his correct change- it was only when I got involved and explained to the guy that the extra money he received was in fact mine that he sheepishly handed it over. What a scumbag!

I've got a Toshiba plasma and a Sony LCD. Burn-in isn't as big a deal as it used to be for plasmas (though it does temporarily happen, especially if one leaves a channel on all day with a static logo- like CNN) and LCDs handle motion much better than they used to.

My 2 cents are if you're planning to watch more TV and movies then go for the plasma. If you're planning to use the screen as a computer display then go for the LCD. Smaller LCDs have better resolution.

Ultimately both LCDs and plasmas look great, especially when paired with Blu-Ray or HD-DVDs.

Some questions :

1) I'm looking for a lab that could perform a nutritional test which would officially

prove that the snack is 100% natural and has only beneficial influence on health.

The test should also show which positive effects the bar would have on one's

health if one would consume 1 bar per day (strong marketing tool).

Could anyone let me know which lab is best in Bangkok (prices are also

welcome) ?

2) Once there are no more doubts about the quality of this product, I guess I will

need to take some legal steps to protect my "invention".

Does it need to be patented or are there other ways of protection ? How does

one proceed to patent a food product ? How much does it cost ?

3) From there, what would be the best course to follow ? I am not in a position yet

where I can start up a production unit, so I think I need to turn to the big players

in the field of food production (Nestle, Unilever, etc..). How can I have them

take care of the production, make their part of the money, while I keep the

patent and make my part of the profit ?

Regarding the lab, they generally test for toxicology issues and can provide nutritional information. I would think that test would be hard to perform as measuring the effect of eating the snack would be difficult against all the other factors that go into a healthy diet. Nutritional information is a requirement to be sold in most major markets, though.

Patenting food is a tricky one. Generally it's difficult to get a patent on a food unless one is adding a new process to the mix, for example fortified orange juice is patented but the Big Mac and Coca Cola are not (though they are trademarked). Also patenting something means you have to disclose the recipe/formulation and as it's not difficult to change something slightly to knock it off there's an incentive to keep things in the dark.

As for someone to make your product, another option is to look at mid-tier producers, of which Thailand has an abundance. They would generally have smaller minimums and be more flexible, though of course you would need to manage your own distribution.

I would recommend you start small before looking to approach big manufactuers and customers. Start by making product on your own and selling in markets/shops to get feedback from customers and fine tuning and getting a name behind your product before you look to expand into mass market. Small regional grocers like Trader Joe's are a good first opportunity into mass market but keep in mind you'll need a finished product, packaging, appropriate testing, and be ready to produce on a large scale before approaching them.

Best of luck!

A more likely scenario is depreciation of the dollar to high 30s by the end of the year based on falling export revenues and reduced capital inflows. The victims in the meantime will be moderately competitive industries such as plastics and some garment production. Yes, there will be some factories closing and resulting unemployment but life will move on.

Oops, should be depreciation of the baht.

For some reason I can't find the edit button!

Prior to my posting no mention was made by you or any others on the subject of the j curve as a possible explanation of the current surge in exports .

The j curve is describing the lag between changes in currency value and import/export volumes. The first example explains that if a currency depreciates then the trade balance may get worse off in the short terms as there's a lag in exports. The inverse to this is with an appreciation the trade balance may improve before the effect on exports is felt.

I haven't looked at the trade data for imports but certainly the impact of the strong Baht won't be evident on paper until Q2 when goods will be shipping that were contracted after the Baht appreciated.

Saying that We COULD loose up to 60% of our GDP is accurate but ignores the pain which has already started a year ago and is continuing as the baht strengthens.

So you are absolutely correct, you did read it wrong.

I'm slightly confused here. You said we are "in the process of losing" 60% of GDP. If something is in process, it is underway. For example documents under processing, your computer's processor, and processed chicken McNuggets. Seems that you are actually saying that as 60% of GDP value is exports that 60% of the economy is threatened by the baht's current Fx rate.

In such case I don't disagree with you that exports are under threat. And as per the original post on this thread, the issue is that the impact hadn't yet to be felt, so the (carefully worded) article doesn't mention anything about impact of the strong Baht. And there will be an impact.

However, it's not a doomsday scenario. I'm curious to know how you can foresee an appreciation of the baht to 3 to the dollar? If you are pessimistic regarding exports then you must be predicting a massive increase in the amount of capital inflows into the country to make up the shortfall in balance of payments.

A more likely scenario is depreciation of the dollar to high 30s by the end of the year based on falling export revenues and reduced capital inflows. The victims in the meantime will be moderately competitive industries such as plastics and some garment production. Yes, there will be some factories closing and resulting unemployment but life will move on.

There is very little chance for thailand to compete with china. I hate to say it, and it is a big generalisation, but thais are just not particularly good at running businesses partly because thai workers are not particularly good either and i say this with some considerable experiences behind me. I have witnessed first hand how many MNCs need to employ significantly more people to do the same functions as compared to china and india.

I've found that the Chinese are much more entrepreneurial and driven- they go the extra mile to make a deal happen even changing their own procedures or taking a loss to get a business relationship started. Not so in Thailand- where often even getting samples for a potential buyer can be an ordeal. Price quotations happen overnight- by the time we get our quotes back from Thailand the business has been settled, orders placed, and production underway.

There are also macroeconomic advantages. Large domestic factories churning out product for a billion Chinese have a scale that can't be matched. Tax breaks and rebates for factories as well as discounted land, power, and water means that those factors of production cost less for the factory and their suppliers. The currency is pegged to the dollar at a rate out of market equilibrium, hence the massive USD reserves.

The government has been a huge reason the export industry has done as well as it has, pushing all the incentives out and ensuring that everything is relatively hassle-free for foreign investors. The BOI pales by comparison.

Lastly, whereas everyone focuses on the cost of labor the difference is not as big as one might imagine- for example in Shanghai the average cost of manufacturing labor there is now equal to that in Bangkok. Large factories in Shandong province are highly automated- bales of cotton in one end of the factory, towels out the other end with minimal human interaction except in packing.

With all this said, China is starting to plateau in terms of economic growth. The tax system is being revamped to reduce rebates and incentives for JVs, the currency is appreciating, and other economic are sniping away business like India, Vietnam and (if they can keep things stable) Indonesia.

I give it another couple of years before some cracks begin to show. In the meantime, buy those China equities!

While I agree with a lot of what you said, I disagree that there is going to be such a huge impact in the economy.

No one said the entire 60% of GDP will disappear.

In fact you said, "We are in the process of losing 60% of our gross domestic product," which I seem to have interpreted incorrectly to mean that we are in the process of losing 60% of our gross domestic product. Sorry about that.

Anyhow, it's not the doom and gloom situation you are painting. As mentioned, the business that was to be lost to China was lost years ago, even at 45 baht/dollar. Little else is moving now due to the strong Baht- it's only an erosion of the manufacturing base that has been hanging on over the past few years.

If you look at the country's balance of payments you can see the strengthening baht is due to capital influx. Once the tide turns and begins moving out the baht will weaken, likely sooner rather than later.

The numbers are all there, but you have to read them carefully. There are plenty of ways to spin the numbers and massage the data. Ultimately, the appreciation of the baht will eventually evaporate 60% of our GDP. That process began at around 39 baht/$ and will be complete at around 32 baht/$.

Whereas I agree there will be an impact, a 60% drop in GDP is a tad on the doom and gloom side. Even Mugabe's efforts to screw up Zimbabwe haven't done that much damage.

Remember that before the Asian crisis the Baht was pegged to the dollar at 25:1, supporting a vibrant export base. After the crash it slowly strengthened to 35:1 back in '99 and I remember at the time the exchange rate was seen as favorable for exporters.

Now the world has moved on since then with the likes of China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia all rising up in the global export market. Many of the export industries that were competing in low value-added product categories have moved on years ago. The strong baht will hurt only those manufacturers left who were limping along, aided by an Fx rate as high as 45:1 in recent years.

The issue as I see it for the Thai government is that the strengthening of the Baht is not caused by a fundamental strengthening of the economy, it's caused by a big influx of foreign equity investment- something which if pulled out would leave Thailand no better off than it was before and with a smaller export base. Hence the (stumbling) efforts to control speculative investment that was met with a lot of criticism in the press.

They changed the rules every day? Really? I thought this amendment has never even been passed as a law. It's all still been in the process of revision and getting apporved. And it's still not even certain if this revised one will get passed after the legislative assembly has looked at it. They changed the rules every day?

It's not law but it might as well be considering the impact it has had on the property market. What is needed is stability and transparency, neither of which are apparent right now.

[whisper] There's still always the Thailand Elite visa.[/whisper]

...which has as much a prospect of holding up as a drunken unicyclist in a typhoon.

Another important factor is China. If the US imposes tarrifs on low value added goods made in china, which is more than a remote possibility (in fact it has already started), this will make other asian economies exports much more attractive, which will put upward pressure on their respective currencies.

I doubt that the tariffs will be implemented as some are proposing, such as the flat 27.5% duty, as it would cause real inflation for the poorer folks in the US and would only benefit other regional Asian economies. Instead it'll likely be more 'antidumping' rulings where prodded by industry lobbyists targeting steel, food, and other specific industries that still have a US domestic base.

As other folks have said, it's not workable. I'm sure a lawyer could draft something up, and given enough time and money one could get a favorable ruling. But in the end the net benefit would be little.

Depending on what exactly the concern is (business concept, competitors, sensitive customer info, legality, etc) I suggest you think laterally about how to minimize what you need to disclose to the freelancer.

There are a few factors, with cclub75's first point being the most important- there is a lag time between the time orders are accepted and goods are exported. In consumer products this lag time varies between 2-6mo depending on product type. Orders shipping in Jan/Feb were placed at a 37-38 baht/dollar level. We'll start to see the impact of the strong baht in the second quarter and there will definitely be an impact this year.

It's not just a weak dollar but also a strong baht caused by a big influx of (speculative?) investment over the past 18 months or so- hence the BOT's efforts in trying to get the situation under a level of control.

Ultimately a strong baht is bad news for exporters, especially small-to-medium sized ones that don't have the resources to weather an economic storm.

I have an idea for a small plastic toy that I would like to have made in Thailand or maybe China, or even the USA if the price is right - but I do not know where to start. Does anyone know how much a it would cost to have a 6 inch action figure created from some designs I have had prepared by an artist? The figures would be fairly detailed like your average Ninja Turtle Action Figure.

Thanks.

Globally most toys are made in Southern China with vendors clustered in Hong Kong.

To manufacture in large volumes you'll need to open injection molds which are expensive. Suggest you have someone in Thailand first make up some mock-ups to see if the concept will fly.

Note for example that Mandarin Chinese has a standardized romanised form, pinyin, with clear designations of all speech sounds, including tones.

...that often makes as much sense as the Thai system with places like Xian, Zhejiang, and Jinzhou being suitably mutilated by the unsuspecting white devils that use it.

Methought that the Thai system is universal, with exceptions either mistakes or grandfathered in (ie. Phuket vs. Pattaya, not Phataya).

Best to avoid the whole dilemma by using 'Kob jai lai der'

Same thing happened to me as I entered Thailand via Survarnabhumi on Sunday morning. The immigration officer spent a good 5 minutes looking through all the various stamps in my passport and adding up the days. She came up with 31 days, which I told her was incorrect, so she had to go back and check all of the entry/exit stamps again.

First time this has happened to me this year, though it's my third entery since Jan 1.

As it was done manually, a seeminly easy way to skirt the issue would be to 'lose' one's passport or if one is a dual citizen the two passports could be alternated.

Hi there! I'll be living on Soi 5.

I suppose I could charter a songtaew but I'm not sure that a place like Big C or Lotus actually has a stock of fridges in the back. Was under the impression they have to be ordered from somewhere...?

Hi there folks.

I'll be arriving in Pattaya next week and will need to buy a few final odds and ends for my apartment. I found a place that can deliver a TV in an hour (the shop that sells a lot of Sony stuff next to Big C). How about a fridge- I heard it can take a week for delivery. I can't imagine living without a fridge for a week... yikes!

Any recommendations as to where I can buy a fridge and have it delivered FAST! I guess it would be asking too much for it to contain a nice cold case of beer in it when it arrives. =)

-Crash

As for me I usually fix the perp in my steely glaze and then burn him to a crisp with my eyeball lasers.

Those sure do come in handy sometimes.

I can toast bagels too.