How to get my laptop sent to me from home (USA) without paying absurd 80% custom fees?

[Mattd]

1 hour ago, Dario said:

I try to find out how much shipping cost would be to Thailand, but I don't succeed.

Looking at the Amazon shipping costs to SE Asia, then I'd say it would cost roughly 23 USD to ship via standard means.

[WRG34]

6 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

There is no duty on Computers. Over the years, I have ordered multiple laptops and only had to pay VAT.

That sounds excellent.  I don't mind paying 7% VAT.  So, can I really have my mother ship it to me, with no special labeling or anything, and just pay the 7% at the post office in Chiang Mai?  Sounds too good to be true.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The key detail that Mattd and a few others are leaving out, when they talk about importing laptops and only paying 7% VAT, is WHAT SPECIFIC shipping method were they or others using in those cases?

 

When people talk about going to their local Post Office to pick up a package, it's obviously NOT coming via FedEx or DHL, since both of them deliver directly to your door.

 

The packages being picked up at the Post Office here are either coming via airmail or via USPS Priority or Express Mail. I believe it's still ok to ship laptops with built-in lithium ion batteries via USPS....

 

The problem with Thai Customs, particularly when you go thru their routes with FedEx or DHL, is they sometimes make "creative" decisions on how to assess the tax and duty owed. And they don't necessarily value your purchase at what you actually paid, but instead, on what they think the value is of what you purchased.

 

There's a lot less of that kind of monkey business that goes on with airmail or USPS packages that get routed thru ThaiPost.

[jackdd]

I didn't read all three pages now, but:

Shops in Thailand are really bad at marketing, and sometimes you really feel like they don't want to sell you anything.

But actually the shops can order nearly every laptop, so you should go to a shop and tell them that you want to order a laptop which they don't have in their shop. Maybe the laptop that you want has another product id than in the USA, but if you go through the list of laptops together with the guy in the shop it's usually possible to find the laptop that you want, then they order it for you from their distributor.

[Mattd]

24 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The key detail that Mattd and a few others are leaving out, when they talk about importing laptops and only paying 7% VAT, is WHAT SPECIFIC shipping method were they or others using in those cases?

I have known people that have used couriers and USPS, both with the same result, no duty payable.

Sometimes a courier will try it on, you just have to insist that there is no duty, as I stated before, if the value is above 50,000 THB then it may be required to register with customs, this doesn't mean that duty is payable.

[Mark1066]

3 hours ago, Speedo1968 said:

Not sure if you can use postal services due to the battery.

There is no restriction on sending lithium batteries that are installed in electronic devices, only on loose batteries, as far as I am aware.

[Jeffrey346]

3 hours ago, Dario said:

I wish I could get this laptop sold at Amazon without much expense to Thailand.

imhm this can beat MacBook Air sold in Thailand. Am I wrong?

 

YES you are wrong.... HP is garbage compared to the MacBook Air

Edited February 20, 2018 by Jeffrey346

[Mark1066]

14 hours ago, Thongkorn said:

So your asking fine upstanding Thai visa Members to help you break the Law.

How is he asking us to help him break the law? He asked how to avoid paying excessive customs fees on an item that is exempt from import duty. If anything, he is asking how to make sure that the retailer or courier firm he uses do not break the law and overcharge him.

[Jeffrey346]

2 minutes ago, Mark1066 said:

There is no restriction on sending lithium batteries that are installed in electronic devices, only on loose batteries, as far as I am aware.

I had a MacBook Pro battery sent from china and had no restrictions. You may restrictions if sent from the US>

[Mark1066]

1 minute ago, Jeffrey346 said:

YES you are wrong.... HP is garbage compared to the MacBook Air

Macbooks of any persuasion are woefully underspecced when compared with PC laptops of a similar price.

[Mark1066]

Just now, Jeffrey346 said:

I had a MacBook Pro battery sent from china and had no restrictions. You may restrictions if sent from the US>

Yes, I had one sent from China too, now you mention it. But what I meant was that any restrictions regarding the transportation of lithium batteries only apply to loose ones and not those that are installed in a device.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 minute ago, Mark1066 said:

Yes, I had one sent from China too, now you mention it. But what I meant was that any restrictions regarding the transportation of lithium batteries only apply to loose ones and not those that are installed in a device.

 

AFAIK, the rules can vary quite a bit from courier to courier... Pays to check with the specific carrier you're planning to use.

 

But in general, yes, the restrictions tend to be tough on batteries that are loose or being shipped alone, vs. batteries that are pre-installed in things like tablets or laptops.

 

I've shipped both tablets and laptops from the U.S. to Thailand using USPS, and the built-in batteries were not a problem.

 

But when I wanted to buy and ship a solo replacement lithium ion cell phone battery, I basically couldn't find any carrier willing to do it for a reasonable price.

 

[QPRFC]

Slightly off-topic, are pre-built PC's subject to only VAT?
I have my really compact 2 year old Alienware (X51) sitting at my mum's house in UK and now that I am staying for 12 months, I really would like it here in Chiang Mai.


Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[unblocktheplanet]

Rule of thumb: NEVER use a courier, postal mail only. Couriers are registered Customs broker who, of course, get paid what they can squeeze out of you.

 

In general, only Apple products have worldwide warranties making them easier to replace. Never heard of such a warranty on PCs.

[Dario]

16 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

YES you are wrong.... HP is garbage compared to the MacBook Air

 

Apple does have some flaws and when it comes to the laptops, some of the competition is offering better quality for less money. Before you make statements like this go and do your homework. The cheapest MacBook Air costs in Thailand 35'900 Baht, is a 13.3" model vs. 15.6" with HP,  MBA has 8 GB Ram vs. 12 GB, has 128MB harddisk vs. 1TB (at Apple it costs you a whopping 7'000 Baht more to upgrade to a measly 256 GB!!!) , an Intel i5 1.8 GHz processor vs. an i7 up to 3.5 GHZ, Intel HD Graphics is also a notch higher. and all this costs with shipping and VAT only about 22'400 Baht vs. 35'900 Baht. So, why then is HP garbage? After 10 years as a loyal Apple customer, I have woken up and parted with them. Watch the shift away from Apple, it's already happening. The Chinese know all about Apple's technology and improve it, because they build all their products. 

 

Consider this: Apple becomes more expensive with every newer model while the competitors get cheaper and better ...

Edited February 21, 2018 by Dario

[Dario]

53 minutes ago, Dario said:

 

Apple does have some flaws and when it comes to the laptops, some of the competition is offering better quality for less money. Before you make statements like this go and do your homework. The cheapest MacBook Air costs in Thailand 35'900 Baht, is a 13.3" model vs. 15.6" with HP,  MBA has 8 GB Ram vs. 12 GB, has 128MB harddisk vs. 1TB (at Apple it costs you a whopping 7'000 Baht more to upgrade to a measly 256 GB!!!) , an Intel i5 1.8 GHz processor vs. an i7 up to 3.5 GHZ, Intel HD Graphics is also a notch higher. and all this costs with shipping and VAT only about 22'400 Baht vs. 35'900 Baht. So, why then is HP garbage? After 10 years as a loyal Apple customer, I have woken up and parted with them. Watch the shift away from Apple, it's already happening. The Chinese know all about Apple's technology and improve it, because they build all their products. 

 

Consider this: Apple becomes more expensive with every newer model while the competitors get cheaper and better ...

 

Forgot to be precise: MacBook processor 1.8 GHz Iintel Core i5 vs. HP 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7.

[jackdd]

Is this thread now about Apples vs non-Apple?

[Jeffrey346]

6 hours ago, Dario said:

 

Apple does have some flaws and when it comes to the laptops, some of the competition is offering better quality for less money. Before you make statements like this go and do your homework. The cheapest MacBook Air costs in Thailand 35'900 Baht, is a 13.3" model vs. 15.6" with HP,  MBA has 8 GB Ram vs. 12 GB, has 128MB harddisk vs. 1TB (at Apple it costs you a whopping 7'000 Baht more to upgrade to a measly 256 GB!!!) , an Intel i5 1.8 GHz processor vs. an i7 up to 3.5 GHZ, Intel HD Graphics is also a notch higher. and all this costs with shipping and VAT only about 22'400 Baht vs. 35'900 Baht. So, why then is HP garbage? After 10 years as a loyal Apple customer, I have woken up and parted with them. Watch the shift away from Apple, it's already happening. The Chinese know all about Apple's technology and improve it, because they build all their products. 

 

Consider this: Apple becomes more expensive with every newer model while the competitors get cheaper and better ...

All well and good.. I have one of my Macs 9 years and never an issue. I upgraded it with an SSD and it runs better then when new. I had an HP that needed a board replacement after 3 years at a cost of more than the original PC.

I'll take a Mac any day over most PCs.

[Mark1066]

2 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

All well and good.. I have one of my Macs 9 years and never an issue. I upgraded it with an SSD and it runs better then when new. I had an HP that needed a board replacement after 3 years at a cost of more than the original PC.

I'll take a Mac any day over most PCs.

You're basing your opinion on a sample of one? That's very scientific. The processor/RAM/hard disk specifications on Macbooks are a joke when compared to those of PC laptops that cost half the price. I seriously wanted to buy one a few months ago but couldn't bring myself to spend that much cash on a laptop that would basically be several years out of date spec-wise, on the day I bought it.

[Dario]

2 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

All well and good.. I have one of my Macs 9 years and never an issue. I upgraded it with an SSD and it runs better then when new. I had an HP that needed a board replacement after 3 years at a cost of more than the original PC.

I'll take a Mac any day over most PCs.

 

Well Jeffrey, it's a gamble nowadays with laptops, I guess. You might be right on HP laptops, because when I looked at the reviews on the Amazon page, there were mostly good reviews, but also an astonishing large number of bad reviews. Screens break, HDs give up, lots of problems. That's probably. together with your own experience. what tempted you to call HP garbage. Sure, their specs are way better than those of Macs, but where they fail is in the craftsmanship. It's probably like comparing a Toyota with a Mercedes.

[Dario]

On 2/21/2018 at 2:26 PM, Dario said:

 

Well Jeffrey, it's a gamble nowadays with laptops, I guess. You might be right on HP laptops, because when I looked at the reviews on the Amazon page, there were mostly good reviews, but also an astonishing large number of bad reviews. Screens break, HDs give up, lots of problems. That's probably. together with your own experience. what tempted you to call HP garbage. Sure, their specs are way better than those of Macs, but where they fail is in the craftsmanship. It's probably like comparing a Toyota with a Mercedes.

 

I have to correct my post #50.

I looked at the reviews of another 15.6" HP laptop, not the one I'm interested in. That one only has one review so far, and it's five stars. 

[jody davis]

Have someone send it by US Mail. Don't worry about insuring it as insurance won't cover it here anyway. Customs is not involved. I have had my son mail many things to me over the years and only pay postal charges when I pick it up at the Thai post office.

 

[Langsuan Man]

1 hour ago, jody davis said:

only pay postal charges when I pick it up at the Thai post office.

What postal charges, does your son send parcel collect ?

[4evermaat]

2 hours ago, jody davis said:

Have someone send it by US Mail. Don't worry about insuring it as insurance won't cover it here anyway. Customs is not involved. I have had my son mail many things to me over the years and only pay postal charges when I pick it up at the Thai post office.

 

 

38 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

What postal charges, does your son send parcel collect ?

 

Agreed.  How much are these postal charges?  

Seems more like import duties.

[Mattd]

2 hours ago, jody davis said:

Have someone send it by US Mail. Don't worry about insuring it as insurance won't cover it here anyway. Customs is not involved. I have had my son mail many things to me over the years and only pay postal charges when I pick it up at the Thai post office.

 

As others have said, what postal charges and why would you have to pick it up from a post office?

All items that ship from overseas, regardless of how they are sent, go through customs formalities, including anything sent via USPS and duty will be applied depending on the declared value and what the item is, with postal items, this is typically collected by the post office.

A friend of mine shipped a part for his dirt bike from the States just the other day via USPS and he tracked it from day one, it spent about 36 hours in BKK airport customs centre, before clearing and then delivered to his home with no duty, description was 'used washing machine part' and the declared value was 39 USD, no duty to be paid, so was delivered to his condo no problem.

I suspect the difference is that couriers are far more strict on the description and value, especially if being shipped from a vendor, plus the customs clearance this end is more meticulous because all the big couriers have dedicated people for this, I'm sure that the post office items will go to a sorting office within the airport.

I'd guess that they pull 1 in 10 parcels for better checks, so a good chance of stuff getting through.

[jody davis]

You can all say what you will about "My own experience" but I have done what I said I did. Have received 2 laptops and other items sent by USPS. The postal charges I paid here were for the Thai post services. My son paid the USPS charges there. I had to pick the items up because of the size of the box. Too large for them to deliver. Do as you choose but you cannot debate what I have done. However I know some TV know it all will chime in.....

[Langsuan Man]

53 minutes ago, jody davis said:

You can all say what you will about "My own experience" but I have done what I said I did. Have received 2 laptops and other items sent by USPS. The postal charges I paid here were for the Thai post services. My son paid the USPS charges there. I had to pick the items up because of the size of the box. Too large for them to deliver. Do as you choose but you cannot debate what I have done. However I know some TV know it all will chime in.....

You have still failed to answer what postal charges you paid despite repeated questions.  We cannot debate what  you have done but we can warn others that there are no such thing as "postal charges" for receipt of parcels in Thailand, only customs charges / duties 

 

If you are going to post in a public forum get used to be called out when you are wrong, or don't post , up to you 

[jody davis]

So sorry. Only saw that asked once. I paid around 20 baht for each computer both sent at different times about 6 or 8 months apart. I had an RV ice maker sent and paid 30 or 40 baht for it. It was in a rather large box. But all in all very little. I have never paid more than 50 baht for anything. So I doubt it was duty charges but rather just the post in country mailing charges. Now I did tell my son to take the computers out of their original boxes and repack them in the set rate USPS box with plenty of bubble pack and place a lesser value on the USPS shipping form. About half and make note that it was my pre-owned computer.

[jody davis]

If you are going to post in a public forum get used to be called out when you are wrong, or don't post , up to you 

You are clearly the know it all I knew would raise his ugly head... And I was not wrong but rather trying to offer an answer to a question asked that I had a solution to.

[jody davis]

To add... Every time my son has shipped anything to me it I have gotten the notice in my mail box at my condo it had arrived between 10 and no more than 14 days as I ask my son to line me when he sends it so I know about when to start looking for it.