Shipping 20 ft container from US to Thailand questions.

[sirineou]

Married to a lovely Thai lady for close to 10 years now, and splitting our time between the US and Thailand.

Wife holds both US and Thai citizenship.

We have residences in Florida, New York , and just finished building a modest home in Khon Kaen Thailand.

Next year I will be retiring , and moving to Thailand full time, and we are looking in to winding things down in the US.

our thinking is that we will ship many of the contents of our FL home to Thailand, get rid of the rest and rent the FL home. We will not sell it ,in case we for whatever reason would want or need to return to the US.

I understand that repatriating Thais can bring used personal item back home without paying import duties.

We do have a company recommended by my wife's cousin and they gave as what we think is a reasonable price, door to door from FL to Khon Kaen.$ 3,030.00. for a 20 ft container.

we will be shipping our master bedroom furniture, office desk , living room couch and coffee table , some small kitchen appliances (i know they are 120v  will use them with transformer) expensive patio furniture and barbeque, push lawn mower, a gas generator, a gas powered pressure washer, assorted power tools, a 220v oven stove . a 220v wash dryer. and boxes of pots pans , and clothes.

Are all of the above items exempt from import duties?

Wife was in Thailand a couple of months ago to supervise our home build. does she have to be out of Thailand for a length of time to qualify for duty free? 

Can anyone think of any other issues.

Thank you

 

[Crossy]

29 minutes ago, sirineou said:

a 220v oven stove . a 220v wash dryer

I don't know about duties, but I do know you will likely have difficulties with the above. These likely require a split 110-0-110V supply which is NOT the same as the Thai 220V.

 

Your other appliances should be OK with a transformer but their life may be reduced due to running hot.

[Get Real]

Can´t think of any issues you might have with this, mor than what Crossy already have explained. According to my knowledge, and experience, that things you mentioned sholud not raise any eyebrows regarding the need to pay import duties. There is absolutely no need for your wife to be in the US for a certain amount of time, because it will count as personal belongings out of the reason that she has been living in and are a citizen in USA.

However, as I mentioned already, this is the knowledge I have out of my experiences. When I moved my stuff, I was using V-Serve in Bangkok, Sukhumvit 77 as transport company. They were very good and could take care and explain everything in plain english. They also gave a very good price, but the number is irrelevant today due to that it´s 12 years ago. The advise I can give you is to talk to the transport and logistics company. They will have all the answers for you.

[sirineou]

26 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I don't know about duties, but I do know you will likely have difficulties with the above. These likely require a split 110-0-110V supply which is NOT the same as the Thai 220V.

 

Your other appliances should be OK with a transformer but their life may be reduced due to running hot.

Ok, if I understand this correctly, in the US we have 120v @ 60 Hz

two 120 leads give as 240v still @ 60 Hz,

and in Thailand there is 240 but at 50 HZ. Am I correct so far?

what do you think would be the problem with Dryer? The motorand ot electronics? also what about the stove? problem with the electronics? and or problem not heating up properly?

If so I will not bother to bring them, but i hate to throw them out or give them away

 

[Ahab]

I made the move in February of 2017. We shipped eight large cardboard boxes and two containers of fishing poles from Hawaii to Buriram. Cost was $1200 USD from Hawaii to Bangkok and another $800 USD from Bangkok to Buriram.

 

I recommend not bringing any electronics or appliances. Everything can be bought here, everything. You will have to look around, and may have to drive a bit but you can buy it here. Step down transformers can be bought to fun small items, but anything that draws a bunch of power will need a very large one and they are not cheap. 

 

Bring some good hand tools, bit drivers, and a couple of good sets of drill bits. Leave, sell, or give away everything (except pictures and memorabilia) and buy new when you get here. A couple of suitcases is all I would bring if I had to do it over again.

 

Your wife needs to have lived outside the country for over a year to qualify for the exemption on used household goods. My wife lived in the USA for 23years and I joke that I know more about Thailand than she does (actually that is probably not much of a joke). Not sure if a short visit would affect that or not.

[grollies]

48 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Ok, if I understand this correctly, in the US we have 120v @ 60 Hz

two 120 leads give as 240v still @ 60 Hz,

and in Thailand there is 240 but at 50 HZ. Am I correct so far?

what do you think would be the problem with Dryer? The motorand ot electronics? also what about the stove? problem with the electronics? and or problem not heating up properly?

If so I will not bother to bring them, but i hate to throw them out or give them away

 

220v (if you're lucky) 50Hz

[Crossy]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Ok, if I understand this correctly, in the US we have 120v @ 60 Hz

two 120 leads give as 240v still @ 60 Hz,

and in Thailand there is 240 but at 50 HZ. Am I correct so far?

what do you think would be the problem with Dryer? The motorand ot electronics? also what about the stove? problem with the electronics? and or problem not heating up properly?

If so I will not bother to bring them, but i hate to throw them out or give them away

Most, if not all 220V US appliances require 110V for the control gear, lights etc. The internals are designed for a maximum of 110V above ground (110-0-110) rather than the Thai 0-220V supply.

 

You MAY be ok creating a false "0" (actually 110V above ground) using a transformer, but there's no guarantee it would

1. work and
2. be safe.

 

 

[sirineou]

14 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Most, if not all 220V US appliances require 110V for the control gear, lights etc. The internals are designed for a maximum of 110V above ground (110-0-110) rather than the Thai 0-220V supply.

 

You MAY be ok creating a false "0" (actually 110V above ground) using a transformer, but there's no guarantee it would

1. work and
2. be safe.

 

 

Thank you for that explanation, my 220v US appliance idea will join my dustbin of bad ideas 

I am not going to be doing any of that . Large appliances are out. 

[blackcab]

Check the cost of the prices of the transformers for your small items. It may be cheaper and easier to buy them in the US and ship them here.

 

If the small appliances are not really expensive I would consider buying them when you get here. For items such as coffee machines I understand why you would ship them.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

22 minutes ago, blackcab said:

Check the cost of the prices of the transformers for your small items. It may be cheaper and easier to buy them in the US and ship them here.

 

If the small appliances are not really expensive I would consider buying them when you get here. For items such as coffee machines I understand why you would ship them.

 

I bought several transformer units in the U.S. before I moved here, and had them shipped over along with the rest of my moving contents at the time. Those transformers were not expensive, I think I bought via Amazon, and I still have and use them today many years later, 3 units, 1000W, 500W and 100W.

 

I've never run BIG things off them, but all the smaller things I've run have run and survived just fine -- a PC for a time, printers, other PC equipment like speakers, food processor, large air purifier unit, bread machine, etc etc. There are some electronics things here that are not available as quality products and/or at reasonable prices compared to what you'd bring from the U.S.

 

[55Jay]

Been a few years but wife and I lived/worked outside Thailand, visited here a number of times over the years, and that didn't impact her "returning Thai" shipping benefit.   The agent at origin made copies of relevant passport pages/foreign residence permits, etc., to support it. 

 

My former Company paid for the move so I'm not sure how much it cost.

 

They used an Int'l Relo company called Santa Fe, offices in the US and Bangkok.  https://www.santaferelo.com/our-people/americas/office/americas.  They coordinated everything, interfaced with Thai Customs on our behalf.

 

I dithered for a while about the regs and limitations shown on the Thai Customs website, but after some discussion here on ThaiVisa, and elsewhere, decided to roll the dice and packed the container to the gills, including multiple electric/ electronic items well in excess of the "one each" clause.

 

Santa Fe agent called my wife on clearing day with Thai Customs.  They spotted two computer monitors on the packing list, wanted 1,500 Baht.  Wife did all the talking on the phone, never heard anything more, never paid any tax or tea money, container showed up at the house a few days later.  Same car ball seal/Ser# intact as at origin.  They never even opened the door.  It would have gotten ugly if they did though.  LOL. 

[sirineou]

3 hours ago, blackcab said:

Check the cost of the prices of the transformers for your small items. It may be cheaper and easier to buy them in the US and ship them here.

 

If the small appliances are not really expensive I would consider buying them when you get here. For items such as coffee machines I understand why you would ship them.

I have being coming to  Thailand for over a decade now and I am relatively familiar with  with conditions in Thailand. 

I will certainly not buy electrical things in the US to ship to Thailand.but I already have many things that are already paid for, and will have plenty of room in the container, so why not bring them. .

I will take TallGuyJohninBKK advise and buy transformers in the US, I am looking in Amazon right now.

[Naam]

9 hours ago, sirineou said:

a 220v oven stove . a 220v wash dryer.

forget about it! U.S. 220v differs from Thai 220v (US phase 110v + phase 110v = 220v).

[55Jay]

Any pets coming with?

[sirineou]

13 minutes ago, Naam said:

forget about it! U.S. 220v differs from Thai 220v (US phase 110v + phase 110v = 220v).

Yea, I get that now. I will only bring non electrical items. but I will bring my tools that I can always run with the gas powered generator I will bring with me. 

The Generator has both 120v and 240 v outlets . Am I to assume that the 240v outlet of my  US generator is at 60 Hz? I looked at the documentation I have and could not find that info. 

if it is at 60 hz as opposed to the thai 50hz what problems can it cause?

[sirineou]

2 minutes ago, 55Jay said:

Any pets coming with?

No, our beagle  (dumb as dirt, but loved dearly) passed away last year . Wife and her whole family aren dog crazy, by now we have accumulated four dogs and three cats in Thailand.We are becoming the local ASPCA LOL.

 

[1FinickyOne]

Hi Sir - since appliances are out - and none of your stuff sounds irreplaceable or family heirloom style - my guess is that the $3,000 will go a long way toward buying the same stuff new here... I would take pen to paper and add up what quality new goods might cost here and minus out what you can get for selling your stuff there... then decide if it is worth the hassle...

 

Good luck with your move and your retirement!

[55Jay]

That does make a lot of sense.  Ours was an easier choice because we weren't footing the bill.

 

Having said that, nice having all our things, tools, clothes, good quality furnishings, our comfortable bed, my battleship size office desk, etc., collected over the years in different countries.  Some of which may not be available here or if it is, at the same level of quality, greater cost to reacquire. 

 

If it was just me, I could land with a sea bag and a pack of gum, no problem.  The wife likes her "stuff" and sure did make the new house here feel like "home". 

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, 55Jay said:

That does make a lot of sense.  Ours was an easier choice because we weren't footing the bill.

 

Having said that, nice having all our things, tools, clothes, good quality furnishings, our comfortable bed, my battleship size office desk, etc., collected over the years in different countries.  Some of which may not be available here or if it is, at the same level of quality, greater cost to reacquire. 

 

If it was just me, I could land with a sea bag and a pack of gum, no problem.  The wife likes her "stuff" and sure did make the new house here feel like "home". 

 Same here. when we travel a carry on for me, Two large suitcases for the wife. LOL . 

And I guess it would be nice to start fresh , but at the same time, so much easier to just Throw everything in a container and send it to Thailand. 

House in Fl would be empty, call the cleaners and the management company to rent it.

Anyway the way things have become in the US and Europe I suspect, $3.000 is not a lot of money any more, just the master bedroom and living room furniture would cost as much to replace.

 And I get to bring my tools! I have run the staging Yard for a large  high rise construction company for many years and have thus accumulated a substantial collection of high quality tools that I would hate   to part with. (heavy duty  worm drive skill saw, ,drills, sawzalls,18v battery operated milwaukee tools (everything you can think of), air compressors ,  etc.  plus a number of gas operated tools such as lawn mowers, weed wackers, pressure washer, generator. good quality hand tools.

All these things I don't really need, and if I didn't bring with me I would probably never  replace in Thailand, but are good to have available if I ever needed them,

they are like my baby blanket, LOL , I don't really need it but it feels good to have . 

 

[Crossy]

1 hour ago, sirineou said:

Am I to assume that the 240v outlet of my  US generator is at 60 Hz? I looked at the documentation I have and could not find that info. 

if it is at 60 hz as opposed to the thai 50hz what problems can it cause?

Yes it will be 60Hz, also it will be "US style" (it's the outer legs of the 110-0-110).

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

These kinds of decisions really involve a lot of personal considerations and circumstances.

 

For example, Sirineou mentioned about his tools and hardware. For me, being a "Tall Guy," one of the musts was bringing my accumulation of all kinds of clothes, since there basically are no stores/shops anywhere in Thailand that carry my sizes. Same with my shoes. So those alone took a bunch of boxes, and I'm still wearing a lot of them today, both clothes and shoes.

 

There's also the rising costs over time to consider in terms of replacement value for existing things. One of the things I shipped over was a large size, almost whole house air purifier, very high quality, that's absolutely not available/sold in Thailand. It's more than 10 years old now and still works like a charm. When I bought it years ago, probably paid $150 in the U.S. To buy a comparable unit today in Thailand, I'd be looking at $1,000+, which would be crazy. Especially that's about what I paid for one of my two annual shipments connected to my original move.

 

To this day, still have and use a laptop I brought over, a tabletop stereo, a breadmaker, a good pair of computer speakers, and a large sized 10-speed road bicycle that's also almost not available here. Ahh, and good quality Egyptian cotton bed sheets, which are very expensive here. If you have and take care of quality things, they're gonna last a long time and whatever you spend on moving them from the U.S. to Thailand, within reason, may prove to be a good investment.

 

Not to mention the psychological value of having legitimate "comforts" from home.

 

One of the advantages that someone who's spent a lot of time in Thailand has in making shipping decisions -- as opposed to someone moving who's a relative newbie -- is you're likely to have a much better idea for just what things you'll want and need in Thailand that are either very overpriced or simply not available in decent quality here.

 

Edited May 26, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[sirineou]

50 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

These kinds of decisions really involve a lot of personal considerations and circumstances.

 

For example, Sirineou mentioned about his tools and hardware. For me, being a "Tall Guy," one of the musts was bringing my accumulation of all kinds of clothes, since there basically are no stores/shops anywhere in Thailand that carry my sizes. Same with my shoes. So those alone took a bunch of boxes, and I'm still wearing a lot of them today, both clothes and shoes.

 

There's also the rising costs over time to consider in terms of replacement value for existing things. One of the things I shipped over was a large size, almost whole house air purifier, very high quality, that's absolutely not available/sold in Thailand. It's more than 10 years old now and still works like a charm. When I bought it years ago, probably paid $150 in the U.S. To buy a comparable unit today in Thailand, I'd be looking at $1,000+, which would be crazy. Especially that's about what I paid for one of my two annual shipments connected to my original move.

 

To this day, still have and use a laptop I brought over, a tabletop stereo, a breadmaker, a good pair of computer speakers, and a large sized 10-speed road bicycle that's also almost not available here. Ahh, and good quality Egyptian cotton bed sheets, which are very expensive here. If you have and take care of quality things, they're gonna last a long time and whatever you spend on moving them from the U.S. to Thailand, within reason, may prove to be a good investment.

 

Not to mention the psychological value of having legitimate "comforts" from home.

 

One of the advantages that someone who's spent a lot of time in Thailand has in making shipping decisions -- as opposed to someone moving who's a relative newbie -- is you're likely to have a much better idea for just what things you'll want and need in Thailand that are either very overpriced or simply not available in decent quality here.

 

I forgot about our bicycles, which is easy since we never ride them. LOL

also thinking about things we never use , perhaps I could bring my treadmill also  . I got a lot of exercise putting it together, and I could get even more taking it apart and putting it together again in Thailand! 

LOL

[mogandave]

I think if you check the cost of a 40’, it would not be a lot more than the 20.

I would bring a big electric water-heater. It will work okay with the electric.

A great bed

[sirineou]

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

Yes it will be 60Hz, also it will be "US style" (it's the outer legs of the 110-0-110).

I didn't know electricity had legs LOL . 

Please excuse my ignorance , my knowledge on the subject is simply academic. 

I was under the impression that voltage was the  equivalent of pressure in water.  I am sure there must be a difference, but for my curiosity, what difference does it make if the pressure delivered to the destination , is from two 110v  sources or one 220v source ? (putting aside the Hz difference)   

[mogandave]

I didn't know electricity had legs LOL . 
Please excuse my ignorance , my knowledge on the subject is simply academic. 
I was under the impression that voltage was the  equivalent of pressure in water.  I am sure there must be a difference, but for my curiosity, what difference does it make if the pressure delivered to the destination , is from two 110v  sources or one 220v source ? (putting aside the Hz difference)   

The water has to flow...

As was already explained, the control voltage is 110, when it gets 220, it will likely burn up.

Some components are 60hz only, and will burn out after a while.

All the motors will run 20% slower.

[grollies]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

One of the things I shipped over was a large size, almost whole house air purifier, very high quality, that's absolutely not available/sold in Thailand. It's more than 10 years old now and still works like a charm. When I bought it years ago, probably paid $150 in the U.S. To buy a comparable unit today in Thailand, I'd be looking at $1,000+

So you can get it in Thailand, it just costs more?

[sirineou]

2 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

The water has to flow...

As was already explained, the control voltage is 110, when it gets 220, it will likely burn up.

Some components are 60hz only, and will burn out after a while.

All the motors will run 20% slower.
 

 

 sorry I don't understand .most likely a result of my ignorance on the subject.

what do you mean by "the control voltage"  do you mean that the controls run on 110v ?  using only one of the 110v leads and the two leads resulting in 240v only go to certain components such as motors an heating elements.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, grollies said:

So you can get it in Thailand, it just costs more?

 

Regarding the air purifier, can't get the same model or even the same brand (Honeywell) in Thailand.

 

Can buy a different, mostly Chinese-made brand for about 7-8 times the price of the previously purchased U.S. model I already owned -- had I Ieft it behind in the U.S.

 

A lot of first-world appliance and products are far more expensive in Thailand than in the U.S., because while in the U.S. they are considered mass market products and widely used and there's retailer competition, in Thailand they're considered niche products that most Thais don't buy or use and there's very little meaningful retail pricing competition.

 

[Langsuan Man]

First of all don't count on  your Thai wife returning being of any real benefit.  That small blurb in the Customs Rules applies to Thais that have been overseas on some sort of "business" or "government" assignment

 

Unfortunately there is no way to estimate how much you are going to have to pay in customs duties for the "non" electrical items you have already reasoned are not worth the trouble bringing.  And you can forget the customs duty charts that you find on the Thai Royal Customs website.  What you pay is going to be determined strictly by the customs agents assigned to your shipment.  There is effectively no appeal since your shipment sits in a bonded customs warehouse racking up  huge daily penalties and storage charges while you argue your point

 

And then once they have decided  how much blood they want you are faced with the choice of a discount for cash and no receipt or a receipt and a bill 100% larger 

 

In my case it was going to be 40K THB without and 80K THB with.  I received the shipping at no cost but  I still took the no receipt option

 

On the other hand there have been many who have reported here at Thai Visa that they had to pay nothing, so it is basically a crap shoot on what will happen once your container get's here 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

47 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

On the other hand there have been many who have reported here at Thai Visa that they had to pay nothing, so it is basically a crap shoot on what will happen once your container get's here 

 

I think some of that outcome has to do with what shipping service you use, what relationship they or their customs agent have here in Thailand, and how your shipped goods are processed, since some types of shipments are exempt from import duty.

 

When I had my goods shipped in two installments years back, I used a Thai owned and operated company and paid a paltry amount in duty.