So I ordered a laptop over 40000 baht from Amazon..

[BestB]

You should contact the seller and amazon. All taxes and fees are included in the price. 

 

This is DHL trying to make money .

 

had the same thing when I bought iPhone 7 from US.

 

contected seller and amazon and miracle less than 48 hours later delivered without requirung anything else

[Kalasin Jo]

Buying in Thailand is fine, although these days about same price as Europe, even with the much lower VAT. But, the keyboard has Thai characters as well as English and needs to be set up for farangs! Small point.but there it is. Still QWERTY though unlike buying in France where they have there own crazy keyboard often requiring two key input to get eg @

[fishbrando]

Given my past experiences with DHL combined with the stories in this thread, I just have no words left to describe them. My favorite story was the one where they kept lowering their money demands and finally threw the package over the fence in spite.

Once I almost ordered an item with free international shipping but then noticed that it shipped via DHL so I gave up. Then I got an email saying, "Hey, I'm the CEO and noticed you didn't complete your order and was wondering why not?" I told him about my experiences with DHL and he said, "Oh yeah that happened to me too. Totally understand. Don't do it man!"

[manarak]

AFAIK, the import tax should be ZERO on laptops imported from the USA.

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/675576-customs-import-tax-penalty/?do=findComment&comment=6941465

[joealx]

5 hours ago, EirikJohannesen said:

I tried that, but the msg was that the custom will not release the order, thats why DHL made the license for me. DHL told me that the custom dont release package without the proper paper, even if it was to be returned. 

I didn't have that problem. I wasn't about to pay 1500 Baht for a license for $130 worth of vitamins that was shipped by DHL Express. They said they couldn't get the license for me and that I had to come to Bangkok and apply for it. I ignored it, and DHL sent it back after a week. I received a refund.

Edited June 23, 2018 by joealx

[EirikJohannesen]

55 minutes ago, joealx said:

I didn't have that problem. I wasn't about to pay 1500 Baht for a license for $130 worth of vitamins that was shipped by DHL Express. They said they couldn't get the license for me and that I had to come to Bangkok and apply for it. I ignored it, and DHL sent it back after a week. I received a refund.

DHL is not to be trusted. When I read the other storys here I understand I was lucky, but it took 3 weeks in the custom.

[atyclb]

6 hours ago, Lee4Life said:

                 It doesn't actually need to be that special not to be available here, the computers for sale here are way behind as far as specs go. The other day I went to buy a display port cable and after checking at five computer shops in the local mall I gave up, the laptops for sale here all had hdmi ports which have gone by the wayside for a couple of years back home. I tried to find an LED printer also, and all of the computer shops and printer shops thought I was talking about a printer that had an LED screen and had no idea that there were printers that used LED instead of print heads.

                I'm not knocking the people here, they deal with what they know and sell and many of them are very quick to understand, I'm just explaining why the OP didn't buy here. The other plus is that computers sold back home come with genuine software and not pirated, and it's in the price. 

 

 

 i had no problem finding display port cables and or display port adapters, etc etc at fortune it mall bkk.

 

the big it malls often are fairly up to date. i was shocked to see the hp envy  ryzen 360 laptop less than 1 week after it debuted at ces

 

 

[atyclb]

dhl to thailand is the pits imo. have used them before.

[grkt]

8 hours ago, Rawairat said:

My son bought a Razer phone thru amazon which was faulty, they offered to take it back and refund my money, not postage and import duties. They would then sell me another if I paid all the postage and duties again. 

I wrote a bad review on Amazon which was not posted because you are only allowed to comment on the item, not Amazon’s poor service. That is done through Amazon and not for public viewing, except on other social media sites which I have been doing. After many emails back and forth I refuse to buy anything from amazon. We eventually sourced one through Thailand.

I can’t remember the slogan printed on every amazon email something about listening to the customer. At one stage in the emails they replied about the Razer phone;

“If you do not wish to return the shoes to us, I'd recommend consulting your owner's manual and/or contacting the manufacturer to see if the problem in question is covered by the manufacturer's warranty.”

 

Great company and great support?

 

 

The problem with Amazon is that anyway they do not care any bad review.

 

Have you posted it on many other websites also ?

 

 

 

[grkt]

7 hours ago, Jimbo53 said:

Be careful with DHL,they tried to rip me off for 17k customs duty for an item that was valued at 2.5 k bht..with the intervention of a high ranking friend, i eventually still had to pay over 4k..even though going by the HS attached, i was only liable to pay 1260 bht.I think DHL does the calculation and tax collection on behalf of the Government!!!!

The attachment below should give you more clarity regarding your situation.

 

en.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?lang=en&top_menu=&current_id=1422

.

 

It's good that you understand how courier companies work...

 

The only reason why they are allowed to deliver faster is that they work for free for governments and collect tax !

 

 

 

 

 

 

[grkt]

6 hours ago, Kurtf said:

And Razer is so much better than anything else on the market here in Thailand? I doubt that VERY much.

 

Me too ! This is pure BS of supposed geeks who pretend that they need what is not available here...

 

 

 

[grkt]

5 hours ago, Kalasin Jo said:

Buying in Thailand is fine, although these days about same price as Europe, even with the much lower VAT. But, the keyboard has Thai characters as well as English and needs to be set up for farangs! Small point.but there it is. Still QWERTY though unlike buying in France where they have there own crazy keyboard often requiring two key input to get eg @

 

What a drama ! Thai characters on a keyboard !

 

I really understand that it's worth the hassle of ordering abroad...

 

 

 

 

[Ulic]

It is a customs brokerage fee scam that all couriers charge around the world. The trick

is to make the charge as high as possible to increase profits, while not making it so

high that people fill in the paperwork themselves (at no charge) My brother is a pilot

so at the airport in Montreal Canada often. He stops by and fills in the paperwork himself

at no charge. If DHL/FEDEX/UPS do it on his behalf it is a $50 charge. (maybe higher now)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Yes Amazons customer service is among the worst you will find

 

That's not been my experience here thru a variety of transactions.

 

However, there is a caveat. These days, in Thailand, if you just pick up the phone or online chat and contact Amazon, you're likely to get customer support staff in the Phils, who are truly and completely worthless in my experience. They don't automatically tell you they're in the Phils, but it soon should become painfully obvious, as you typically can hear the warehouse call center sounds in the background.

 

On the other hand, if you get the correct U.S. support phone number to call for Amazon -- which isn't the main one listed on their website -- or I think even can demand in chat that they connect you with U.S. based support, you're likely to do a whole lot better.

 

I'll also say, from a lot of dealings with Amazon support over the years, that their willingness to go the extra mile for you appears to have some relation to what kind of purchase track record you have with them. Not surprisingly, if you're a long-time customer with a lot of purchases and few past returns, they seem more willing to accommodate.

 

To illustrate that, in one case, I ordered a mobile phone from Amazon Warehouse Deals, and they ended up sending me the wrong model phone and the wrong color. Contacted them in the U.S., and they paid for the international mail return of the wrong phone and sent me the correct phone. In another instance, I had an Amazon Fire TV Stick go bad just after the warranty period had expired, and they actually volunteered to send me, and did send me, a replacement unit for free, and didn't even ask for the return of the non-working model once I mentioned I was "temporarily" overseas.

 

Over the years, I've ordered literally hundreds of different things from Amazon (always for U.S. delivery and then reshipping thru my own service), and rarely had any problems with the orders or the items received. And on those few instances where there was some problem, once I got to dealing with U.S. customer support, I can't think of a single instance where they left me with a bad feeling on the outcome.

 

BTW, as should be obvious from the above, I DO NOT do business with or deal with the private couriers like DHL or FedEx for package shipments, as that's just asking for trouble from both the courier and Thai customs.

 

BTW2 - I should also add, I'm always mindful of the potential issues associated with items that might need to be returned because of defect, etc. So I usually try to keep my Amazon purchases to lower value things, under $200-$300 and lower weight as well, just in case. For bigger or more expensive things, I'll usually wait until I make a periodic trip back, order and check out there, and then if OK, carry back here via luggage.

Edited June 23, 2018 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Both Amazon and eBay's global shipping  program states "no additional custom fees or taxes"

Apple has the same arrangement. I ordered from Amazon last month and this month as well with no issues. I have ordered from Apple numerous times.. no issues.. The difference is both Amazon and Apple sent my items via UPS. 

 

The one thing I don't like about Amazon, however, is their practice on shippers. AFAIK, whether ordering to the U.S. or abroad, the customer has absolutely no say over WHICH shipper Amazon is going to use to send the package. And no way to control that thru the ordering process.

 

For example, if I was going to order thru Amazon and their global shipping program to deliver something here, I'd certainly want to avoid anything to do with DHL. (I've never had any exposure to UPS in Thailand). But AFAIK, you get whatever courier they give you.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 6/22/2018 at 4:51 PM, leeroll said:

Appreciate any input about this!

 

At some point, are you going to provide some update on what happens with your Thai Customs adventure?

[JimmyJ]

I don't doubt the posters who say they have had awful experiences with Amazon cs.

I am surprised though, as I've always found them easy to deal with on returns.

 

I'm in the US - perhaps that's why.

As TallGuy posted, I assume I got the US cs with better cs skills.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2018 by JimmyJ

[JimmyJ]

I was planning to buy a laptop while in Thailand, so that I would be covered on the 1 year warranty plus the extra 1 year many credit cards provide.

 

But I wasn't aware of Thai characters on the keyboard and higher prices and outdated selection.

 

I checked with 2 laptop manufacturers and told them that I am a US citizen living in the US.

If I purchase a laptop in the US, and it needs repair while I am abroad, will I be able to get it repaired abroad?

 

Both told me no. That I would have to ship it to someone in the US who would have to ship it to the US repair center. And vice versa for returning it to me abroad.

 

So the lack of warranty service is a very serious issue to me.

I purchased a new HP computer in the US and it died within 90 days while I was in the US.

I was going to have to mail it to their repair center and be without it for at least 2 weeks (maybe it was a longer time period).

 

If something like that happened while in Thailand, the expense of the 2 way shipping to a friend, expense of friend mailing it to the repair center and back, delay time, possible customs hassles coming and going, probably 1 month or more of being without it, etc. - I wouldn't want to have to go thru that.

Edited June 23, 2018 by JimmyJ

[NoshowJones]

6 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

That's not been my experience here thru a variety of transactions.

 

However, there is a caveat. These days, in Thailand, if you just pick up the phone or online chat and contact Amazon, you're likely to get customer support staff in the Phils, who are truly and completely worthless in my experience. They don't automatically tell you they're in the Phils, but it soon should become painfully obvious, as you typically can hear the warehouse call center sounds in the background.

 

On the other hand, if you get the correct U.S. support phone number to call for Amazon -- which isn't the main one listed on their website -- or I think even can demand in chat that they connect you with U.S. based support, you're likely to do a whole lot better.

 

I'll also say, from a lot of dealings with Amazon support over the years, that their willingness to go the extra mile for you appears to have some relation to what kind of purchase track record you have with them. Not surprisingly, if you're a long-time customer with a lot of purchases and few past returns, they seem more willing to accommodate.

 

To illustrate that, in one case, I ordered a mobile phone from Amazon Warehouse Deals, and they ended up sending me the wrong model phone and the wrong color. Contacted them in the U.S., and they paid for the international mail return of the wrong phone and sent me the correct phone. In another instance, I had an Amazon Fire TV Stick go bad just after the warranty period had expired, and they actually volunteered to send me, and did send me, a replacement unit for free, and didn't even ask for the return of the non-working model once I mentioned I was "temporarily" overseas.

 

Over the years, I've ordered literally hundreds of different things from Amazon (always for U.S. delivery and then reshipping thru my own service), and rarely had any problems with the orders or the items received. And on those few instances where there was some problem, once I got to dealing with U.S. customer support, I can't think of a single instance where they left me with a bad feeling on the outcome.

 

BTW, as should be obvious from the above, I DO NOT do business with or deal with the private couriers like DHL or FedEx for package shipments, as that's just asking for trouble from both the courier and Thai customs.

 

BTW2 - I should also add, I'm always mindful of the potential issues associated with items that might need to be returned because of defect, etc. So I usually try to keep my Amazon purchases to lower value things, under $200-$300 and lower weight as well, just in case. For bigger or more expensive things, I'll usually wait until I make a periodic trip back, order and check out there, and then if OK, carry back here via luggage.

 

[NoshowJones]

Just now, possum1931 said:

 

I have never had a problem with Amazon when buying anything, all my problems have been when ordering Ebooks for my kindle, it has been problem after problem, with dreadful service, it would take all day to write about it.

[duanebigsby]

9 hours ago, grkt said:

 

What a drama ! Thai characters on a keyboard !

 

I really understand that it's worth the hassle of ordering abroad...

 

 

 

 

I actually prefer Thai characters on the keyboard as my Thai friend often helps me with computer stuff.

He can quickly switch back and forth.

 

[Ks45672]

40k isn't that high for a computer 

A decent gaming machine would cost 100k+ thesedays 

[Acharn]

This is not surprising. Back in 1985 I had to go to the port at Sattahip to pick up a ribbon cable for my TRS-80 computer. Cost on the declaration -- $25. The customs official told me next time I shuld tell the company I ordered from to declare it as a sample. Otherwise, anything computer related over $25 was charged customs duty. I forget how much it was, probably ฿100 (worth more dollars then than now). Incidentally, just a quibble, they don't want you to give them your passport, they want you to show them your passport. /pedant  I forget when they made the huge reduction in import duties on computers. I think under the Chuan Leekpai I government.  I think the duty now is 1%, maybe less. Damn! $1400, that must be a pretty hot machine.

[Jeffrey346]

8 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

I was planning to buy a laptop while in Thailand, so that I would be covered on the 1 year warranty plus the extra 1 year many credit cards provide.

 

But I wasn't aware of Thai characters on the keyboard and higher prices and outdated selection.

 

I checked with 2 laptop manufacturers and told them that I am a US citizen living in the US.

If I purchase a laptop in the US, and it needs repair while I am abroad, will I be able to get it repaired abroad?

 

Both told me no. That I would have to ship it to someone in the US who would have to ship it to the US repair center. And vice versa for returning it to me abroad.

 

So the lack of warranty service is a very serious issue to me.

I purchased a new HP computer in the US and it died within 90 days while I was in the US.

I was going to have to mail it to their repair center and be without it for at least 2 weeks (maybe it was a longer time period).

 

If something like that happened while in Thailand, the expense of the 2 way shipping to a friend, expense of friend mailing it to the repair center and back, delay time, possible customs hassles coming and going, probably 1 month or more of being without it, etc. - I wouldn't want to have to go thru that.

Tho I would never buy an HP, the warranty info you received is wrong. HP's warranty is global and repair can be made at any HP repair facility. 

 

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/bpr01266

[chubby]

 

 

these look like customsofficers ......sorry

[balo]

15 hours ago, Acharn said:

This is not surprising. Back in 1985 I had to go to the port at Sattahip to pick up a ribbon cable for my TRS-80 computer.

Wow dude, that's a long time ago .  I was the happy owner of an Amiga 500 in 1985, best computer at the time for games and paint programs. 

Thailand was not even on my mind back then . 

 

 

[JimmyJ]

17 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

Tho I would never buy an HP, the warranty info you received is wrong. HP's warranty is global and repair can be made at any HP repair facility. 

 

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/bpr01266

Thank you for the link.

 

I just called their cs re: the International Warranty  (800 474-6836 from the US):

 

First she told me what I'd been told previously - they can help (with advice I guess) on software issues, but for hardware it has to be sent back to the US.

 

I read to her part of the Int'l. Warranty, and she went to check.

Then told me "If the computer [model] is marketed in the country you are in, they can fix the hardware.

If it is not, then it has to be sent back to the US."

 

It sounds like different models are largely sold in Thailand than the US and/or older models, so it's questionable if hardware support would be available.

 

"Tho I would never buy an HP..."

 

My 1st computer was a Compaq and was a horrible lemon.

When they were bought by HP I made it a point to avoid HP as I figured they were on the same level.

 

Then I needed a short term replacement when my Sony Vaio (which was great) died, and Sony had moved out of the computer business.

 

I've now tried several HP with mixed results, some very good and some not so good.

The worst as I mentioned died (locked up) within 90 days (I was able to return it to the store).

 

Which laptop brands do you recommend?

 

Edited June 24, 2018 by JimmyJ

[Jeffrey346]

2 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Thank you for the link.

 

I just called their cs re: the International Warranty  (800 474-6836 from the US):

 

First she told me what I'd been told previously - they can help (with advice I guess) on software issues, but for hardware it has to be sent back to the US.

 

I read to her part of the Int'l. Warranty, and she went to check.

Then told me "If the computer [model] is marketed in the country you are in, they can fix the hardware.

If it is not, then it has to be sent back to the US."

 

It sounds like different models are largely sold in Thailand than the US and/or older models, so it's questionable if hardware support would be available.

 

"Tho I would never buy an HP..."

 

My 1st computer was a Compaq and was a horrible lemon.

When they were bought by HP I made it a point to avoid HP as I figured they were on the same level.

 

Then I needed a short term replacement when my Sony Vaio (which was great) died, and Sony had moved out of the computer business.

 

I've now tried several HP with mixed results, some very good and some not so good.

The worst as I mentioned died (locked up) within 90 days (I was able to return it to the store).

 

Which laptop brands do you recommend?

 

I have been buying Apple for more years then I can remember and never had an issue. We, [me and the wife] have 2 new Macbook Airs. I also have a 9 year old Macbook Pro that I use daily. Never had a problem... PLUS Apple has a worldwide warranty. 

You can get a MacAir for B35,900 so your in the price range of the HP.

Do your research. I think you will find most people never have an issue with an Apple Mac

[kbelyeu]

Strange indeed, I paid 90,000 baht for a high end dell it was shipped using one of the US forwarding companies and passed straight through to my home (insured for full value).

[kbelyeu]

On 6/23/2018 at 9:08 PM, duanebigsby said:

I actually prefer Thai characters on the keyboard as my Thai friend often helps me with computer stuff.

He can quickly switch back and forth.

 

You know they sell stickers that can be placed on the existing English keys.