Anyone bought at Mouser Thailand ?

[FlorC]

I don't know which part of the forum to post this , so here goes:

 

Buying electronic components is posible at your local (mom & pop) electronics store or go all the way to Baan Moh in Chinatown Bangkok . (too far for me). Amorn in some cities too.  But if you want something more than the generic (from China) , but very affordable , you need suppliers like Mouser . And what do you know , they are even here in Thailand : https://th.mouser.com/

202 Le Concorde Tower, 6/F Unit 602 Ratchadapisek Rd Huaykwang, Bangkok 10310 Thailand

With a email address in Thailand (that doesn't reply), and Thai telephone numbers.

 

Has anyone here in Thailand ordered/bought electronic components via their THAI site ?

What is not clear to me :

Do the components I buy come from a warehouse in Thailand ?

The price is the amount in the basket + 7 % sale tax (VAT in Thailand) , but NO dredded import/customs duty ?

Import duty can be very high for Thailand ! Are there any other (surprise) costs besides delivery/shipping by UPS ?

It says on their site : Duty, customs fees and taxes are collected at time of delivery. So if the things I buy do come from abroad,

I have no way of knowing how much extra I pay at delivery ? 

 

Can I pay by bank (I have no credit cards) ?

If sending money to their bank account : Is that account in Thailand at a Thai bank ?

 

 

 

 

 

[Monomial]

No.

 

The Thai office is a representative office only. All shipments come from the US. You can not pay by bank transfer to Thailand because a representative office can not do real business. Bank transfer would need to be via SWIFT to their office in the states.

 

 

[FlorC]

Bummer ! So you get scr_wed twice : import tax and bank/swift /exchange rate costs . (and no profit from buying with a strong currency ... THB).

How high are the import taxes ?

 

Are there companies like Mouser that are from Thailand ?

 

If shipments only come from the US , buying in europe has the same disavantages : import tax and >20 % VAT. So no solution there.

 

(Another question would be : why have an office in Thailand , when everything is handled from the US ?)

[Monomial]

2 hours ago, FlorC said:

Bummer ! So you get scr_wed twice : import tax and bank/swift /exchange rate costs . (and no profit from buying with a strong currency ... THB).

How high are the import taxes ?

 

Are there companies like Mouser that are from Thailand ?

 

If shipments only come from the US , buying in europe has the same disavantages : import tax and >20 % VAT. So no solution there.

 

(Another question would be : why have an office in Thailand , when everything is handled from the US ?)

 

Representative offices only exist to help with product inquiries.  If you are a company looking to source a product, you may contact their local representative. But they don't sell to you directly. They only provide information and offer assistance.

 

Representative offices rather than full corporate subsidiaries are useful as they qualify for tax breaks. But the downside is they can not do business. You must buy from the international office. This structure is very normal in the electronics industry.

 

There are only a couply of genuine Thai companies selling components in prototype quantities, but the selection is pitiful. Electronics Source (www.es.co.th) is the biggest one. Westec can sometimes come through for a few things. (www.wt.co.th).  Warf has a few things if you are building robots (www.warf.com).  NPE has their catalog online, but it usually more helpful to visit their store either in Bahn Mor or Zeer Rangsit (www.mynpe.com).  There are a couple others, but the scene in Thailand is pretty dismal.

 

Best is just to stick with Mouser and Digikey and pay the import duties. Get a bank account at Kasikorn. You can use their electronic Visa debit card to pay.

 

 

 

[FlorC]

Wow , that's really helpful Monomial !

 

Mostly older , even obsolete components but at better prices than Mouser. Inline with the cheap stores at Baan Moh.

No import duty , just the 7 % Thai VAT.

 

Have you used them ?  Are you satisfied with what you bought and how they got it to you ? Is it packaged well and in ESD anti static bag for the sensitive components ?

How much to get an average packet delivered ?

The mynpe.com needs some google translate .

 

I fired off an email to Mouser back in europe.

Within 2 hours they answered . Thais haven't answered in more than a week.

From the mail :

If you buy for more than 50 euro , you don't have to pay import tax nor transport costs , just the (high) VAT which is 21 % .

But then of course I have to wait more than a year.

Import duties into Thailand are just too unpredictable.

Mouser is also a Warren Buffet company , which is a bit against my believes. (I just saw that today) . Digikey is often more expensive.

 

[FlorC]

Ok , here's an update . Es.co.th is great . Easy website , great prices , 2 days after paying by bank , EMS delivers . So much easier than a trip to the 100 little shops in the Ban Moh area of Bangkok , compare , asking prices ... no have ... ????
The delivery was great , a nice cartboard box , everything in a plastic bags with relevant data on it . No ESD bags because all the semiconductors were in SMD , cut from a reel . Bubblewrap and a list of the ordered items. 1 little error , different

smd resistors , but they're so cheap , it's no problem.
WT , westech , fast website but you buy blind , no information , if you don't know exactly what you buy , you may be disappointed.
Mynpe ... website is terrible , slow , no information .
And then there is RS (th.rs-online.com/web/) . Seems to be British , but website in Thai , like Mouser in Thai. Some more up to date components but often at large minimum amounts and

more expensive. I ordered there because I couldn't find it on the 3 Thai sites and local mom'n pop electronic store . Just a small order , and cautious for import and delivery costs , but they say free delivery and price on the site is all costs in .
And they were right . I could pay with the very easy PromptPay, well not my promptpay , I haven't got a phone , but my Thai landlord did it for me.
6 days after payment , an oversized big box came , delivered by TNT . A lot of packing material for a few  items .
I am totally amazed how this gets free delivery . If these items came from abroad , delivered by TNT , there is absolutely no way they made a profit , not even break-even on my small order . I don't get it how they can , but I'm happy with it.

(Mouser wants 600 B for delivering to Thailand ...)
While much smaller choice compared to Mouser and other giants , es.co.th is the fastest and easiest with great prices.

The unpacking is fun . Tested about 3/4 of the components , and looks legit , no fake knock off's .

I've found a new way of spending some money in Thailand . I just want to order more , even if I don't really need to . Some people buy juwelry , some go short time , I just like to buy some cute SMD components .