Shipping to Thailand v cost and hassle with import duties, is it worth it?

[Tony and Chanpen Bua Yai]

Hi all,

 

I have just joined, been contacting removal companies and shipping companies and already I am worried about the costs v selling as much as I can and just buying new in Thailand.

 

I would love to hear your experiences, I have read a couple of the threads and some seem to be just winging it and hoping they don't get caught out, that's fine I guess but I will have a lot of electrical items which I understand they tax high as regarded as luxury items. I have had a quote of around £750 for about 20 boxes although I might be able to get this down when I do it for real if it comes to that.

 

I am mostly worried about the taxes as if it starts going over 1k its not worth it, most of it is Hi-Fi electricals, computers and tools. When I go next I will take as many of the smaller electricals in my suitcase but as I say really not sure what to do?

 

Many thanks all.

 

Tony

[Beggar]

Find out the taxes you will have to pay for your items and calculate if it is worth it. Also take the shipping into account. I am afraid there is no other way. 

[CharlieH]

There are guidance notes for this pinned at the top of the forum.

 

How much do you think you are going to buy out here for 28k baht ???? Not much.! 

[transam]

230/40 volts here...

[ThomasThBKK]

Electro stuff is mostly import duty free, check the tax codes for your items.

 

There may be VAT on it, but as it's used they will most likely not bother you.

Getting an extra 30kg luggage slot on your next flight and stuff it full might be the better alternative, but go through the red exit and tell them you brought used household stuff imo. too risky to go through green, would at least ask them if you have to pay taxes

[Jeffrey346]

From what I remember, If you are relocating to Thailand, you have a one time opportunity to  ship all your personal items, furniture etc tax and duty free.

Whether it's worth doing is a personal decision.

[noise]

If you are coming as a retiree, you get one combined shipment of household and personal goods duty free.   This should be covered somewhere in Thai Visa.

Edited September 9, 2019 by noise

[nobodysfriend]

5 minutes ago, Jeffrey346 said:

From what I remember, If you are relocating to Thailand, you have a one time opportunity to  ship all your personal items, furniture etc tax and duty free.

Whether it's worth doing is a personal decision.

When we moved here we shipped a container in my wife's name . She is Thai and did not need to pay any import taxes as she declared all her personal belongings and that she was moving back to Thailand . But we did need to pay a fee for that customs did not open and inspect the container !

After all , everything fine ... but if the container would have been shipped in my name it would have involved considerable tax payments , I think ...

[crazykopite]

It’s a good 8 years since I shipped goods from the U.K. like you it was about 20 boxes . I paid £600 but that was going from Chester to Koh Samui when the good arrived in Bangkok the agent contacted me I paid 4,500 in customs duty not one box was opened . The reason I shipped the goods was because I was paying over £100 + vat per month in U.K. storage when I got it over I asked myself why did I bring so much junk over over a few months a good proportion of it went to new homes or got dumped . When I leave Thailand I will be leaving with no more than 2 suitcases having already sold one property all I removed was my clothes and tooth brushes the new owner inherited every thing else and appeared more than happy . I have learned you have to be cruel let go of stuff .

[Sophon]

53 minutes ago, noise said:

If you are coming as a retiree, you get one combined shipment of household and personal goods duty free.   This should be covered somewhere in Thai Visa.

No you don't, you are only entitled to duty free shipping of household (not personal) goods if you come here to work, or if you are a returning Thai citizen. 

 

Sophon

[bert bloggs]

1 hour ago, nobodysfriend said:

When we moved here we shipped a container in my wife's name . She is Thai and did not need to pay any import taxes as she declared all her personal belongings and that she was moving back to Thailand . But we did need to pay a fee for that customs did not open and inspect the container !

After all , everything fine ... but if the container would have been shipped in my name it would have involved considerable tax payments , I think ...

We did the same ,but paid no tax whatsoever , worked a treat ,the company even delivered to our house in Pattaya .

[Peter Denis]

Maybe I have just been plain lucky, but I did not pay any taxes on moving my stuff to Thailand end 2017.

It took 3 months from collecting to delivery but the costs were very very reasonable.

I paid 1650 Euro for sending 5 cubic meter (which is a lot - 75 items of which 50 boxes) including door-to-door collecting-delivering.

The forwarding company collected my stuff at my home in Antwerp, Belgium end of september, and even helped dismantling and securily packing the fragile stuff.

They stored it in their warehouse in Rotterdam, waiting to get a full container and a boat to ship it over.

If I recall well the boat left end of October and arrived end of November in Singapore.  The container was then shipped to the Thai harbour, were it stayed in a warehouse for a couple of days.  I was regularly updated on the wherabouts.

End of december, a truck with all my stuff arrived at our home in KhunHan (which is approx 650 km from Bangkok).

Not one item was missing or damaged (including my flatscreen TV, and pictures in glass frames).

I would recommend the dutch firm which managed this to anybody.  You can PM me if you need their address or additional info.

 

[Orton Rd]

Don't use seven seas to send stuff from the UK is the only advice I can give

[pookett]

Do not use Pearson!

 

Other than that I moved to Thailand with my Thai wife so put the entire shipment in her name. No tax to pay as a "returning citizen".

 

You mention HiFi,  if it is a special system of high quality separates it's worth bringing as Thailand is a wasteland for good audio gear, unless you're a Naimee which is covered in Bangkok.

Other than that only goods of high financial or sentimental value, flog the rest.

[khunPer]

On 9/8/2019 at 4:27 AM, Tony and Chanpen Bua Yai said:

I have just joined, been contacting removal companies and shipping companies and already I am worried about the costs v selling as much as I can and just buying new in Thailand.

 

I would love to hear your experiences...

When I was moving, the saying was that if I should ship personal household I should ship a container – i.e. often 20 feet is enough – rather than boxes, as the latter would be more expensive and difficult. And when shipping a container I should make a "total loss" insurance only, as anything would be costly, and still complicated in obtaining any compensation.

 

If you have no personal stuff of sentimental value – or heavy collections of something like books and recordings or... – seriously consider to get rid of your stuff from back home, and buy new in Thailand.

 

You are allowed one air-shipment, and one surface-shipment, of personal household when moving. If your important personal stuff cannot be part of travel luggage – I had the opportunity to commute a number of times during the process of selling off back home, and establish myself here –  then use the one air-shipment, i.e. a box, for that.

 

Furniture and electronics can be bought at reasonable prices – including warranty – even nice wooden and leather furniture are available for not that much more than cheaper vinyl stuff.

 

If shipping household a detailed packing list with values is important, and number cartoon, or clear description of non-boxed items. Electronics have to be used, and only one items of each kind; serial numbers must be included in the packing list. In general only one items of a kind, however kitchenware and like comes in sets (i.e. often 12 pieces of each).

 

I shipped a 20 feet container by sea, as I had some book collection and music collection I wished to keep, and furthermore musical instruments including an acoustic spinet, and a Hammond organ with Leslie-speaker – too heavy for other mean of transportation – so I included a few other items in the container. But I didn't bring any stuff I easily could replace locally with new, so the container was far from full. Including customs clearance with some little duty and v.a.t. – and a small customs overtime fee for not checking too much, which mean a corner of one carton box opened – it costed me in 2008 equivalent to $8,000 from Europe to Bangkok, and the container moved south to an island, including staff for unloading, and return of the empty container.

 

$8,000 – plus/minus – is equivalent to 250,000 baht, which after all can buy you something, depending of how big your new home is, and what kind of stuff you want.

 

I'm happy I bought new household, instead of bringing old stuff – apart from some items of sentimental value...????

[Captain 776]

Go to or call Customs, Tell them what you are doing and they will tell you the duty.....,,,then you decide if its worth it to you.

A friend brought in a container of household goods, weighed 6600 pounds, Duty was 35,000 bhat

[Tony and Chanpen Bua Yai]

Wow thanks all for your replies, lots of great information.

 

After much research and seeing other things elsewhere I have decided its going to just be too costly, its not so much the shipping costs but the import duties and things I have read about them making up their own valuations.

 

I have lots of computers and other electrical items and decent Hi-Fi and surround sound system, but by the time you pay shipping and say budget maybe £400 to £600 in taxes, unless you can bribe them it starts getting to point of not being worth it, if I make say £600 selling items and then add that to £750 shipping I was quoted and add the £600 taxes you have nearly 2k to buy new things.  Its sad that I can't take my things but I have to just be realistic, if I could get taxes down to maybe £200 it might be worth it but I have heard horror stories and there is just no guarantee.

 

BTW, I have Non Immigrant O-A visa and as my Thai girlfriend hasn't lived with my in UK (only 3 months holiday) we can't use her name and its clear on the information shipping companies send out you are liable on everything.

 

I will just start to sell everything and maybe give up on any ideas of replacing a lot of it, just not worth all the hassle especially as I am a hoarder lol.

 

Once again,thanks for your replies much appreciated.

 

Tony and Chanpen

 

 

 

 

 

[bert bloggs]

On 9/9/2019 at 9:48 AM, Orton Rd said:

Don't use seven seas to send stuff from the UK is the only advice I can give

Used them in 2006 they were brilliant .from start to finish.

[stament]

On 9/9/2019 at 12:46 PM, Captain 776 said:

Go to or call Customs, Tell them what you are doing and they will tell you the duty.....,,,then you decide if its worth it to you.

A friend brought in a container of household goods, weighed 6600 pounds, Duty was 35,000 bhat

How recent was this can I ask and what was the size of the container and was it full? Are we talking about a full 20 footer?

 

Thanks 

[NaamGin]

I had a container shipped over when I moved to Thailand. I wished I had either sold, gave away or threw away everything I brought over. Tools / electronics were the wrong voltage, all the clothing I brought over was too heavy to wear in the climate here, the rest of it was just clutter from my old life that I no longer am interested in with my life here. The things that really mattered to me would have fit in a single shipping box. 

YMMV,

[Will E Vormer]

If you are importing only a few items, get the seller to put low customs valuation and put it in the wifes pre marriage name, if she has ID in her old name. That way customs wont charge much