How can Thailand possibly ever make it? Another import saga:

[Lacessit]

I order from iHerb in the USA. Have never had a problem with herbal products.

Possibly the OP's problems arise from the fact it was three items. That might get Thai Customs thinking it is for distribution, and not for personal use.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

9 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

Maybe a bit off-topic, but my experience with sending packages domestically in Thailand using THAIPOST, is that they are absolutely brilliant.  Very friendly helpful service, super-fast delivery and dirt cheap.

 

 

I've had similar positive experiences to yours with Thai Post delivering to my home in BKK... Virtually flawless over many years.

 

However, I'm also aware there have been reports of very poor service and packages going missing from them in some outlying areas....

 

Such things, obviously, are going to depend a lot of the honesty and work ethic of the local staff who serve your area.

 

[Vacuum]

Skin cream? Just stay away from the sun.

[madmen]

2 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Skin cream? Just stay away from the sun.

Nope air-conditioning has a negative effect as well. 

[ColeBOzbourne]

Newbies often post on TV asking the question, "I'm coming to Thailand, what should I bring with me?" Then the people that live here reply, "Don't worry, anything you could possibly need can be bought right here."

 

Then I see the people who live here post, "I'm having problems ordering such-and-such online from another country. I use this-or-that delivery company to import my vitamins and skin cream."

[jackdd]

18 minutes ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

Newbies often post on TV asking the question, "I'm coming to Thailand, what should I bring with me?" Then the people that live here reply, "Don't worry, anything you could possibly need can be bought right here."

 

Then I see the people who live here post, "I'm having problems ordering such-and-such online from another country. I use this-or-that delivery company to import my vitamins and skin cream."

And both are right. You can buy 99.9% of the things you need in Thailand.

But there are just items which cost considerably more in Thailand.

[ThomasThBKK]

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

There's a very good chance, that if you had instead had your order shipped by regular mail from Europe and then as a result handled here by Thai Post, you wouldn't have paid any duty or tax at all!!!

 

There's a 1500 baht value exemption for duty on packages coming into Thailand. And that certainly applies when they're being handled by Thai Post.  But when Fed Ex or DHL get their grubby mitts on your box, you can be sure of being extorted for who knows how much in tax and duty.

 

There are few if any cases where it makes any sense to use private courier delivery services to send packages into Thailand. That's just asking for grief. Almost always better to send via the national postal service in the originating country, and then that means Thai Post will deliver the box here.... without all the DHL and Fed Ex drama.

 

 

It's not especially a DHL/Courier issue, the thing is cosmetics and pharma stuff - everything that needs to be FDA approved here is a giant pain in the ass, no such issues with books, electronic etc. 

 

I had similar experiences ordering skin creme from la roche as the product i wanted isn't sold here - same <deleted>, everything else works fine, it's just bloody fda approved stuff and it's not in DHLs hand ..

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

It's not especially a DHL/Courier issue, the thing is cosmetics and pharma stuff - everything that needs to be FDA approved here is a giant pain in the ass, no such issues with books, electronic etc. 

 

I had similar experiences ordering skin creme from la roche as the product i wanted isn't sold here - same <deleted>, everything else works fine, it's just bloody fda approved stuff and it's not in DHLs hand ..

 

Gotta disagree. DHL tends to be robber barons when it comes to charging duty on all kinds of different import packages -- not just Thai FDA related stuff. I had a package of clothing shipped once where DHL charged me a 60% duty that, with all their other charges, ended up being more costly than the purchase value of the clothing itself.

 

Even non-medical cosmetic stuff can be shipped here without customs hassles most of the time if the package is handled by Thai Post and it's not above 1500 baht declared value for customs exemption. I've ordered all kinds of cosmetic stuff for my wife over the years, avoided DHL like the plague, and never had any problems.

 

[ThomasThBKK]

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Gotta disagree. DHL tends to be robber barons when it comes to charging duty on all kinds of different import packages -- not just Thai FDA related stuff. I had a package of clothing shipped once where DHL charged me a 60% duty that, with all their other charges, ended up being more costly than the purchase value of the clothing itself.

 

Even non-medical cosmetic stuff can be shipped here without customs hassles most of the time if the package is handled by Thai Post and it's not above 1500 baht declared value for customs exemption. I've ordered all kinds of cosmetic stuff for my wife over the years, avoided DHL like the plague, and never had any problems.

 

You just got lucky that it slipped through as an undeclared package, if they xray it and find what's in it gets confiscated. If it's an expensive package that a risk i wouldn't want to take...

 

DHL has a surcharge for handling taxation yes, that's the money they get, all the rest goes to the thai government. 

 

Cosmetics are a pain in the butt to import, see yourself: https://siam-shipping.com/import-cosmetics-thailand/ 

 

Quote

For example, for a product with a CIF clearance value of 100 Baht, the tax is calculated as follows:

• Excise duty of 15 Baht (15%) + a fee of 1.5 Baht (10% of 15%) = 116.5 Baht
• VAT The VAT has a rate of 7%. It is calculated on the value released from the goods including the municipal tax and excise duties.
• Tax on customs formalities
• Customs declaration: 200 baht per entry
• Entry of computerized data by a customs officer: 70 baht per entry

 

So yes the whole systems is a ripoff... if u do it undeclare you can lose all, it both sucks...clothing is as heavily taxed.

 

Best to use Amazon global, they take care of everything and you see the maximium price including taxes on checkout

I only import electronics and specialized tools, the rest isn't worth it imo

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

20 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

 

Best to use Amazon global, they take care of everything and you see the maximium price including taxes on checkout

I only import electronics and specialized tools, the rest isn't worth it imo

 

Best NOT to use Amazon Global, because doing so will guarantee that you'll be charged and pay customs duty and tax on most items, since Amazon Global relies on private couriers like DHL.

 

In my years here, I've shipped literally hundreds of personal use package into Thailand with all sorts of differents contents, including a lot of cosmetics items for my wife. As long as you stick with regular postal mail and stay below the 1500 baht exemption limit, you're likely to pay no tax or duty the vast majority of the time. And that's been with truthfully declaring both the contents and values on my customs declarations.

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[ThomasThBKK]

3 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Best NOT to use Amazon Global, because doing so will guarantee that you'll be charged and pay customs duty and tax on most items, since Amazon Global relies on private couriers like DHL.

 

In my years here, I've shipped literally hundreds of personal use package into Thailand with all sorts of differents contents, including a lot of cosmetics items for my wife. As long as you stick with regular postal mail and stay below the 1500 baht exemption limit, you're likely to pay no tax or duty the vast majority of the time. And that's been with truthfully declaring both the contents and values on my customs declarations.

 

 

Man private couriers have nothing to do with this, amazon does the taxation on behalf of the government, if the courier doesn't do it it's you responsibility....

Everything under 1500 THB is tax free on amazon too, same law applies to everyone obviously...

 

You say you truthfully declare, i wonder what kind of clothes you order that are below 1500 THB in value...and why even pay international shipping costs for them...

Also if you order online, you often can't choose the courier, you are comparing apples with oranges... You have no idea what the shops will use, what you do only works if you have someone repacking your stuff that forwards it to thailand... or you do it yourself.

 

That's unrealistic for 99% of times we order something online. As you said you ship it here, and yes they don't care about your personal packages... but i guess you are the only one who ships packages to thailand as we mostly life here fulltime and can't do that... Idk what life you have if you ship hundreds of small value packages to thailand, but most here certainly aren't doing any like that. We occassionally order a laptop or stuff comparable...and there amazon is pretty much the best place to go. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

15 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

That's unrealistic for 99% of times we order something online. As you said you ship it here, and yes they don't care about your personal packages... but i guess you are the only one who ships packages to thailand as we mostly life here fulltime and can't do that... Idk what life you have if you ship hundreds of small value packages to thailand, but most here certainly aren't doing any like that. We occassionally order a laptop or stuff comparable...and there amazon is pretty much the best place to go. 

 

When you've shipped as many packages as I have over a period of many years, then I'll put more stock in your advice. But for now, nope!

 

Instead, I'll trust my own more than considerable experience in the matter.

 

And the reason, BTW, is I enjoy living a comfortable life in retirement, and that means having all manner of personal goods -- food, clothing, bedding linens, electronics, etc -- that simply aren't available here or are low-quality or over-priced compared to what's available in the U.S. even after adding in my minimal shipping costs....since I DON'T EVER ship thru Amazon Global.

 

Thus I get the quality things I want at entirely reasonable prices, even after having paid to ship them here.

Edited September 26, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[ThomasThBKK]

I don't think i will ever personally ship hundreds of below 1500 THB value packages into Thailand, nor does anyone else here, for non commercial use.

And i have no influence over what shops use to ship here and how they declare it, like the rest of us. 

 

Your anecdote is quite meaningless.

[ThePioneer]

7 hours ago, faraday said:

Can be bought here......

 

https://btcbangkok.com/product/madara-organic-skin-care-gift-set/

 

 

Really?

 

Then why the product doesn't show on their website?

 

Edited September 26, 2019 by ThePioneer

[faraday]

14 minutes ago, ThePioneer said:

Really?

 

Then why the product doesn't show on their website?

 

I've no idea - have you?

[ThePioneer]

25 minutes ago, faraday said:

40 minutes ago, ThePioneer said:

Really?

 

Then why the product doesn't show on their website?

 

I've no idea - have you?

 

Yes I have, you posted " it can be bought here " , but the product the OP ordered can't be bought there and neither is it available from the other Amazon link you posted.

 

So my idea is that you made 2 irrelevant and incorrect posts

[Tayaout]

I import stuff all the time. Usually there is no tax. Sometimes it is ~7% which is ok to me. Today, I had to pay 1500 on a 3200 value pair of shoes. This is way too much but I paid. 

[faraday]

8 hours ago, ThePioneer said:

 

Yes I have, you posted " it can be bought here " , but the product the OP ordered can't be bought there and neither is it available from the other Amazon link you posted.

 

So my idea is that you made 2 irrelevant and incorrect posts

My idea is that you like nitpicking, & making unnecessary comments, because you've got a pd - but of course, I might be wrong.

 

Go & argue with someone else.

 

Have a lovely day.

 

 

[jackdd]

3 hours ago, faraday said:

My idea is that you like nitpicking, & making unnecessary comments, because you've got a pd - but of course, I might be wrong.

 

Go & argue with someone else.

 

Have a lovely day.

 

 

Just stop posting wrong information, then nobody has to be "nitpicking"

[Chazar]

On 9/25/2019 at 6:38 PM, faraday said:

Three tubes of face cream for 1000 baht?

 

You can buy good face cream eg Eucerin for about 600bt.

or  just  not  bother for 0 baht

[Andrew Dwyer]

I like the skin cream the old lady sells in the unmarked jar.

That would be cream of Sum Yung Guy, very popular with the ladyboys !!

[faraday]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

Just stop posting wrong information, then nobody has to be "nitpicking"

I put the Amazon link which shows that Madara can be bought on there, on a closer look, it doesn't show the exact product. I did this to assist the op.

 

However, you & your anamata, look only to criticize, which really is, quite unnecessary.

 

Is that clear, or would you like me to use double line spacing for the 'deaf & hard of hearing'?

 

 

[faraday]

1 hour ago, Chazar said:

or  just  not  bother for 0 baht

Perhaps you could try that too....?

 

[Lacessit]

20 hours ago, jackdd said:

And both are right. You can buy 99.9% of the things you need in Thailand.

But there are just items which cost considerably more in Thailand.

True. Example: 60 capsules of saw palmetto ( imported from Germany ) cost 1300 baht at my Thai pharmacy.

I get 90 capsules, same active content, sent to me by iHerb in America. The shipping cost is more than half the total cost. Even so, that costs me 620 baht, and I usually get it in a week.

There is a considerable markup of some products in Thai stores.

[heiri007]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

True. Example: 60 capsules of saw palmetto ( imported from Germany ) cost 1300 baht at my Thai pharmacy.

I get 90 capsules, same active content, sent to me by iHerb in America. The shipping cost is more than half the total cost. Even so, that costs me 620 baht, and I usually get it in a week.

There is a considerable markup of some products in Thai stores.

The Thai markups are even more astonishing now since the Thai baht is strong - most likely reason for it being that big Thai companies go on shopping sprees abroad, so of course the central bank facilitates their shopping.

 

Fundamentally there is absolutely no reason for the Thai baht to be strong.

 

Yet, olive oil, cheese, everything just gets more expensive, even though it's imported products.

 

In reality these products should become cheaper! Wrong hopium...

 

So yes, whenever I can avoid the Thai greed of course I order from abroad.

[Nyezhov]

3 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

That would be cream of Sum Yung Guy, very popular with the ladyboys !!

I wondred it why is was so tasty when I "accidently" got some on my tongue.

 

Was the the response you were hoping for then?

Edited September 27, 2019 by Nyezhov

[Andrew Dwyer]

I wondred it why is was so tasty when I "accidently" got some on my tongue.

 

Was the the response you were hoping for then?

Yes, exactly !!

 

Thanks [emoji4]

[Nyezhov]

2 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Yes, exactly !!

 

Thanks

Damn your good dude! Why dont you pick me up at the station in an airconditioned car and drive me around then? You can listen to my self deprecating humour and Ill buy you fried duck bill snacks.

[Grumpy John]

Not importing all the time...usually only 5 or 6 items a month...and mostly from China (Aliexpress) with a few from GB via Royal Mail the only time I had to pay duty was with 5 x flouro work shirts from Australia...via post.  No tax or duty on a myriad of items....CCTV cameras, tools, dog harnesses, dash cams,  a doll for little Miss, specialty nuts and bolts.....but I  never ever use DHL or FedEx. 

[phetphet]

You think that's bad? I got charged THB400 for one shoe the other week.

 

Bought a pair of shoes in London, just before flying back. The salesperson inadvertently put an odd shoe in the box. I didn't realise until I opened it when I arrived home here.

 

Promptly phoned the shop and sent the odd one back, and they sent me the correct shoe. Only problem was I has a 400 baht customs bill to pay when it arrived.