Tourism minister pushes for cuts in tariffs on branded products to boost tourist spending

[Nyezhov]

7 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Attention Thai Government:

 

Speaking as an American, I can only say that there is NOT ONE, let me repeat that, NOT ONE "name brand" item that I can purchase here in Thailand that is not available to me cheaper in the USA.

I stand corrected. Seagate stuff is sometines cheaper if its the made in Thailand Seagate.

[observer90210]

Which tourist in his mind would want to shop in any Bangkok mall, where the prices are similar (if not more expensive), then the malls of touristy popular Spain, France or Italy ? Same for restaurants where greed for money and overcharging takes over any other for of greed for good but cheap food.

 

How can tourists feel wowed, and wish to come back, if they are daily required to argue with the official taxi/tuk tuk scammer and are faced with xenophobic dual pricing all over or overcharging from various service providers ?

 

Why would a tourist in the first place wish to come in a country with an artificially inflated Thai Bhat ?

[dallen52]

5 hours ago, overherebc said:

And when they don't want it anymore they will try to sell for what they paid for it and if they can't sell it they will let it rot to show how big they are.

A prime example of 'face'.

A good few years ago I wanted to change cars. I was selling a well worn, but worn well Volvo 740, sticker in the back window job. ???? Every call I got started with the question How much did you you pay for it? My usual answer was 50 million baht.

I did eventually sell it to the guy who bought it who only asked how much do you want for it?

The first question I always get is, can you drop the price..

 

I normally say, "don't you want to see it first "

 

Its all about the price here...

Especially the working classes. 

[happy chappie]

21 hours ago, overherebc said:

Here you go. 2014 60,000kilometres 6 months guarantee ( you can trust ) 

for 400,000 baht.

I nearly bought this last month to throw my brickie tools in for work.the same price as a new Honda pcx scooter.92.500baht which was 3 weeks wages.

[overherebc]

52 minutes ago, happy chappie said:

I nearly bought this last month to throw my brickie tools in for work.the same price as a new Honda pcx scooter.92.500baht which was 3 weeks wages.

UK price on the one I posted.

Friend two or three years ago picked an older S500 ex company directors car for peanuts. He only uses it a couple of times a week. It looks and sounds like it left the showroom last week.

[Fred white]

22 hours ago, Jiggo said:

Also buying branded clothes that would suit not only the visitors wallet but also there body size, no XXL shirts (Uk XL) in any stores also regular 38in Levi's. Just your normal small Asian body sized, hardly competing for foreign tourist shekels....    

Or a decent pair of shoes

[finnomick1]

On ‎10‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 3:01 AM, Sydebolle said:

To explain the Thai system you just look at watches at Swampy airport and its duty and VAT-"free" shops and you'll see, that these watches cost more than in Europe. In addition to that the staff is more interested in Line, WhatsApp and Facebook, limited English and dont even know the difference between mechanical and quartz movements. 
It takes a special customer to buy such a product and, for once, it is not a question of the product but about everything around the product. Go figure! 

Exactly. Not that I'd be buying a Gucci handbag or whatever but this IS the land of fakes and copies so I doubt that many people will be here to buy designer goods especially with the exchange rates making them a better purchase at home. As for duty/tax free, this doesn't make items any cheaper these days.

 

[Bangkokazy]

I have to laugh at the guy.
I do not travel to Thailand for buying luxury goods
I travel to Thailand to have fun, lie on the beach throwing rocks at the wild dogs, laugh at the whores, drink beer pee out the window.

[Samuel Smith]

9 minutes ago, Bangkokazy said:

I have to laugh at the guy.
I do not travel to Thailand for buying luxury goods
I travel to Thailand to have fun, lie on the beach throwing rocks at the wild dogs, laugh at the whores, drink beer pee out the window.

did you deliberately leave out a comma after beer?

[Fred white]

59 minutes ago, Samuel Smith said:

did you deliberately leave out a comma after beer?

Maybe he likes it fresh from the tap lol ????

[Yinn]

On 10/7/2019 at 4:36 PM, overherebc said:

Fast food is carpet burgers, fried old chicken and lots of things in batter that no self respecting Scotsman would put in an original haggis.

That is western fast food. Terrible.

thai fast food delicious.

 

On 10/7/2019 at 4:36 PM, overherebc said:

Take a restaurant in Thailand and a similar restaurant in UK and the price in Thailand will be higher than UK. Why?

Taste better.

thai food famous around the world. Everyone love it.

Uk food. Only the Uk people like it. Is hard to sell. Low price.

[Fairynuff]

7 hours ago, Bangkokazy said:

I have to laugh at the guy.
I do not travel to Thailand for buying luxury goods
I travel to Thailand to have fun, lie on the beach throwing rocks at the wild dogs, laugh at the whores, drink beer pee out the window.

I’m so glad we don’t travel together ????

[overherebc]

6 hours ago, Yinn said:

That is western fast food. Terrible.

thai fast food delicious.

 

Taste better.

thai food famous around the world. Everyone love it.

Uk food. Only the Uk people like it. Is hard to sell. Low price.

If you haven't been outside of Thailand you have never tasted good fresh seafood.

[fruitman]

On 10/7/2019 at 7:39 AM, madmitch said:

I've always been convinced that the reason luxury goods are taxed so highly in Thailand is due to the fact that most high earners pay nowhere near the tax they should and it's a very good way of getting cash out of the "elites". I thought of this just this morning, when I saw a brand new red plate Bentley in the school car park. That's possibly around THB15m of tax in the Govenment's coffers!

How do you know that it's not a stolen car from the UK? Remember the story from 3 years ago when they discovered that a big supercar dealer in BKK was selling stolen Brittish cars? I bet they didn't pay the tax as well...

 

I have never seen a Bentley in thailand though.

[Moo 2]

Wine I used to buy at Tesco was coming from Sth Africa in 10 L. cask, plain, ordinary plonk wine,

was selling for 1500 baht up to a year and a half. Ove night that wine disappeared and was replaced

by a similar plonk wine(10%alcohol) in 5 L. cask for 1500 baht, now, that in my book is a 100% increase.

I wonder if wine exporters from those countries are aware of this increase and if yes they should put

pressure on their government to put a 100% tariff on imported rice, canned tuna, instant noodles, etc..

which would be fair enough. By the way a 4L. cask of wine, cabernet merlot from Aldi is about $10 AUD

or 200 baht!

 

Wine can make you fat what will it be...Red or White?  

[Yinn]

15 hours ago, overherebc said:

If you haven't been outside of Thailand you have never tasted good fresh seafood.

I live in Ranong, westcoast Thailand. 

Seafood from the ocean. Fresh every morning. Many species.

[overherebc]

18 minutes ago, Yinn said:

I live in Ranong, westcoast Thailand. 

Seafood from the ocean. Fresh every morning. Many species.

Still not the same. North Sea seafood is so far ahead of any seafood from this part of the world in texture and taste. Every year when we go to UK on holiday the first thing my wife does is search for seafood restaurants in the area. The seafood comes off the boats and in many cases goes straight to to the restaurant. It doesn't get transported in open pick ups that are in the sun all day.

You can buy crab and one crab will feed one person because they don''t 'rape' the seas and take crabs that are not mature.

Children learn about when crabs and other seafood can be kept or thrown back to grow and breed.

[Fairynuff]

On 10/9/2019 at 1:14 AM, fruitman said:

have never seen a Bentley in thailand though.

Never been to Bangkok?

[CGW]

On 10/7/2019 at 7:04 PM, CLS said:

The Chinese are still buying because in their country the tariffs are even higher.

True! the Chinese buy Chinese made goods here as they are made for the export market - then take them back home!

 

Vitamins and supplements are another item that is very expensive here, far cheaper on iherb and the like, most that are on sale are lower quality also!

[Huckenfell]

What an excellent idea, might as well throw in compulsory health insurance for over 50's as well. That should do the trick.

[Huckenfell]

On 10/9/2019 at 8:36 PM, Yinn said:

I live in Ranong, westcoast Thailand. 

Seafood from the ocean. Fresh every morning. Many species.

Anything fresh would be a relief, living in Ranong !

[Huckenfell]

On 10/9/2019 at 8:50 PM, overherebc said:

Still not the same. North Sea seafood is so far ahead of any seafood from this part of the world in texture and taste. Every year when we go to UK on holiday the first thing my wife does is search for seafood restaurants in the area. The seafood comes off the boats and in many cases goes straight to to the restaurant. It doesn't get transported in open pick ups that are in the sun all day.

You can buy crab and one crab will feed one person because they don''t 'rape' the seas and take crabs that are not mature.

Children learn about when crabs and other seafood can be kept or thrown back to grow and breed.

What nonsense !  excellent seafood can be had in many other countries, ever had a  Queensland Mud Crab or fresh prawns straight out of the sea, or those big Banana Prawns off the North coast of Queensland. or a Moreton Bay Bug . Fresh Snapper straight off the Reef.

[overherebc]

10 hours ago, Huckenfell said:

What nonsense !  excellent seafood can be had in many other countries, ever had a  Queensland Mud Crab or fresh prawns straight out of the sea, or those big Banana Prawns off the North coast of Queensland. or a Moreton Bay Bug . Fresh Snapper straight off the Reef.

Never been in that neck of the woods so, no, I haven't. ????

[Fred white]

10 hours ago, Huckenfell said:

What nonsense !  excellent seafood can be had in many other countries, ever had a  Queensland Mud Crab or fresh prawns straight out of the sea, or those big Banana Prawns off the North coast of Queensland. or a Moreton Bay Bug . Fresh Snapper straight off the Reef.

Sorry don't like sea food except for Maine lobster but haven't been able to afford that in years

[sandrabbit]

cut the tariffs on Coleman's Mustard & Bisto gravy. after that cut the tariffs on British tea bags & corned beef etc.

[Isaanbiker]

He said Thailand is lucky as, despite the decline in medical tourists from the Middle East, there had been a rise in medical tourists in recent times from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

 

  Another hub? 

 

   

[Traubert]

On 10/10/2019 at 5:13 PM, CGW said:

True! the Chinese buy Chinese made goods here as they are made for the export market - then take them back home!

 

Vitamins and supplements are another item that is very expensive here, far cheaper on iherb and the like, most that are on sale are lower quality also!

Quality control on exported goods is much more stringent in China than goods made for the domestic market plus above the board exports will not be fakes.