Fedex says debit cards are “Prohibited Item.” How can I get them sent to me?

[youbuyshirt]

My US banks have shipped two new debit cards to me c/o my sister in the US, whose address I use as my registered address.

 

Now I need her to ship them to me (in Vietnam) and I’m finding I can’t do it.

 

Fedex apparently considers debit cards a prohibited item and I think the other couriers do, too.

 

She previously shipped debit cards to me by regular mail and they were never delivered. Lost forever. Courier is the only safe way, but they won’t accept them!

 

Has anyone had a similar problem and how did you manage to get your cards?

 

Thanks for any replies.

[stouricks]

Put them inside a 'birthday card' !

[Sheryl]

EMS should be fine. Not a courier, but traceable.

[riclag]

send them inetrnational priorty mail(you get a tracking number)) through the USPS as "documents" or "membership cards".Wrap them in 4X4  inch or larger cardboard, 

[Grumpy one]

I have one in Australia I want sent, but the post is somewhat of a disaster area at present

[ukrules]

Just send it taped inside a book and label it as documents. Tell them it's a book.

 

They will never know.

 

[soi3eddie]

Good advice above. They are worthless pieces of plastic F F S. The courier will never know.

[Pib]

I have had US debit and credit cards shipped from the US to Thailand via FedEx and DHL three times this year. Zero problem...arrived in approx 5 days.  In fact, just last week was one of the debit card shipments via DHL. However, the cards were part of shipments from my US mail forwarding company where I had several pieces of mail remailed in one larger envelope via Fedex/DHL...the debit cards were where just in plain, non-descriptive envelopes which didn't identifying them as cards...in this case no customs declaration identifying what is in the envelopes is required.   Summary: don't identify that cards are being reshipped....say they are something else.

 

[Joinaman]

Had mine sent by my son from the UK, taped inside a birthday card. Got here no problems  

[phetphet]

Tape them inside something like a book, in a small parcel with several unimportant documents /papers . But importantly, make sure you send it "Tracked and to be signed for."

 

You can do this through the Post Office, and will get a tracking number. The faster the service, the more expensive.

[pixelaoffy]

I just had debit cards shipped to me in Thailand by  standard mail International signed for, In my experience these Fedexes and DHL etc are the worst, Had so many problems with items held by customs  opened and searched, NEVER used again in  last 2 years

[youbuyshirt]

Thanks for the great replies. Well I wanted to ship them Fedex via Parcel Monkey which is much much cheaper than using Fedex itself. But Parcel Monkey says that it’s prohibited by their partner, which is Fedex.

 

I just checked DHL and i don’t see the same prohibition against debit cards. But 3 times as expensive as Parcel Monkey.

 

I need to find a Parcel Monkey equivalent that uses DHL.

 

Sheryl, I heard that EMS does not provide tracking once it leaves the US. Maybe that’s wrong? I wouldn’t trust a non-tracked package in VN postal system.

 

Actually EMS in the US is same as Priority Mail Express International, which has a tracking footnote that says Limitations may apply for certain destinations. Also the price is not really much cheaper than the big courier companies.

 

Riclag, international priority mail only provides tracking until it leaves the US, with the exception of a handful of developed countries where it is tracked to destination. Vietnam is not among them. Once it entered the VN postal system, it would be a real crapshoot whether it got delivered.

 

Priority Mail Express International also does not seem to provide tracking to all destinations. It’s really hard to figure out the USPS’s incredibly confusing price lists and tracking policies.

[darksidedog]

I just had a new ATM card shipped to me by my UK bank direct to my house here using DHL. They charged me 20 Pounds GBP for the service (about $25 USD), but it was here in three days, and given my card was broken and unusable that worked quite well for me.

[sanuk711]

Yes as Sheryl said--EMS is fine you can track it from the minute you go, place in some A4 paper declare as Docs....

[drbeach]

My bank in Australia sent me a new credit card to Thailand last year using DHL. No issues whatsoever.

[riclag]

1 hour ago, youbuyshirt said:

Thanks for the great replies. Well I wanted to ship them Fedex via Parcel Monkey which is much much cheaper than using Fedex itself. But Parcel Monkey says that it’s prohibited by their partner, which is Fedex.

 

I just checked DHL and i don’t see the same prohibition against debit cards. But 3 times as expensive as Parcel Monkey.

 

I need to find a Parcel Monkey equivalent that uses DHL.

 

Sheryl, I heard that EMS does not provide tracking once it leaves the US. Maybe that’s wrong? I wouldn’t trust a non-tracked package in VN postal system.

 

Actually EMS in the US is same as Priority Mail Express International, which has a tracking footnote that says Limitations may apply for certain destinations. Also the price is not really much cheaper than the big courier companies.

 

Riclag, international priority mail only provides tracking until it leaves the US, with the exception of a handful of developed countries where it is tracked to destination. Vietnam is not among them. Once it entered the VN postal system, it would be a real crapshoot whether it got delivered.

 

Priority Mail Express International also does not seem to provide tracking to all destinations. It’s really hard to figure out the USPS’s incredibly confusing price lists and tracking policies.

 I remember being told that 10 years ago, tracking as far as the USA. So just recently I had cards sent in FEB.

I had it delivered to Thailand with a USPS International priority with  tracking number and the USPS app showed  all the locations, stops with dates and times ! It even confirmed delry ,once I received it. Cost thirty five bucks .  ????

Vietnam ? : (

Goodluck

[Kerryd]

10 hours ago, youbuyshirt said:

I need to find a Parcel Monkey equivalent that uses DHL.

I've been using Planet Express (https://planetexpress.com/?ref=32575) for a couple years now. (Just like in the cartoon series Futurama, but without the spaceships and Bender robots and aliens. I think.)

They provide a US address where you can have mail/parcels sent and then forwarded to wherever you are. I use them mostly to get stuff that Amazon won't ship to Thailand for whatever reason. (Seems they also can set up a "UK" address as well now.)

When they get a parcel, they send an email. You log in to their site and select the parcel(s) you want sent. During the "mail out" process, they provide a list of options you can use to ship your (whatever). 
DHL, USPS and FedEx usually have 2 options each (regular and express for example). For some items they have their own "Planet Express Mail" which is whoever they have made arrangements with. Last time I used that option, it seems they used "Swiss Mail" as their partner.

Their "in house" mail option is usually the cheapest (but not always) and usually the slowest (but not always) as well. It usually has a "regular" and an "express" option as well. I normally use the "Planet Mail" option as I don't normally need whatever it is fast enough to justify the expense of using one of the faster options.

The different options have different prices of course, depending on the size/weight of the package and destination. Some options have tracking, some have limited tracking and some have no tracking options.
They have a Postage Calculator that lets you see what the costs will be (assuming you know the size/weight of the package). You can also just use the "mail out" process and when you get to the page where you select delivery method, it shows the different options and prices for the package you've selected.

They have a "consolidate" packages option but that requires a monthly fee for some reason.
The regular service doesn't have a monthly fee. You only pay a small "mail out" fee when you have them ship a parcel to you.

Planet Express charges $2.00 per package as a "mail out" fee and offers an Insurance option as well. I think I've had something like 28 parcels forwarded by them so far. Received them all in good order and within the stated delivery times. (The "mail out" fee is in addition to the shipping fee and insurance option of course.)

Still subject to the whims of Customs though ! You fill out a Customs Declaration during the "mail out" process, where you note what the item is, how many and how much they cost (each).

Note - couriers like DHL, UPS and FedEx use 3rd party Customs Brokers to process shipments and those Brokers make money from charging fees. They will (often) charge Customs fees on almost every shipment, regardless of actual value.
Which is why I rarely use them unless it's really important to get something quickly.

Using the USPS or the "in house" mail service seems to put everything into the regular Thai (EMS) mail system though so there's normally a tracking number and it's more likely your parcel will actually arrive.

However, your package will still be subject to the whims of Thai Customs. I've found that normally, parcels with a total value of under $50 usually sail right through. Ones valued at $50-75 may get hit with additional fees (about half the time or less) while packages valued at more than $75 seem to get hit with Customs fees more often than not.

There are a couple other companies out there that provide a similar service.
I looked at a couple of them before but they wanted monthly fees even if you had nothing to ship. 

Also, some of them (Planet Express included) have options about the US address you can use (and you could have more than one address I think).
 

For example, I think you can get an address in Oregon through Planet Express. It's something to do with State Taxes. where having somethings delivered to California might be subject to higher state taxes than the same things being sent to an address in Oregon, but I did some checking and it seems that the courier fees (DHL/FedEx/UPS) were higher for things being shipped out of Oregon than California, and I've never noticed any extra taxes associated with things I've had sent to the California address.

What else ? 
Um, you pay them by making deposits on your account. I use PayPal to send them money. Normally I calculate the cost of the package (including mail out fee and insurance) and then use PayPal to send them the money. I see they have credit card, Bankwire, AmazonPay and BitPay options as well.

They also have a "Shop For Me" option. It seems to be for people who may have "international" credit cards that might not be accepted for online orders in the US. I'm guessing that you tell them what you want and send them the money (via paypal or other option) and then they buy the item and have it delivered.
(No idea what that service costs as I have never used it.)

The last time my bank sent me a new credit card though, they sent it by DHL courier. Didn't cost me any extra fees and the bank paid the shipping costs. (Canadian bank - other banks in other countries may differ.)
Helps that my mailing/billing address are my address in Thailand. I do believe though that I had one replacement card go missing in the mail once. But that was back when I was renting an apartment in South Pattaya and the mail would be delivered to the laundry downstairs. I'd come back on holidays every 3-4 months and there'd be a stack of (mostly) bills waiting for me. I'm sure a couple of people probably checked every envelope that arrived to see if there was anything "plasticy" inside of it.

Any ways. It's an option (using a mail forwarding company). I found it useful over here especially when shopping on Amazon. Some eBay vendors won't ship overseas either.

Frik - I even found an item on Amazon once that was made in Thailand and shipped from Thailand, but they wouldn't ship to Thailand ! (I didn't bother trying to contact the vendor to see if they had another storefront on Lazada or elsewhere that I could use.)

[Card]

I get mine sent out stuck inside a card but what is crucial is not to mark it on any customs/courier declaration and to either put a block/unblock on the card yourself on your account website or have your bank do it until you inform them to unblock it after arriving. Then there is piece of mind in case it does not arrive.

[Kerryd]

Derp ! Just saw a minor error and too late to edit it.
 

I said (in the post above):

57 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

DHL, USPS and FedEx usually have 2 options

I meant "DHL, UPS and FedEx" usually have 2 options. USPS also usually has 2 as well. The difference is, UPS is basically a courier like DHL and FedEx and therefore uses a 3rd party Customs broker (and they do charge for everything) while USPS is the normal mail service and stuff sent through them usually goes straight into the the Thai EMS system (and most things I have sent that way don't end up getting taxed extra). 
(It's not a guarantee though.)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 hours ago, Pib said:

I have had US debit and credit cards shipped from the US to Thailand via FedEx and DHL three times this year. Zero problem...arrived in approx 5 days.  In fact, just last week was one of the debit card shipments via DHL. However, the cards were part of shipments from my US mail forwarding company where I had several pieces of mail remailed in one larger envelope via Fedex/DHL...the debit cards were where just in plain, non-descriptive envelopes which didn't identifying them as cards...in this case no customs declaration identifying what is in the envelopes is required.   Summary: don't identify that cards are being reshipped....say they are something else.

 

 

Another TVF forum member in Vietnam told me recently that Vietnam has some kind of law against debit cards being mailed into the country.... Thailand doesn't, as my experience in TH with that matches yours above.

 

The question the other member didn't answer was, how seriously does Vietnam go about looking for such things when they arrive mixed in with assorted other mail items.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

21 minutes ago, Card said:

I get mine sent out stuck inside a card but what is crucial is not to mark it on any customs/courier declaration and to either put a block/unblock on the card yourself on your account website or have your bank do it until you inform them to unblock it after arriving. Then there is piece of mind in case it does not arrive.

 

These days, every bank or debit card I receive from the U.S. requires telephone activation using various of my private info... They can't just be used by anyone who might swipe them en route. And lately, a lot of them are requiring activation specifically using the home phone number listed on the sender's account info for me.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

11 hours ago, riclag said:

 I remember being told that 10 years ago, tracking as far as the USA. So just recently I had cards sent in FEB.

I had it delivered to Thailand with a USPS International priority with  tracking number and the USPS app showed  all the locations, stops with dates and times ! It even confirmed delry ,once I received it. Cost thirty five bucks .  ????

Vietnam ? : (

Goodluck

I just recently had a package sent from the U.S. to Thailand via USPS Priority mail. So far, the USPS tracking tracked it all the way to arrival and departure from Swampy Airport a day or two ago. Still waiting to see what if anything it will show me after that.... 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

For some items they have their own "Planet Express Mail" which is whoever they have made arrangements with. Last time I used that option, it seems they used "Swiss Mail" as their partner.

 

PE's Planet Express and Economy mail options are the cheapest ways to send any small package (4 lbs or under) that I'm aware of. Usually runs about $10 or so per pound, and arrives here in 10-14 days typically.

 

I believe they use a company called Asendia, which is a consortium of LaPoste and Swiss Post that deals in bulk/commercial mailing in various countries including the U.S.

 

The economy option has no tracking. The express option has rudimentary tracking up thru departure from the U.S., but I don't believe it extends to Thailand.  FWIW, I've probably sent 200 packages thru them, and had 100% delivery success here in BKK.

 

 

[Kerryd]

9 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The economy option has no tracking. The express option has rudimentary tracking up thru departure from the U.S., but I don't believe it extends to Thailand.  FWIW, I've probably sent 200 packages thru them, and had 100% delivery success here in BKK.

Yeah, I found the tracking using the "Asendia" (Planet Mail option) to be pretty bad. I usually try to get the tracking number and then use the Thai EMS tracking site but often the package will be at my door before it's updated on the site(s).

Part of that is, a lot of parcel delivery companies and airlines "share" routes. Extra cargo space in planes might be filled with parcel mail and packages could end up on 2-3 different airlines before arriving in the destination country. Used to see that a lot when I was working in Afghanistan. Stuff from Canada would arrive with Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and/or Emirates stickers on them and watching the tracking sometimes left you wondering if something you shipped was being sent almost around the world only to end up coming back again !

Even the "big" shipping companies have to use 3rd party shippers from time to time as they can't ship and deliver (themselves) everywhere in the world.

One option with Planet Mail, if you have a number of parcels, is to sign up for their "Consolidation Plan" at $10 a month, have them consolidate your parcels into into one (or two) packages, ship them and then cancel the Plan.
Keep in mind that a consolidated package might be cheaper to send (depending on the size and weight) than a number of smaller packages, but if the total value is too high you might face additional Customs charges when it arrives in Thailand. Also, a larger, heavier package could cost more by itself. 

Typically, when I've been hit with additional fees, they total the value of the shipment and the cost to ship it as well as the cost of the Insurance. That value (CIF - Cost/Insurance/Frieght) is what they base the Duties on. If you don't insure the shipment, they will estimate that cost. Even if you get something with "Free Shipping" - they will estimate that value.

For example. I had a set of LED headlight/fog lights shipped one time. It got to Customs and I had to ride up to Laem Chabang to collect the parcel from the Customs Office. I showed them the order I'd made and had to explain that it was a "set" as they wanted to charge me the "set" price for the headlight and again for the fog lights.
Then they asked how much the shipping was. I showed them right where it said "Free Shipping". They decided that the shipping cost should be 900 baht and another 300 for Insurance. They added that to the $75 value of the lights and then charged me duties on the total. (Roughly 40% duties.)

Nearly 1,500 baht in Customs Duties by the time they were through.
It's pay up or walk away and leave your package. 

Oh and part of the problem with that shipment was, the vendor had marked "headlights" on the Customs Declaration and then only noted a value of $8.00 ! Someone at Customs noticed that and flagged the package.
 

[digger70]

My bank in Aus always send the  new ATM cards in normal mail to me here in Thailand no probs so far. 

[AAArdvark]

UPS

 

"

The following articles are prohibited from shipment to all countries served by UPS:

• Ammunition (except as expressly provided in the "UPS Tariff/Terms and Conditions of Service - United States" beginning on page 136)
• Bank bills, notes or currency (other than coin)
• Corpses, cremated or disinterred remains
• Fireworks
• Hazardous waste
• Ivory
• Marijuana, including marijuana intended for medicinal use
• Postage stamps
• Shark fins
• Shipments prohibited by law
• Watches exceeding the value of 500USD

"

[UPDEHSOI]

15 hours ago, stouricks said:

Put them inside a 'birthday card' !

In my humble opinion, you should NEVER put anything of value, money for example, in a birthday card Certain people in certain postal outlets have a bad habit of xraying such things as birthday cards and the like. Happened to my friend...TWICE. So his wife wrapped his card in a piece of tinfoil, put it in an envelope and sent it off to Thailand. Reached its destination, no problem Apparently the aluminum foil can block the xray, and make it look like there is nothing in the envelope, except the note. Dunno if I would want to try this myself. Maybe in a pinch.

[Geordieabroad]

My bank in the UK (Barclays) has sent 2 debit cards and 1 credit card to me in 4 years by registered post. Received them all no problems

[stouricks]

23 minutes ago, UPDEHSOI said:

In my humble opinion, you should NEVER put anything of value, money for example, in a birthday card Certain people in certain postal outlets have a bad habit of xraying such things as birthday cards and the like. Happened to my friend...TWICE. So his wife wrapped his card in a piece of tinfoil, put it in an envelope and sent it off to Thailand. Reached its destination, no problem Apparently the aluminum foil can block the xray, and make it look like there is nothing in the envelope, except the note. Dunno if I would want to try this myself. Maybe in a pinch.

Would the Éxamining Officer''not think, ah, something wrapped in tinfoil, let's have a shuftie?

[chilly07]

EMS track and trace by normal post is much more reliable than any messenger service! 7 days from UK.