My move to Thailand

[rzugnoni]

This post is mainly for anyone that might have questions on moving heavy items to Thailand. I moved to Thailand at the end of November 2020. My move consisted of loading a 40 foot container with about 25% household goods and the rest with my home machine shop and wood shop. The machine shop equipment included a lathe that weighs 2000 lbs and a CNC mill that weighs 4200 lbs. It also included a table saw, compressor, roll around tool chests, band saws etc. The company that I hired was able to provide door to door service to my house in Loei Thailand.

 

Everything was labeled as used household goods, including the tools. The container was inspected by the Thai authorities.

 

The move went very smoothly. Customs and port fees were a total of $1000 US which was MUCH less than I calculated them to be. Also the transition through customs only took two days. I have read that for some people the experience was difficult. I might have gotten lucky but my move was exceptionally easy. The only hard (actually quite hard) part was in the US where I had to find a company that knew how to load and secure my heavier equipment.

 

I am posting this so that if anyone has any questions regarding my move or a future move of their own that I might be able to help with some answers to your questions. There was a person on this forum that helped me a whole lot in this way and it was very much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Randy

[Crossy]

Can you share the name of the company you used please, it may assist others.

 

Moving from the US how are you managing the voltage and frequency differences for your machine tools?

[natway09]

So have you had to buy step down transformers for all motors or just one big one?

[briofoz]

If the battery in the remote is low, the "key" LED on the dash will flash 5 times. You can check the voltage of the bike battery on the dash. The only time I had trouble was when I must have done an accidental push of the lock in my pocket. Idle Stop will not work if the battery is low.

 

Normally I never touch the remote, walk to the bike and touch the starter which energises the ignition switch on the bike.

 

I have heard of people having trouble if the remote is in your back pack on your back. The range is about 70cm so could get out of range.

 

Also just try cleaning the remote battery with a tissue and reinsert using a tissue, avoiding getting fingers on it.

[DogNo1]

May I ask how much the shipping cost was?

[Tuvoc]

We shipped  a container of stuff in Oct/Nov last year. The total price was a ludicrous £6,600 all up door to door to North of Thailand, which included them packing a lot of the stuff. It totally was not worth it. We ought to have just shipped personal items and things of sentimental value and given the rest to charity. We could have purchased new here for way less. Problem for us was that the initial quote was for only a small amount of stuff, < £1,500, but my wife kept adding more stuff to the list and despite me several times asking the company for an updated price they simply said not to worry. Well I was right to worry, and there was nothing I could do about it when he gave me the final price only once everything was in his warehouse. Be warned, make sure you know exactly what you want to take and get a price exactly for that, Don't get burned like we did. And then weigh up the shipping cost vs replacement cost in Thailand.

[briofoz]

5 hours ago, briofoz said:

If the battery in the remote is low, the "key" LED on the dash will flash 5 times. You can check the voltage of the bike battery on the dash. The only time I had trouble was when I must have done an accidental push of the lock in my pocket. Idle Stop will not work if the battery is low.

 

Normally I never touch the remote, walk to the bike and touch the starter which energises the ignition switch on the bike.

 

I have heard of people having trouble if the remote is in your back pack on your back. The range is about 70cm so could get out of range.

 

Also just try cleaning the remote battery with a tissue and reinsert using a tissue, avoiding getting fingers on it.

 

OOPS....wrong thread

[ericthai]

8 hours ago, briofoz said:

If the battery in the remote is low, the "key" LED on the dash will flash 5 times. You can check the voltage of the bike battery on the dash. The only time I had trouble was when I must have done an accidental push of the lock in my pocket. Idle Stop will not work if the battery is low.

 

Normally I never touch the remote, walk to the bike and touch the starter which energises the ignition switch on the bike.

 

I have heard of people having trouble if the remote is in your back pack on your back. The range is about 70cm so could get out of range.

 

Also just try cleaning the remote battery with a tissue and reinsert using a tissue, avoiding getting fingers on it.

are you drunk?

[Peter Denis]

14 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

We shipped  a container of stuff in Oct/Nov last year. The total price was a ludicrous £6,600 all up door to door to North of Thailand, which included them packing a lot of the stuff. It totally was not worth it. We ought to have just shipped personal items and things of sentimental value and given the rest to charity. We could have purchased new here for way less. Problem for us was that the initial quote was for only a small amount of stuff, < £1,500, but my wife kept adding more stuff to the list and despite me several times asking the company for an updated price they simply said not to worry. Well I was right to worry, and there was nothing I could do about it when he gave me the final price only once everything was in his warehouse. Be warned, make sure you know exactly what you want to take and get a price exactly for that, Don't get burned like we did. And then weigh up the shipping cost vs replacement cost in Thailand.

When I moved to Thailand 3 years ago from Belgium, I made use of a forwarding company to ship my stuff here.  I did not need a full container, but only bought 'part', i.e. 5 cubic meters, which was the minimum you could order.  I had 75 'items' in total, ranging from regular mover-type boxes stuffed with books/dvds etc - approx 50 boxes - to larger ones (e.g. my big flat-screen TV) as well as separate packaged items (e.g. my large book-storage cupboard).  Price from door-to-door (with movers packing the fragile stuff with buble-wrap) was 1.500 Euro (approx 55.000 THB).  There were NO items missing or damaged, but it did took 2 months from collecting at my house in Antwerp to delivery in KhunHan (650 km from Bangkok in SiSaKet province). 

[UKMART]

From UK to Bangkok, we used a freight forwarder, bought a small portion of a container. The cost 15 years ago was about 500 pounds, we only shipped personal stuff, and like one of the other posters, we sold off everything else or donated to charity. Customs clearance was the only issue in Bangkok, they wanted 100k ThB for clearance , my wife negotiated it down to 40k ThB. They told her the reason it was high, and this was my only real error during our move, was, I put all the shipment in my name, if I had used my wife Thai name, there would have been no fee at all. Lesson Learned.

[Peter Denis]

3 minutes ago, UKMART said:

From UK to Bangkok, we used a freight forwarder, bought a small portion of a container. The cost 15 years ago was about 500 pounds, we only shipped personal stuff, and like one of the other posters, we sold off everything else or donated to charity. Customs clearance was the only issue in Bangkok, they wanted 100k ThB for clearance , my wife negotiated it down to 40k ThB. They told her the reason it was high, and this was my only real error during our move, was, I put all the shipment in my name, if I had used my wife Thai name, there would have been no fee at all. Lesson Learned.

Although everything was shipped in my name, I was not confronted with ANY customers clearance costs in Thailand.  Maybe that was because I did put everything as 'low value' items on the list, this to also keep the included insurance fee low (I did ship some valuable art objects wrapped in clothes, but did not mention them on the overview-list).  It's also possible that the dutch Forwarding company I used which were specialized in Thailand shipping, were aware of those clearance requirements and used my girlfriends name on the clearance papers.

Looks like I was quite lucky, and total cost for my 5 cubic meter (75 boxes) for a door-to-door delivery with NO items missing/damaged was only 1500 Euro (approx 55.000 THB).

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

1 hour ago, UKMART said:

From UK to Bangkok, we used a freight forwarder, bought a small portion of a container. The cost 15 years ago was about 500 pounds, we only shipped personal stuff, and like one of the other posters, we sold off everything else or donated to charity. Customs clearance was the only issue in Bangkok, they wanted 100k ThB for clearance , my wife negotiated it down to 40k ThB. They told her the reason it was high, and this was my only real error during our move, was, I put all the shipment in my name, if I had used my wife Thai name, there would have been no fee at all. Lesson Learned.

There is actually a formal exemption from most customs duties for the shipment of household items and personal effect for Thais and PR holders returning from living abroad. There are some limitations, such as only one item of each type, and there can be some paperwork involved proving the overseas residence/work. The freight forwarder should be able to provide details and the necessary forms for getting this exemption.

[rzugnoni]

The total costs from the inside of my house to the inside of my new place was around $10500 US. About $1000 of that were the port and customs fees. I used "International Sea and Air Shipping", a freight forwarder located in New York. I lived on the West Coast near San Francisco. They worked with "Boonma Moving and Storage" in Thailand.

 

The motors on almost all of my machinery works on 110 or 220 VAC. I just had to change the connections on the junction box on those motors so that they run on 220 VAC. The only difference is that because of the 50 Hz frequency over here VS the 60 Hz in the US they run at about 80% of the motor rated speed. My lathe has a 3 phase motor. I purchased a variable frequency drive that converts 220 VAC single phase to 220 VAC 3 phase to operate that. For my home theater as well as some other minor items I purchased step down transformers. My CNC mill already has a VFD in the control cabinet so I will not need to re-wire that. I did install a step dpwn transformer in that cabinet for anything in there that normally runs on 110 VAC.

[Tuvoc]

On 4/2/2021 at 4:38 AM, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

There is actually a formal exemption from most customs duties for the shipment of household items and personal effect for Thais and PR holders returning from living abroad. There are some limitations, such as only one item of each type, and there can be some paperwork involved proving the overseas residence/work. The freight forwarder should be able to provide details and the necessary forms for getting this exemption.

 

Not totally true, which we found out.  In our case, we had no exemption at all despite the fact that it was in my wife's name. That added insult to injury and made me even more angry than I was about the exorbitant shipping costs ! On top of the £6,600 shipping costs was had to pay just over 50,000 baht in customs charges and tax.

 

 

In order to receive the exception of import duty and tax, the client must qualify under the following rules and laws: 

• The client must have stayed abroad for more than 365 days.

• The shipment must arrive in Thailand not more than 30 days prior to the owner's arrival and not more than 90 days after their last arrival to Thailand.

• The client must not have stayed in Thailand for more than 90 days on any one trip over the previous 1-2 years of the shipment arriving at port  (Please note that Departure and Arrival Stamps in the client passport is very important for customs processes. The client must have all stamps in and out of Thailand stamped in their passport booklet, if they do not have all the stamps, they must request this from the Dept. of Customs and Immigration here in Thailand, or we can get this for them when they return but we must charge (THB1,500 for this service.)  

•  Client must not have used the import duties and taxes exemption previously.

 

I

So if your goods arrive more than 90 days after you, then you become liable to charges. Between 90 days and 6 months there is a reduced exemption, but then after 6 months there is no exemption at all, which is what we encountered. My wife returned to Thailand first, and then a few months later I followed along with the shipment.

Edited April 3, 2021 by Tuvoc

[smccolley]

On 4/1/2021 at 9:49 PM, ericthai said:

are you drunk?

He is not as think as he drunk he is!

[ChaiyaTH]

Wonder how much it would cost to ship everything from Thailand back to Europe, if that day ever comes. That could be quite interesting as many things are cheaper here, I could add some nice teak wood furniture to it as well, and sell some back home.

 

But every time I calculated, I had to conclude it is cheaper to just buy brand new stuff in both countries (specially if you used it for like 3-5 years).

[sirineou]

We looked at shipping a 20 ft container from our home in Florida to our home in Khon Kaen, , we decided that for the shipping cost cost , we can buy all new stuff in Thailand.

So we shared a container .

Wife , through a FB Thai group she belongs in found this Thai shipping company, who drives Through Florida once a month with a big truck , collects  the boxes from the different houses, puts them all I a container, ships them to Thailand, and then delivers them to the different locations. 

Cost : $140 per 24"x18x18 box.   My lawn mower was $300 (threw some other things in the box also) 

I shipped all of our personal , clothing  , and my kitchen stuff in 6 boxes, plus lawn mower for $1,140

 

Shipped last week. It takes two months to get there, so we gave it a head start, we wave tickets to fly there for May 4

so we should get there a couple of weeks before it. If we are delayed they can keep it in their Wearhouse for a while free of charge. 

Edited April 4, 2021 by sirineou

[Lomsakboy]

5 hours ago, sirineou said:

We looked at shipping a 20 ft container from our home in Florida to our home in Khon Kaen, , we decided that for the shipping cost cost , we can buy all new stuff in Thailand.

So we shared a container .

Wife , through a FB Thai group she belongs in found this Thai shipping company, who drives Through Florida once a month with a big truck , collects  the boxes from the different houses, puts them all I a container, ships them to Thailand, and then delivers them to the different locations. 

Cost : $140 per 24"x18x18 box.   My lawn mower was $300 (threw some other things in the box also) 

I shipped all of our personal , clothing  , and my kitchen stuff in 6 boxes, plus lawn mower for $1,140

 

Shipped last week. It takes two months to get there, so we gave it a head start, we wave tickets to fly there for May 4

so we should get there a couple of weeks before it. If we are delayed they can keep it in their Wearhouse for a while free of charge. 

If you ship in your Thai wife name, then original passport, Thai ID and the Thai house book (tabien Baan) will be required for custom clearance. Without this, there will be import tax on your shipment. If in your name, then original passport and Visa will be required to obtain tax/ duty relief on the shipment. Again this all depend on what is listened on the packing list and the mood of Thai Customs. Also, if stored at port it will not be free, can get 7 days free if your agent in FL asked for this when they shipped out. 

[Lomsakboy]

13 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Wonder how much it would cost to ship everything from Thailand back to Europe, if that day ever comes. That could be quite interesting as many things are cheaper here, I could add some nice teak wood furniture to it as well, and sell some back home.

 

But every time I calculated, I had to conclude it is cheaper to just buy brand new stuff in both countries (specially if you used it for like 3-5 years).

Right now price on any shipments has gone sky high to to the pandemic and shortage of container. Depend on where too, then the increase has gone up by 350% on a container. Especially to some destination in Europe and United States are very high these days. But all destinations has gone up. It might go down to something like normal again in Q3. But I will see that before I believe this. 

 

[suzannegoh]

6 hours ago, Lomsakboy said:

Right now price on any shipments has gone sky high to to the pandemic and shortage of container. Depend on where too, then the increase has gone up by 350% on a container. Especially to some destination in Europe and United States are very high these days. But all destinations has gone up. It might go down to something like normal again in Q3. But I will see that before I believe this. 

 

350% increase?  So then about a million baht to sent a 20ft container of household goods from Thailand to the US?

[Lomsakboy]

32 minutes ago, suzannegoh said:

350% increase?  So then about a million baht to sent a 20ft container of household goods from Thailand to the US?

Where have I written THB 1 million. Should have said up to 350% to some destination. couple of sample on increase to United States is to port Seattle, WA. on a 20ft. the sea freight increase has gone up by THB 120,000 in approx. 1 year and to Terminal Atlanta GA. the same.  But all depending on destination address in United States, it could cost around THB 500,000 door to door and with everything included with todays freight rates. Hopefully this stop soon and the rates will get back to more normal prices. But I doubt it. 

[suzannegoh]

35 minutes ago, Lomsakboy said:

Where have I written THB 1 million. Should have said up to 350% to some destination. couple of sample on increase to United States is to port Seattle, WA. on a 20ft. the sea freight increase has gone up by THB 120,000 in approx. 1 year and to Terminal Atlanta GA. the same.  But all depending on destination address in United States, it could cost around THB 500,000 door to door and with everything included with todays freight rates. Hopefully this stop soon and the rates will get back to more normal prices. But I doubt it. 

Apologies, you didn’t say a million baht, I extrapolated that from your estimate of a 350% increase.  US$10K was a ballpark figure for a shipment like that a few years ago, using professional movers who pack and unpack everything for you.  3.5 times that would put it over the million baht mark, which would be prohibitively expensive in most cases. 

[rzugnoni]

Our shipment took about two months to get to Thailand. We were not able to get an exemption under my wife's name because she had already been in the country for more than 6 months prior to the shipment. However, shipping in her name minimized the required paperwork on my part.

 

For anyone's information, we now live in a village near Loei. That is about 25 miles south of the Mekong River. The truck and container had to park about a mile from the house. All of my equipment and household items were brought in using a small crane and small trucks. I was at a hotel and my wife surprised me with the arrival and off-loading of everything. After seeing the videos of how they moved my 4200 lb CNC mill out of the container, onto the smaller truck then into my shop I was glad not to have been there.

[Tuvoc]

On 4/7/2021 at 12:43 AM, rzugnoni said:

Our shipment took about two months to get to Thailand. We were not able to get an exemption under my wife's name because she had already been in the country for more than 6 months prior to the shipment. However, shipping in her name minimized the required paperwork on my part.

 

 

Yes, exactly the same as us.