Ordering a Lenovo ThinkPad - 4 weeks...

[Bruno123]

On 8/3/2021 at 3:08 AM, topt said:

Interesting. Not come across them before. Thanks

That's because they made laptops for other people to rebrand. Usually only people who were maintaining them understood them to be made by Clevo. 

 

My standard ACER laptop(not made by CLEVO), bought in Thailand in 2007, is still working perfectly.

 

Of course many people criticise ACER; partly because they acquired some companies not known for their high quality products in order to gain access to different markets. e-Machines being one such example. Their machines were notoriously bad; keys regularly falling off.

One reason to avoid any ACER with an E prefix, IMO. They discontinued the e-Machines moniker, for good reason.

 

The main reason for buying devices such as ThinkPads, were their modularity. You could swap out drives in seconds and have it up and running and back with it's user in no time at all.

 

None of the nonsense of having to disassemble the whole laptop for simple maintenance.

In other words you were paying for a laptop that was designed for use and easy maintenance, as opposed to down to a price.

I don't mind waiting for ex- business devices to come on to the market, obtaining them for a song.

The most that I have ever paid for a laptop is actually this ACER, at 21,000 baht. Every other has been an 'as new' Refurb at a deep discount.

Edited August 5, 2021 by Bruno123

[fdsa]

7 minutes ago, Bruno123 said:

Of course many people criticise ACER; partly because they acquired some companies not known for their high quality products in order to gain access to different markets. e-Machines being one such example. Their machines were notoriously bad; keys regularly falling off.

also Acer owns Packard Bell and Game Cube, among with eMachines they are the worst laptops ever made. I've worked in computer/laptop repair company 15+ years ago and the majority of coming laptops were Acer and its subsidiaries.

So I'd never buy Acer for myself lol.

[Bruno123]

3 minutes ago, fdsa said:

also Acer owns Packard Bell and Game Cube, among with eMachines they are the worst laptops ever made. I've worked in computer/laptop repair company 15+ years ago and the majority of coming laptops were Acer and its subsidiaries.

So I'd never buy Acer for myself lol.

 

That's the issue; they diluted their brand by buying up companies that sold cr@p. 

 

Everything on my ACER laptop still works; down to the WiFi and Bluetooth switches. Even still using the original battery; more than fourteen years old and gives around 30 minutes of normal usage. It runs the latest version of Windows 10 Pro. 

It can't be just me, as I saw much the same device in the local Immigration office a few months ago. Though theirs was either running XP or Windows 7; don't remember exactly.

Edited August 5, 2021 by Bruno123

[fdsa]

1 hour ago, Bruno123 said:

 

That's the issue; they diluted their brand by buying up companies that sold cr@p. 

 

Everything on my ACER laptop still works; down to the WiFi and Bluetooth switches. Even still using the original battery; more than fourteen years old and gives around 30 minutes of normal usage. It runs the latest version of Windows 10 Pro. 

It can't be just me, as I saw much the same device in the local Immigration office a few months ago. Though theirs was either running XP or Windows 7; don't remember exactly.

I have had an Acer branded laptop (not e-cráp or P-B/G-C) which appeared to have lid hinges made of duralumin or silumin or similar soft compound - there were gray colored micro crystals at the crack spot.

Normal laptops use stainless steel for hinges.

Edited August 5, 2021 by fdsa

[mtls2005]

IBM sold the ThinkPad brand to Lenovo in 2005.

 

I've had pre-(2x) and post-Lenovo (now 3x) ThinkPads. They've all been great. My T410 was bullet-proof since 2010.

 

"THINK" was the company (IBM) mantra - we had all sorts of office supplies with this emblazoned. Said to originate from TJ's NCR days.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Now for all the ThinkPad fans. Do you know where the original design came from?

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

I just saw this one in my YouTube recommended video list. Enjoy!

 

 

[fdsa]

On 7/22/2021 at 7:49 PM, fdsa said:

my post is based on my personal experience with shipping the same category items via DHL compared to EMS/Thailand Post - DHL charges the "import tax" more often and more expensive in %s, while the Post charges quite rarely and if they do the tax is peanuts. I continue to use DHL only because of their reliability in terms of shipments tracking and the customer support.

YMMV.

 

 

BTW i've just recalled - DHL also likes to add the "customs tax service" around $20 for their "assistance" with paying the import tax while the Thailand Post does not ask for that extra payment.

my recent experiences:

 

$250 shipping by DHL (electronics): $50 tax ($20 of them is the mandatory payment to DHL that I've mentioned above, you will pay $20 even if the total shipping cost is just $30)

 

 

$400 shipping by Registered Air Mail (electronics): $0 tax

 

$500 shipping by Registered Air Mail (electronics) coming next week: will post later if I won't forget but I expect $0 tax again.

 

[SpaceKadet]

Just for info for all who might be wanting to order. I ordered one of the pre-configured heavily discounted TP X1 Carbon Gen9. Was almost what I wanted config wise. And got Win 10 Pro and 3 year warranty in the discount. If I would configure to the same specs, it would be almost 30% more expensive, with discounts, and shipment in 8 weeks.

 

Ordered on the 8th Sep, received on the 19th. That included 3 days to clear the payment by Lenovo. Was shipped from Singapore by UPS. Delivered to me by Kerry.

 

Great little machine. It's replacing my aging X1 Carbon Gen 1.

[fdsa]

On 9/21/2021 at 2:09 PM, fdsa said:

$500 shipping by Registered Air Mail (electronics) coming next week: will post later if I won't forget but I expect $0 tax again.

This time I was taxed :(

~500 USD (16000 THB) = 1120 tax (7% VAT) + 20 THB service charge, total 1140 THB.

With DHL I would have been charged 1120 tax + 600 THB service + something else extra they usually like to add.

[fdsa]

10'000 THB shipping by DHL, tax = 1400 THB (14%)

20'000 THB shipping by DHL, tax = 1700 THB (8.5%)

 

I was wrong about DHL service charge - its not 600 THB but "just" 214 THB -a "DISBURSEMENT" in the screenshot above, and the tax itself is "CUSTOMS SERVICE VAT". I found it out when checked other tax slips - the "DISBURSEMENT" is always 214 THB but customs service value changes (seems to be always 7% for electronics and computer parts).

 

anyway Thailand Post charges 10 times less than DHL - just 20 THB for "disbursement".

[fdsa]

Another update: it seems that "a whole computer" is subject to 7% VAT but "computer parts" may be subject to EXTRA 10%, total 17%.

I've just had to pay 10% tax for a power supply unit plus 7% VAT.

Item cost 5900 THB

import tax 590 (10%)

VAT 454 (7% of 5900+590)

total 1044 THB tax + 20 THB "disbursement" fee by Thailand Post = 1064 THB for 5900 THB item.

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by fdsa

[fdsa]

On 11/23/2021 at 2:19 PM, fdsa said:

Another update: it seems that "a whole computer" is subject to 7% VAT but "computer parts" may be subject to EXTRA 10%, total 17%.

yep, just was charged 10% extra tax for USB flash drives total 17%!!!

 

And FYI:  UPS charges extra 200 THB "disbursement fee", a bit less than DHL (214)

Edited January 27, 2022 by fdsa

[fdsa]

P.S. to moderators - I suggest to rename this thread to something like "Ordering a Lenovo Thinkpad & import tax"

or moving messages about import taxes to another thread.

[Liverpool Lou]

20 minutes ago, fdsa said:

On 11/23/2021 at 2:19 PM, fdsa said:

Another update: it seems that "a whole computer" is subject to 7% VAT but "computer parts" may be subject to EXTRA 10%, total 17%.

yep, just was charged 10% extra tax for USB flash drives total 17%!!!

VAT is 7%, on anything in Thailand.   You were not charged an "extra 10%" making it (VAT) 17%, you were clearly charged 10% import duty for the "parts" and 7% VAT.  Completely normal.

Edited January 27, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[fdsa]

35 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

VAT is 7%, on anything in Thailand.   You were not charged an "extra 10%" making it (VAT) 17%, you were clearly charged 10% import duty for the "parts" and 7% VAT.  Completely normal.

I meant "total import tax", not "total VAT".

 

All my posts boil down to a simple thing:

- close to 100% shipments sent by usual Post have 0% import tax (regardless that everything should be taxed 7%)

- close to 100% shipments sent by courier services such as DHL, UPS, whatever, have 7% import tax and sometimes even more than that.

[Firefan]

On 7/23/2021 at 9:45 AM, Liverpool Lou said:

If an item is subject to import duty the courier companies will always apply it, they are contracted to do so on behalf of the Customs Dept and they only apply it at official Customs rates.   

 

Thailand Post charges are applied less frequently because not every postal item gets selected for examination but the import duty rates are exactly the same as charged by couriers because the rates are set by the Customs Dept.   Thailand Post does not set the rates as can be seen by the appeals procedure if the duty is disputed, the appeal goes to the Customs Dept.

You are both right. Yes, DHL Etc. will (almost) always charge, and they will add a much higher handling/service fee - so that is where the difference lies. Taxes are the same (and can ofcourse be disputed should they not match the customs tax book that no one would ever want to try to read ????). Cheers~

[Liverpool Lou]

3 minutes ago, Firefan said:

Yes, DHL Etc. will (almost) always charge, and they will add a much higher handling/service fee

A couple of hundred baht, that's all, and they charge that to cover their costs for collecting the duty/VAT on behalf of Customs.

[fdsa]

On 11/23/2021 at 2:19 PM, fdsa said:

I've just had to pay 10% tax for a power supply unit plus 7% VAT.

Item cost 5900 THB

import tax 590 (10%)

VAT 454 (7% of 5900+590)

Fun fact: I've just received another power supply unit but was not charget a tax, despite the box was opened and inspected by Thai customs.

 

Maybe there is some "unchargeable" limit? This time item cost was 2900 THB - below $100 US.

[Firefan]

May have found that the "minimum amount" (they will only tax amount if above that) for tax purposes is $50 - that is for sure the case for supplements/vitamins and also several other groups of goods - but not all.

[fdsa]

<deleted>... yet another update: I've got a parcel held hostage by Thai customs because the declared value is over 40'000 THB (as the UPS representative said).

Now the customs want a ton of paperwork such as description of goods, country of origin, proof of payment, et cetera. This is not a big deal, but UPS also wants me to send my original passport to their office in Bangkok to register UPS as a broker, AFAIU it means "to allow UPS to import parcels and deal with Thai customs on my behalf".

 

So make a note that importing anything more expensive than 40'000 THB will be a PITA.

[Excel]

On 7/21/2021 at 9:22 PM, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

why wont you buy lenovo idealpad instead? they have great stock in banana it

Perhaps because he doesn't want that one

[ThailandRyan]

20 minutes ago, fdsa said:

<deleted>... yet another update: I've got a parcel held hostage by Thai customs because the declared value is over 40'000 THB (as the UPS representative said).

Now the customs want a ton of paperwork such as description of goods, country of origin, proof of payment, et cetera. This is not a big deal, but UPS also wants me to send my original passport to their office in Bangkok to register UPS as a broker, AFAIU it means "to allow UPS to import parcels and deal with Thai customs on my behalf".

 

So make a note that importing anything more expensive than 40'000 THB will be a PITA.

Dealt with that last November when my replacement Samsung S-20+ cell phone was shipped via UPS by Verizon's insurance company Asurion.  Had to supply a poop load of paperwork and obtain a certification from the that indicated the phone was already allowed for import.  Cluster.......

 

My Lenovo ThinkPad I purchased in 2018 with a I7 Core of 8th generation is still humming along........I purchased it with Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8565U CPU @ 1.80GHz   2.00 GHz.  It took 5 weeks for delivery, and that was to my house in the US.

Edited June 8, 2022 by ThailandRyan

[fdsa]

1 hour ago, fdsa said:

UPS also wants me to send my original passport to their office in Bangkok to register UPS as a broker,

Update: I've got another option: bring the original passport to the local Thai Customs office for registration, and then send just a copy of the passport (but all pages lol) to UPS in Bangkok.

[ThailandRyan]

Just now, fdsa said:

Update: I've got another option: bring the original passport to the local Thai Customs office for registration, and then send just a copy of the passport (but all pages lol) to UPS in Bangkok.

They had a courier come and pick mine up in the morning and returned it the next morning.

[JimmyJ]

On 8/5/2021 at 3:26 PM, Bruno123 said:

 

I don't mind waiting for ex- business devices to come on to the market, obtaining them for a song.

 

I've never bought a refurbished product - 

 

a) Have you ever had problems with a refurbished computer making you regret not having purchased it new?

(I have no repair skills.and in the past with new  computers have made use several times of the warranty for repairs);

 

b) Any fears of someone who previously had control of it having inserted spyware into the BIOS or other issues along those lines?

[RedBackman]

38 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

I've never bought a refurbished product - 

 

a) Have you ever had problems with a refurbished computer making you regret not having purchased it new?

(I have no repair skills.and in the past with new  computers have made use several times of the warranty for repairs);

 

b) Any fears of someone who previously had control of it having inserted spyware into the BIOS or other issues along those lines?

a) I've had a few <deleted> out on me past the refurbished return/warranty window but used refurbished products are still usually more cost effective imo, especially if you're willing to do maintenance and fix things yourself.

 

b) That's not a concern for the vast majority of products right now. A reformat and fresh install of the OS should pretty much alleviate concerns in almost any of the things you'd purchase. I haven't heard of any used used computer merchant selling large amounts of computers with UEFI rootkits or anything and security researchers aren't running into them at an alarming rate.

[JimmyJ]

32 minutes ago, RedBackman said:

a) I've had a few <deleted> out on me past the refurbished return/warranty window,,,

How long is that window for refurbished?

[Iamfalang]

the Sun may explode in 2 billion years, or 2 billion years and 2 weeks.

 

Relax my good man, 2 weeks isn't the end of the world!!!!

 

Lenovo is the best, I'm typing on one now.  They have many, many good models.  I bought mine in Thailand, got it next day.   I was lucky and see they don't sell this model anymore, only a few months after I bought it.  Well, karma for me.

 

https://www.jib.co.th/web/product/readProduct/52497/1352/NOTEBOOK--โน้ตบุ๊ค--LENOVO-LEGION-5-15ACH6H-82JU015PTA--PHANTOM-BLUE-

 

This would be fine, IF you are not absolutely set on your specifications.  IdeaPad is 100000x worse, IMO.    Thinkpad is better at some things, and also a great choice.  I have a Legion and a Thinkpad.  Depends what you want it for.....

Edited June 8, 2022 by Iamfalang

[RedBackman]

1 hour ago, JimmyJ said:

How long is that window for refurbished?

Completely depends on the seller. Most are less than 6th months, just guaranteeing that it's not a lemon.