Does any of you dare ordering cigars online ?

[yaronf]

needless to say prices are horribiy expensive here

i ordered once off a US based store, like 4 pieces, went through without a problem, no taxes were charged.

im wondering if it was just a lucky shot ( although they state "cigars" on the box) , or it was because the value was low , about 30$

if i were to order anything over 50$ , does that mean it will for sure get stopped for duty charges or even worse asking for import license since its cigars ?

would like to get your experiences about it, tnx

[EVENKEEL]

I've been paying 390tbh for 10  1/2 coronas to a box. Called Candlelight from Germany. 

[OneMoreFarang]

It seems one big question is how it's sent. And that is the case for anything imported into Thailand. It seems some courier companies always collect duty and tax.

If you have a chance to get it sent by "normal mail" delivered by the postman that would be the best to, if possible, avoid paying anything in Thailand.

 

[champers]

Best Supermarket at the junction of 2nd Rd and Klang has a good range of cigars. Had a nice Filipino cigar bought by the girlfriend for my birthday. A smooth, slow burning and satisfying one hour smoke.

 

[yaronf]

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

It seems one big question is how it's sent. And that is the case for anything imported into Thailand. It seems some courier companies always collect duty and tax.

If you have a chance to get it sent by "normal mail" delivered by the postman that would be the best to, if possible, avoid paying anything in Thailand.

 

Yes i agree, it was sent by regular mail.

i know those DHL/UPS/FEDEX always run to the customs and get everything declared so not the best option

 

my question if i order a bigger amount of cigars, like a box or something and it does get stopped with regular mail, how bad is it ? import license ? heavy 200 % taxes or something ?

 

[redwood1]

5 hours ago, yaronf said:

Yes i agree, it was sent by regular mail.

i know those DHL/UPS/FEDEX always run to the customs and get everything declared so not the best option

 

my question if i order a bigger amount of cigars, like a box or something and it does get stopped with regular mail, how bad is it ? import license ? heavy 200 % taxes or something ?

 

I have ordered lots of stuff by regular shipping the last few years.....Based on my experience your odds are 50-60% there will be No, or minimal extra charges.....20-30% you will need to pay reasonable extra charges.....20% you will need to pay unreasonable extra charges..........It's honestly a <deleted> shoot, you never know..

 

Thailand is a bad bad place for quality smokes unless your very well off,and don't mind paying lots of $$$....

[Kerryd]

If you use Registered (EMS) mail and the declared value is under $50 US, it will often scoot through unhindered. If it's $50-75, there's a 50/50 chance it might get some Customs tax added. If it's $75+, it's almost guaranteed that it will be taxed.

(I order a lot of stuff from overseas.)

If you use ANY "courier" like DHL, FedEX or USPS, you will be charged full Customs duties because they all use a "3rd party broker" to deal with the Customs paperwork.
I've been to the Airport Free Zone and dealt with some of those brokers. DHL (or whoever) sends them the paperwork, they process the Customs forms and calculate the duties/tariffs, add their fees and get the Clearance. Then DHL (or whoever) can ship the parcel to you and collect the money. 

I've cancelled orders in the past when I saw they were going to ship them via USPS because I knew they'd add all the duties and surcharges on them.

Of course the problem is, if you keep your orders small, you have to make more of them and pay more mailing/shipping costs.

I just saw a Cigar shop in the Tipp Plaza yesterday when I went to (lol) DHL. (Shipping some documents back to Canada.)

CIgarista - (https://www.google.co.th/maps/@12.931758,100.8826258,3a,68.5y,34.62h,83.65t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s1wySlq7keovkJJhVWlnO_w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en)

They were open yesterday when I was at the DHL office (around 11:00).



 

[yaronf]

On 8/10/2021 at 6:47 AM, Kerryd said:

If you use Registered (EMS) mail and the declared value is under $50 US, it will often scoot through unhindered. If it's $50-75, there's a 50/50 chance it might get some Customs tax added. If it's $75+, it's almost guaranteed that it will be taxed.

(I order a lot of stuff from overseas.)

If you use ANY "courier" like DHL, FedEX or USPS, you will be charged full Customs duties because they all use a "3rd party broker" to deal with the Customs paperwork.
I've been to the Airport Free Zone and dealt with some of those brokers. DHL (or whoever) sends them the paperwork, they process the Customs forms and calculate the duties/tariffs, add their fees and get the Clearance. Then DHL (or whoever) can ship the parcel to you and collect the money. 

I've cancelled orders in the past when I saw they were going to ship them via USPS because I knew they'd add all the duties and surcharges on them.

Of course the problem is, if you keep your orders small, you have to make more of them and pay more mailing/shipping costs.

I just saw a Cigar shop in the Tipp Plaza yesterday when I went to (lol) DHL. (Shipping some documents back to Canada.)

CIgarista - (https://www.google.co.th/maps/@12.931758,100.8826258,3a,68.5y,34.62h,83.65t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s1wySlq7keovkJJhVWlnO_w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en)

They were open yesterday when I was at the DHL office (around 11:00).



 

Any idea what are the tax charges ?

if for example ordering a box of cubans that costs about 500-600$

if full value declared on the package, what would be the duties for it ?

[Kerryd]

15 hours ago, yaronf said:

Any idea what are the tax charges ?

if for example ordering a box of cubans that costs about 500-600$

if full value declared on the package, what would be the duties for it ?

No idea.
Found a thread in an Udon forum where they talk about that in general terms. The thread is 3 years old but probably not too much has changed since then.
https://www.udonmap.com/udonthaniforum/viewtopic.php?p=512638&sid=e83230dc6bc957e53ef5e93a674c9104#p512638

The other option would be to go to the cigar shop at Tip Plaza and ask them.

It seems that shipping cigars through the mail is technically illegal. Some people do it and don't get caught, some get caught and either have to pay or have their shipment confiscated.

It seems like, if you are ordering a lot, you may want to consider getting and "excise license" (no idea on how to do that). 

Or, the cigar shop probably has such a license already. Maybe they could order on your behalf and then ship the cigars to you when they arrive. 

Might be a lot cheaper that trying to deal with Thai Customs on your own.

[LALes]

I've been smoking Cuban cigars for 30 years.  I won't ever have another order sent to Thailand where the Customs creeps are just waiting to nail you.  Its easier to get a shipment into the U.S., where its illegal, than into Thailand.  Oh sure, you'll get your shipment, but it will cost an extra 40-60% in import duties.  The last straw was when I ordered $300 worth of cigars in 4 boxes from a dealer in Hong Kong.  The cigars were sent regular mail with the customs declaration stating Cigars on them.  Of course, they were flagged by Thai Customs and I had to pony up another $140 to get them out of "jail".  Bottom line, if you are thinking about ordering a nice box of cigars, don't have it sent to Thailand.  I wait until I go to the States and do all my ordering there.  I will not give them their exorbitant taxes.  I'd rather not smoke.  It used to be different about 15 years ago.  I had numerous shipments come into Thailand without a problem.  Those days are long gone.  Nowadays, they are much more aware of cigars as a revenue source.

[jacko45k]

16 minutes ago, LALes said:

I wait until I go to the States and do all my ordering there. 

I suspect of course you take the risk of them being in your case when you come into Thailand......

You would not like the fine you would get at the airport if pulled up and found.

[animalmagic]

On 8/9/2021 at 11:18 AM, champers said:

Best Supermarket at the junction of 2nd Rd and Klang has a good range of cigars. Had a nice Filipino cigar bought by the girlfriend for my birthday. A smooth, slow burning and satisfying one hour smoke.

 

Was that the cigar or the girlfriend?

[NotJoeMama]

I had been shipping Cubans here starting about 15 years ago.  Until 3 years or so ago,  I never had a problem.  Always from the same place, always shipped by normal post.  I live in the North.  A few years back I had 100 cigars shipped.  I got a note from Customs to go to the office in MaeSai.  Upon arrival,  they showed me the parcel,  told me cigars were in it and refused delivery to me.  They said they would return the shipment.  I was blown away when I got an email from my supplier 3 months later that they did indeed get the parcel back.  Since then,  I sent one bundle of 25 which was stopped and I did get that through with a 1600 baht "fee".  Next one again of 25 was not allowed and they made it very clear to me that I would not get cigars through customs.  I then sent a box to a friend in Chiang Mai and the same thing happened,  they called him in and then said they would be returning it.

 

So for at least 3 years now,  I haven't been able to get my quality Cubans shipped in.  I have been shipping them to a friend in the States that brings them with him on his travels here.  Of course with Covid,  I haven't seen anything new for quite a while.  I'm down to about 100 left and only allow myself 2 a week.  I'm really hoping the borders will open back up.  I need a refill.

[fredqx5]

2 hours ago, LALes said:

I've been smoking Cuban cigars for 30 years.  I won't ever have another order sent to Thailand where the Customs creeps are just waiting to nail you.  Its easier to get a shipment into the U.S., where its illegal, than into Thailand.  Oh sure, you'll get your shipment, but it will cost an extra 40-60% in import duties.  The last straw was when I ordered $300 worth of cigars in 4 boxes from a dealer in Hong Kong.  The cigars were sent regular mail with the customs declaration stating Cigars on them.  Of course, they were flagged by Thai Customs and I had to pony up another $140 to get them out of "jail".  Bottom line, if you are thinking about ordering a nice box of cigars, don't have it sent to Thailand.  I wait until I go to the States and do all my ordering there.  I will not give them their exorbitant taxes.  I'd rather not smoke.  It used to be different about 15 years ago.  I had numerous shipments come into Thailand without a problem.  Those days are long gone.  Nowadays, they are much more aware of cigars as a revenue source.

I think it was 30 years ago since 4 boxes of Cubans cost only $300.

[thefactoryoutlet]

no problem, I even receive my weed from dark web.

 

[thefactoryoutlet]

1 hour ago, NotJoeMama said:

I had been shipping Cubans here starting about 15 years ago.  Until 3 years or so ago,  I never had a problem.  Always from the same place, always shipped by normal post.  I live in the North.  A few years back I had 100 cigars shipped.  I got a note from Customs to go to the office in MaeSai.  Upon arrival,  they showed me the parcel,  told me cigars were in it and refused delivery to me.  They said they would return the shipment.  I was blown away when I got an email from my supplier 3 months later that they did indeed get the parcel back.  Since then,  I sent one bundle of 25 which was stopped and I did get that through with a 1600 baht "fee".  Next one again of 25 was not allowed and they made it very clear to me that I would not get cigars through customs.  I then sent a box to a friend in Chiang Mai and the same thing happened,  they called him in and then said they would be returning it.

 

So for at least 3 years now,  I haven't been able to get my quality Cubans shipped in.  I have been shipping them to a friend in the States that brings them with him on his travels here.  Of course with Covid,  I haven't seen anything new for quite a while.  I'm down to about 100 left and only allow myself 2 a week.  I'm really hoping the borders will open back up.  I need a refill.

 

Never ever heard about customs sending back a parcel, how possible ?!

[NotJoeMama]

17 hours ago, thefactoryoutlet said:

 

Never ever heard about customs sending back a parcel, how possible ?!

I was certain the stogies had ended up on the commanders desk.  Just wrote off the loss.  When I got an email 3 months later from the guy I've been buying from for years,  I was shocked.  They came by EMS and had a return address.  They were returned but by a "very slow boat".  The same thing happened with the second box of 25.  But I'm not going to try anymore.  I'm just not that lucky.

 

I'd sure like to know a good way to get some in.

 

[LALes]

On 9/6/2021 at 1:29 AM, fredqx5 said:

I think it was 30 years ago since 4 boxes of Cubans cost only $300.

You got that right!  These were boxes of 10 each.  

[NanLaew]

If the OP is using a Pattaya delivery address, the Customs clearance will be Laem Chabang where they will refuse to allow them to be imported and send them back. They will say that one needs a tobacco import license and it doesn't matter if they're for personal use, there are no exemptions.

 

This is my personal experience and the Hong Kong supplier did confirm receiving them back. However, since they are solely a duty-free cigar exporter, they can't accept them back from HKG Customs so they get destroyed, no refunds, no credit.

 

This is also my personal experience. If you use a Bangkok delivery address, the Customs clearance is at Laksi, opposite Don Meuang airport. They allowed the cigars to be collected after duty was assessed. The duty is assessed by weight and they do not mess around unboxing them so make sure you don't order the ones that come in a fancy box.

 

My advice would be to order a small amount, say a box of 10, to test if the Laksi system still works. If it is still viable, do not order multiple boxes at the same time.

 

Good luck.

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

If the OP is using a Pattaya delivery address, the Customs clearance will be Laem Chabang

I have certainly had stuff from China go via Laksi for my Banglamung/ Chonburi delivery so maybe not always. 

[NanLaew]

On 9/9/2021 at 9:51 AM, jacko45k said:

On 9/9/2021 at 7:42 AM, NanLaew said:

If the OP is using a Pattaya delivery address, the Customs clearance will be Laem Chabang

I have certainly had stuff from China go via Laksi for my Banglamung/ Chonburi delivery so maybe not always. 

Everything by EMS or international parcel post goes through Laksi where there's a Customs clearing office at the Laksi Post Office. WRT cigars, Laem Chabang Customs has ALWAYS been where cigar imports are processed for those with Pattaya area delivery addresses. They don't get released to the local Post Offices any more. Laem Chabang stopped allowing collection and payment of any duty on imported cigars at the Banglamung (Naklua) Post Office ages ago. About 5 years ago, you went to Laem Chabang and paid and collected but the 'new management' are aow playing silly buggers.

 

This is the personal experience of myself and a friend who also lives in Pattaya who smokes more cigars than I do and has tried more times than I have and still failed. His shipment of cigars from his US address was refused and Laem Chabang who said it would be returned to sender. It turned up back at his CA address about 10 weeks later.

 

I have had two successful cigar collections, after duty paid, at Laksi. My friend in Bangkok also has 100% success rate there. He was the one that suggested I use a Bangkok delivery address instead.