Moving to Thailand - is bringing furniture etc worth the hassle?

[SunshineSeeker]

We are moving to Thailand from Australia soon and wondered if moving our treasured furniture and personal effects was worth it when taking into account the cost of shipping and the enjoyment of clearance through customs.

 

We have quite good household items and have not been to Thailand for 4 years so are not up to date with the cost and quality of good household items in Bangkok now as we want to have good stove/oven, fridge, freezer and washing machine and dryer, etc.

 

Any thoughts on costs of doing the move versus buying new quality items and any recommendations of a good international removalist from Australia or ones to avoid would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[ubonjoe]

Not visa or extension related. Moved to the general forum.

[clivebaxter]

Definitely not furniture unless they are valuable antiques, make sure what you send in in wife's name as household goods. I sent two loads 5 years apart and we never had to pay any import duty, just boxes.

[Chris.B]

1 hour ago, clivebaxter said:

Definitely not furniture unless they are valuable antiques, make sure what you send in in wife's name as household goods. I sent two loads 5 years apart and we never had to pay any import duty, just boxes.

You are assuming his wife is a Thai National?

 

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by Chris.B

[thaibeachlovers]

Want to bring a fridge to Thailand??????????????

Seriously????????????

 

To be more clear NO.

[Chris.B]

"We have quite good household items and have not been to Thailand for 4 years so are not up to date with the cost and quality of good household items in Bangkok now as we want to have good stove/oven, fridge, freezer and washing machine and dryer, etc."

 

After two year of Covid the range of quality household items is limited. Saying that though, fridges are cheap in Thailand so buy here. Freezers are harder to get but can be found in Makro. Washing machines are expensive in Thailand as is stove/ovens.

 

Unless you are emotionally attached to your furniture probably better to buy here. Don't bring every chair, side table or cupboard you have.

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by Chris.B

[cjinchiangrai]

A container will cost $2000 or more to ship. You can buy quality appliances easily for the same or less than in Australia. Makro is expensive, look at HomePro, Watsadu or Big-C. Plenty of independent retailers as well. Things that are less common are clothes dryers and dish washers.

 

As others have stated, furniture is a maybe based on value and attachment. If you decorate with Ikea, don't bother but if you have high end stuff it may be worth it. Another question would be intentions. Are you planning to stay forever? Can you rent your home out furnished? Do you have to pay for storage?

 

Now is a good time to divest yourself of old junk.

[BritManToo]

3 hours ago, SunshineSeeker said:

Any thoughts on costs of doing the move versus buying new quality items and any recommendations of a good international removalist from Australia or ones to avoid would be appreciated.

Sell everything there, buy new here.

Photos you scan and burn, store on a pen drive and the cloud.

[Doctor Tom]

OP, for me it was, definitely.  To have my own stuff around me, including my extensive book collection, wide screen smart TV, Blue Ray player, bike, etc, made settling in so much easier and frankly, having quality stuff not available here helps too. Just wish that I had included all my gardening tools and more electronic stuff. 

[zoltannyc]

We moved to Thailand from the US 2 1/2 years ago we took some nice furniture (sofa, dining set etc. Crate and Barrel, West Elm) with us that would be expensive here. We sold all our rugs (hand made) as no use  for them here. Took all kitchen stuff. Good quality bedding is still expensive here so take if you have or even buy more. Bicycles (Pinarello) . Electronics US uses different voltage so no electronics were taken. Top of the line TV or fridge is around 40000-50000THB. From the US it took 8 weeks to get our stuff so I would not be sitting for 8 weeks without my fridge. Used US-Thai registered company they were very efficient, no customs no hassle.  Paid around 2000USD.

Edited November 28, 2021 by zoltannyc

[Doctor Tom]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Want to bring a fridge to Thailand??????????????

Seriously????????????

 

To be more clear NO.

But bringing along my dish washer and tumble dryer was a good move. 

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, Doctor Tom said:

To have my own stuff around me, including my extensive book collection,

Left more than 1,000 books back in the UK.

Have them all on my Kindle/Calibre now and they take up no space at all.

 

As for dish washer and washing machine, after the first 2 weeks a Thai lady moved in and did all that for me.

Edited November 28, 2021 by BritManToo

[Gsxrnz]

Emotional value is difficult to put into dollars and cents.  The only stuff I brought was my photographic gear and my watch collection.

 

Other bulky things such as my twice restored RD400G and old LP's and books I still have back home and until sars-cov-2 was happy visiting them once or twice a year.

 

OP I would say unless you are emotionally attached to something don't bother bringing it.  But anything (even a '65 Shelby) that has deep emotional value, then pay whatever it costs and bring it in.

 

EDIT: Forgot to add I did bring a potato masher and a potato peeler. Twelve years ago they were as rare as virgins in Patters.

Edited November 28, 2021 by Gsxrnz

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

We gave everything to a charity shop. What they didn't want went to the domestic refuse dump. Everything else like personal documents went in a big fire on bonfire night. Very liberating. We left with just our suitcases and notebook computers.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2021 by Led Lolly Yellow Lolly

[moogradod]

All important is whether your wife is Thai or not because of the import tax. If she is then bring in her name by all means every kind of kitchen related higher-end applliances that you may ever want. A high-end food processor for example. Or an ironing station (iron plus ironing board). Or a good ice-cream maker (price !) Things like this are either not available at all or in very limited choices or are extremely expensive in comparison (to Switzerland that is - and Switzerland is not a cheap country). A toaster and a microwave and even a washing machine and especially a freezer can be bought here very well (good selection and acceptable price).

 

A vacuum cleaner (like Dyson) is expensive here, too. If your standard is high in this regard, bring one.

 

Strangely enough a fan (yes - a fan - to Thailand ????) might be worthwhile. We brought a better remote controlled one from Switzerland and did not regret it because of the the more basic limited choices here. Depends what is available in your country and your demand in terms of quality and functionality. I have no idea about Australia. You only have one chance for the tax free import as far as I know. They will put a stamp in your wifes passport that she has imported goods tax free - although someone mentioned here that they did do it twice more than 5 years apart. Guess this was good luck. The law says "once in a lifetime" as far as I remember.

 

Select a reputable shipping company who will visit you at home and prior make a door-to-door offer based on the content you intend to bring. Ours did work hand in hand with a local company for the import and last mile and it worked seamlessly. They came to our home and packed all things in a professional way I will never forget again. Remember that it might get hot in a container. And then one last advice: Check carefully if you might accidentely would want to bring some items which are restricted here (like your old shell collection of which some shells are protected - a rare case maybe but the consideration might save you a lot of trouble - just in case).

 

Consider furniture only if you have items that fit your demand extremely well. We did. It is not that easy to buy good furniture here - although if you can live with Ikea then this should do (based on my non experience visiting their outlet in Bangkok but I expect them to have a similar if not exactly same choice worldwide).

 

Shipping cost should of course reflect the benefit you get out of this all. But there are companies that ship in smaller compartments than quarter/half/full container. Again, no idea if this applies to Australia, too.

[Doctor Tom]

27 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Left more than 1,000 books back in the UK.

All my books are none fiction. Some of them  are treasured first editions, out of print now  and/or antique, so Kindle not an option. Also I brought along a lot of technical books not available in electronic print, even if I wanted them in that format. I do like my  Kindle for convenience, but it is very restrictive and you can't beat a good, old fashioned  paper book in your hand.  

[Netease]

What city are you moving from, I have been sending items from Sydney to San Khamphaeng, clothes and bedding $3.00 kg, electrical tools, fridge, washing machine etc will cost $9.00 kg if i send them, customs taken care of

[LogicThai]

In general, if I ever had to move again (which I did too many times already), I would definitely not take anything with me. All those moves made me a lot less attached to items, and it is true that the cost and hassle of bringing along what is effectively second-hand stuff is rarely justified. Whatever budget needed to do so would be better spent buying equivalent new stuff here.

 

We initially relocated from Europe to Singapore 10 years ago, ad we had taken most of our stuff, including appliances. It did not matter much, because the international move was covered by a specific allowance from my employer at the time. Even so, one of our 2 fridges never restarted after the 6 weeks in a container, and we discovered that things like a tumble-dryer are of limited use in this region. After 5 years, we moved from Singapore to Bangkok, with only a selection of our stuff (largely because this time I had to pay the move myself). That move was under the name of my wife (who is Thai), which was convenient from a tax duty pod, but apparently meant that out container was opened and inspected, which the customs agent told me rarely ever happen when Westerners are the importer. Customer officers objected about our golf bags (sports items are a red flag, apparently), but we were told via the agent that a brown envelope with 5,000 bahts would put the matter to rest. We were more concerned with a small Buddha that was bubble-wrapped in one of the boxes, but they did not look that far inside. It is a true antique, that my parents bought in Europe 40 years ago. Ironic that a practicing Buddhist like my wife bringing a Thai Buddha back to Thailand could be an issue, but in the en all was well.

 

Now, 10 years later, we still own and use a portion the furniture and appliances that we brought from Europe. I had culled a big part of my collection of books, keeping only the valuable ones (most items I now have in e-format too), but the remaining books suffered from exposure to humidity and rats while in storage in Thailand during a subsequent and more recent move. The dishwasher we had bought in Singapore died somewhere between Singapore and Thailand, and we replaced it with a lower spec model from the same brand at HomePro.

[bojo]

I would have thought it quite therapeutic to get rid of everything, especially if you have the time to do so and having the fun of going out buying a new set of whatever takes your fancy here and there without any preconceptions.......................You never know what you're gonna come accross, that's half the fun IMO.........

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, SunshineSeeker said:

We have quite good household items and have not been to Thailand for 4 years

I'm pretty sure Thailand now is not the same as 4 years ago. Does the OP even know if he'll want to stay after he arrives back? IMO before spending $ thousands to bring treasured possessions over, move over for a while and see if he wants to stay. Rent a furnished condo with kitchen appliances included.

Also, it's pretty clear ( IMO ) that it's going to get harder to stay in the future, so might want to bear that in mind before going all in.

[Doctor Tom]

19 hours ago, bojo said:

I would have thought it quite therapeutic to get rid of everything

I would argue that Its more therapeutic, as you phrase it, to have your familiar and treasured things around you when you settle in a new environment. It was for me at least. 

[Toscano]

I would not recommend bringing antique furniture to Thailand , because the heat and climatic conditions ruin the joints .

To bring a lot of household furniture would be very expensive and antique furniture of style inappropriate in Thailand .

In Thailand you need far less furniture than in one's own country . There are some very good furniture shops and workshops that make beautiful sofas and chairs and classic wooden furniture of every kind at not vast expense . I brought only my artists studio easel , books , video tapes and dvds , lightweight clothing and flat bed sheets . Domestic appliances such as fridges and washing machines are best bought in Thailand  . 

[jensmann]

You want to live with the musty old stuff of your mom....

16 years ago I sold everything I had for cheap. Made ???? 50000.

Bought new all I need for ???? 10000. Your life will be different so will your requirements. Everything you want you'll get here....

good luck

[crazykopite]

On 11/28/2021 at 1:05 PM, clivebaxter said:

Definitely not furniture unless they are valuable antiques, make sure what you send in in wife's name as household goods. I sent two loads 5 years apart and we never had to pay any import duty, just boxes.

I’m a farang not married to a Thai shipped a container full it only cost me 5,000 baht in duty they didn’t even open any of the crates as for the question I wouldn’t bother shipping furniture 

[Toscano]

https://www.facebook.com/pongsin.aek/

[kbb]

Two years ago, I shipped a partial container from California to Issarn. 

They delivered to the door. 

Yes - I did get hit with customs duty.

We gambled on not getting insurance. I figured the insurance company would wiggle out of paying anyhow. 

 

If you only want to save $$, then bringing items over is probably not worth it. 

 

However - Even though it wasn't cheap, we're thrilled with how it ended up.

 

The leather couch is something we would have had an impossible time finding here with similar quality.

That, and the mattress, would have been very $$.

 

Some smaller items (Bookshelves & smaller furniture) are nice to have. 

Other stuff, such as artwork and odds n ends would have been awful to pack and carry with luggage. 

Most of it would never have made it over. 

 

Perhaps if you're in Bangkok, you may have more choices - better luck shopping. 

(But with the Virus tripping up things - nothing it routine or easy these days).

 

Good luck ...

 

[JimHuaHin]

I was in a similar position about a decade ago before I relocated here.  About a year before I relocated here I spent 6 months in Thailand, during which time I checked on the prices of household items here, of about the same quality as the ones I had in Australia.   I had a 4 bedroom, 225 sq metre house in Australia.  After a few removalists gave me thier estimates - with furniture and without furniture - I decided to give away almost all my furiture to various charities, with the exception of a couple of valuable antiques and some art works.

[Robin]

Any antique furniture will most likely suffer in the high humidity,  and glued joints will come apart if not glued with a modern (waterproof)  glue.  I hate to think what might happen to old furnishings.  Once your stuff is here it might be too late to send it back home.

Consider giving or selling your antiques to someone who will appreciate and look after them.

Thinking loner term, my rule ha always been  "What you bring to Thailand will have to stay in Thailand.

I brought my prized collection of LP's, nd they were caught in a Bangkok flood.  every sleeve ruined and every disc covered in sludge.  Effectively I cannot play any of them, but I cannot bear the thought of putting the lot in the skip.  What you cannot download, consider digitizing and then keep them all on a ha drive.  Much safer and easier to move about.

 

[4MyEgo]

On 11/28/2021 at 4:55 PM, SunshineSeeker said:

We are moving to Thailand from Australia soon and wondered if moving our treasured furniture and personal effects was worth it when taking into account the cost of shipping and the enjoyment of clearance through customs.

No

 

One less headache, just by new and with electricals you will also receive warranties.

 

We found a Thai place in Haymarket, Sydney and sent a fair few boxes of stuff (about 15) which had good quality Iron's, cutlery etc etc and they arrived about 6 weeks later to our door which was about the same time we planned to be here, no customs and cost us about $600, just the two Iron's cost us that and are much more here in Thailand.

 

You can replace things here fairly cheaply vs the hassle and if you get into a wrangle with customs, it will cost you more IMO.

[sawadee1947]

Everything you can buy in Thailand in the meantime.

I send a lot of stuff to Thailand 11 years ago but wouldn't do it nowadays anymore. Too expensive