shipping personal affects

[Farmerslife]

A few years back I used Anglo-Pacific International when I left the UK for Thailand. I didn't have a huge amount of stuff only 429 cubic feet. The cost then, including insurance and VAT, was £2400.  

There was no damage from damp or mold. I even left the stuff in storage in Bangkok for a couple of months before I had it delivered. 

 

I attach some information that you might find useful.  

 

Thailand.pdf

Edited May 24, 2022 by Farmerslife

[The Hammer2021]

35 minutes ago, topt said:

Not sure where you are coming from on this. That is just a standard "dry" container. Standard 20ft and 40ft containers (unless refrigerated) are all pretty much the same and anybody asking to ship a container will pretty much get the same as anybody else.

See here for a run down of tyupes -https://www.bison-jacks.com/blog/shipping-container/11-most-common-types-of-containers/

 

As an example I had a company move to and from the Philippines many years ago and shipped household products including a couple of sofas that I still have to this day. They went LCL and as a poster mentioned the goods were packed in cartons/shrinkwrap and then enclosed in a couple of Plywood boxes/containers.

Thank you for  your input and a report of a positive  experience. I hope the OP has a similar  experience.  However, I am concerned that he is doing his own packing with materials  sent to him. His goods  will not be the sole occupier of the  container but shared by other renters of the container space. Whether the term 'specialist container'  has triggered some people who need expansions and elaborations into the differences between shipping manufactured single items in special  dedicated  use space, owned by one company shipping commercial  goods, in bulk on a commercial  scale - as opposed to a one off cargo of personal  items and domestic  goods..Well I guess that is where I am coming from. Semantics aside let's hope this thread has been useful  for the OP.

[Dickp]

We shipped our full household goods and to included outdoor furnture from UK. Did follow the rules on one each major applince items, but they were new some not eveny out of the box. Use my wife as shipper as she had been 10 yrs out of Thailand. All items were packed into cardboard boxes and then into large plywood containers (14) + one carpet container, total wieght 10,463 pounds. Do not know if they were ship inside a metal container or not. We stayed in guess housing for one week and then departed UK. Arrived here and stayed another week in mother inlaws house, the builders need that week to finish the new house. Call Customs, items had been some time already (don't known how that happen less then 2 weeks to get here. They could have came by plane, had that happen before. Wife and her sister went that day to CS, They told them 2 weeks or more to release the items. Wifes sister call some one and then they said deliver that afternoon. ( I guess it's turn it's not what you know, but who you know.) A few small things damaged but nothing to worry about and Everything else was fine.

[Farmerslife]

Incidentally,  the shipping time from leaving my front door in the UK to arrival in Bangkok docks was only 8 weeks. 

 

If the OP would like any more details about the company I used and the process, then please pm me and I will answer as best I can.

[madbathroomfitter]

Thanks all for your comments and experience.sorry I didn’t mean to start a war amongst anyone ???? as for ILR it’s minimum requirement of five years in the uk now 

[bbko]

Finding a shipping company is the easy part, figuring out how to minimize the customs duty is the hard part.  Ship in your wife's name and read up on Thai customs rules.

 

https://www.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?ini_content=individual_F01_160426_01&ini_menu=menu_individual_submenu_02&lang=en&left_menu=menu_individual_submenu_02_160421_01

[Yellowtail]

As others have said, everything in wife's name.

 

Only use a forwarder that THEIR OWN OFFICE in Thailand. 

 

Make sure you complete the packing list completely and correctly before you start talking to the forwarder, and have the THAI OFFICE review it. Let your wife communicate with them to make sure the speak Thai. 

 

Price a 20' container, and if it's more than you want to spend, leave everything. If it seems okay, bring everything. If you can fill a 40', get a 40', the door-to-door price is not that different. 

 

I would not worry about water, but you can fill a couple pillow-cases with kitty-litter if it makes you feel better. 

 

If your wife has owned a vehicle for (I think) five years, I think she can bring that tax-free, but this may have changed.

 

We used P. J. Tanspack for years and they were low cost and great to work with. I retied a few years ago so it's been a while,

 

P.J. Group (pj-group.com)

 

Do not us a UK based company unless you are shipping INTO the UK. 

 

[BKKARF]

With international moving, you get what you pay for or more importantly, you mostly don't get what you think you paid for when the cheapest option is taken. I would recommend that you contact 3 UK companies that specialize in international removals to get competitive quotes as well as understand what they are offering. Best to contact them directly & avoid the many web-based companies that offer you 3 or 4 companies to bid on your business. Look for companies that are members of the BAR Overseas Group (British Association of Removers), you can see their guidance on the website https://bar.co.uk/moving-to-another-country/. Many of these companies are offering home surveys using video, making it much more convenient for you. The moving business is competitive & after you have spoken to the company reps, you can get a feeling for who you can trust and negotiate with them if you want to.  I suggest that you ship the goods in the name of your wife, as a returning Thai national, she should be entitled to a duty and free import subject to some Customs conditions. You may ask how do I know this? I have been moving & shipping families around the world since 1988 and I run an international moving company in Bangkok (for more than 15 years). I hope this helps

[Yellowtail]

5 hours ago, BKKARF said:

With international moving, you get what you pay for or more importantly, you mostly don't get what you think you paid for when the cheapest option is taken. I would recommend that you contact 3 UK companies that specialize in international removals to get competitive quotes as well as understand what they are offering. Best to contact them directly & avoid the many web-based companies that offer you 3 or 4 companies to bid on your business. Look for companies that are members of the BAR Overseas Group (British Association of Removers), you can see their guidance on the website https://bar.co.uk/moving-to-another-country/. Many of these companies are offering home surveys using video, making it much more convenient for you. The moving business is competitive & after you have spoken to the company reps, you can get a feeling for who you can trust and negotiate with them if you want to.  I suggest that you ship the goods in the name of your wife, as a returning Thai national, she should be entitled to a duty and free import subject to some Customs conditions. You may ask how do I know this? I have been moving & shipping families around the world since 1988 and I run an international moving company in Bangkok (for more than 15 years). I hope this helps

He (apparently) does not want a mover, he only asked about shipping. 

[Jenkster]

well, it may depend on you're definition of "affordable" - it's never really cheap in my opinion. Good advice from thehammer re: things that can be affected by the conditions on the boat and considering what you truly need to take with you. The only time I shipped anything by ship I used Three Movers and didn't have any problems. It does take some time so be sure to budget for that if you plan to have your items arrive when you do.