Shipping Household Items To Thailand

[funlovinkid]

Hello,

I came to BKK (with only two suitcases) about 8 months ago to see if I liked Thailand enough to make it my permanent home. I really like it here, so I got a retirement visa, and now I'm heading back to the U.S. to pack up some household items and personal stuff to ship to my apartment in Bangkok. But I'm having difficulty determining what the shipping costs will be, because I'm told the duty charges are variable, and maybe even impossible to predict in advance. I don't want to ship anything if it will be prohibitively expensive, but I'd like to be able to determine in advance what to bring.

I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience, and what the outcome happened to be. Any suggestions?

Many thanks.

[lotus eater]

I'm about to do the same. My rule of thumb is

- to ship only items that are personal, therefore irreplaceable and of value to me. i'll just have to absorb the customs payment on those. for me this is mainly books, pictures, clothes, odds and ends

- other items of quality, made abroad, that i want and which, if replaced in thailand, would cost quite a bit more, because there is no thai manufactured equivalent of any quality, and the imports are expensive.

- everything else, and especially furniture it would be crazy to ship.

Like you I have no idea what customs will hit me for. The shippers would give no commitment or even estimate.

[retiredusn]

I'm about to do the same. My rule of thumb is

- to ship only items that are personal, therefore irreplaceable and of value to me. i'll just have to absorb the customs payment on those. for me this is mainly books, pictures, clothes, odds and ends

- other items of quality, made abroad, that i want and which, if replaced in thailand, would cost quite a bit more, because there is no thai manufactured equivalent of any quality, and the imports are expensive.

- everything else, and especially furniture it would be crazy to ship.

Like you I have no idea what customs will hit me for. The shippers would give no commitment or even estimate.

The wife and I shipped items we thought were important or could not get it Thailand. WE WERE FOOLs.

It was a lot of expense for nothing as most of the items were here available we just did not take the time to find. Either put the stuff in storage or get rid of it. Good Luck (it cost us another 5k US after arrival here

[raro]

We are in the shipping business and have handled numerous in- and outbound shipments of personal effects as well.

Please let me clarify one thing about the inbound customs duties: It is correct that the final amount of duties can only be determined by the customs officer in charge after the goods have arrived. However, as a freight forwarder, we can give you a good estimate according to your packing list.

What you want to ship, what you think is essential, is entirely your decision and impossible to gauge for an outsider. I had one guy bringing in a 30 year old washing machine because he knew how to operate it, others decided to stay away from bringing in anything more than they could carry after having seen the costs incumbered.

You can PM me for more information if you like.

[CBDK]

Hi!

I did a move from Denmark to Thailand. The rules are (if you have a proper Visa such as work permit, retirement visa etc) that you are allowed to take in personal goods 2 times within a year your visa got valid the first time. You are allowed one shipment per boat and one by flight. They don't allow double items i.e. you can not bring 2 washing machines, but you can bring all the cutlery, towels whatever you want.

For the shipment I went directly to what you call a "forwarder" and got a half size container (VERY big) for about 80.000 bath with ship. Took about a month. When it arrived in Bangkok I got a call from some guys who offered to take care of paper work. I didn't got tax'ed at all but I had to pay some handling fee to get it out of the custom. These are the same people who can bring you container to the door as well. I costed me about 18.000 bath for all paper work and 10 people empty and carry all items to our house.

Containers from the west to the east is always cheaper than the other way around dueto large export form Asia to the western world.

I have some previously experience with American relocation company called Santa Fe - they are very good, known in Bangkok and the US. Had several friends using them both way. Howeever they can be pricy if you ask them to pack and add inssurance to the goods as well. Very professional though.

Hope above is helpful, otherwise you are welcome to PM me.

CBDK

[lopburi3]

The above post is wrong. Those on retirement visas do not qualify for duty free entry.

http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/House...nuNme=HouseHold

[taurus8ca]

Hello,

I came to BKK (with only two suitcases) about 8 months ago to see if I liked Thailand enough to make it my permanent home. I really like it here, so I got a retirement visa, and now I'm heading back to the U.S. to pack up some household items and personal stuff to ship to my apartment in Bangkok. But I'm having difficulty determining what the shipping costs will be, because I'm told the duty charges are variable, and maybe even impossible to predict in advance. I don't want to ship anything if it will be prohibitively expensive, but I'd like to be able to determine in advance what to bring.

I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience, and what the outcome happened to be. Any suggestions?

Many thanks.

[Rooo]

The above post is wrong. Those on retirement visas do not qualify for duty free entry.

http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/House...nuNme=HouseHold

Lopburi,

I have an OA visa & brought in a 20 ft container,no dramas.They required my passport,no copies.

[lopburi3]

The rules were changed a year or two ago and retirement visa does not receive duty free entry - it is the red print in the link I provided.

[Rooo]

The rules were changed a year or two ago and retirement visa does not receive duty free entry - it is the red print in the link I provided.

Fair enough. Ty Lop.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

The above post is wrong. Those on retirement visas do not qualify for duty free entry.

http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/House...nuNme=HouseHold

Absolutely correct Lop.

[Naam]

have some previously experience with American relocation company called Santa Fe - they are very good, known in Bangkok and the US.

they handled my (extremely difficult and huge) move to my "utmost delight".