I am a foreigner here in Thailand. I would like to order laptops,may be 10 or 20 itmes, from Alibaba or Globalsource. How should I do that? As I am a student, I would like to make some money for school debt. Any idea? Please !!!

It seems you want to do that as a business.

So first you should calculate your possible profit based on paying tax, duty, etc.

Maybe you can get some things delivered without paying anything extra, but you can't or shouldn't rely on that.

 

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

first you should calculate your possible profit based on paying tax, duty, etc.

That laptops are zero-rated for import duty should factored into his calculations.

Any electronics you import from Aliexpress or similar will be cheaper on Shopee and Lazada.

 

There is both shopee and Lazada dropoffs in China and Chinese sellers are able to offer the items on local Thai markets for less. 

 

I have done my research as I have been doing e-commerce for 20 years. What you will be doing makes little sense. You should also never hold the inventory like this as the value goes down every single day.

 

 

 

 

15 hours ago, NewJonh said:

I would like to order laptops,may be 10 or 20 itmes

What visa are you on - student in Thailand, tourist, etc.? That may affect whether you can operate a business in Thailand.

Curious what your market will be. Not many issues if in Thailand apart from visa, but why would anyone living in Thailand buy from you as a distributor vs. established distributors available from the many established marketing platforms accessible in Thailand or directly, ie., Fortune Town?

If you're looking to export electronic devises purchased in Thailand, there are far too many issues that may make it too expensive to operate with a profit margin.

But I applauded your enthusiasm.

 

13 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That laptops are zero-rated for import duty should factored into his calculations.

But consider that zero duty means you still pay a bit more than 10%

As you pay 7% VAT on the landed costs (so including shipping) and you may pay a fee for the customs clearing.

12 hours ago, Celsius said:

Any electronics you import from Aliexpress or similar will be cheaper on Shopee and Lazada.

 

There is both shopee and Lazada dropoffs in China and Chinese sellers are able to offer the items on local Thai markets for less. 

 

I have done my research as I have been doing e-commerce for 20 years. What you will be doing makes little sense. You should also never hold the inventory like this as the value goes down every single day.

 

 

 

 

Not for any electronics....many things are way cheaper on aliexpress. Never looked at computer things, but normal electronic parts and 3D printer parts Solar inverter are much cheaper.

But not everything, it is worth to compare. Heavy items are often cheaper in Thailand (because of the shipping costs)

14 minutes ago, h90 said:

13 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That laptops are zero-rated for import duty should factored into his calculations.

But consider that zero duty means you still pay a bit more than 10%

As you pay 7% VAT on the landed costs (so including shipping) and you may pay a fee for the customs clearing.

No, there is no "10% charge", that is nonsense.  The only charge on importing laptops in the manner the OP wants to do is 7% VAT on, as I posted, the CIF value.  There are no "customs clearing" [sic] charges.

56 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, there is no "10% charge", that is nonsense.  The only charge on importing laptops in the manner the OP wants to do is 7% VAT on, as I posted, the CIF value.  There are no "customs clearing" [sic] charges.

yes 7% on the landed costs.....TNT/FedEx etc. charge us every time I think 400 Baht for the clearing....

Do the mathematics next time you buy something. At the end 10% is a good estimate.

And if it is bigger you have a lot of other small side fees in the harbor. On a 300 kg shipment the customs processing can be easily a few thousand Baht.

On shipments per post, it also happens that we need to go ourself at the customs place which is a lot lost time.

 

31 minutes ago, h90 said:

yes 7% on the landed costs.....TNT/FedEx etc. charge us every time I think 400 Baht for the clearing....

That's a service fee that those courier companies are entitled to charge as reimbursement for collecting the duty on behalf of the Customs Dept., it is not a Customs clearing charge.  Use other delivery means and there won't be that courier company charge.

16 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That's a service fee that those courier companies are entitled to charge as reimbursement for collecting the duty on behalf of the Customs Dept., it is not a Customs clearing charge.  Use other delivery means and there won't be that courier company charge.

yes you are right, it is not the custom...but still we have to pay it.

Just now I get a bigger shipment

D/O + Local charges: 2788.8...that has something to do with the way seafreight works...no escape from that

Customs Clearing 2500 Baht...shipping company charges that..not custom...2500 is a bit expensive, but bad clearing can result in much bigger problems (clearing with Form E and seller who doesn't know the process is something you need an agent who knows what he does).

 

Actually a lot considering that the seafreight itself is only 325 Baht ($8 per cbm)

VAT is 12500 on it.

So the handling of the documents + clearing is a big part of the total costs.

1 minute ago, h90 said:

25 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That's a service fee that those courier companies are entitled to charge as reimbursement for collecting the duty on behalf of the Customs Dept., it is not a Customs clearing charge.  Use other delivery means and there won't be that courier company charge.

Expand  

yes you are right

I know.

16 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That laptops are zero-rated for import duty should factored into his calculations.

Are "tablets" zero-rated too...or only specifically laptops?

23 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

Are "tablets" zero-rated too...or only specifically laptops?

I don't know, but I'd guess not, as they are not laptops.

 

This may help...

https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/

 

The Customs Dept also has an English-speaking call centre, 1164

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, there is no "10% charge", that is nonsense.  The only charge on importing laptops in the manner the OP wants to do is 7% VAT on, as I posted, the CIF value.  There are no "customs clearing" [sic] charges.

there may be. 

Just now, stoner said:

2 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, there is no "10% charge", that is nonsense.  The only charge on importing laptops in the manner the OP wants to do is 7% VAT on, as I posted, the CIF value.  There are no "customs clearing" [sic] charges.

 

You quoted me without leaving a comment, did you forget what to say?

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

You quoted me without leaving a comment, did you forget what to say?

i made a mistake. its there now. 

 

14 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I don't know, but I'd guess not, as they are not laptops.

 

This may help...

https://www.simplyduty.com/import-calculator/

 

The Customs Dept also has an English-speaking call centre, 1164

And a webpage with the duties: http://itd.customs.go.th/igtf/th/main_frame.jsp?lang=en&top_menu=menu_homepage&current_id=5028

6 minutes ago, h90 said:

And a webpage with the duties: http://itd.customs.go.th/igtf/th/main_frame.jsp?lang=en&top_menu=menu_homepage&current_id=5028

hs code 8471.30.20 

On 6/22/2023 at 12:54 PM, stoner said:

there may be. 

There are not...unless you can be specific  There is import duty and VAT , those are the only "customs clearing charges".

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

There are not...unless you can be specific  There is import duty and VAT , those are the only "customs clearing charges".

depends on the value of the shipment. up to a certain value the shipment is considered lvs or low value and requires no additional processing. 

 

after that things change. a broker is needed to clear the shipment through customs. at which point they will charge you a customs clearing charge. because of the higher value a broker will have to use their sbrn (business number)to import the goods on your behalf(the purchaser). because of this the broker then assumes liability for the shipment. certain deposits and regulations must be met to qualify as a broker of record. 

 

pretty standard in the industry worldwide. 

 

ps...the good in question being imported falls under a duty free HS code. no import duties that way. only the vat and possible broker fee ..again depending on the value of shipment.