Ordered a Samsung phone from Amazon.de to be delivered to Bangkok. Got this email. Help pls

[rwilem]

On 2/14/2024 at 2:38 AM, noodleslayer said:

I've ordered stuff from Amazon with no issues from Customs because Amazon always took care of the customs issues. I ordered a new phone from Amazon and I got this email from UPS

Just wondering, I would assume the phone you ordered here is a model not marketed or available for purchase in Thailand? 

 

Been looking myself--just yesterday even--at some Moto phones on Amazon that are not sold here. The listings show an 'import duties  deposit' in addition to the product price. That implies there should be no problem buying the phone and having it shipped, that everything will be OK. But not so it seems. Kind of a drag, for sure, with a phone stuck in 'customs limbo'. If you don't mind my asking, which Samsung model did you order from Amazon?

 

 

 

 

[noodleslayer]

1 hour ago, rwilem said:

Just wondering, I would assume the phone you ordered here is a model not marketed or available for purchase in Thailand? 

 

Been looking myself--just yesterday even--at some Moto phones on Amazon that are not sold here. The listings show an 'import duties  deposit' in addition to the product price. That implies there should be no problem buying the phone and having it shipped, that everything will be OK. But not so it seems. Kind of a drag, for sure, with a phone stuck in 'customs limbo'. If you don't mind my asking, which Samsung model did you order from Amazon?

 

 

 

 

s24 ultra so yes it's in TH. I gave them the model number in the email and they told me that the model number is not on the NTBC list.... so I would need a license or something like this.... lol

[NanLaew]

On 2/14/2024 at 2:34 PM, Yellowtail said:

I have bought a lot of stuff from Amazon and not had an issue. I have never had to pay extra, and occasionally get portion refund on the duty deposit. 

 

Did any of your trouble-free purchases involve a mobile phone?

 

On 2/14/2024 at 2:39 PM, Peterphuket said:

Recently I've got a shaver from USA through Ebay and have to pay import duties.

 

I bought a keyboard and didn't.

 

NB. Shavers and keyboards are not mobile phones.

[rwilem]

1 hour ago, noodleslayer said:

s24 ultra so yes it's in TH. I gave them the model number in the email and they told me that the model number is not on the NTBC list.... so I would need a license or something like this.... lol

Well, that phone is available in the market here. I imagine it's a European-specific offshoot of that model, with some different frequency bands. That's the only thing I can think of that makes it non-certified for here. But who knows?

 

I think I'll drop the thought of buying a phone from Amazon. Too much risk of having a hassle.  A earlier post suggested getting in touch with Amazon and have them compel UPS to get the phone  shipped back. If that would work, maybe that's the easiest out in this case. Good luck.

[impulse]

I have issues on the other side, where Samsung won't update my Thai bought phone because it's not a model that was made for the country where I reside. Beyond A05s, there's a part number that's different for each market.

 

I have no advice regarding the OPs current dilemma, just some info for anyone thinking about importing a phone.  It may not work out as easy as it looks.

[BenStark]

1 minute ago, impulse said:

I have issues on the other side, where Samsung won't update my Thai bought phone because it's not a model that was made for the country where I reside. Beyond A05s, there's a part number that's different for each market.

 

I have no advice regarding the OPs current dilemma, just some info for anyone thinking about importing a phone.  It may not work out as easy as it looks.

 

That is nothing new. In the Thai samsung service centre has always been a sign on the desk that only Thai bought phones have warranty .
 

[FritsSikkink]

On 2/14/2024 at 12:29 PM, noodleslayer said:

If i choose option 3 to send it back do you think I get the money back? 

Option 3 says, you leave the phone at customs.

[impulse]

5 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

That is nothing new. In the Thai samsung service centre has always been a sign on the desk that only Thai bought phones have warranty .
 

The revelation for me is that it goes beyond warranty and affects functionality. Some of the updates work, others are denied.

[FritsSikkink]

On 2/14/2024 at 1:39 PM, Peterphuket said:

Recently I've got a shaver from USA through Ebay and have to pay import duties.

You import something and you have to pay import duties, you must be the first ever.

[noodleslayer]

Yeah so apparently phones bought in EU have a different model number than USA phones. My s24 ultra model number starts with F instead of SM, so they want me to get ripped off by a broker for 22k baht in order to get my item (about half the cost of the phone), NBTC is a scam.

[noodleslayer]

On 2/14/2024 at 1:58 PM, Crazy Noobie said:

Wrong. You do not want to select Choice 3. It sounds like you didn't read what Choice 3 says on the paper. TH customs DOES NOT send your item back, they "abandon" it. Which mean they keep it. Therefore you will lose all of your money. Their Choice 3 is a stupid policy. I had this exact same problem with a gamer unit called X-Box. Here's something else you might not know. Everyday you wait the storage fees go up, as custom charges you for storage until you handle everything with them. Plus there are a bunch of other fees too. I had to turn it all over to a 3Rd Party Custom Broker. And when everything was done, it cost me way too much money, more then what the product was worth. I wished I would of listened to my son and just purchased the item locally. I wish you good luck, as Customs is a pain to deal with.

You also dealt with NBTC for an Xbox?? Or do you just mean Thai customs in general?

[noodleslayer]

On 2/14/2024 at 5:36 PM, DineshR said:

I had exactly the same problem when I ordered a phone through Amazon. The phone arrived in Thailand and I got the exact same email from the carrier. I did some checking first and just like an earlier post mentioned, the problem is that the phone has to be on the approved NBTC list. If it isn't, then you will need to get a license from NBTC to get it in. I simply called Amazon and told them that they should have known not to ship this to Thailand and that I refused to accept that I had to go figure out how to import it. Amazon told me that they would work with the carrier to get it returned. I then turned around and told the carrier (via return email) that Amazon agreed to take it back and that it would work with them to accomplish that. I left it there and a few days later, I got the refund from Amazon. Let the carrier deal with Amazon and the local authorities to figure it out. Amazon has a lot of clout with the carriers and whatever they want done, the carriers will have to do. Good Luck !

Hey, after talking to some brokers I'm following this advice. They want an insane amount of money.

 

Amazon rep told me that they will contact UPS and try to get them to return it and that I should check my tracking by Wednesday to see if it's changed. UPS was trying to tell me that I can't have it shipped back to Amazon without an NBTC license. It's all a grift to get more money, so sad.

[rwilem]

3 hours ago, impulse said:

I have issues on the other side, where Samsung won't update my Thai bought phone because it's not a model that was made for the country where I reside. Beyond A05s, there's a part number that's different for each market.

Yes, it seems beyond the model name, there are 'model-offshoot identifiers' (letters, numbers) that ID a particular phone model. Some of the specs vary from the offshoots by the regions and countries the phone is marketed for. As you describe it must be a factor in how updates are managed as well.

 

Perhaps not a fix for Samsung phones, I don't know, but I read about owners of a Xiaomi phone model (Mi 10T lite) receiving updates after getting into the settings and changing 'phone region', or something to that effect. (Not location.)

[impulse]

20 minutes ago, rwilem said:

Yes, it seems beyond the model name, there are 'model-offshoot identifiers' (letters, numbers) that ID a particular phone model. Some of the specs vary from the offshoots by the regions and countries the phone is marketed for. As you describe it must be a factor in how updates are managed as well.

 

I'd add that the different P/Ns often have different spec's including which CPU they're using, RAM and ROM, etc.  So an A05s that I bought in Thailand may not be the same one I'd get if I ordered it from somewhere else.  It's caveat emptor.

 

[Billpro785]

On 2/14/2024 at 7:43 PM, noodleslayer said:

Hey bill, thanks for the info, could you elaborate a bit on your situation? You had a Thai call the Thai UPS for you, on one of their phone numbers here -https://www.ups.com/th/th/support/contact-us.page is this correct? So I suppose you emailed UPS that you wanna go with option 2? How much was the value of the 3 phones and how much did you have to pay for this roughly?

I had a Thai speak to them, and they sorted it all out. She handed everything. The 3 phones were I believe 400 USD total in value and I know she had to submit screen shots of the prices . I will ask her what the complete procedure was and get back to you 

[rwilem]

This thread has some informative responses about this dilemma. It started a few years back but has some relatively recent comments.

 

 

[balo]

On 2/15/2024 at 11:46 AM, 41632584 said:

Some phones are not available on the Thai market.

 

Which ones?   The official Samsung stores in Bangkok seem to stock most models. The only difference is the languages offered from the factory. Thai and English supported anyway. 
 

 

[balo]

11 hours ago, impulse said:

I have issues on the other side, where Samsung won't update my Thai bought phone because it's not a model that was made for the country where I reside. Beyond A05s, there's a part number that's different for each market.

 

I have no advice regarding the OPs current dilemma, just some info for anyone thinking about importing a phone.  It may not work out as easy as it looks.

 

 

No problem with updates here , and I spend most of my time in Europe, bought my Samsung TH model in Bangkok.  So don't understand the problem you have.   
I do have a Samsung account registered in Thailand and make sure to log in from that user name. 



 

[41632584]

4 hours ago, balo said:

 

Which ones?   The official Samsung stores in Bangkok seem to stock most models. The only difference is the languages offered from the factory. Thai and English supported anyway. 
 

 

In my case, I bought CAT phones. One had FLIR thermal camera. And the most recent one a satellite connectivity option for emergencies and basic texting when ordinary signal isn't available.

[timoti]

On 2/14/2024 at 1:58 PM, Crazy Noobie said:

Wrong. You do not want to select Choice 3. It sounds like you didn't read what Choice 3 says on the paper. TH customs DOES NOT send your item back, they "abandon" it. Which mean they keep it. Therefore you will lose all of your money. Their Choice 3 is a stupid policy. I had this exact same problem with a gamer unit called X-Box. Here's something else you might not know. Everyday you wait the storage fees go up, as custom charges you for storage until you handle everything with them. Plus there are a bunch of other fees too. I had to turn it all over to a 3Rd Party Custom Broker. And when everything was done, it cost me way too much money, more then what the product was worth. I wished I would of listened to my son and just purchased the item locally. I wish you good luck, as Customs is a pain to deal with.

 

On 2/14/2024 at 1:51 PM, 41632584 said:

 

Although, I didn't order via Amazon but had a phone privately shipped from a family member, my phone was not on the NBTC approved list, I basically was in a similar situation a few months ago.

 

It took me a few days of reading and calling around to find out what exactly had happened and what could be done.

 

Officially, all phones being imported to Thailand require an NTBC license. If the phone has been approved by NBTC and is on their list, in theory, some have done it, one can go through various bureaucratic steps and apply for the license. If you succeed, most likely it will take a decent amount of time, effort and some expense.

 

If your phone has not been approved, and thus no license can be acquired, the only way to get it, is to pay a well connected broker, who will persuade the customs officer to allow it to be imported without a license. Although, I can't speak for all brokers, but expect it to be 10k upwards.

 

Possibly, but without certainty, it could be that the fee would drop without an agent in between. But that would require you to have face to face time with the right customs officer.

 

Then there is the option of having it sent back, but here one enters a catch 22. In order for it to be exported out of Thailand, it requires an NTBC export license, which one either can't get or has difficulty getting.

 

The final option, which some have succeeded in doing, is to file for a return from Amazon and buy the phone in Thailand (if available). 

 

 

 

Which brokers/agents did you use? Can you send contact? My phone is also stuck in customs due to NBTC and the model number is not on their list. There is a similar one but not the exact same model number, ie a different variant.

[dddave]

On 2/14/2024 at 1:51 PM, 41632584 said:

Then there is the option of having it sent back, but here one enters a catch 22. In order for it to be exported out of Thailand, it requires an NTBC export license, which one either can't get or has difficulty getting.

I'm curious. If an individual lands at an international airport but is denied entry at PP control, then they have never officially entered the country.  Is it the same with goods? If the phone never passed customs, is it officially in Thailand thus requiring an export license or in limbo land, not having passed customs, thus able to be returned to sender without an export license?

[timoti]

On 2/15/2024 at 11:36 PM, noodleslayer said:

s24 ultra so yes it's in TH. I gave them the model number in the email and they told me that the model number is not on the NTBC list.... so I would need a license or something like this.... lol

What did you do?

 

On 2/16/2024 at 6:57 PM, Billpro785 said:

I had a Thai speak to them, and they sorted it all out. She handed everything. The 3 phones were I believe 400 USD total in value and I know she had to submit screen shots of the prices . I will ask her what the complete procedure was and get back to you 

 

Which brokers did you use?