I work offshore in the middle east and live in Thailand, i have ordered a couple of heavy duty kit bags that are manufactured in Scotland. Was checking on the best method to have them sent to Thailand. Do not need any high speed high cost service.

I work offshore in the middle east and live in Thailand, i have ordered a couple of heavy duty kit bags that are manufactured in Scotland. Was checking on the best method to have them sent to Thailand. Do not need any high speed high cost service.

Hi, Isan Farang

I would like to ask some questions after a short introduction. Last week I bought a house close to Chiangmai with my Isan girlfriend. I also work offshore in the dutch sector of the Northsea. With my 1/1 tours it is impossible to go to Thailand every time. 5/5 or something like that would be mutch better. Do you have some adresses for me to apply for a job as radio-operator/offshore logistic coordinator or storekeeper? Any place on earth will be good, although Africa is not favorite. Google was not a great help for me to find a suitable job. I would realy be thankfull if you gave me some tips. Maybe you have also advise for the best thailand visa, I was thinking about a non immigrant multiple entry visa but maybe you have a better idea. Thanks in advance

to answer the OP's question:

depends on the weight. Up to 40 or 50 kg, parcel services such as UPS or FedEx are the cheaper choice, beyond that weight, a freight forwarder (guys like me..... ) might be the better alternative.

In both cases, you have to pay import duties on the goods.

Heavy stuff from Europe is always a problem.

I’m building a house in Thailand and have sourced many things from ‘home’.

Over the last two years, I’ve sent over 100 ‘small packets’ from UK, using surface mail. The max weight allowable is 2kg, with a total dimension of 900mm, with no one side greater than 60cm. This currently costs GBP 10.66 a go, and is very reliable: so far I have lost nothing, and have never paid duty, only the 7 Baht per item postal handling charge.

Interestingly, even though they are posted surface mail, the parcels very often arrive very fast by air. I’ve no idea why.

But it sounds like your bags cannot be broken down into 2kg lumps, so that’s probably not a useful option.

For heavy stuff – a radial arm saw and planer, some WC pans from Italy, a lot of 3m long plaster-depth electrical conduit, I used DHL. All were a nightmare. The carriage charges (by air) were OK, but the trumped-up customs duties and charges were not.

Never forget that duty, at whatever percentage, is charged on the entire cost *including* the shipping cost. When dealing with Customs Officers who choose to use the IATA charge on the Bill of Lading as the charge they use in the calculation, this can be very high. (No one actually pays the statutory IATA charge, it is discounted heavily by the carrier – cf. the huge charge stated on air tickets.) But try to convince a stupid customs guy at Phuket airport of that…

Nowadays, I carry everything myself during one of my frequent trips back from Europe. If you or a friend is travelling soon, I’d advise do just that.

Good luck!