Fedex, Dhl, Tnt, Ups, Ems

[jackbristol]

Hi there

About once a month I send boxes of goods to the UK, and occasionally Australia. I usually use EMS but recently these packages have been over their max of 30kg, and it looks like it's cheaper to use the couriers. For a 45kg shipment to Aus I've been quoted the following prices on 45kg:

Fedex: 15,974 baht 3 days

TNT: 13,409 4-5 days 'express economy'

UPS: 15,877 6 days

DHL: 16,100 2 working days

My questions are:

How are your experiences with above companies? Any to avoid/recommend?

How often do I have to send to open an account with a courier and how much cheaper is it, if at all?

Are there any promos currently running that could save me money?

I realise a lot of this information could be found by calling the companies but I thought it would be handy to have a collection of advice and experiences here.

Any feedback on the above is much appreciated.

Cheers, Jack

[cmsally]

Well I just happen to have next to me, my last UPS bill (a few days ago) to USA (which I presume to be more expensive than Aust.)

For 38kgs it was 10,200Bt (incl insurance and documents).

I am a regular customer sending about 100kg + per month.

I find UPS has best rates and good service for USA.

When sending to UK I must admit I use DHL as they seem to have better infrastructure and also the fact I only ever see DHL vans in the UK.

So it did cross my mind as to who would be delivering my parcels if I did send UPS to UK

[dr_Pat_Pong]

DHL is my go.

[quiksilva]

I have always found FedEx to be the most reliable, in this region and between the UK and USA. But have never used them between here and the UK.

[Smithson]

I use FedEx to send around the world. They are very reliable, usually taking no longer than the time stated.

I've used TNT 3 times and found them useless each time. They said 4-5 days but it took 2 weeks, half a package was lost, the didn't make the necessary documents etc. The blamed everyone but themselves.

I haven't used UPS or DHL, but have been told both are quite reliable.

Edited January 15, 2008 by Smithson

[capco1]

I would never use UPS again....Used them twice to ship from LOS to USA and both times their agents packed my shipment and both times my boxes arrived damaged and the contents were over half destroyed! UPS would not pay either claim....I was told to file a complaint through the Thailand UPS as they were not the same company as the UPS in the States. On the other hand I also used Fed Ex with no problems and they often run specials...25kg for just a little over 5k baht.

[legag]

NEVER U-P-S.

NEVER U-P-S.

A package was sent around x'mas and up until this minute I haven't gotten it. Long story short, after a call they said it's an addy mistake BY THEIR PEOPLE coded my address (bkk) to States and it's somehow stuck somewhere and couldn't be delievered on time! (DUH!!!) They now have gotten the 'where' right and said it would get here (bkk) on the 11th and .. look .. it's 16th no sign I would get my package. A sender has made a-finally-have-enough-call to them and told them to ship it back to where it's sent from and return sender's money.

Should have called it DOWNS!

Edited January 15, 2008 by legag

[percy2]

Over the years I've used all of them.

Never had a single problem with any.

I'd make my choice based solely on price.

Are the shipments urgent?

Could you use sea freight instead.

Cheers

[Smithson]

Could you use sea freight instead.

Cheers

From what I understand, sea freight only offers savings if the quantities are large, the flat rates for documentation etc. are the killer. Unlike the couriers, sea freight only delivers to the port.

The faster the service the less the chance of something going 'wrong', i.e. items being stolen, lost or damaged.

[percy2]

Check with your Freight Forwarder.

As the weight/volume go up the difference between Air and Surface cargo becomes more pronounced.

You can have stuff delivered door to door when shipping Surface.

Ask about consolidated containerized cargo.

Cheers

[jackbristol]

I've decided to go with TNT based purely on a price saving of a few thousand baht, despite Smithson's dire warnings. It's only one box with goods that can't really be damaged, so I'm hoping (perhaps naively) that there's little that can go wrong. Do you get what you pay for? I'll soon find out.

It seems as though there'll always be someone who's had a bad experience with one of the couriers.

Sea freight was an option but my regular cargo company told me it was too light a shipment, I think the minimum was 75kg.

For reference, the cheapest option would have been DHL's promo of up to 25kg for about 5,500 baht to Aus. I couldn't use this however, as you have to use their boxes and I just about couldn't fit all the goods into 2 of their largest 'XXL' boxes. 11,000 would have saved me an additional 2,400 on TNT's price. May be useful for someone else though.

[hotgeekus]

fyi, I just saw from ad in BKK post or Nation that now Fedex has new service, economy. Maybe check their webpage...