Shipping Personal Possessions

[a2396]

Thanks for the info guys... shows how wrong the books can be.

I'll check the situation with the Thai consulate in Hull when I go up for my Visa...

With a bit of luck, they'll have the last word... but doubtless I'll still wind up paying a fortune...

When I say books... i'm talking about 1000 books, hardback and paperback... so excess baggage isn't an option...

Murg

you will not if you use a renowned shipping/clearing agent. i paid peanuts bringing in a 40foot high cube container in 2005 stuffed with 60m3 of belongings.

edited for addendum: customs didn't even open the container!

How much was peanuts?

[dsys]

This may sound a bit cazy but look into it - we used DHL air freight, thats right DHL. About 2000kg all in, door to door in about a week no hastle with customs.

Not as expensive as you may think, especially if you can find a friend or relative with access to a corporate account

[Murgatroyd]

Just to update this old thread, This was the result :

I shipped 17 boxes of personal possessions from the UK to Thailand in April this year... I used the UK company Simpsons Removal and Storage ltd. ( based in Dartford, Kent ). They arrived on time at my address in North london, took my pre packed boxes, (Though they do supply boxes and pack your stuff for you if you need that done), and delivered them to my Thailand address about eleven weeks later. The consignment included a desktop computer and peripherals, Books, a collection of miniature figures, glassware and other items. Everything arrived intact, the computer booted up happily first try, none of the glasses were broken, and nothing was missing from the consignment. At the Thailand end, the customs clearance and delivery was handled by a company called United re-locations Ltd, and their customs fixer negotiated a low duty fee for the computer peripherals that came to about 900 baht. that was the only duty that I had to pay, as I entered Thailand on a full O/A non immigrant visa, and therefore all my household goods were exempt from duty, with the exception of any electrical goods after the first Item, (Which I designated as the computer itself)

I paid for insurance, and had no need to make a claim. I was very happy with the service, my quote from Simpsons was accurate and actual, even though I had to revise the number of boxes to be sent several times. The quote was based on the dimensions and weight of the bozes... no complex volumetric computations involved. The service was arranged at the last minute, and had there been any delays it could have proved disasterous. In the event, there were none.

I wouldn't hesitate to reccomend Simpsons to anyone contemplating shipping goods to Thailand. They can be contacted on www.simpsons-uk.com or 44(0)1322386969

I had tried to contact sevenseasworldwide... but they didn't respond to my enquiries by e-mail. As such, I didn't deal with them.

Murg

[thaimate]

Hello all,

I will be coming over to live in Thailand... I hope to arrive sometime in early April with a 1 year multiple entry O/A visa, and will apply for a full retirement visa within 90 days of arrival... I qualify on all counts as far as I can see.

I will be looking to ship a fair quantity of personal possessions from the UK to Thailand, so that they arrive within 6 months of my arrival, ( so as to qualify for the tax-free importation deal )

Does anyone know of a reliable, insured, door to door shipping agent?

What sort of costs are involved?

Do they charge by weight or cubic, or some combination of the two?

How should the stuff be packed?

Has anyone done this before?

I will be shipping clothing, shoes, a desktop computer and periferals, books, and this sort of thing... definately no "medicines", firearms, or anything that customs could object to...

I would really appreciate any advice or anecdotes.

[Mods/Admin : - if this is in the wrong section, or if there is already a thread on this, sorry to be a pain... I'm new here. I also apologise for my spelling]

Thanks

Murgatroyd

Have a look at http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com/ . Their prices seem competative and they deliver door to door. I know of a few people who were satisfied with them and a friend of mine who's moving here next week is using them to ship items very similar to yours. They deliver empty boxes to your home in the UK, collect them when packed and deliver them to your home in Thailand. Delivery takes about eight weeks and they assured my friend ALL costs were covered in the price they quote you, unlike when I had my items (similar to yours) delivered door to port and it cost me another 11000 baht tea money and delivery costs to get them out of the port and to my house 65 km away.

Whoever you use I would always have them delivered 'door to door' and not 'door to port', don't get stung like I did.

absolutely first class company ,would use them any time ,helpfull polite you name it they are the best.

had goods posted to my sister in laws in bangkok as we did not have a house at the time,but for 2000 baht they delivered everything to patters ,the guy unloaded 22 teachest and carried half upstairs ,couldnt recomend them highly enough both in england and thailand.

[brahmburgers]

My understanding is that you have 6 months after you enter Thailand on a full years retirement visa to ship your household goods into the country. You must have a full years visa, and the goods must arrive in Thailand within 6 months of the day you first enter on that Visa, (Not a subsequent entry after a visa run)...

If you don't have a full years visa, or if your goods arrive after the 6 month period elapses, you are liable for 20% import duty, + 7% VAT.

I'm told that the 6 month period can be somewhat elastic, and if your goods are delayed, then inform customs at least 2 months before the 6 month period expires... (I imagine some small token of esteem wouldn't hurt at that stage )

I've been getting back to back 1 year type O retirement visas for a couple years now. I also have stuff I want shipped here from California. Do you think customs would give a waiver for my stuff if it was within 6 months of the latest visa start date. - or will they be sticklers and base it on the original visa date. Other postings seem to indicate the custom fee waiver is predicated on having a Thai work permit (which doesn't apply to me).

I was also under the impression that a max of two of each item was allowed (reminiscing about Noah's Ark perhaps?). Is that hare-brained, or what? I must have read it somewhere.

The suggestions about using a Thai name (I can arrange that) and having an attorney on call (ditto) sound useful. Plus, it's good to know that shipping door to door is preferable, as I had earlier thought that shipping to the port was smarter. I guess much depends on the whims of the custom guys on duty at the time.

9 years ago I shipped some climbing ropes from the US. Thai customs wanted a high fee to let them thru (more than the cost of the ropes). I called and complained and .....surprise!, they came down 50% on their fee.