Ordering Books On-line

[jeffer]

I'm sure there must be some posters who order books from Amazon or even other USA based booksellers online.

Have you experienced any problems? Do the books always get delivered to you and importantly, have you run into problems with the local post office or customs?

I stopped ordering anything from outside of Thailand a few years ago after some bad experiences with the local post office. If you order books from Amazon have you had to pay additional charges at the Thai end before they would be handed over?

[devona]

I lived in Ubon Ratchathani for 2 years and never got charged more than 100-200baht for any Amazon parcels by the post office. Now I'm in Khon Kaen and just got charged 1500baht for an Amazon parcel which was a birthday present for me. The post office told me it was because customs thought I would sell what was inside, which was only 2 books and 2 dvds.

Not sure if the rules have changed recently or it depends on where you live.

[Valjean]

I order about once a month from Amazon and the books always come OK. I'm not sure to be honest if anything is paid when they are dropped off at my house because I'm not home then so the maid or wife would receive them. None ever said anything - if it was more than 1000 thb I'm sure I'd get an ear full. Usualy I choose the economy which takes a week or so to get here and isn't too expensive.

[Jingthing]

A friend staying with me ordered once from an Amazon merchant (used book). It never arrived. She didn't do a followup but I assume it was sent, and lost.

[gymshark]

I order books and sometimes DVD's from amazon, sometimes they come straight to the apartment no problem but sometimes I have to pick them up from the post office and pay extra, no reason, just sometimes OK sometimes not. Amazing Thailand.

[Travel2003]

I have bought a lot of music and some films (documentaries), and normally pick them up at nearest post office.

Never any problem.

[Ulysses G.]

There is no tax on books under $150, but a huge tax on DVDs and CDs!

[dekka007]

use them a lot. Use the global priority UPS delivery not cheap but never had anything go astray. You can also pre-pay the import duty directly with amazon at time of checkout.

As above be very careful if you order anything apart from books...DVD,Games etc. your tax will skyrocket.

[jeffer]

Thanks everyone, I will give it another try. Only want some books however past experience with having things sent to Thailand has not been good.

[sylviex]

No problems ordering from Amazon in Chiang Mai. My experience of Amazon's service has been very good. and no problems with PO either. You can track the progress of your parcel on the Amazon site.

[jfchandler]

Just wondering.... anyone have any experience with how Asiabooks.com compares to Amazon in terms of pricing and availability for Western titles???

If Asiabooks had the same item available online here, I'm wondering how its pricing would generally compare vs. ordering from Amazon in the U.S. and shipping here....

[dotcom]

Thanks everyone, I will give it another try. Only want some books however past experience with having things sent to Thailand has not been good.

One possible tip.

Break your shipment into smaller parcels. Call it max 3 books per 1 shipment.

Less likely to go missing. In my experience. The difference in postage is minimal.

[robbiecia]

As long as you only order is small quantities directly from amazon (their merchants will not deliver to

Thailand) .....you should be ok

I have found that if you order more than 2 or 3 dvds or books together you can encounter some

problems with the post office (like having to go and pay some 'tax')

[TexasRanger]

As long as you only order is small quantities directly from amazon (their merchants will not deliver to

Thailand) .....you should be ok

I have found that if you order more than 2 or 3 dvds or books together you can encounter some

problems with the post office (like having to go and pay some 'tax')

Agreed, sometimes I get them dlivered direct and it is OK< sometimes I have to go and pick them up at the post office and get charged extra tax. Don't relly know why though.

[dotcom]

In the past I've had the postman ask for 7 baht for delivery fee or requiring a signature. Not always.

Agree Amazon merchants (due to the software) can not accept orders from LoS. Amazon's policy.

[desi]

I deal with Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk monthly. And not just books. I've only ever had one real problem with a book order (two books) not arriving. They resent both books (separate), no questions asked.

I also order from other online book companies. Again, no prob.

I make sure each order is under US$100 as they do charge. I do that by splitting up the order. Or if a single item, by having it sent to the US or the UK first...

Amazon.com is cheaper than Amazon.co.uk for a lot of things. Same items.