Shipping Household Goods And Personal Effects Seattle To Phayao, Thailand

[Trex52]

I am trying to get a 20' container of house hold goods and personal effects from just southwest of Seattle through Thai customs in BNK and delivered to house in Phayao, Thailand and was wondering how to go about it as far as getting things through customs and such. I am married to a Thai national and will be starting a university teaching job in June. If anyone has had experience with this, I would greatly appreciate any insight into this. Thanks. RWT

[NHC]

I am trying to get a 20' container of house hold goods and personal effects from just southwest of Seattle through Thai customs in BNK and delivered to house in Phayao, Thailand and was wondering how to go about it as far as getting things through customs and such. I am married to a Thai national and will be starting a university teaching job in June. If anyone has had experience with this, I would greatly appreciate any insight into this. Thanks. RWT

Yes, I have experience with this exact situation. First of all use Rainier Shipping Company based the Seattle area. Here is their contact information.

Doug Wiviott

Director, International Business Development

Rainier Overseas Movers, Inc.

PO Box 97004

Bellevue, WA. 98009

Toll free 800-426-9928 extn 220

Local 425-277-6000 extn 220

Fax 425-643-0448

Please visit us today at

WWW.RAINIEROS.COM

I checked prices and reputation up and down the west coast of the US and found Doug to be the most competent and his price was fair.

Regarding Thai customs. Do NOT hire a Thai clearing company to clear your container through Thai customs. Here is what I did.

When the the container is getting ready to be off-loaded by the ships normal offloader in Thailand the ships expediter will call you at your Thailand phone number. They will tell you that your stuff has arrived and you should come down to clear it after such and such date.

At that point get your Thai wife to get directions to the Thai Customs clearing offices near the docks in Bangkok. Go down there with here and all your paperwork from the shipping company. As you walk up to the building a woman or a man will usually approach you and ask if you need help clearing your shipment with Thai customs. Here is where it gets tricky. If you seem to think that particular person is "ok" them go on in to the office with them and have your wife ask the officer behind the glass if the guy or girl that is helping you is "ok" or not. They will say yes or maybe say get another person to help you. It's your choice. Most of the customs guys will be honest and tell you if an urchin has attached themselves to you. They know them all.

Once you have established that you can trust the guy you are with then he will walk you and your wife through the maze of offices and paperwork required. As a Farang, it's best to keep a low profile and let your wife handle most if not all of the negotiations. The expediter will take you to several different locations until finally you arrive at the dock or warehouse where your container is. At this point you can have your wife instruct the expediter to bargain whether of not the container is "opened" or not. If they open it they will find extras to charge you for and generally will cost you more than you already paid at the first stop. So, have your wife pay a suggested amount to the customs agent sitting behind a desk upstairs at the warehouse to NOT open the container. That amount can vary depending on what is on your itemized list and how much money the customs guy need that month. I suggest that the amount should not exceed 3000 baht for a full container to "not" be opened.

Once he signs the paper you are almost home free. Now your expediter will negotiate for delivery of your container to your address in Thailand. He will already have the contacts for this. Usually a family member or friend that has a container hauling truck. That fee for delivery may be anywhere from 4000 to 8000 baht depending on where it must go.

This is the cheapest way to get your stuff. If you have the bucks and don't want to hassle it just ask oug at Rainier to arrange delivery with their Thailand based sister company. It will cost you dearly though.

Chok dee

NHC

Edited May 7, 2009 by NHC

[ubonjoe]

Their have been topics on this. Most suggest that you have it shipped directly to your home and use a broker here to handle it. Ship it in your wifes name because she is allowed to send most items with paying duty.

See this search result: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/search.html&...ite=%2Bshipping

I think you will find some usefull imformation. You could also do a search on the general topics forum there have been topics there also about shipping.

[Mario2008]

Ship everything in your wife name, that will be easier. As a returning Thai national she can import duty free. (You can too when you have tyour one year extension of stay from immigraiton with work permit).

See this link from Thai customs: http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/House...nuNme=HouseHold

Best is always to hire a good agent in Thailand, will save you a lot of hussle and money.

[lopburi3]

1. He is not married "yet".

2. She in here in Thailand it seems.

3. No way she can import duty free.

4. He has to obtain extension of stay for work before he can do so.

[ubonjoe]

By going back through his posts he is not married legally yet.

So he is going to have to wait, pay lots of duty or forget the idea.

[teacup]

Hey Trex52

I'm going from Seattle too, but sometimes around October

Which company are you using,? I'm thinking on 20' container too

Allied - door to door to bkk - just quoted me around $6400 - 40' container....seems too expensive to me, don't you think so?

[Tod Daniels]

When I moved out here 4+ years ago I had my personal effects shipped out in a container. I used a company that specializes in international moves for business execs.

They handled everything from packing my stuff up in my house in Colorado, the coordination of the shipping via container, the import duty at the port here in thailand, and finally the delivery and unpacking at my apartment in Bangkok.

IF you're interested send me a P/M and I'll give you the name of the company. I don't know what they charge now, but you're out nothing getting a quote from them. They are professional to the extreme, and I would use them again if I needed to.

[ZenHillbillyPoet22]

I work for a freight forwarding company in BKK and find some of the paranoia about shipping things laughable. However, I think being well informed about the process and the regulations is the best defense against being swindled. It is definitely true that shipping things under a Thai name makes things easier and gives the customs officials less opportunity to look for bribe money, but any foreigner shipping things that follows the regulations shouldn't encounter any excessive bribe requests. I've handled countless shipments of personal effects and the largest request I've ever seen was a little more than BHT2000 and that was for a shipment of over two tons that was inventoried as clothes and books (???).

Anybody shipping things has to understand that there are fees at the port of origin and destination in addition to the freight fees. If cost is a concern you can often save a lot of money by clearing the goods and picking them up from the port yourself. I would say that the customs procedure isn't that difficult (aside from it being all in Thai) as much as it's time consuming.

When using an excess baggage company the mark up is very high, but the premium paid is for peace of mind and ease of service. Additionally many freight forwarding agents will not handle personal effects because of the amount of work involved versus the low profit margins, hence the ability of personal effects specialists to mark up so high.

[CWMcMurray]

I am alkso working for a freight forwarder here in Thailand.

I would advise waiting until you start your job and receive your work permit before importing your goods. Foreign nationals can qualify for "Duty free" import of "Personal Effects" only if they are work permit holders.

Not all items are Duty free, you will need to provide your agent with a full invoice. As per an earlier poster, if the invoice does not match the contents of the container you will end up paying more.

Realize that if you just write clothes on the invoice and then pay a customs officer not to open the container, you are in fact smuggling goods into Thailand, not importing them. If caught be ready to pay the fine...

Any Thai person living overseas for at least one year will also qualify for "Duty Free" entry. So if the girl friend was living with you, her name could be used as the importer of record.

[Trex52]

Sorry it took so long to reply....I used Siam International out of CA. Not only did the 20' container arrive at my residence for me to load and make secure, I had it for three days before pickup. They took care of all the logistics stateside and in LOS. My advise to anyone considering this, is invest in some cargo straps and sheets of plywood. The tie downs in the particular container I used were D rings weilded 4' apart, on top and bottom of container wall. Place all heavy items you don't want shifting and falling on your other items along the wall, tie them down, and then using the plywood (which you will be glad you have when it all reaches LOS, for projects and such), place in front of stacks of whatever to hold stacks of things tightly against wall and in place and secure to D rings (using diagonal ties) with the cargo straps. I had nothing shift or fall in the entire journey. With duty (I actually don't think anyone ever even looked in the container, as I had 11 guitars, my own from many years, not for resale of course) and to have it trucked up north about 12 hours from BKK, and all other port fees, it all cost me less than $4500. That was from my home in the Puget Sound area, all the way to Phayao, Thailand. I would have never been able to replace the guitars for that amount. It is amazing what all will fit into one of those 20' containers if you pack it right. Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.....trex

[toptuan]

I'm from Seattle, too. Had a garage sale, used E-bay, and reduced my life to 2 suitcases. Enabled me to arrive with a boat-load of money to set up life anew in Thailand for 10% of the cost of doing the same in USA. I'd do it that way again. Americans are so hung up on their "stuff." I can't imagine paying $10K+ roundtrip just to hang on to the stuff. Each to their own.

[Trex52]

I'm from Seattle, too. Had a garage sale, used E-bay, and reduced my life to 2 suitcases. Enabled me to arrive with a boat-load of money to set up life anew in Thailand for 10% of the cost of doing the same in USA. I'd do it that way again. Americans are so hung up on their "stuff." I can't imagine paying $10K+ roundtrip just to hang on to the stuff. Each to their own.

Round trip???? No way. I am here until the fire consumes what is left of this carbon-based life form after all breath is gone. Like I mentioned, I could never replace the musical instruments I brought with me for any amount of money, not here in Thailand at least. I plan to enjoy them until I can pass them on to an heir.

[Luciano1860]

I am trying to get a 20' container of house hold goods and personal effects from just southwest of Seattle through Thai customs in BNK and delivered to house in Phayao, Thailand and was wondering how to go about it as far as getting things through customs and such. I am married to a Thai national and will be starting a university teaching job in June. If anyone has had experience with this, I would greatly appreciate any insight into this. Thanks. RWT

Yes, I have experience with this exact situation. First of all use Rainier Shipping Company based the Seattle area. Here is their contact information.

Doug Wiviott

Director, International Business Development

Rainier Overseas Movers, Inc.

PO Box 97004

Bellevue, WA. 98009

Toll free 800-426-9928 extn 220

Local 425-277-6000 extn 220

Fax 425-643-0448

Please visit us today at

WWW.RAINIEROS.COM

I checked prices and reputation up and down the west coast of the US and found Doug to be the most competent and his price was fair.

Regarding Thai customs. Do NOT hire a Thai clearing company to clear your container through Thai customs. Here is what I did.

When the the container is getting ready to be off-loaded by the ships normal offloader in Thailand the ships expediter will call you at your Thailand phone number. They will tell you that your stuff has arrived and you should come down to clear it after such and such date.

At that point get your Thai wife to get directions to the Thai Customs clearing offices near the docks in Bangkok. Go down there with here and all your paperwork from the shipping company. As you walk up to the building a woman or a man will usually approach you and ask if you need help clearing your shipment with Thai customs. Here is where it gets tricky. If you seem to think that particular person is "ok" them go on in to the office with them and have your wife ask the officer behind the glass if the guy or girl that is helping you is "ok" or not. They will say yes or maybe say get another person to help you. It's your choice. Most of the customs guys will be honest and tell you if an urchin has attached themselves to you. They know them all.

Once you have established that you can trust the guy you are with then he will walk you and your wife through the maze of offices and paperwork required. As a Farang, it's best to keep a low profile and let your wife handle most if not all of the negotiations. The expediter will take you to several different locations until finally you arrive at the dock or warehouse where your container is. At this point you can have your wife instruct the expediter to bargain whether of not the container is "opened" or not. If they open it they will find extras to charge you for and generally will cost you more than you already paid at the first stop. So, have your wife pay a suggested amount to the customs agent sitting behind a desk upstairs at the warehouse to NOT open the container. That amount can vary depending on what is on your itemized list and how much money the customs guy need that month. I suggest that the amount should not exceed 3000 baht for a full container to "not" be opened.

Once he signs the paper you are almost home free. Now your expediter will negotiate for delivery of your container to your address in Thailand. He will already have the contacts for this. Usually a family member or friend that has a container hauling truck. That fee for delivery may be anywhere from 4000 to 8000 baht depending on where it must go.

This is the cheapest way to get your stuff. If you have the bucks and don't want to hassle it just ask oug at Rainier to arrange delivery with their Thailand based sister company. It will cost you dearly though.

Chok dee NHC

Hey mate, do you have a name or mobile number of the guy you used for clearing shipment? The guy you trusted?

I have two shipments from USA: one personal (stereo, tools, cat food) and one business (3 indoor tanning machines plus lamps, parts and suntan lotions). I will have the Thai Ministry of Public Health and HS code paperwork prior to import (tons of red tape, but getting close).

Any idea what the HS code for is for tanning machines? Thai customs sent a letter saying they did not have enough information to give me a HS code (is the max. duty 30%?), TISI sent letter saying no permit was needed for electric, only Thai FDA docs. for import needed.

Any advice for these shipments? I want to put everything in one container? Any concern or problem combining the two shipments in one container?

It is a Thai company is my gf's name for the business shipment. The personal shipment can be under my name, as I have an A-O retirement visa.

I am a bit concerned about the import taxes on personal belongings, the stereo (USD$600) is brand new, should I take it out of the original box? -- do they check things that closely for retirement visa duty free shipments?

Any help with local contacts would be appreciated. I have met with SNP Logistics Co. -- good company? Should I use a professional company for the tanning beds?

Thanks a million for your help.