Is There Any Custom On Second Hand Books?

[elcent]

Just got a request from the UK to ask if there's any custom applied for approx. 100kg of books (second hand), papers and clothes.

Does anybody know about the custom reqirement for this.

I think it's teaching material and personal items.

The parcel is already with the shipping company in the UK, the shipping price agreed on but comes without custom procedures if any. Any good advice/information and/or local agencies to recommend?

Thank You in advance

[toptuan]

7 years ago, I had about 100kg of books sent to myself (second hand). Labeled "books-personal effects". Not a baht charged by Thai customs. Had it sent a special "M" ("media") rate from USA and took about 2 months to arrive through normal Thai post. Downside: they just dumped it on the front steps of the school where it sat all day until someone happened to notice my name on the three huge mail sacks. Good think we didn't have a downpour that day!

[montrii]

I brought over more than a thousand books, among other things (papers, clothes, a bicycle), but that was the bulk of my shipment, about 2 years ago when I moved here permanently from the U.S. on a retirement visa. According to the law, as I understood it from talking to Thai officials in advance and looking it up on my own, a retiree is supposed to be allowed one shipment of personal effects duty-free. However, when the stuff arrived, I got slapped with a customs bill of nearly ฿20K. I sent them copies of the regulations and by being extremely stubborn (I speak Thai well) managed to talk them down to 8 or 10 K, can't remember exactly. From what I could make out it was a simple case of someone in customs expecting to get a cut from everything that comes in, and if you don't have clout, you'll just be walked over. Or maybe it depends on who the official on duty is. I dunno, just that in the end I felt they were wrong, probably thieves, but that the simplest thing to do was just pay the baksheesh and let it go. So I would say, if you're lucky, you won't have to pay duty. But my bet would be that you'd run into something like this.

[MickeyM]

It is my understanding that books are supposed to be duty free; however, don't mix other items with the shipment or you may pay duty on the entire shipment. I have never paid duty on books ordered from Amazon, but including a DVD in the shipment resulted in a charge.