Im thinking of ordering some things from Amazon US for delivery to Chiang Mai

Just wondeRing who actually delivers and where you have to pick up items if not at home when delivered

Cheers

* Send it regular airmail

* As an address note or other note on the label, add something like "Books / Printed Matter - Duty Exempt - No Commercial Value"

* It will be delivered to your door, if you're not home you get to pick it up at the post office for your postal district.

Very likely there will not be any tax due.

the OP is ordering from Amazon- he will not be in the U.S. filling out labels and such

Rob I just ordered a Kindle and they charged me the duty up front, and it will ship DHL. Not sure if I have to be here but would guess/hope the manager at my building will sign for it- I used his cell phone number instead of mine.

I tried to order some things from Amazon and the order was rejected "no shipping to Thailand".

When I lived in Prague I ordered a few books from Amazon. When the package arrived, UPS called and they wanted more than the cost of the books for import duty. I refused the delivery. I called Amazon and they said they only deliver overseas by UPS; no post. It took a while but eventually my credit card was credited.

Good luck.

the OP is ordering from Amazon- he will not be in the U.S. filling out labels and such

In know: On their site, Amazon offers you the chance to add custom texts. This is very useful to pre-empt custom dept. shenanigans.

I've ordered several times from Amazon without any glitch or duties.

Usually, the items arrive before the expected date.

You should choose regular mail, and avoid dhl, UPS, fedex, etc. which will route your package through customs and pre-charge custom fees.

They deliver directly to your address, or leave a notice for pick up at the post office.

I've ordered books from Amazon UK. They come by air mail and I have never paid duty, takes 1-2 weeks. They will not send electronic goods,DVDs cameras etc due to complicated restrictions. Amazon put the Thailand address on as you have a option to 'deliver to this address' in the system. Never tried to get anything from Amazon US

Wouldn't Amazon US have the better prices currently, due to the dollar still going south like a .. .ehh, let's keep it polite this morning.

Avoid fancy courier services, they're hopeless when it comes to taxes and duties, to the point where I suspect that (some people in) those companies have done a deal with (people in) the Thai customs department to share the Spoils of Corruption..

I, too, have ordered from Amazon, and had the parcel delivered by regular post to my P O box here in Chiang Mai. No duties, no problem, and about 2 weeks' delivery time. As mentioned earlier though, they do not ship some items such as electronics to Thailand.

And also note that not all items that you see on Amazon are actually warehoused and sold by Amazon; in addition to selling books and other things from stock, Amazon.com is also an e-commerce portal where any company can market their goods. Not all of those companies ship to all countries.

But for books, from actual Amazon, it should not be a problem.

I ordered a technical book from Amazon. It came via normal registered mail I think. How ever it came, I had to sign for it.

They charged customs duties, but then refunded them at a later date. I think they charge it because of the fickle nature of Thai customs agents.

I've been ordering (mostly) books and CDs from Amazon US for years and never had a problem. Average delivery time is 14 days to BKK, 16-17 days to CNX. Always delivered through regular postal service to my house; easily recognisable by their branded brown carton. One package got lost several years ago and was immediately replaced by Amazon, no questions asked. I also use regular postal services for all Ebay purchases. There is a special surface delivery mode called 'm-bag' for bulk book/magazine orders. It is offered by American and European post services and it's significantly cheaper than standard shipping. I used it to have book collections shipped to Thailand, but unfortunately Amazon doesn't offer this option. As with all surface deliveries, you have to be patient with m-bag shipments though; it takes 6 - 12 weeks. The USPS also offers (faster) international airmail m-bags.

Cheers, CMX

Food and CD's seems to work fine, along with any non-perishable items. But clothing seems to be a problem. Found a jacket online, search in amazon, but they can't deliver it. Claiming problem with warranties . Had to used a friend in the US as a middle man. Really bites .

I wonder if there's a list of what they can or can't ship over seas.

Oh before people wonders why I dind't buy it here? Well it's not available here, and can't find a source for it.

I, too, have ordered from Amazon, and had the parcel delivered by regular post to my P O box here in Chiang Mai. No duties, no problem, and about 2 weeks' delivery time. As mentioned earlier though, they do not ship some items such as electronics to Thailand.

Ditto.

ditto... till next time.

Amazon deliver book without issues and in notes you ask to make as Gift and duty exempt when making payment. On the matter of duties I went to pick up a couple of Phones coming from HK. Post Man in store asked I pay 3000bt in duty. I stated they broken and I needing to have fixed in Thailand- yet I will give HIM 200bt. He accepted and removed the duty costs... nice try yet he scored 200bt from me.