Customs Rip-Off

[oncebefore]

Heads up folks if u are sending natural healthcare products from overseas to Thailand. I just ordered some from the USA. A family member repacked them and sent by priority mail international. Arrived in 5 days to a sorting facility, then sent to customs 2 days later. Was in customs 1 week before I received the postal notice of collection. When I went to get it, post office said the tax owed was 1584 baht PLUS another 4000 baht for something like customs LAD. May be spelled wrong. I had no idea what that was and have never heard of it. Had a Thai friend with me and the translation was something about when they opened my box, since it had natural products, they sent it for further inspection and they say it was considered medicine. Something to that affect. Ridiculous. Medicine? Most of what I ordered was skin and bodycare products and some vitamins like C.D,E, etc.. My postage to ship was in dollars 78.45 and the cost of my products was about 141.00. Package was not insured. I figured I would pay 800 baht in taxes based on prior times. 1584 was double what I expected, but the extra 4000 baht really caught me off guard and shocked me. Anyone have knowledge of this?

[glbv]

Very surprised that they hit you with customs when it came international mail. I have dozens of packages sent monthly all health supplements and ive never had a single one hit customs. Try to keep it small (2kgs or less) and you will fare better I think. If this was already a small package then you just got very unlucky.

If your not insuring the product why place the amount on the packages as what you actually paid?

[MisterMan]

Well now at least you did not have to spend half a day at the THAI FDA! I did that for wheatgrass powder spirulina and cholorella. Just a bunch of algae! But these products are on a restricted list - Food, health. My tax was only 300 baht but lost half a day of work. What did the customs form contents list it as?

[oncebefore]

Very surprised that they hit you with customs when it came international mail. I have dozens of packages sent monthly all health supplements and ive never had a single one hit customs. Try to keep it small (2kgs or less) and you will fare better I think. If this was already a small package then you just got very unlucky.

If your not insuring the product why place the amount on the packages as what you actually paid?

[oncebefore]

Very surprised that they hit you with customs when it came international mail. I have dozens of packages sent monthly all health supplements and ive never had a single one hit customs. Try to keep it small (2kgs or less) and you will fare better I think. If this was already a small package then you just got very unlucky.

If your not insuring the product why place the amount on the packages as what you actually paid?

Sorry for the duplicate. Don't post often and learning the functions. The box weighed 5.5 kilos. The other 3 times I have had items mailed to me they weighed about 7 kilos. Each time they went through customs. 2x had to go to the customs post office near the train station and the other time it was released to my post office. Still had to pay taxes on it. I have insured before, but they add that to the amount of taxes u pay. So this time I decided to not have it insured to save money. Little did I know I would be scalped alive. Before, I would put gift on the form, but the still ask how much u paid. That doesn't work. If u tell them that, they calculate cost of your products on some computer program they have and it is on a higher end. U wind up paying more than if u gave them the actual cost.

[oncebefore]

Well now at least you did not have to spend half a day at the THAI FDA! I did that for wheatgrass powder spirulina and cholorella. Just a bunch of algae! But these products are on a restricted list - Food, health. My tax was only 300 baht but lost half a day of work. What did the customs form contents list it as?

I had my brother write personal bodycare, something like that on the form

[tropo]

Very surprised that they hit you with customs when it came international mail. I have dozens of packages sent monthly all health supplements and ive never had a single one hit customs. Try to keep it small (2kgs or less) and you will fare better I think. If this was already a small package then you just got very unlucky.

If your not insuring the product why place the amount on the packages as what you actually paid?

Seeing you're quite experienced at shipping health supplements over, perhaps you could give me some specific advice on having multivitamins shipped..

Last month I ordered a bottle of Anavite multivitamins from the US. They are quite expensive at about US $30 per bottle and USPS shipping is $12.95 (first class mail international) per container. If I ship more than one then I save $2 per extra bottle on shipping, which isn't much. I was thinking of ordering about 4 bottles on my next order. That will only save $6 on shipping but it will be a lot more convenient because I need one bottle a month.

What are the chances of getting hit with taxes? Is there a better chance of it slipping by customs if I order only one bottle at a time?

Edited April 2, 2012 by tropo

[oncebefore]

Very surprised that they hit you with customs when it came international mail. I have dozens of packages sent monthly all health supplements and ive never had a single one hit customs. Try to keep it small (2kgs or less) and you will fare better I think. If this was already a small package then you just got very unlucky.

If your not insuring the product why place the amount on the packages as what you actually paid?

Seeing you're quite experienced at shipping health supplements over, perhaps you could give me some specific advice on having multivitamins shipped..

Last month I ordered a bottle of Anavite multivitamins from the US. They are quite expensive at about US $30 per bottle and USPS shipping is $12.95 (first class mail international) per container. If I ship more than one then I save $2 per extra bottle on shipping, which isn't much. I was thinking of ordering about 4 bottles on my next order. That will only save $6 on shipping but it will be a lot more convenient because I need one bottle a month.

What are the chances of getting hit with taxes? Is there a better chance of it slipping by customs if I order only one bottle at a time?

The first time I had items mailed to me was about 20 months ago. It was a bigger box, weighed about 7.7 kilos. I like to get supplies of things that will last 6 months to a year. Just too expensive to have mailed more frequently. Got a notice from customs that I had to go to their post office to pick it up. Had no idea of the procedure. When u arrive, u have to produce your passport and a copy of the main page. They then give u a number to wait in the queue. I waited about an hour and half before my number was up. U go to the counter and the agent will ask u to open your box. If it is health related, they send u upstairs to another agent who specializes in this category. They inspect what u have and ask u questions. I was very surprised when he told me that I can only have one bottle of any given supplement and it can only be a one months supply. They can confiscate any others if they choose. He let me have all as it was my first time. They approve it and send u downstairs to the original agent who calculates the taxes owed. This process can vary. One time the agent downstairs who I opened my box for gave me a choice, pay him a bribe or send me upstairs to the official inspector and perhaps have some things confiscated. I just paid him to get out of there. I hate going through all the hoops presented to u just to get some health products. Really annoying and extremely expensive.

[tropo]

The first time I had items mailed to me was about 20 months ago. It was a bigger box, weighed about 7.7 kilos. I like to get supplies of things that will last 6 months to a year. Just too expensive to have mailed more frequently. Got a notice from customs that I had to go to their post office to pick it up. Had no idea of the procedure. When u arrive, u have to produce your passport and a copy of the main page. They then give u a number to wait in the queue. I waited about an hour and half before my number was up. U go to the counter and the agent will ask u to open your box. If it is health related, they send u upstairs to another agent who specializes in this category. They inspect what u have and ask u questions. I was very surprised when he told me that I can only have one bottle of any given supplement and it can only be a one months supply. They can confiscate any others if they choose. He let me have all as it was my first time. They approve it and send u downstairs to the original agent who calculates the taxes owed. This process can vary. One time the agent downstairs who I opened my box for gave me a choice, pay him a bribe or send me upstairs to the official inspector and perhaps have some things confiscated. I just paid him to get out of there. I hate going through all the hoops presented to u just to get some health products. Really annoying and extremely expensive.

I appreciate your story. It looks like the safest way is just to order one bottle at a time - which comes to exactly a month's supply. In my case the savings for having multiples shipped is very small.

Edited April 2, 2012 by tropo

[Kalbo]

Very surprised that they hit you with customs when it came international mail. I have dozens of packages sent monthly all health supplements and ive never had a single one hit customs. Try to keep it small (2kgs or less) and you will fare better I think. If this was already a small package then you just got very unlucky.

If your not insuring the product why place the amount on the packages as what you actually paid?

Seeing you're quite experienced at shipping health supplements over, perhaps you could give me some specific advice on having multivitamins shipped..

Last month I ordered a bottle of Anavite multivitamins from the US. They are quite expensive at about US $30 per bottle and USPS shipping is $12.95 (first class mail international) per container. If I ship more than one then I save $2 per extra bottle on shipping, which isn't much. I was thinking of ordering about 4 bottles on my next order. That will only save $6 on shipping but it will be a lot more convenient because I need one bottle a month.

What are the chances of getting hit with taxes? Is there a better chance of it slipping by customs if I order only one bottle at a time?

Send me a pm and I'll give you some useful information

[ravip]

Just a question that occurred to me about shipping medical items via mail...

As some medicines are spoilt or looses its potency with extreme temperatures, how can you be assured that the product has maintained the correct temperatures required right through out the trip? (e.g. not left in some hot humid/sunny or freezing area)

[robblok]

Just a question that occurred to me about shipping medical items via mail...

As some medicines are spoilt or looses its potency with extreme temperatures, how can you be assured that the product has maintained the correct temperatures required right through out the trip? (e.g. not left in some hot humid/sunny or freezing area)

That is why most medicine are packed well before use. But in truth you can never be sure not even if its bought in Thailand. I figure they are just as likely to have been transported wrongly too.

For the stuff i ship its not a problem, all sealed well and can handle temperature

[glbv]

As for what/how i ship, its 90% from 2 different sites, and its a mix of supplements, and foods. (healthdesgins.com, iherb.com)

I'm kind of a protein addict and at this point have close to 12 different flavors and at least 30lbs here with me in BKK. Current Stash Pic. I order alot of foods such as peanut flour, sugar free syrups, stuff of that nature. As far as things that spoil via shipping ive never had an issue with even some of my more perishable orders.

5-6 packages a week is my average from both of these sites combined and ive never been taxed/hit by customs. The one time I was hit by customs sounds much like the OP, was a different company and a huge order. was 12kg in one box, 90$ shipping they hit me for 8500b. But what happened was a small box along with the huge, the postal worker had me pay the duty for the small which also had the manifest for my large order. So i got all for about 1000B. I only later got the bill for the big. Lesson i learned? ALWAYS ship small when it comes to Thailand.

As far as your vitamins Tropo http://www.healthdesigns.com/gaspari-nutrition-anavite-180-tablets they can be found there for $28.91 and $4.99shipping for 1. You could order up to 4 of these and still get airmail which would still be fine. 4 would be 12$ shipping so its not quite a sliding scale. 6305684 as a coupon will save you 5$ first time you checkout, not much but its about 20% off your 29$ order.

Theres a lot of things that are in Thailand that specify to not store at temperatures above 90f, 100f even 120f. On 100f days my apartment will hit about 110f if i leave the blinds open, but ive still never seen a can explode or anything go rancid.

[oncebefore]

Just a question that occurred to me about shipping medical items via mail...

As some medicines are spoilt or looses its potency with extreme temperatures, how can you be assured that the product has maintained the correct temperatures required right through out the trip? (e.g. not left in some hot humid/sunny or freezing area)

Good point and exactly what I worry about, especially when things get tied up in customs. As Robblok says, u can never be sure and most products are packed in a manner to sustain temperature variations for a period of time. Some things though, such as probiotics and genuine bee pollen need to be kept refrigerated and cold as much as possible. The only solution is to have family or friends coming who are willing to help out and carry them for you. I have become so frustrated with the system that I have flown back to get a 1 year supply of what I use and take care of it myself. Cannot do that now with the cost of airline tickets. I don't know if the regulations have changed, but last time I did this was about 2.5 years ago. When u carry on the plane, u have no limits as to what u can bring, as long as u meet the weight limits of the carrier and they are legal. I am referring to natural care products and nutritional items. When u arrive, just walk out the airport in the nothing to declare line. I have had my boxes opened by the scanners to see what is inside, but that is it. No taxes, fees or duties necessary. That is because when mailing vs carrying on the plane, items are classified in different categories and treated differently. I think all of us from the same countries should form a network and help each other out. For instance, if u r going back or have someone coming and they can carry a few things. Make each other aware of this and the dates. Of course, weight limits have to be administered. I know I would be very willing to carry what I could if the room allowed for someone. No problem for me.

[oncebefore]

As for what/how i ship, its 90% from 2 different sites, and its a mix of supplements, and foods. (healthdesgins.com, iherb.com)

I'm kind of a protein addict and at this point have close to 12 different flavors and at least 30lbs here with me in BKK. Current Stash Pic. I order alot of foods such as peanut flour, sugar free syrups, stuff of that nature. As far as things that spoil via shipping ive never had an issue with even some of my more perishable orders.

5-6 packages a week is my average from both of these sites combined and ive never been taxed/hit by customs. The one time I was hit by customs sounds much like the OP, was a different company and a huge order. was 12kg in one box, 90$ shipping they hit me for 8500b. But what happened was a small box along with the huge, the postal worker had me pay the duty for the small which also had the manifest for my large order. So i got all for about 1000B. I only later got the bill for the big. Lesson i learned? ALWAYS ship small when it comes to Thailand.

As far as your vitamins Tropo http://www.healthdes...ite-180-tablets they can be found there for $28.91 and $4.99shipping for 1. You could order up to 4 of these and still get airmail which would still be fine. 4 would be 12$ shipping so its not quite a sliding scale. 6305684 as a coupon will save you 5$ first time you checkout, not much but its about 20% off your 29$ order.

Theres a lot of things that are in Thailand that specify to not store at temperatures above 90f, 100f even 120f. On 100f days my apartment will hit about 110f if i leave the blinds open, but ive still never seen a can explode or anything go rancid.

What r u averaging per week in shipping costs if u receive 5-6 packages? What is the average weight of each?

[glbv]

Each package to receive i pay 21baht and shipper each week runs me about 12$ total depending on what site im using. They range from 1lb to about 3.5. Because of how the site i linked to ships its the same size rectangular box 99% of the time unless what i ordered is an odd shape. If price is a concern for shipping Healthdesigns has a scaling shipping cost, 1lb cheaper than 3lb for instance. For iherb i think its flat 5$ for under 4lbs. But healthdesigns has a ton more choices and brands for what i purchase.

Just a side note, ive never had a package take longer than 15days and not get hit by customs. The 2 times i was hit with customs it took me nearly 30 days to receive my package. Currently my average is 12days order placed to my door.

Edited April 3, 2012 by glbv

[tropo]

.As far as your vitamins Tropo http://www.healthdes...ite-180-tablets they can be found there for $28.91 and $4.99shipping for 1. You could order up to 4 of these and still get airmail which would still be fine. 4 would be 12$ shipping so its not quite a sliding scale. 6305684 as a coupon will save you 5$ first time you checkout, not much but its about 20% off your 29$ order.

Thank you - that's a good find as I'll save quite a bit on shipping. I noticed the DHL only costs $5 more. Maybe that's worth it for bigger orders. Have you used their DHL delivery? I've used DHL from China and find them really good with full tracking along the way.

[2unique]

.As far as your vitamins Tropo http://www.healthdes...ite-180-tablets they can be found there for $28.91 and $4.99shipping for 1. You could order up to 4 of these and still get airmail which would still be fine. 4 would be 12$ shipping so its not quite a sliding scale. 6305684 as a coupon will save you 5$ first time you checkout, not much but its about 20% off your 29$ order.

Thank you - that's a good find as I'll save quite a bit on shipping. I noticed the DHL only costs $5 more. Maybe that's worth it for bigger orders. Have you used their DHL delivery? I've used DHL from China and find them really good with full tracking along the way.

Might want to try Inexpress, uses DHL backbone but is SME priced. Like paying budget airline prices to use the same plane? I'll look up the card later

Sent from Android please excuse errors in type or judgement

[glbv]

The dhl is a bit more and a lot faster, but it has a much much higher chance of hitting customs. Ive used fedex/dhl 6 times and of that 4 have hit customs, so depends on what you care about. I order way ahead of time so speed doesn't really matter to me. From that site international only takes about 2 weeks so unless your in dire need of something dhl isnt worth the chance of it sitting in customs for a a week, hassle of the whole thing and if it does hit customs isnt even much faster.

[tombkk]

Just on a side-note, the topic title is misleading: There is no customs rip-off in the reported case.

Skin and bodycare products as well as any kind of medicine or food or food supplement, is subject to an import licence from the Thai FDA. However, we all know that the post office cannot check each individual parcel, and so most packages just slip through.

There are some exceptions for small amounts for personal use, that's where the reported "one month's supply" comes from. I am not sure where it says "one month" in the regulation, but suffice it to say that you can bring in small amounts for personal use. These may still be subject to import duties.

Just be happy that this can all be arranged in a day, and with your passport only. If you want to apply for a commercial licence, it will take months.

[tropo]

Might want to try Inexpress, uses DHL backbone but is SME priced. Like paying budget airline prices to use the same plane? I'll look up the card later

Sent from Android please excuse errors in type or judgement

The sellers decide the shipment method and pricing.

[Tolley]

Do the same charges apply if they check your baggage at the airportand you are bringing in a stack of vitamins?

[Sheryl]

Technically speaking if it is more than a 30 day supply they can seize it altogether as you lack an import license 9and can't get one). whether or not they'd bother, who can say. The larger the quantity the morel likely. A bottle or 2 or say 3 probably not.

[tombkk]

Do the same charges apply if they check your baggage at the airportand you are bringing in a stack of vitamins?

Theoretically, but it depends on the quantity of the "stack". In accompanied baggage, you usually get more slack than getting regulated products by mail or courier. If you are on a two-months tourist visa and have medication for two months with you, it is easier to argue. If they get the feeling you are bringing these vits in for sale in Thailand, you'll be in trouble for attempt of smuggling. This is the same in most countries, for example western countries.

But the way, Thailand is a member of the World Customs Organization (WCO), and I see no reason to think anything is easier or more difficult than in other countries.

[robblok]

Do the same charges apply if they check your baggage at the airportand you are bringing in a stack of vitamins?

Theoretically, but it depends on the quantity of the "stack". In accompanied baggage, you usually get more slack than getting regulated products by mail or courier. If you are on a two-months tourist visa and have medication for two months with you, it is easier to argue. If they get the feeling you are bringing these vits in for sale in Thailand, you'll be in trouble for attempt of smuggling. This is the same in most countries, for example western countries.

But the way, Thailand is a member of the World Customs Organization (WCO), and I see no reason to think anything is easier or more difficult than in other countries.

It has something to do with the fact that taxes are much higher here plus the fact that he customs employees are corrupt.

On the other hand most of my stuff (fish oil / vitamins / fishing gear) gets through as long as i don't use the couriers.

[oncebefore]

Just on a side-note, the topic title is misleading: There is no customs rip-off in the reported case.

Skin and bodycare products as well as any kind of medicine or food or food supplement, is subject to an import licence from the Thai FDA. However, we all know that the post office cannot check each individual parcel, and so most packages just slip through.

There are some exceptions for small amounts for personal use, that's where the reported "one month's supply" comes from. I am not sure where it says "one month" in the regulation, but suffice it to say that you can bring in small amounts for personal use. These may still be subject to import duties.

Just be happy that this can all be arranged in a day, and with your passport only. If you want to apply for a commercial licence, it will take months.

I have ordered the same type of products before and had them inspected in front of customs at their post office. Bottles of shampoo, soap, etc., all for personal use and have never been hit with an import license fee. I can understand if u were reselling them and received tons of containers. Not for 1 bottle, sorry. By the way, the agent who told me about the one month supply, was referring to anything that is ingested. Skincare products he said was ok if I had more than a months supply.

[oncebefore]

Each package to receive i pay 21baht and shipper each week runs me about 12$ total depending on what site im using. They range from 1lb to about 3.5. Because of how the site i linked to ships its the same size rectangular box 99% of the time unless what i ordered is an odd shape. If price is a concern for shipping Healthdesigns has a scaling shipping cost, 1lb cheaper than 3lb for instance. For iherb i think its flat 5$ for under 4lbs. But healthdesigns has a ton more choices and brands for what i purchase.

Just a side note, ive never had a package take longer than 15days and not get hit by customs. The 2 times i was hit with customs it took me nearly 30 days to receive my package. Currently my average is 12days order placed to my door.

Even for international shipping u are only paying 12.00 dollars per week for 5-6 packages? I use online companies as well and they have specials all the time for free or low priced shipping, but that is only for the 48 continental US states.

[glbv]

Ya these aren't huge packages, but anything below 4lbs is about 6$-12$ range depending on size on the site. Depending on what im sending it can range quite abit looking at my past order, from 2$ for some face wash or up to 14$ for 4lbs of jerky. More or less it matters to me that the shipping prices are normal and not 5x the price of the actual product im buying. http://www.healthdesigns.com/ostrim-super-nuggets-3-oz-85-g is probably my most common item that I buy currently, eat probably 2 a day cause they are easy.

When you put a tub of protein in the cart for 30$ there's no bigger feeling of getting shafted then seeing shipping is 40$

You can checkout the site for shipping of what products you like, they have the shipping quote and it doesn't require registration.

Edited April 6, 2012 by glbv

[glbv]

Iherb.com just posted a special, free shipping for orders 40$ or more and under 4lbs. This applies to international orders.

BID083 as a coupon with get you 5$ off first orders.

[parallaxtech]

Ask the seller to send it in a postal envelope not a box. Put either "body lotion, skin cream, or shampoo on the contents." I get health products all the time through the mail without customs fees.