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Ordered Apple Mac online. Seems to be coming from Singapore? Do i have to pay customs tax? !


BuffaloRescue

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Well i ordered a MBP from apple website fromt store.apple.com/th

Thinking that my item which is advertised as next day shipping would be coming from my local apple shop in Thailand.

Following many requests to fax my banking details and copy of my credit card to a phone number in the USA, i finally get an invoice (receipt) from

APPLE SOUTH ASIA PTE LTD

7 ANG MO KIO STREET 64

SINGAPORE 569086

TEL: 6481 5511

It says

Ship Method - Standard Parcel (IN)

<deleted>? So its not next day delivery. Its coming from Singapore? No mention of that on the Apple site anywhere, certainly wasnt obvious during checkout.

What a load of BS. I could have travelled 50 km to my local apple store and just picked one up, i only ordered because it said ships next day

Now im worried about import taxes.

Bottom of the invoice it does say All prices displayed are inclusive of duty and taxes

But generally its the importer who pays the import duty which is payable at the post office when you collect it,

Anyone got any experiences with this?

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And what does (IN) mean on shipping method. I hope it doesnt mean its coming from India

international = IN

and you should not be taxed

FYI

Shopping in Thailand

The Apple Online Store Thailand is a Singapore based store that sells and ships to customers in Thailand. The Apple Store sells and ships products to end user customers only.

http://store.apple.com/th/help/shipping_delivery

Edited by joeaverage
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Complete P****

Advertised as ships next day

They had my order anyway, id otherwise have gone to the local shop to buy one.

Very misleading.. ships next day. From a site that appears to be in Thailand. Selling computers with Thai keyboards etc.

Shipping as Standard Parcel.. from china. That can take a month

Youd expect better from APPLE really.

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Mine took less than 2 weeks to arrive when I ordered it 18months ago...

If I recall correctly i got a DHL tracking number and was able to follow the progress of the package all the way online.

Don't they ship with DHL anymore?

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I was quite happy with the 2 weeks, the machine was non-standard as I'd added extra RAM, faster processor and the larger capacity high speed hard disk which adds time to the order processing.

When you receive confirmation of your order you should get tracking numbers that will allow you to see exactly where it is.

Have you been able to check your order online using this method? The shipping information page on the site explains it all and the times involved.

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Depending on what day it was shipped in should only take three or four days....(if over week end that will hold things up)

My shipments have started off with DHL (may that has changed now?) to BKK and come via the post office to my door and the tax is included in the price... too bad you missed the student prices....

You can track the shipment on line with the shipping number When it is actually shipped they will let you know that...thumbsup.gif

You need to be home to sign for it.... or you'll get a notice to pickup at post office...or carrier, if not transferred ..... that may depend on where you live! wink.png

Edited by samuijimmy
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Depending on what day it was shipped in should only take three or four days....(if over week end that will hold things up)

My shipments have started off with DHL (may that has changed now?) to BKK and come via the post office to my door and the tax is included in the price... too bad you missed the student prices....

You can track the shipment on line with the shipping number When it is actually shipped they will let you know that...Posted Image

You need to be home to sign for it.... or you'll get a notice to pickup at post office...or carrier, if not transferred ..... that may depend on where you live! Posted Image

Correct on all details above from samuijimmy. it's the post office that on pass the package from the closest DHL office and a signature is required, although it needn't be you - my wife signed for mine. If you have any doubts you can contact DHL BKK by phone, quote your tracking number and get excellent English assistance.

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Hope Apple is paying the VAT and charged to you like DHL always does ..

You dont pay a cent more than what you put on the table when you bought it online.

Just wait 5 - 10 days to get it. DHL will bring it to you. In my case, it was late in the afternoon before a long week end, so no delivery, so i opted to pick it up at their HQ on Bangna near the airport about 6 pm.

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it says clear as day it will ship within 24 hours.

it says nothing about delivery within 24 hours,

  • Available to ship:
    Within 24 hours
  • Free Shipping

the information in the link i provided above states it ships from singapore.

sorry, but you have been labouring under a delusion, and the fault is solely yours

Edited by joeaverage
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it says clear as day it will ship within 24 hours.

it says nothing about delivery within 24 hours,

  • Available to ship:

    Within 24 hours

  • Free Shipping

the information in the link i provided above states it ships from singapore.

sorry, but you have been labouring under a delusion, and the fault is solely yours

Admit a bit of a ruse, but if you read the materials carefully, you will see shipping and delivery date not the same. Its there, but not as clear as it should be.

in my case, the spec was higher than the usual one you can get in the store, so had to buy it on line. further more, you dont get mid life student discounts in the stores here :)

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Yes not as clear as it should be.

Also suggests (in small print) it ships from singapore. But ships from China. And we all know how slow stuff is to come from china.

Anyway its not next day shippinh. I ordered on thursday and the invoice says it will ship on 19th Jun

Cant imagine why they dont just ship it from local Thai store. Or perhaps they pay less tax shipping it via their singapore business, via china.. i imagine thats what it is. For Apple to trade in Thailand I imagine they pay quite a bit more in tax. It wont be subject to any VAT at all if its Singapore sale for products fulfilled overseas. Globalisation.. nice, shame the savings arent passed onto consumer and their consumers are hit with 10 days shipping time for the sake of a tax dodge.

Their site is misleading. You expect that from many companies, but Apple supposedly pride themselves on their customer service and support. You pay a premium for Apple products.

Edited by BuffaloRescue
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I ordered my macbook pro online from thailand and it got the invoice from singapore and the goods shipped right to my door step here in thailand. no duties to be paid at all.

but it is always advisable to order during the months of june july when the apple company is coming out with new products. This way u will get a better upgraded configuration for your product from apple at the same price.

I paid the price for macbook pro i5 with 4 gb of ram and got an i7 macbook pro with 8 gb of ram at the same price and it was the latest new model introduced at the time i placed the order.

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About a year ago, I ordered some adaptors from the Thai Apple store. Same story - I got a document that originated in Singapore, but in my case I was also charged import duties !!

It should be duty-free as mentioned above and there is a dispute process which you can initiate, but as it was a small amount I didn't bother.

For imported goods, the process is roughly as follows: goods arrive and pass through customs. For small packages they often dont bother to check the value and thats where most of us get lucky. For bulky items, they will flag the item and try to ascertain the value - normally by just checking the enclosed invoice and will levy the appropriate tarrif plus VAT. For EMS parcels or normal postage, the customs form travels along with the package to your nearest post office where they collect the duty as instructed. Where parcels are sent via a courier, there is actually a courier representative who goes to collect a whole bunch of items on behalf of the courier company and that agent has the ability to negotiate on your behalf. This is where problems can crop up as it is a double-edged sword. Sometimes a good courier agent will negotiate in your favour and you may get a reduced duty. However, in some cases these agents have been rumoured to beef up the duty to the maximum or perhaps even falsely inflate the duty amount. Whichever the case, the courier pays your duty upfront and then collects from you in cash when the package is delivered.

In the case of courier items or non-couriered, you can dispute the duty, by providing additional information or pointing out an alternate tarrif category. For non-couriered items it means that your item must be returned to customs house and then you make a visit to them in person with your proof. For courier items, you can raise the dispute with the courier before accepting delivery and then they will either negotiate for you or invite you to represent yourself. Generally speaking, my company has always received good, professional service from customs. I have had to visit the main center in Cheangwattana a few times and they have been a pleasure to deal with.

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I've received a number of items - iPhones, iPads & MacBook and all of them have been delivered to my door in the provincial town where I live, no taxes.

Once you get the tracking number you can track the item and you will see the progress as mentioned in the post above - dispatched from apple warehouse, in flight, arrives bangkok, at customs, clears customs etc - every step of the way.

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It was my first Mac, used windows all my life. Must say I was nervous, but happy with the end result. Admit pages / keynote / numbers can't compete with windows Office, so am using office for MAC. But as a whole it works nicely. Would not go back

the hardware runs windows beautifully, no need to run mac os

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