Urgent I Ship My PC From Taiwan To Chiang Mai. Any Cheap, Good Methods?

[OldChinaHam]

Thank you very much if you can help me with a simple air freight/shipping problem:

1. I have a DIY Desktop PC now sitting in Taipei.

2. I now plan to remain in Chiang Mai for over 1/2 year, and want to use the PC in Chiang Mai (I only have a ASUS laptop, and laptops are too slow for me, not enough memory, etc)

3. I contacted an air freight forwarder/consolidator and they quoted me approx 4000Baht for shipping handling, not including warehouse charges, and maybe 7 percent custom's duty.

4. I contacted FedEx and this company is significantly more expensive.

5. I thought of just sending the desktop by SpeedPost from Taiwan, or registered mail, but I have no experience with what happens when these things go through the Thailand Postal System.

6. The computer is only worth about USD200 for the I5 CPU, USD150 for the 16 GB of Ram, USD100 for the HD, and USD120 for the MB. But if I don't ship it over then it will just rot in Taipei.

I would like to pay 2000 to 2500 Baht for shipping costs but so far I am not sure what freight forwarder or other shipment method would be best.

Does anyone have prior experience with shipping computers or shipping in general?

Also, Moore's Law is on my mind, the longer that PC remains in Taipei, the slower it gets.

(Note: I also though about yanking out the MB, CPU, RAM, HD and boxing that to be sent over by SpeedPost. But only if I need to. I am past the age when assembling my own PCs is fun, anymore, and I only like to assemble my computers ONCE, now.)

[JRinPDX]

For what it is worth, I've had things disappear via Thai Post. (even registered with tracking numbers.. the package simply disappears.) Struggling to find a solution to a similar problem myself. I'm shipping household goods and my ocean freight forwarder only goes to Bangkok, then uses Thai Post for onward transit. And I'm not finding a suitable trucking company to get things to Udon Thani. Best of luck.. just don't rely on Thai Post.

[OldChinaHam]

For what it is worth, I've had things disappear via Thai Post. (even registered with tracking numbers.. the package simply disappears.) Struggling to find a solution to a similar problem myself. I'm shipping household goods and my ocean freight forwarder only goes to Bangkok, then uses Thai Post for onward transit. And I'm not finding a suitable trucking company to get things to Udon Thani. Best of luck.. just don't rely on Thai Post.

Thank you for the input. In my case I can use a very reputable airfreight forwarder to get my shipment from Taipei to ChiangMai, then I can just pick it up myself or have them deliver. My problem is that this computer is not worth much and I don't want to pay more than about 20 percent in shipping of what the PC is worth. So if computer is worth 500 USD, which I doubt, then 20 percent would be only about 3000Baht. ((So my difficulty is more a matter of finding a service with a cost that is acceptable))

In your case, why not get a local Thai courier/trucking company to deliver to your door from Bangkok? There must be reliable cheap services here, as there certainly are in Taiwan, and I often used these to ship things around the island in Taiwan at very reasonable prices.

Here is a suggestion for your though:

In Taiwan, I always use the service provided by 7-Eleven Stores, which is owned by President Brand. This is actually a Japanese express shipping company, which I think is truly fantastic, at least their service provided in Taiwan.

If I can find something similar in Thailand, this would be a wonderful find.

If you see express trucks with the BLACK CAT on the logo, then this is the one to use.

Here is the info for the Black Cat:

Yamato Transport started the service in the 1970s and remains the market leader with their Takkyubin service. Although it is a registered trademark, Takkyubin commonly also refers to takuhaibin services in general. Other major companies include Sagawa Express (Sagawakyu) and Nittsu (Perikanbin). http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2278.html

But that is for Japan. (Use this service in Taiwan, too)

I wonder if 7-Eleven Thailand offers a similar express service.

Or, then just find a good express trucking service as good as Black Cat in Thailand.

That is probably what you need to do if, as you say, Thai Post System is that unreliable.

Let me know if you find one, because having a reliable express courier with good service makes things so much easier for repeat shipments, and is worth the initial effort searching upfront.

Edited June 25, 2013 by OldChinaHam

[pitchag]

I brought mine, Apple desk top in a suit case padded with foam maybe worth paying excess baggage cheaper than posting and safer it cost me $70 extra baggage from Australia and a good chance they will not check your luggage

[thunder30101]

Pull the hard drive. processor and memory and ship it ems and scrap the rest. Even the post will see its a desktop case and you will pay more altogether in shipping and fees than its worth.

[AyG]

Personally, I'd just take the hard disk out and get a new PC made including the hard disk when I arrived in Thailand. To save cost you could also take the CPU, memory, etc., and ask the shop to build them into the PC for you, though that may make the build harder; shops tend to only stock a very limited number of motherboards which could cause compatibility problems.

(I'm currently having a pretty decent desktop PC being build for 14,000 Baht for the stupidest of reasons: the CPU fan on my old PC died. No direct replacement for the fan is available. Next step was to replace heat sink and fan together. The heat sink couldn't be mounted on the motherboard. Had to buy a new PC all for the sake of one lousy, cheap fan. Not happy with HP at the moment because of that, hence getting a custom build. About 15-20% cheaper too for equivalent spec.)

[sarathjay]

As a few have mentioned,the easiest is to put the whole unit in a big suitcase and carry it past the customs as if nothing is wrong!

[keeniau96]

Absurd to ship a commodity item like desktop PC. You can get a very decent HP all-in-one desktop PC (includes screen) at JIB for 13,900 baht. Just a desktop for less. If you must have your current computer then open the case, remove the motherboard (complete with CPU and memory) and the HDD, wrap in a layer of bubblewrap then tuck them in your suitcase and bring with you. When in CM just take to computer shop, get a case + PSU for 1500-2000 baht and ask the computer dudes to assemble for you (probably for free but a few baht may help).

[Chamezz]

Take it with you on the plane as odd luggage.

That's what I did with my PC when I moved from Sweden. Bear in mind I have a Corsair Obsidian 700D (60*60*25cm, case alone weighs 16Kg).

I disassembled it and put all the components in their respective packaging and filled the voids up with t-shirts etc.

I didn't get charged extra for this. Probably because I checked in my odd luggage only a minute after I checked in my regular luggage. So it might just have been pure luck.

Personally, I'd just take the hard disk out and get a new PC made including the hard disk when I arrived in Thailand. To save cost you could also take the CPU, memory, etc., and ask the shop to build them into the PC for you, though that may make the build harder; shops tend to only stock a very limited number of motherboards which could cause compatibility problems.

(I'm currently having a pretty decent desktop PC being build for 14,000 Baht for the stupidest of reasons: the CPU fan on my old PC died. No direct replacement for the fan is available. Next step was to replace heat sink and fan together. The heat sink couldn't be mounted on the motherboard. Had to buy a new PC all for the sake of one lousy, cheap fan. Not happy with HP at the moment because of that, hence getting a custom build. About 15-20% cheaper too for equivalent spec.)

Unfortunately that's what you get when you buy pre-built desktop computers from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP etc. They use OEM (read custom, tailor-made) motherboards, that doesn't have a single standard on them. Proprietary measures/mounting-points for PSUs, motherboards, heatsinks and so on.

Edited July 1, 2013 by Chamezz

[Chicog]

Buy one in Chiang Mai then flog it before you leave. You'll probably find you've just spent a few thousand baht renting a computer.

[manarak]

Yes, just take the PC as luggage on the flight.

I did that with several pieces of equipment with no troubles.

I have heard using FEDEX or any other courier service is a guaranteed way to get taxed.

On the other hand, a midrange computer with a 22" screen costs about 30k. Impossible to find cheap WUXGA screens though.

Laptops do have enough power and memory - look at alienware or originPC models.

[JRinPDX]

For what it is worth, I've had things disappear via Thai Post. (even registered with tracking numbers.. the package simply disappears.) Struggling to find a solution to a similar problem myself. I'm shipping household goods and my ocean freight forwarder only goes to Bangkok, then uses Thai Post for onward transit. And I'm not finding a suitable trucking company to get things to Udon Thani. Best of luck.. just don't rely on Thai Post.

Well, I need to recant. We just received a package that was sent as expedited, with tracking number, back in April. Had regarded it lost/stolen, reported to USPS (they referred to Thai Post), reported to Thai Post. and now it has arrived, 2 months later. Certainly slower than the 1-2 weeks promised, but intact nevertheless and apparently w/o any sign of tampering. Faith restored. :-)

[OldChinaHam]

For what it is worth, I've had things disappear via Thai Post. (even registered with tracking numbers.. the package simply disappears.) Struggling to find a solution to a similar problem myself. I'm shipping household goods and my ocean freight forwarder only goes to Bangkok, then uses Thai Post for onward transit. And I'm not finding a suitable trucking company to get things to Udon Thani. Best of luck.. just don't rely on Thai Post.

Well, I need to recant. We just received a package that was sent as expedited, with tracking number, back in April. Had regarded it lost/stolen, reported to USPS (they referred to Thai Post), reported to Thai Post. and now it has arrived, 2 months later. Certainly slower than the 1-2 weeks promised, but intact nevertheless and apparently w/o any sign of tampering. Faith restored. :-)

That sounds like a new record for timely delivery using US Speedpost. I wonder if the Thai post system utilizes online tracking like most other postal services use for express registered mail? In Taiwan, you only need the tracking number and you can locate your mailing immediately. This works on both intl and domestic.

I also wonder about whether the contents of the package might make a difference on whether it gets "lost".

Who knows about computer components.