Sea Freight Shipping - Best option and What to bring?

[Bmouthboyo]

Hello all,

Me and the newly wed wife will be moving to Bangkok with work for the next 2 years. I have obtained some quotes for sea freight shipping to arrive about 2 months after we arrive and will have our work permits.

Now we only really have about half a Cubic meter of stuff that we need to ship and have been quoted about £300 door to door by Dynamic International. This would be Option 1.

Option 2 is that there is a company that deals with my employer often and has a good record of getting shipments for moving employees to their door hassle free (no tea room fees, unexpected custom summon etc) but can only do a minimum of 1 CBM for about £530.

Now I would half like to take option 2 as if there are any issues with customs etc not only will the company dealing with it know what to do, but my company will have about 15 new employees all shipping their stuff in one consignment and so I imagine more likely to step in and help if things go pear shaped. If it was me using my own service I imagine I would more on my own dealing with issues.

Am I looking into this too much and should just go with the cheaper quote or do you think it is worth essentially shipping crap we wouldn't really bother with in order to use the usual avenue the employer recommends?

On a side note if we chose option 1 and had to pack more, can you ship things like spices and English food? Tried looking what can and can't be shipped but most lists seem to relate to checked in luggage on planes.

Thanks in advance, I am aware its a bit of a odd question but thought I would ask those that know more about it all.

[heatherm]

I would go with the more expensive option that includes more help getting the boxes through customs. You could save a couple hundred up front, but who knows what kinds of fees might spring up when the shipment arrives.

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[bangkokstick]

Are you sure that you need to send so many things ? Any idea that this country is quite developed ?

:-)

[Bmouthboyo]

haha as I said in my OP I do not really need to send more than 4 box's (2 X Kitchen stuff and a box each for me and the mrs). Not really excessive?

[craigt3365]

We didn't have a work permit, so my situation was different. But we ended up paying for an extra suitcase each (3), which can weigh up to 22kg. You can put quite a bit of stuff in a big suitcase. Something to think about and no real worries on arrival other than the food...which could be an issue. Not sure what you mean by "food".

If you do ship, I'd highly recommend going with option 2. Customs here can be a nightmare. And the fees can be ridiculous.

As mentioned above, a lot of stuff can be obtained here. You have to weigh the expense of shipping vs. the expense of just getting a new appliance here.

http://www.verasu.com/

[jes]

I personally would never choose the cheapest. We never paid any tax or anything when we imported our container into Thailand. Thanks to the Company we used.

[seajae]

dont use seven seas, quoted me 2 months took almost 4 months and the boxes were trashed, gear missing and smashed up, having a hell of a time trying to get it sorted, they refuse to correspond totally and that was last october.

[joepattaya1961]

For your information:

Pattaya - Almeria (Spain) (door-to-port)

2m3 - packed and listed by the forwarder

handling and fees in port of BKK included

sea freight

travel time approx. 5 weeks

Cost of service: THB 9,000

Transport is: THB 5,500 / m3

From Thailand may be somewhat cheaper, but it's just FYI

[jes]

For that Price to Spain I would worry about hidden costs, even just to port.

[Bmouthboyo]

We didn't have a work permit, so my situation was different. But we ended up paying for an extra suitcase each (3), which can weigh up to 22kg. You can put quite a bit of stuff in a big suitcase. Something to think about and no real worries on arrival other than the food...which could be an issue. Not sure what you mean by "food".

If you do ship, I'd highly recommend going with option 2. Customs here can be a nightmare. And the fees can be ridiculous.

As mentioned above, a lot of stuff can be obtained here. You have to weigh the expense of shipping vs. the expense of just getting a new appliance here.

http://www.verasu.com/

After thinking about things this is probably our best option as it will be with us as soon as we land and probably work out a bit cheaper.

Will I face any issues with customs? I know if I use sea freight i need it to arrive once I have my work permit so I do not have to pay import duty, I am a little concerned that I may get pulled aside for having all this (albeit used) personal affects such as PS3, Games, Bread maker, small HTPC etc?

[craigt3365]

We didn't have a work permit, so my situation was different. But we ended up paying for an extra suitcase each (3), which can weigh up to 22kg. You can put quite a bit of stuff in a big suitcase. Something to think about and no real worries on arrival other than the food...which could be an issue. Not sure what you mean by "food".

If you do ship, I'd highly recommend going with option 2. Customs here can be a nightmare. And the fees can be ridiculous.

As mentioned above, a lot of stuff can be obtained here. You have to weigh the expense of shipping vs. the expense of just getting a new appliance here.

http://www.verasu.com/

After thinking about things this is probably our best option as it will be with us as soon as we land and probably work out a bit cheaper.

Will I face any issues with customs? I know if I use sea freight i need it to arrive once I have my work permit so I do not have to pay import duty, I am a little concerned that I may get pulled aside for having all this (albeit used) personal affects such as PS3, Games, Bread maker, small HTPC etc?

The biggies they check for is booze and cigs. I did hear of a guy with frozen lobster in a big cooler getting stung for a large fine. So food could be an issue also??

I've brought in all sorts of stuff over the years with no problems. Of course your mileage may very. This is Thailand, after all.

[Thereisnoif]

I just paid over 800,000 TH ( including insurance) for a 40 ' container .

[Langsuan Man]

I just paid over 800,000 TH ( including insurance) for a 40 ' container .

Did you ship or buy the container ?

Or

Did you accidentally add an extra zero

[Beetlejuice]

I learned from my mistakes when having stuff shipped over and here is the benefit of my experience:

Firstly shipping companies will only take stuff as far as the port in Bangkok. If you want to continue on to any other destination within Thailand, you must arrange for the cases to be picked up by another carrier company in Thailand, preferably one based in the destination where you want the goods delivered.

Use a Thai name from the very beginning with the home country company. If you declare the goods in a farang name, you will be stung for a huge amount of Import tax, to be paid before you can retrieve your goods from the Bangkok port. They will be held for ransom until you pay.

If you bring new electrical items over, you will be charged import tax at a huge percent. Try and bring only your used electrical goods and one of each, you will again have to pay import tax on more than one item that the officials think you don't need. If you do try and bring in new electrical items, take off any wrapping and put on old plugs so they appear used.

When you hire your carrier in Thailand to collect the goods from port, don't tell them you have a computer, otherwise they will try and con you for more money. The Thai carrier will not open the cases and have no right to do so because the cases would have already been cleared by customs in Bangkok.

The home country company usually charges by cubic space and not weight, but if the cases are considered too heavy, they will refuse to take them. The customs in Bangkok charge import tax by the value of the goods, but mostly waver this tax or charge a minimum for Thai people regarding domestic items.

As for packing, wrap drinking glasses and crockery in newspaper. Put fragile items in with your good blankets or clothes so that they are buffered. This way you are not wasting any space on excess padding as your clothes are excellent buffers and will protect your fragile items when the cases are thrown about by the carriers, which they will be.

The carrier company in Bangkok who will deliver the cases to your destination, may delay the bringing of the cases from a depot in Bangkok until their truck is full, meaning having to wait until other customers are also bringing their goods and the the truck is full. Ask about this with the Thailand based carrier company.

And finally, it is not wise to ship over food stuffs. The authorities have concerns about contamination and perishables, and this could cause you problems under the laws. You bring perishables over at your own risk and discretion.

[JusMe]

You did say you're coming for 2 years. Of course, that could be extended, but you could also have to consider shipping things back after that time.

I packed up and shipped things a few years ago and am now rethinking and trying to calculate how to ship at least part of those things back.

I'd recommend NOT shipping anything under your stated circumstances. Electrical appliances can be bought cheaply enough in Thailand; foods and spices are usually available in shops here; dishes & crockery & pots & pans can all be bought here and unloaded before you return; not much need for blankets, but again easily purchased here.

Pack your clothes, laptop, and personal items in suitcases and bring them on the plane. If really really necessary, pay a bit extra for overweight luggage.

[jes]

800.000 bath is in my eyes a rip off. We ship a 40 feet too, but from Denmark to Udon Thani and our cost was half of that and no import tax etc. 5 man packing for 2 days in Denmark and 12 men unpacking in Thailand. 800.000 bath must be from the moon.:-)

[Bmouthboyo]

Thanks for thegreat advice guys. Checked luggage only it is then.

Unfortunately there is no getting around bringing the imac, and as it is too big for hand luggage it will need to go in the hold. I have purchased a flight case that is extremely sturdy so all I can do is cross my fingers. Looking into paying for excess valuation with BA but seems they dont know anything about it on the phone, and insurance policies with travel companies etc wont cover items not on us.

[Bcgardener]

I personally would never choose the cheapest. We never paid any tax or anything when we imported our container into Thailand. Thanks to the Company we used.

I have to agree. Always better to go with someone that has a track record of dealing Thai Customs and importing into Thailand. We shipped a 20' container here when we moved and our freight company based in Bang Na gave us guidance as to how we should list things on the packing list etc . They even sorted out the importation of our pet cat although in that instance we had to pay import duty (Still don't know how Thai Customs works out the value of a cat?)

[JusMe]

Thanks for thegreat advice guys. Checked luggage only it is then.

Unfortunately there is no getting around bringing the imac, and as it is too big for hand luggage it will need to go in the hold. I have purchased a flight case that is extremely sturdy so all I can do is cross my fingers.

I brought mine that way a few years ago. I had kept the original packing box with the foam and plastic handle. I taped it well, and labeled it, although it was obvious what it was. If I remember correctly, when checking the bags I did tell the airline to put a fragile tag on it, although that probably had little to no effect, other than perhaps making it a target!

Arriving in Bangkok, as I was pushing my stuff through Customs, I was asked why I wanted that computer with me. I simply replied that I wanted all my information and to be able to surf the web. No worries - go through.

Still running as well as it did when I bought it, although a bit aged now (kinda like me!).