Cheap package shipping to US

[ocean268]

This month, eight days airmail from CHA-AM to PHOENIX, ARIZONA. Good Luck!

from my iPad in Cha-Am

[tangcoral]

Does anyone know approximately how long it takes for a package to be sent to USA using International Parcel-Surface. It appears to be quite cheap. A 15Kg package costs only 2510B. Within reason, time is not an issue.

Surface which I presume the longest time.

I have sent big packages weighing 25kg 3 times to the US using surface mail.

First time it took 35 days..second time took 29 days and the 3rd time took 45 days.

Post office told me it could take up to 60 days and no guarantees.

[BKKdreaming]

my surface mail has been 30 to 45 days, I was in no hurry and the shipping was more than the value ,

But you could not use it to sell stuff online , people do not like to wait that long when they are never really sure if you sent it in the first place !

[vagabond48]

Does anyone know approximately how long it takes for a package to be sent to USA using International Parcel-Surface. It appears to be quite cheap. A 15Kg package costs only 2510B. Within reason, time is not an issue.

Surface which I presume the longest time.

I have sent big packages weighing 25kg 3 times to the US using surface mail.

First time it took 35 days..second time took 29 days and the 3rd time took 45 days.

Post office told me it could take up to 60 days and no guarantees.

Just a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

What kind of box did you use and where did you get it? I would image the packages get handled a lot and can be crushed on it's long journey

When you wrote "no guarantees", does that mean you would have to wait many months before making a claim for lost package?

[tangcoral]

Does anyone know approximately how long it takes for a package to be sent to USA using International Parcel-Surface. It appears to be quite cheap. A 15Kg package costs only 2510B. Within reason, time is not an issue.

Surface which I presume the longest time.

I have sent big packages weighing 25kg 3 times to the US using surface mail.

First time it took 35 days..second time took 29 days and the 3rd time took 45 days.

Post office told me it could take up to 60 days and no guarantees.

Just a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

What kind of box did you use and where did you get it? I would image the packages get handled a lot and can be crushed on it's long journey

When you wrote "no guarantees", does that mean you would have to wait many months before making a claim for lost package?

I find the postal boxes to be very strong. The largest box they have for sale is 55 baht. However there is a second hand box seller located on the sidewalk (northside) on Suthep Road about 100 meters from the CMU entrance. He has many many sizes, his price is about 35baht for the same size.He's targeting the young students panning to moving out of their apts.

But if you buying one box I suggest the post office box to save time and they are good.

No guarantees means the time frame is just a suggestion, could take longer than 60 days but I don't see this happening if your destination is to the US.

I'm not sure about claim procedure but I would imagine it being more cumbersome than other modes of shipping transportation.

[Missflurry]

I just got back from the Post office and was told a 900gram package sent air was 900 b and SAL was 700B

the link you gave above says for 999 grams is 606 Air and 448 SAL for small package

is there anything you need to do to get the small package rate ? is there a size limit ? this is about a regular size magazine , but its rubber + wood

tape the package or string ? and can I "sew" the string or does it need to be tied ?

and how long does SAL take , its something we plan on selling on ebay and 2 weeks is OK , but 4-6 weeks would be a problem,

thanks for your help

I also have trouble with Thailand Post. They always wanna give me the most expensive rate and if I want to have the cheaper version they will look at me strangely like that it's almost never used.

Nowadays I always use sal and pay per small package, up untill 2 kg (price goes up per 100 gram).

"900gram package sent air was 900 b and SAL was 700B" --> that is the the standard package rate and not for the small packages (Like I said before they always wanna give you the most expensive rate)

Just specifically say "sal" and give them your package.

It will usually arrive between 2 and 4 weeks.

Do any of you know if thailandpost (with SAL) or EMS has cheaper rates for e.g. 10 a 20 kg packages? And under what name are those packages listed? I like to hear some experiences from others.

I haven't explored that option yet and it's not helping that the thailandpost website is currently down?!?

Thanks in advance!

[tangcoral]

the site has been down pretty much every day for a few hours...sometimes into the night for the past month

You would think a govt site like this would stay up longer than being down.

[vagabond48]

Surface which I presume the longest time.

I have sent big packages weighing 25kg 3 times to the US using surface mail.

I also plan to ship large boxes.

I have sturdy boxes of 63in/160cm and 75in/200cm. Are these dimensions within their maximum limit, assume they have limits?

Should I reinforce the insides? I have to assume surface mail will get handled many times from Chiang Mai to the US East coast?

[Oscar2]

the site has been down pretty much every day for a few hours...sometimes into the night for the past month

You would think a govt site like this would stay up longer than being down.

it must be the server you are on or something. i can access the Thai Post website just fine. i just asked the girl who works for the wife giving shipping costs, checking the tracking, etc. and she also said not a single problem with the website and she is on it all day long.

in Europe, most of the post offices shut their websites down every night for maintenance and to stop hackers from getting in. but Thai Post is available most of the night.

[vagabond48]

Surface which I presume the longest time.

I have sent big packages weighing 25kg 3 times to the US using surface mail.

I also plan to ship large boxes.

I have sturdy boxes of 63in/160cm and 75in/200cm. Are these dimensions within their maximum limit, assume they have limits?

Should I reinforce the insides? I have to assume surface mail will get handled many times from Chiang Mai to the US East coast?

With all the quake threads, I wanted to move this one back up.

I am still looking for the answer to the above regarding large boxes mailed using surface mail.

[Oscar2]

Surface which I presume the longest time.

I have sent big packages weighing 25kg 3 times to the US using surface mail.

I also plan to ship large boxes.

I have sturdy boxes of 63in/160cm and 75in/200cm. Are these dimensions within their maximum limit, assume they have limits?

Should I reinforce the insides? I have to assume surface mail will get handled many times from Chiang Mai to the US East coast?

With all the quake threads, I wanted to move this one back up.

I am still looking for the answer to the above regarding large boxes mailed using surface mail.

i can answer part of your question. yes you should reinforce the insides. you can use foam sheets available at most paper shops and measure and cut them to fit tight inside the boxes, first building the sides and then the top and bottom. then essentially you have a box inside a box that weighs close to nothing. the foam sheets act as very strong reinforcement. for any fragile items you should 'float' another box inside the larger carton, leaving about two inches on all sides, and top and bottom. you can use either soft foam or sturdy Styrofoam to build up the 2 inches around the box. be sure to get the boxes "strapped" at the post office.

i've seen people shipping huge statues and wood carvings from Night Bazaar or Baan Tawai, etc. at the post office. i would imagine for surface (boat) the limits are much higher than air.