Recent experience with EMS to the US

[dundas]

The following details recent experience using EMS for the last three small parcels we've sent to the US. For what it's worth, all these parcels were posted at the Chiang Mai University Post Office.

Parcel # 1. When the parcel arrived in the US, USPS contracted a courier company for delivery - but the intended recipient only found out that this had happened when she called the USPS toll free number for track and trace enquiries. When she contacted the couriers, they told her they had attempted to deliver the parcel but no-one was home (she disputed that assertion, but anyways ...). She got to it just before it was about to be sent back to Thailand as "undeliverable."

Parcel #2. The Thailand Post track and Trace says a parcel left the Suvarnabhumi mail centre on the 12 September. USPS say the parcel is still being prepared by the origin post - in other words, it hasn't left Thailand. The customer is still waiting ...

Parcel #3. The track and trace for a parcel posted at the Chiang Mai University post office 4 days ago says "Accepted." The normal track and trace route via Lamphun mail centre and Suvanabhumi isn't evident; according to track and trace, the parcel hasn't got beyond the CMU post office.

The Thailand Post hotline doesn't seem to be easy to get through to at the moment ...

If you have sent parcels recently to the US, I'd like to hear your thoughts about (1) the reliability of track and trace, and (2) how reliable the service is, period.

[Frank James]

Have shipped many EMS and slow mail parcels to USA and Eurozone from Thailand Post Office Branch Talang Kam Thieng on Atsadathon Rd (50300). Never once had a problem on either end. Once I shipped a package to Switzerland to the wrong address, and it was safely returned in a fairly short time.

Thailand Post is a fine, professional organization, equal to any in the world that I have used.

Too bad EMS is so expensive, though.

[neilrob]

I have found the Thai post office tracking service to be good. The USPS tracking service on the other hand is very spotty. Several times I have had recipients say they've recieved a package already, while the USPS tracking service still says it is being prepared by origin post.or some other message which shows it still in transit.

[DekDaeng]

Fedex it

[puukao]

sent something to USA in small envelope. Envelope opened and items missing. Maybe the envelope was ripped one block from the house in USA..........yea, maybe. won't do that again. it wasn't anything special i was sending, and was actually a test to see if the item would arrive. well, it didn't.

[Suradit69]

Have shipped many EMS and slow mail parcels to USA and Eurozone from Thailand Post Office Branch Talang Kam Thieng on Atsadathon Rd (50300). Never once had a problem on either end. Once I shipped a package to Switzerland to the wrong address, and it was safely returned in a fairly short time.

Thailand Post is a fine, professional organization, equal to any in the world that I have used.

Too bad EMS is so expensive, though.

I've used EMS to various countries including the US without a problem. I find the Thai Post Office tracking system to be more reliable than that of the USPS. Also things sent to the US seem to get there quite quickly and then get bogged down within the US.

Sent something to South Korea yesterday mid morning from Pattaya. it was out of Suvarnabhumi Mail Centre by early evening and it reached Korean customs very early this morning.

I've never had a problem either sending or receiving things through the Thai Post Office, although the USPS seems to be getting slower and slower especially with anything sent inland from major ports of entry.

[unanimosity]

And your reason for not using FedEx or UPS is?

[dundas]

And your reason for not using FedEx or UPS is?

In a word, expense. My Thai partner would end up working for the courier company.

Thanks everyone else for your responses. Reading them it seems most people, but not all, have found EMS to be reliable. In our case, it seems to be just bad luck that three out of three times when we've used it it has either been marginal, or (so far, at least) failed completely.

[landslide]

I had a similar experience to the OP. My wife spent a month collecting and translating documents. She mailed the documents on May 30, and according to the USPS, they arrived in San Francisco on June 3. I contacted the USPS on June 14, and the package had not moved. One week later, I contacted an aide at my congresswoman's office who I had dealt with before. He contacted the USPS, and they could not tell him where the package was. I reluctantly asked my wife to collect duplicate documents (originals were required, no copies allowed). On July 28, she let me know she had the documents. I asked her to send them to me FedEx this time. That afternoon, the original package arrived, hand delivered by the USPS, almost 2 months after it was originally sent. The postman blamed the delay on the Customs Department. All this for an envelope of documents. Thailand's EMS did their job, it was the USPS and US Customs that screwed the pooch.

[junglechef]

I use UPS here and they are professional if not a bit comical as life often tends to be here. Last week sent a 3 kg package to USA and after I was quoted the price I asked if there was a less expensive option as the difference of a few days delivery time was not important. Told that a pakage of 100 kg is almost half the price and takes about the same time. I further inquired, with a large smile, if I could add 97 kg of rocks and get the cheaper rate and she happily said yes. Unfortunately neither of us had a truck full of rocks on hand.

[Toscano]

I think you are complicating things , trying to send too fast with too much security . I have never had the slightest problem with Thai post ; in fact if there was a problem I would blame other postal services first , like British Post that loses things . I often send presents to my Grandchildren in the US and find that ordinary airmail is quite enough , or perhaps Express .

[julemanden]

And your reason for not using FedEx or UPS is?

Far too expensive, me thinks/know

[Rimmer]

Post with a commercial link removed

[kaspercat]

Fedex it

FedEx is really bad. I purchased a home router for less than 2,000 and the shipper FedEx to me in Bangkok.

For some reason, FedEx decided to handle as a commercial product for a business and demanded my tax id number. No where in the AWB or invoice was my company listed.

To make matter worst, FedEx demanded I apply for the custom paperless import and a license.

Even after I insist it's for personal use, they insist I pay nearly 5,000 bt for a product that has no duty and cost less than 2,000 bt.

I ended up telling them to stick the product up their -ss.

Never deal with them if possible. Dhl is much better.

[lockman]

I've sent many parcels to USA, no problems at all in Thailand, but upon arrival even an envelope with a few papers too 2 weeks. IT IS a USA Post office and Customs problem, period.

[TravelerEastWest]

Parcel #1 The Thai post office sometimes contracts with a courier company for final delivery but I have never yet heard of the USPS doing this. So the blame goes to the Thai post office in this case.

Parcel #2 Not enough information to see what happened.

Parcel #3 Most likely a scan was skipped and all is well - to be sure contact the CM post office.

The Thai post office has theft problems

The US post office has delivery problems.

• Like This

[shaurene]

sent something to USA in small envelope. Envelope opened and items missing. Maybe the envelope was ripped one block from the house in USA..........yea, maybe. won't do that again. it wasn't anything special i was sending, and was actually a test to see if the item would arrive. well, it didn't.

EMS is not perfect stands for Express Mail Service. I had a passport to come from New Zealand and the passport office emailed me to say DHL would not accept it as they had no service to Khon Kaen and the post code of 4000 was to big. Had it sent to me home address in NZ and my son sent it from the post office EMS I received it in Khon Kaen by DHL. With Tracking details they have to wait for the country to confirm it arrived which can take some time. Track trace confirmed it arrived in Thailand and that was all after I received it same would go all other countries. Very expensive EMS. I send envelope from Thailand to New Zealand air mail and it had to be signed for in N Z it was less that 100baht and arrived faster than courier.

[bangkokstick]

It happens that the monkeys in US use a courier company but there is no warning and the tracking number doesn't work, it's incredible that we have to contact EMS Thailand to get the new tracking number that USPS sometimes doesn't even have !

Even if tracking results on Thai post or USPS show "being prepared by the origin post" the parcel has left and tracking will be updated when leaving customs in US.

Thai post is reliable, USPS isn't because of all the lazy axx working there, even worst than in Thailand sometimes !

[bangkokstick]

Fedex it

FedEx is really bad. I purchased a home router for less than 2,000 and the shipper FedEx to me in Bangkok.

For some reason, FedEx decided to handle as a commercial product for a business and demanded my tax id number. No where in the AWB or invoice was my company listed.

To make matter worst, FedEx demanded I apply for the custom paperless import and a license.

Even after I insist it's for personal use, they insist I pay nearly 5,000 bt for a product that has no duty and cost less than 2,000 bt.

I ended up telling them to stick the product up their -ss.

Never deal with them if possible. Dhl is much better.

DHL and any other company are the same !

They are allowed to import faster because they apply tax on behalf of customs, so do not dream and publish wrong information.

[bangkokstick]

Have shipped many EMS and slow mail parcels to USA and Eurozone from Thailand Post Office Branch Talang Kam Thieng on Atsadathon Rd (50300). Never once had a problem on either end. Once I shipped a package to Switzerland to the wrong address, and it was safely returned in a fairly short time.

Thailand Post is a fine, professional organization, equal to any in the world that I have used.

Too bad EMS is so expensive, though.

EMS is not expensive.

It is cheaper to send from here to US or EU by EMS than sending by Express from EU to EU or even in the same country.

[bitcoinbob]

i have noticed the thailand post has been slow in the last 2 months 8 weeks for stuff to get to u.s. that would usuaslly get there in 2 to 3 weeks. other friends have reported the same, something has happened , boxes are showing up mangled and late?

[Suradit69]

And your reason for not using FedEx or UPS is?

Far too expensive, me thinks/know

And if you receive things in Thailand sent using FedEx, UPS or DHL, they always manage to jack up the cost of getting things through customs and take longer doing it than the Post Office. I believe outside of the urban areas, the last leg of the delivery made by those couriers is through the post office anyway.

[kjhbigv]

I regularly use Thai Post and EMS....not bad 3 days door to door....CM to UK!

[sailblue]

I had a nightmare experience with samples to Israel. Sat in BKK for 4 days, then said they could not deliver and was sitting undelivered near my potential customer, several trips to the PO at Jomtien, Sukamvit to find out exactly where it was because tracking was saying picked up. They are giving my money back. so they said.

I did it because cheaper. Advise, if it is important use Fedex, UPS.

[dundas]

Parcel #1 The Thai post office sometimes contracts with a courier company for final delivery but I have never yet heard of the USPS doing this. So the blame goes to the Thai post office in this case.

Parcel #2 Not enough information to see what happened.

Parcel #3 Most likely a scan was skipped and all is well - to be sure contact the CM post office.

The Thai post office has theft problems

The US post office has delivery problems.

• Like This

Thanks for this reply.

#1 - According to the customer, the USPS had someone else attempt to deliver the parcel.

#2 - now delivered, it went into limbo for the best part of two weeks in US customs

#3 - the customer has just told me the parcel arrived in good shape, but according to track and trace, it's still in CMU Post Office!

All's well that ends well, I guess; based on the replies and on this most recent experience we'll probably keep using EMS, but with realistic delivery times in mined, and definitely we'll discount track and trace as a reliable source of information.

[trainman34014]

In my experience the US Mail is one of the worst services on the Planet. I've had a lot of experience sending mail to the US from Europe, Japan and Thailand as well as sending from the US to many other countries. There are always long delays in either direction and a lot of kit goes missing. Even the simplest items like Postcards go missing from the US or fail to turn up for about six to eight weeks in Europe. Quite frankly the couriers are not much better and the fees are disgusting for third rate service.