Sending Stuff Back Home - Cheapest Way?

[Malthus101]

Hola

I have accumulated a load of possessions that I want to keep but will put me overweight if I try to take them in a suitcase.

What is the cheapest method for sending a large box of possessions back to Europe?

If it takes a month or so, that is fine....

Thanks.

[smileplur]

Surface shipping at the Thai Post Office will do the trick. It might take longer than a month. It is slow, but it will arrive. It is certainly the cheapest way to ship items that I have found.

[ukrules]

You can often get three times the luggage allowance if you fly business class.

[soundman]

According to Thailand Post website.

EMS World service is the cheapest, followed by International Parcel - Surface.

From my experience most Thailand Post branches do not offer EMS World, only International Parcel.

Here is the website. Just select; postal rates >> country >> weight - and you will get a full list of postage options.

[millwall_fan]

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According to Thailand Post website.

EMS World service is the cheapest, followed by International Parcel - Surface.

From my experience most Thailand Post branches do not offer EMS World, only International Parcel.

Here is the website. Just select; postal rates >> country >> weight - and you will get a full list of postage options.

Very useful link Soundman. In English and very informative. I've bookmarked it for future use. If anyone is looking for parcel rates to UK though, we're listed as 'Great Britain' rather than the more usual 'United Kingdom' It took me a few minutes to find us!

[Malthus101]

Thanks guys.

Yes, next time I will try and remember to book business class, silly me, always forgetting something! 55.

[JusMe]

I'm in a similar, although not the same, situation. I've got too little to ship but too much to carry, so I've been investigating methods of getting some things back to Canada.

Thai Post does have an international system similar to the one we use around Thailand for big items such as motorbikes, but it seems they only send things by air freight. But they do carry up to 200 kg, That size costs 205 baht per kilo to Canada. But there seem to be some restrictions on the size of items one can send, and there's no option to send it by surface mail.

If you have a small but heavy item, you can use the EMS One-Box option, which allows up to 30 kg for 1400 baht anywhere in the world, but the size of the box is so small you'd have to be sending bricks to get that price.

The other options that seem pretty attractive are international surface mail, which permits pretty decent sized cartons purchased from the post office. For example, a 30 kg box sent this way to Canada would be 4610 baht.

Another option, depending on the airline you're with, is to check what their charges are for an extra bag, or excess luggage, and what the specific permissions for that is regarding size and weight. For example, Delta will permit heavier and larger items flying across the Pacific, for US$175 for the first item.

Many different options to consider, so take some time to investigate them all to find what's most appropriate.

[Malthus101]

Yes, it's all such a pain.

Postage costs are ridiculous these days. A lot of my items consist of very heavy but expensive hardback textbooks that I want to keep.

So I came here to ask the question, where can I find cardboard boxes? At home I would just wander the streets and look behind shops for any they had thrown out - any tips for Bangkok?

Thanks.

[Malthus101]

Well, went to my nearest PO.

Seems they run a packing service. They sell boxes at reasonable prices in various size configurations but of course in true Thai style they had none of the sizes I needed in stock!

Maybe I should take the one oversized item (an expensive yoga mat) and just bubble wrap it and send it separately.

Or try to carry it as hand luggage onto the plane.

[IMA_FARANG]

There was ..... perhaps still is ..... an airline thing called "unaccompanied luggage". (different airlines may have different names for this service)

This allows you to ship your baggage back to your home country .... either to someone else (i.e. family or even yourself) by air.

You need to deliver that baggage to the airline you fly on before you check in for your own flight.

Your shipped baggage has to undergo a security check/search these days .

It is then kept in storage by the airline and sent by air to the nearest airport to your home address.

They notify you at your home address, and you are then responsible for going to the airport and picking up your unaccompanied luggage.

It's cheaper than accompanied baggage (excess baggage) charges you pay for being overweight when you check in.

I did this once, many years ago, after a 2 year stay in Thailand, shipping about 50 kilos of stuff that I had accumulated in my stay in Thailand.

Not cheap, and you don't get to pick the flight/date/time it goes.

But still cheaper than excess baggage charges.

Check with the airline you want first to see if they will do it and get the details.

Mail is still the cheapest way, but takes much longer from Thailand.

[Malthus101]

Well, I followed this advice from a posting in 2012 on where to buy cardboard boxes, as the PO in Phra Kanong is sorely stocked.

"There is a carton factory a five minute walk from the Phra Khanong BTS station that manufactures very sturdy cartons and sells them for a reasonable price.
Directions/BTS Go to Phra Khanong BTS and use exit #3. At the base of stairs walk in the direction of traffic 100 meters and turn left onto Soi 69 (Family Mart) Walk 100 meters and take first right. Shop is about 70 meters on the right side; you will see stacks of cartons. Closed Sundays."

I went there, found it, asked for a 50x050x50cm box and was handed something rather large for 83 baht. Pretty steep for a cardboard box, like Western prices. I asked if they had anything smaller and he said no.

It is waaaay too big. More like 60x060x60 Money down the drain. I think today is the 5th time I've walked to this area to come back disappointed in one way or another - typical Thailand.

Now what - take all my stuff to the bloody PO and have these idiots pack it for me I think is best. Probably cheaper that way than all the hassle I've gone through so far! How hard can this be!

Is there anything else I need to know about sending a box to the UK? Like any forms that need to be completed, ways top print the address, should the box only be tied with string so customs can inspect or should I use the machine that seals the box at the PO?

If I ever become wealthy, the first thing I'm doing is hiring a servant to do these bloody irritating tasks for me!! Such an immense waste of time... argh!

[asanee]

surprise-surprise-it may be that 2 smaller boxed from the PO come out a little cheaper as 1 big one. It all comes to being able to pack just to the max. amount the price-like it goes to max5-then max 10 etc.

The local PO here is well used to sending parcels for farang and has a large selection of sizes in those boxes-but thats at a place where tipically TV-users will not want be seen dead.

Or ask at DHL or TNT express if they also sell their boxes empty. Their sites should give locations of outlets

[Malthus101]

Finally sent the stuff from a Post Office.

Being Thai, they tried to sell me EMS (the most expensive air service) - they could understand English well enough until I mentioned the words, "slower" and "cheaper" then they had no idea what I was saying.

Luckily an old Thai man there wanted to show off his English so translated for me. They looked unamused but he told me, don't use EMS, use Thai Parcel Post.

Price order:

EMS - air - 3-5 days

Thai Parcel Post - air - 2-3 weeks

SAL Thai Parcel Post - air - 1 month (budget air service)

Surface mail options (old Thai man said don't use them, they suck and take 2-3 months also)

My box weighed just under 14kgs. Dimensions, chose box Number 5 from the PO, I think, 35x40x45cm

I chose SAL service (cheap air 1 month) and was shocked when she said 4500 baht!!

I don't call that cheap - that's about £90. Always so annoying when it's just your own possessions you are returning.

I consider that 3-4 times what it should actually cost to send 14kg home on a month service.

It seems Post Offices worldwide are colluding to rip off the public like never before, the UK is even worse.

I wrote down the other prices to give you an idea of the cost but lost the paper like an idiot!

It was something like this for my 14kg box:

EMS - 6000 baht

Thai Parcel Air - 5000 baht

SAL Thai Air - 4500 baht

Sea/Land - 3500 baht

There you have it.

[Malthus101]

JUst to follow up - that "cheap" air service, the Thai Parcel Air Service, arrived back in the UK in about 4 days!

It was supposed to be a month wait.

Some things in Thailand work extremly efficiently. Quite bizarre!

[IAMSOBAD]

Any more ideas from experienced mailers? Thank you for all ideas.

[gypsyrodeo]

I'm also in the process of sending personal items to Europe, and I'm looking for the cheapest and safest way to do it.

I've got about 35 kg of stuff I want to send out. Does anyone know how much it would be via registered mail with Thai post? The link above (http://www.thailandpost.co.th/home.php) doesn't give the dimensions of the boxes for the prices posted.

Also, has anyone used Boonma Cargo Co, Ltd?

Is it cheaper to use a shipping company (DHL, TNT, Boonma, etc) than Thai Post?

Thanks!

[JusMe]

Looks like the ThaiPost server is down right now and I can't connect to them, but if you navigate around their site, mainly things like Shipping or Parcels or Services (sorry, can't remember the exact link) all the box sizes are indicated with the prices for each.

Only problem is ensuring that the receiving postal service will accept the size you bought from the ThaiPost office. And the post office I went to had a scale that only went up to the maximum permissible weight, so I had no idea how much to remove to make it acceptable! Took some experimentation.

Item

Size

Unit Price (Baht)

Normal Carton No.1

30x100x30cm.

35.00

Normal Carton No.2

11.8" X 11.8" X 39.3"

31x36x13cm.

20.00

Normal Carton No.3

12.2" X 14.1" X 5.1"

31x36x26cm.

37.00

Normal Carton No.4

12.2" X 14.1" X 10.2

55x100x55cm.

105.00

Normal Carton No.5

21.6" X 21.6" X 39.3"

40x45x35cm.

40.00

Normal Carton No.6

15.7" X 17.7" X 13.7"

45x55x40cm.

55.00

17.7" X 21.6" X 15.7"

[rtrivedi1]

When I moved from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh about two years back I had an extra 60kg of items, (suitcase, large box, and all in one printer) I wanted to take with me. Found the best option was airline cargo. The same airline you are taking home offers cargo services. Contact them and take your stuff to their cargo offices.

I had done this with Air Asia and it was dirt cheap. I paid around the same price for my 60kg cargo that my buddy on the same flight paid for his excess luggage of 20kg at the airport. Definitely check this out its a better option then mailing it out and you get it a few days after you arrive.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[saramsland]

Have a look at this one.. They may have a route for you

www.jetta.com.au

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[lujanit]

Jetta only shift goods from Oz outbound. They have some affiliates who move stuff to Oz although they have no affiliates in Thailand

[saramsland]

Lujinat,

I wasnt aware of that and was planning on using them in december. Do u mind telling me their affiliates for sending from thailand to Oz?

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Phil Conners]

Great thread! I need to ship some personal items to Denmark. The Thai Post website has a shipping calculator, where I got the following prices for shipping to Denmark.

20 kilo

30 kilo

It seems from other threads that the one world parcel is no longer available, and in any case a quite small box with a high weight allowance, so not very useful for my purpose, but the "Int'l Parcel-Surface" seems to hit the spot for me.

Anyone have experience with this? Is the parcel likely to actually arrive? I am not in a hurry and can wait 2-3 months, no problem. Any gotcha's ?

[Phil Conners]

I went to the post office today and had a few good answers.

The EMS World option is available from the Naklua Post office in Pattaya, but as I understand it it's a relatively small box with unlimited (or very high) weight. Maybe an option if you have something small and very heavy to ship, otherwise probably not.

The Int'l Parcel-Surface option is available up to a box size of 150 cm (x+y+z). They sell a size 6 box that's 45x55x40 so 140 cm and just under the limit.

[JusMe]

I used the international parcel service to ship two heavy (about 50 lb each) and large boxes of household goods from Thailand to Canada. I even out of curiosity checked and found that from Thailand to Canada was about half the price of the exact same boxes from Canada to Thailand!

Took a couple of months and arrived safely.

Only problem was that the post office scale only went up to the maximum weight allowed, so I tried to remove some items while at the post office and repeatedly checking the weight, but eventually gave up and took the box home and redid it there, ensuring I didn't exceed the maximum weight. Had no problem in cutting down the size of the box either.

Just check that your receiving post office will accept the maximum size and weight that the Thai post office will send.

[lujanit]

I went to the post office today and had a few good answers.

The EMS World option is available from the Naklua Post office in Pattaya, but as I understand it it's a relatively small box with unlimited (or very high) weight. Maybe an option if you have something small and very heavy to ship, otherwise probably not.

The Int'l Parcel-Surface option is available up to a box size of 150 cm (x+y+z). They sell a size 6 box that's 45x55x40 so 140 cm and just under the limit.

Would you please clarify the 140 cm bit and your last sentence. I visited the post office yesterday and the lady there told me that the maximum size box (or any article size) for international delivery is their size 6 box. Their size 4 box (55 x 100 x 55 cm) is only for domestic deliveries. If I wanted to send anything larger than a size 6 box it would have to go by private contractor. So who received the right info?

I also checked out the unaccompanied baggage service at the airport. No size/weight restrictions (within limits I guess). To Australia 179 baht per kilo plus a once off fee of 3000 baht. Direct phone number is 66 (0) 2 134 2308. They will pickup for 1500 baht, BKK address. I didn't ask about outside BKK.

[Phil Conners]

Would you please clarify the 140 cm bit and your last sentence. I visited the post office yesterday and the lady there told me that the maximum size box (or any article size) for international delivery is their size 6 box. Their size 4 box (55 x 100 x 55 cm) is only for domestic deliveries. If I wanted to send anything larger than a size 6 box it would have to go by private contractor. So who received the right info?

I also checked out the unaccompanied baggage service at the airport. No size/weight restrictions (within limits I guess). To Australia 179 baht per kilo plus a once off fee of 3000 baht. Direct phone number is 66 (0) 2 134 2308. They will pickup for 1500 baht, BKK address. I didn't ask about outside BKK.

I don't understand your question - I said the max size for int'l shipping is 150 cm, which is larger than a box 4 which is 45 x 55 x 40 i.e. 140 cm. Essentially the same info you got.

Yes, if unaccompanied baggage to AU is 179 baht/kg it sounds realistic that EU would be 250 baht/kg with the longer distance. I asked, they will not pick up outside Bangkok. They told me 25 kg max per parcel, so you'd be looking at 3000 + 25 x 179 = 7,475. At that price I think you might as well take the Thailand Post SAL option, cheaper and more convenient I'd think.

[lujanit]

Would you please clarify the 140 cm bit and your last sentence. I visited the post office yesterday and the lady there told me that the maximum size box (or any article size) for international delivery is their size 6 box. Their size 4 box (55 x 100 x 55 cm) is only for domestic deliveries. If I wanted to send anything larger than a size 6 box it would have to go by private contractor. So who received the right info?

I also checked out the unaccompanied baggage service at the airport. No size/weight restrictions (within limits I guess). To Australia 179 baht per kilo plus a once off fee of 3000 baht. Direct phone number is 66 (0) 2 134 2308. They will pickup for 1500 baht, BKK address. I didn't ask about outside BKK.

I don't understand your question - I said the max size for int'l shipping is 150 cm, which is larger than a box 4 which is 45 x 55 x 40 i.e. 140 cm. Essentially the same info you got.

Yes, if unaccompanied baggage to AU is 179 baht/kg it sounds realistic that EU would be 250 baht/kg with the longer distance. I asked, they will not pick up outside Bangkok. They told me 25 kg max per parcel, so you'd be looking at 3000 + 25 x 179 = 7,475. At that price I think you might as well take the Thailand Post SAL option, cheaper and more convenient I'd think.

My question related to the fact you said 150 cm max size for international surface mail and I was told yesterday at the post office that the max size is 55 cm. So which one of us got told porkies?

[Phil Conners]

I don't think anyone was told lies if that's what you mean, maybe misunderstandings.

When they say 150 cm they mean the sum of the size of the box - width + height + depth. The 55 cm I understand you was told is probably the largest size of any one side.

[lujanit]

I don't think anyone was told lies if that's what you mean, maybe misunderstandings.

When they say 150 cm they mean the sum of the size of the box - width + height + depth. The 55 cm I understand you was told is probably the largest size of any one side.

Okay you are talking cubic cm, i.e., volume. To me 150 cm is a length measurement not a volume measurement.

[Phil Conners]

Regardless of what we call it, it seems to be how shipping parcels are measured, i.e. the total of L+W+D.