Who has shipped containers

[Smurkster]

There are so many different types of relationships people on here have with Thailand i.e part time living, full time, vacation every year etc...but for those who have made this their permanent home or at least a place where a majority of their time is spent...who amongst you has shipped items/belongings to LOS from your native country? whats the process like? what did you ship? what is the price range?

Any company you liked the best? I am in my native country at the moment sorting through things at my parents house and looking at what I would like to bring back to Thailand with me, I will go back to Thai in a few days...

Since 2010 I have spent the majority of my time the country and there are things I could really use still sitting in boxes in my childhood bedroom in Rhode Island USA

There must be some people who took every single on of their worldly possessions from back "home" had it shipped to Thailand

[thehelmsman]

I keep my childhood teddy bear in a safe stateside location.

[dddave]

Rhode Islander myself...born in Central Falls but early childhood in Tiverton; lovely place.

I suggest you search this forum under "Household goods". There are several threads about the various means of shipping household goods here and the difficulties you may encounter with customs.

Maybe better to have a yard sale and start anew.

[n210mp]

I shipped a 20ft container from the Uk a couple of years ago and it was an easy operation (Relatively) to do.

However the reason that I did go through the process was that my wife was a returning (from the UK) Thai National returning to live in her home Country and therefore there would be no import charges on any of the stuff that was being shipped because it all (Of course) belonged to her.

In the event I shipped door to door, loading and unloading the container myself at a cost of £1700 GBP inclusive.

If I had not loaded and packed the container myself then there would be a massive difference in the cost of course.

I later found out and I cannot find a link for this, that if the returning Thai National is returning in company with Her/His foreign spouse then they too can benefit from the no Import duty rule.

Just a little more info that I was not aware of soon enough and that is if the returning Thai National has had a driving licence in their own name for I think 18 months and owned a car registered in their own name for the same period then they can import the vehicle at the same time as the container with no import duty.

There will be limitations on selling the car for a term but at least If I had known about this I could have taken advantage of the concession and sensibly bought a car in my wifes name and saved myself a heap of money i n Thailand with its outrageous second hand car prices

Now in summary if I was not coming over here to live without a "Returning Thai National" then I personally would not bother importing my goods, apart that is from goods of a seriously sentimental value and then knowing what I now know I might even have left these in the safekeeping of my family in the UK for many personal reasons not applicable here.

[JAFO]

I have never known anybody who shipped all their belongings they had amassed in their home country to Thailand. Some of why you move is to shed yourself of that monkey and simplify your life. Anyone having lived here for awhile before moving knows what makes good sense to bring and what does not and either sell the other items off, give them away or donate them before closing the doors on the container. One thing you need to assess is the ROI on the container versus what you are bringing versus cost to buy in Thailand. Some things are much cheaper where conversely other things are extremely expensive and the quality may be sub par.

With that said, there are things that one may not own in their home country now that they should buy and bring as you will never find the quality of that item here. Just keep in mind that if you are doing this alone you will may be subject to duty fees and likely inspected at port. If you are married to a Thai national and ship it all in her name it is different.

Answering a few of your questions;

Yes I did a shipping container

Whats the process like?: The process is fairly straight forward. Contract with an agency, load it up and have them pick it up. I have a few suggestions. Make sure you pack your items well. Remember it is a cargo container and will be tossed around and set on a ship. If you are lucky it will be low in the hold area on the ship, if not it will be topside and subject to the elements including a salt environment. Cargo containers are not hermetic. they are not too bad but best to prepare accordingly. Also remember things move. Use lots of foam and blankets and secure it well.

What did I bring?: I shipped mechanic tools, quality yard tools, Quality carpenter tools, some very nice furniture. clothes, my 2 road bicycles, etc The rest were personal belongings that the missus and I simply did not want to sell for a huge loss and re-purchase in Thailand at a higher price. Again to buy quality stuff in Thailand can be quite pricey depending on what it is. Also keep in mind that most of your electronics are 110v 60hz. While you can buy a converter and use them it may not be advisable just comparing cost and space used in the container.

Cost of shipping?: Costs of shipping vary too much to suggest a price range. Depends on port of origin, size etc. Most from the US seem to range between $4 to $6K for a 20 ft and $6 to $8K for a 40ft not including pick up and delivery from port in Bkk on the Chaoprya river. If you are going to ship a container, once you are committed to it I suggest you load it to the weight limit. Make the cost work for you and amortize the cost across the items you are bringing. its the only way it really makes sense.

Hope this helps. I suspect there are other threads if you use the search function that might offer other info.

Good Luck