Forwarding partial load, EU to Thailand?

[nss70]

Not sure if this is the correct spot for this question so please move if necessary.

 

We are in the process of moving to Thailand. Ideally we would like to take a small amount of house contents with us. No large furniture, just a few small bits plus decarotive items, electronic goods etc. A guesstimate would be 2 or 3 pallets worth.

 

Getting quotes from companies seems to be a catch 22. "Please give us the dimensions and quantity of palletised goods and we'll quote"

 

I would actually like to know how much each pallet or fixed number pallets to ??? dimensions would cost.

 

Going round in circles!   Has anyone experience of this they'd like to share or even detailed, useful information of same.

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

[surinderek]

I say dont bother leave, it or give it away, duies are sky high here in Thailand. Tried the price in the 90s, easier to buy here.

[sometimewoodworker]

I sent 5 cubic meters a few years ago cost for packing, collection, and shipping was about £1,100.
You should be getting quotes based on cu.M. And you will be surprised how much fits into 1 cuM.

[kurnell]

If it's going by sea, you can't send pallets, it has to be crated. You have to be specific, as there are charges per cubic metre, so just saying "I want a quote per pallet" doesn't work. An agent has to quote you for packing, crating, customs clearance at both ends, handling at both ends, and either delivery with unpacking / no unpacking at the destination. I've sent tens of thousands of quotes of the last decade and a half, and would be happy to quote, you but of course I need either a list of items you intend to send, or a fixed volume (which is usually a minimum charge) of say 3 cubic metres.

[jamora]

At small quantities (LCL), you will probably be best off contacting a freight forwarder, and let them take care of the paperwork. From northern Europe, I can highly recommend DSV, and from southern Europe, I would contact Savino del Bene.

None of them are the cheapest, but they have high service levels, and can take care of everything for you (door to door).

 

-You will need to make a packing list, the more detailed the better (for your own sake as well!). Anything in the shipment, which is not on a packing list, can easily disappear in customs, and there is not really anything you can do about it.

-You can easily pack it on pallets, but you have to declare volume and weight. You also need to consider if the pallet is stackable. If not, they will bill you the full height anyway.

-Be sure to pack it probably, as it may have to survive unloading and repacking in Singapore.

 

In terms of customs/import duties, if you are actually moving here, and have your visa in order, they will normally allow you to import one set of household goods, for personal use, without duties. When I moved here (2008), the limit was one 20' container, which is a lot of house hold goods!

The list has to make sense, so bringing in eg. 10 ovens, would probably not be considered 'personal use'.

Please note that anything subject to excise tax, will still have to be declared and taxed eg. cars, alcohol, etc. I would highly recommend NOT having any of these items in the shipment, as you would then have to work with the excise department, which would make the import procedure much more expensive, and could easily delay it by weeks.

 

IF, the customs end up asking you to pay duty on the shipment, most things will be subject to 10%-30% duty on the value you declared at the packing list. It is then tempting to declare very low values, but please remember, that these values are also what you can insure in case anything goes missing.

 

In terms of costs, 2-3 pallets would probably equal 5-6 cubic meters. You should be able to get this for around 1,000 EUR - 2,000 EUR, depending on where you live, and how much in-land logistics is involved. You will also have to pay local charges when the ship arrives. Local charges would probably be around 10,000 THB - 15,000 THB, which includes unloading charges, customs clearance, fees to your agent, etc. You still have to clear customs, even if the shipment is not subject to duties.

Please note that some shipping companies will include local charges in the total quotation, while others will add it once the ship arrives. This makes it a bit hard to directly compare prices from different shipping agents. But try to ask a few, and ask for an All-In quotation.

 

[nss70]

Really informative replies folks. Than you very much, it gives me a much clearer idea of what I'm getting quotes on and extras to be aware of.

 

Any other experience welcome.

[kurnell]

At small quantities (LCL), you will probably be best off contacting a freight forwarder, and let them take care of the paperwork. From northern Europe, I can highly recommend DSV, and from southern Europe, I would contact Savino del Bene.

None of them are the cheapest, but they have high service levels, and can take care of everything for you (door to door).

 

-You will need to make a packing list, the more detailed the better (for your own sake as well!). Anything in the shipment, which is not on a packing list, can easily disappear in customs, and there is not really anything you can do about it.

-You can easily pack it on pallets, but you have to declare volume and weight. You also need to consider if the pallet is stackable. If not, they will bill you the full height anyway.

-Be sure to pack it probably, as it may have to survive unloading and repacking in Singapore.

 

In terms of customs/import duties, if you are actually moving here, and have your visa in order, they will normally allow you to import one set of household goods, for personal use, without duties. When I moved here (2008), the limit was one 20' container, which is a lot of house hold goods!

The list has to make sense, so bringing in eg. 10 ovens, would probably not be considered 'personal use'.

Please note that anything subject to excise tax, will still have to be declared and taxed eg. cars, alcohol, etc. I would highly recommend NOT having any of these items in the shipment, as you would then have to work with the excise department, which would make the import procedure much more expensive, and could easily delay it by weeks.

 

IF, the customs end up asking you to pay duty on the shipment, most things will be subject to 10%-30% duty on the value you declared at the packing list. It is then tempting to declare very low values, but please remember, that these values are also what you can insure in case anything goes missing.

 

In terms of costs, 2-3 pallets would probably equal 5-6 cubic meters. You should be able to get this for around 1,000 EUR - 2,000 EUR, depending on where you live, and how much in-land logistics is involved. You will also have to pay local charges when the ship arrives. Local charges would probably be around 10,000 THB - 15,000 THB, which includes unloading charges, customs clearance, fees to your agent, etc. You still have to clear customs, even if the shipment is not subject to duties.

Please note that some shipping companies will include local charges in the total quotation, while others will add it once the ship arrives. This makes it a bit hard to directly compare prices from different shipping agents. But try to ask a few, and ask for an All-In quotation.

 

Nice guess work...how/why would  shipment to Thailand be unpacked in Singapore? How would they open a sealed container???