Importing electronics, what extra fees will I have to pay?

[Hal65]

I'm planning on importing a flatscreen TV from the United States to Bangkok. Are the import fees typically included in the quoted price by FedEx or DHL? If not, what other fees can I expect to pay?

[thaibry]

Are you sure that these carriers will transport tv? Glass is usually prohibited.

Posted from my phone using predictive text, please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.

[jdinasia]

Why? Comes to mind first. Get it here. Secondly I assume you are aware that the account here is different than that used in the US. Duty? In theory should be 10-30%

[Gulfsailor]

Duty is 20%, VAT is 7%. Customs value is what's on the invoice plus actual shipping cost or the value customs estimates (whichever is higher). Customs valuation is to look at retail price in Thailand then deducting 20% margin, 20% duty and 7% Vat.

Example you can purchase a tv for usd 1,000, whereas in Thailand it retails for 50,000 baht. Custom valuation will be around THB 33,000. Invoice will be for THB 32,000. Shipping a large tv would be around USD 300 or THB 10,000. Hence customs will calculate with THB 42,000 as that is higher than their estimate.

So when importing a tv in above example you will pay in total THB 42,000 plus 20% plus 7% equals close to THB 54,000. For a TV designed to run on 110 volts in stead of 220 and most likely without any local warranty. The price difference must be very large to make grey import worthwhile.

[Crossy]

Is your TV multi-standard and multi-voltage?

If the answer is no to either question don't bother, buy one here.

[chris2004]

Are you sure that these carriers will transport tv? Glass is usually prohibited.

Posted from my phone using predictive text, please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.

I am sure they will. At Suvarnabhuni you see loads of Indians taking back TVs in their check in luggage.

TVs are so cheap here now i can't imagine it's worth the trouble to import one. If you look on Lazada you can buy a 55in LED for under 30,000 baht.

[WhizBang]

I would not bother. Thailand is 220V and it is a PAL country.

Does your TV work with 220V and can it handle PAL? I simply would not bother. Buy a new TV when you get here and avoid the customs hassle.

[dddave]

Also, if you are only going to be here short term, TV's are quite easy to sell as long as you ask a reasonable price. As others have pointed out, much easier to just buy here. I just noticed a 32" flatscreen for B7000 on Lazada.

[phil2]

Duty is 20%, VAT is 7%. Customs value is what's on the invoice plus actual shipping cost or the value customs estimates (whichever is higher). Customs valuation is to look at retail price in Thailand then deducting 20% margin, 20% duty and 7% Vat.

Example you can purchase a tv for usd 1,000, whereas in Thailand it retails for 50,000 baht. Custom valuation will be around THB 33,000. Invoice will be for THB 32,000. Shipping a large tv would be around USD 300 or THB 10,000. Hence customs will calculate with THB 42,000 as that is higher than their estimate.

So when importing a tv in above example you will pay in total THB 42,000 plus 20% plus 7% equals close to THB 54,000. For a TV designed to run on 110 volts in stead of 220 and most likely without any local warranty. The price difference must be very large to make grey import worthwhile.

????

[Crossy]

????

Probably the most apt post when dealing with Thai customs

[Hal65]

Trouble is I'm looking for a 4k TV (not for watching TV, but for a special work related purpose). Here the cheapest I've seen is 50,000 baht, in the US its the equivalent of 11,000 + 6,000 shipping. (http://www.amazon.com/Seiki-SE39UY04-39-Inch-Ultra-120Hz/dp/B00DOPGO2G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412098557&sr=8-1&keywords=seiki+39+monitor)

So I may just pay the fees and buy a high quality inverter.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Hal65

[WhizBang]

How big do you need that 4K TV to be, and what will you be hooking it up to? A computer?

Samsung has a 28 inch 4K monitor available in Thailand for less than 20K baht.

[Hal65]

For my purposes I need the same pixel density as a 24 inch 1080 P screen. This means a 50 inch 4K equivalent.

[hgma]

For my purposes I need the same pixel density as a 24 inch 1080 P screen. This means a 50 inch 4K equivalent.

do you need a 50 inch screen TV? for less then 50K bath?

(No knowledge of electronics)

[Hal65]

Are you asking a philosophical question?

I'm not here to argue want vs need; I will say that high screen real estate is important for the type of work I do.