Am I better off ordering from the States?

[ev1lchris]

Is it better just to find deals online for laptops and just order from the States and ship to Thailand?

[Forkinhades]

Then you are taking a chance with customs, and could pay import tax, and 'other' charges

[GinBoy2]

The deals you will get in the US are going to be better, but as Forkinhades rightly says it's going to be a crap shoot with customs. Best option, if available is buy it in the US and have someone hand carry it with them

[ev1lchris]

Would customs steal it or something?

[Forkinhades]

No, but the charges and hassle outweigh the savings.

[ev1lchris]

I might want to do it to buy American rather than Thai.

[Forkinhades]

Up to you

[ev1lchris]

I feel really uncomfortable buying from Thai companies.

How much does shipping and customs inflate the price?

[Suradit69]

I feel really uncomfortable buying from Thai companies.

How much does shipping and customs inflate the price?

Why would you feel uncomfortable? It must make it difficult living in Thailand if you won't buy anything here or when you need to have things serviced back in the US. Sounds like a bad case of xenophobia.

Rather telling that your response to a comment about customs caused you to jump to thinking of theft.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Suradit69

[Forkinhades]

^^ Very true with warranty issues.

[aussiebrian]

^^ Very true with warranty issues.

I have bought my last 3 computers in Thailand two ASUS and one Toshiba, and I have found the warranty I have received here to be above what I could have ever expected.

One of my ASUS had global warranty, which was great when I needed some repairs done when I was in Australia. Some computers have global warranty, others don't, so if you need global warranty, make sure the one you buy has it.

[ev1lchris]

^^ Very true with warranty issues.

What is true?

[BKKdreaming]

if you are having someone hand carry a laptop for you think about the 5-9% sales tax ,

some states have low or no sales tax , but California has 8-9%

Some online places charge sales tax and others do not !

Something to think about

[delgarcon]

^^ Very true with warranty issues.

I have bought my last 3 computers in Thailand two ASUS and one Toshiba, and I have found the warranty I have received here to be above what I could have ever expected.

One of my ASUS had global warranty, which was great when I needed some repairs done when I was in Australia. Some computers have global warranty, others don't, so if you need global warranty, make sure the one you buy has it.

where do you buy your computers aussie? I need a new laptop.

[aussiebrian]

^^ Very true with warranty issues.

I have bought my last 3 computers in Thailand two ASUS and one Toshiba, and I have found the warranty I have received here to be above what I could have ever expected.

One of my ASUS had global warranty, which was great when I needed some repairs done when I was in Australia. Some computers have global warranty, others don't, so if you need global warranty, make sure the one you buy has it.

where do you buy your computers aussie? I need a new laptop.

Where are you? I have bought 2 in Bkk and one in Phuket. What brand do you want to get? The Phuket one was at Bananas at big C but the after sales service was non existent, but that doesn't matter as when it is under warranty, just take it to the service centre, which was Toshiba in Phuket town. The girl in there was very helpful and normally fixes it on the spot, unless parts need ordering. The others were from Pantip in Bkk.

Edited January 17, 2016 by aussiebrian

[Inquisitorial]

^^ Very true with warranty issues.

I have bought my last 3 computers in Thailand two ASUS and one Toshiba, and I have found the warranty I have received here to be above what I could have ever expected.

One of my ASUS had global warranty, which was great when I needed some repairs done when I was in Australia. Some computers have global warranty, others don't, so if you need global warranty, make sure the one you buy has it.

where do you buy your computers aussie? I need a new laptop.

Where are you? I have bought 2 in Bkk and one in Phuket. What brand do you want to get? The Phuket one was at Bananas at big C but the after sales service was non existent, but that doesn't matter as when it is under warranty, just take it to the service centre, which was Toshiba in Phuket town. The girl in there was very helpful and normally fixes it on the spot, unless parts need ordering. The others were from Pantip in Bkk.

Also interested - where did you get them in BKK?

[delgarcon]

I'm on Koh Phangan, no decent retailers here, so ideally I'd like to buy one online. Bangkok would be another option.

[Langsuan Man]

Whatever you do , better make sure you have an international warranty or you will have to pay duty again when a repaired laptop is returned to you after repairs in the US

[aussiebrian]

The Bangkok computers were both ASUS, and were many years ago, many places there, just find a good deal. I was worried back then, that they may be fake, but both were good quality and real as ASUS repaired anything that was needed under warranty. One still runs after 10 years, but is pretty slow now. The service centre for some brands are at Pantip and I am sure if you were at all worried, you could always check by the serial number, but I haven't heard of any fake computers being sold but I could be wrong. Fake iphones, counterfeit software sold there for sure. You can download this free program at www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system : Processor name and number, codename, process, package, cache ... but really I think you are pretty safe. For me, so far so good.

​Also many computers bought here don't have original windows on them, which can be a bit of a problem. You will need to get one with genuine windows, or buy an original windows DVD, alternately put on whatever operating system you want to run like Linux.

Edited January 17, 2016 by aussiebrian

[aussiebrian]

I'm on Koh Phangan, no decent retailers here, so ideally I'd like to buy one online. Bangkok would be another option.

I had the same problem when I was living in Ranong, it was worth the trip to Bkk to buy one.

[craigt3365]

The probelms I had with buying one here was the keyboard (Thai characters, but not a big deal) and lack of a proper OS. I don't think the ones here come with a proper version of Microsoft OS???? Some do, but I've seen some that don't.

[rambling]

Ordered a $995 Lenovo laptop from Lenovo US last year and had it shipped here via DHL. Paid 7% VAT plus a couple of hundred Baht to DHL for release service. There is no customs on laptops.

I made sure beforehand that it had international warranty, not all laptops even from the same manufacturer are covered in all territories. About a month ago it wouldn't switch on, motherboard was fried. Contacted support and it was fixed (motherboard and RAM replaced) under warranty by Lenovo Thailand. Took 3 weeks as they don't stock any parts at all, and the laptop came back with some scratches but that's another issue..

[Saan]

I bought my laptop online from the State. It was a more recent model, a lot cheaper than anything comparable here and it sailed through customs as has everything I have ever bought.

[AJBangkok]

On Amazon and on EBay some vendors use the Global shipping program which calculates tax and customs fees at the checkout. You don't have to buy but it will give you an idea of potential charges if you decide to import.

[MeHere]

I bought my latest laptop (Dell M4700) from ebay still with 2 years international warranty and a friend hand carried it in... Best laptop and price I've ever had!

[maoro2013]

I have bought from Amazon many times, no problem. I have had refunds from them as well for over calculated/charged import duties/fees. The delivery times are only a few days, and I live in the sticks in Thailand.

[1FinickyOne]

Buying and shipping from US will bring extra shipping cost and duty here which will likely be unpredictable… so, not sure what or if you will save...

More important is service - if you buy locally, you will have some recourse.. I bought an Acer that had a problem and I was constantly bringing it back in - the local dealer finally just gave me 100% refund… imagine expense and time loss of shipping back to USA if you have a problem...

I switched to Mac, more expensive but 4 years now and no problems…

[williet98248]

I feel really uncomfortable buying from Thai companies.

How much does shipping and customs inflate the price?

Google has been around for a while. USPO and Thailand customs are on the internet. When browsing on the internet sales sites the vendor will add the shipping charges as a separate item on the sales screen so you can see the charge. You don't have to buy. Personally, I wouldn't buy a new machine from the US. The prices here are about the same and you save money on shipping and customs. Same world wide warranties. But I have saved significant amounts by buying many used items on eBay and Amazon. I make purchases several times a year. I have purchased a three year old but updated MacBook Air and a year old iPhone 5s. Even with shipping charges I saved a couple hundred dollars on the MacBook Air and about the same on the phone over the Thai second hand price. No customs or VAT. But you pays your money and you takes your chances. On the rare occasions I have paid customs and VAT fees it has usually been on auto and motorcycle parts. Occasionally it appears a package is randomly picked out by customs for examination and fees. But not too often.

[2fishin2]

somebody find the regulation showing that laptops are free import please....

[smotherb]

I've bought several Dell computers at a Dell authorized dealer in Hatyai--laptops and desktops. Absolutely no unusual problems and good service.