Ebay purchasing from Thailand.

[1sickpuppy]

Only once over the years have we paid what I thought was an unfair tax.....

Everything comes addressed to my wife's name showing first with her last (our/married) name hyphenated...

If it's one of the vendors that opted for the duty collect at purchase I find one that doesn't and it comes unencumbered.....That collect duty up front appears to be a scam to me....

I have been purchasing things through Ebay for past 10 years & never had a problem, if you are buying electronics the customs duty is a lot but is same for Thais if buying second hand no fees, jewellery has no fees in Thail;and even though some USA sites try to rip you of with Ebay global shipping program which is a scam to be avoided some sites i have paid fair price for duties up front & saved me the hasstle of paying it at post office or having to go to customs office & waste X amount of time, is not a scam, Thailand post is a lot safer nowadays, good luck

[robblok]

I got a foreign name and don't get stung for taxes most of the time and I ordered countless things. I think its an other myth that Thai names attract less tax. It is a myth around here anyway because (ex) wife also ordered things abroad on her name and had to pay tax more often then me with my foreign name.

Maybe its different in other places here near BKK it certainly is not the case.

[realenglish1]

If someone from Ebay is collecting Excise Thai tax I just do not deal with them 99.99 % of the time when an item is sent to me hear in Thailand it goes through customs without a hitch and

there is little if any customs fees. The real culprit that started this is UPS and Fed Ex they not only charge for Tax but charge a fee for clearing it

Most times it is over 100% of the actual cost

So I would start taking Fed Ex and UPS to task and not the sellers they are the true crooks

[williet98248]

You can find the customs tariffs for specific items listed on the Thai customs website. 7% VAT is also levied.

I have been ordering stuff from eBay, Amazon and other sites for several years. Usually a shipment every couple of months. Four to six shipments a year.

Many eBay sellers won't ship to Thailand and the postage on individual purchases to Thailand is a killer anyway. To get around both these problems I have all my purchases shipped to my permanent address in the US which is my brother's address in CA. He repackages many purchases into one single box and pays one shipping fee for several items. Ten small items might cost $25 minimum shipping for each item but ten small items in one box may cost only $50 to $100. Many of the items that I purchase are free shipping to US addresses so only one shipping fee to Thailand is paid. I never cheat on the customs form listing the actual cost paid in the US. But I don't count any US shipping fees. I rarely pay customs duty in Thailand. Mostly it has been for auto and motorcycle parts. Hardly ever for other stuff. I try to keep the total value of the packages less than $300 as high value packages seem to trigger an inspection. I had one period where three of my packages in a row were subjected to customs duties (and VAT) but the last five packages have come through no problem. It appears that customs inspection is mostly random. But I notice that items shipped directly from a business are usually flagged but packages from my brother are usually not. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

You take the risk that the items you order in most cases cannot be returned to the seller for any reason as it usually costs more to ship back than the cost of the item. But this has rarely been a big problem and I suck up the usually minor cost if I am not happy. I have returned a $600 watch to an eBay seller and sucked up the $50.00 shipping costs. I have done a cost/benefit analysis on my purchases and even when paying customs and VAT I have usually come out ahead over Thailand. Not to mention that not speaking or reading Thai I may not be able to locate many of these items in Thailand. Many of these purchases are not even available here. So convenience is a big factor as well. I have regretted only one purchase which was a 'pancake' spare tire for my '93' Honda that eventually cost me over $400 in purchase price, shipping, customs and VAT to get it here. Original US cost was $70.00 with free US shipping. Maybe would have been able to buy it in BK for less but to go to BK from Phuket to buy it second hand would take up three or four days of my time plus the travel, hotel and expenses.

If you have a relative or a friend in the US who will act as your agent you can do the same as I do. I believe there are also re-shipping agents in the US that will perform the same service but that will cost you a fee.

Good luck

PS I never order anything on eBay that is shipped from China and I never order direct from China or Hong Kong. The last time I ordered from HK it took four months to get here. Ali Baba and Lazada may be a different story.

[fiddlehead]

"Couriers like Fedex or DHL are also a problem. They'll make sure you pay the maximum customs duty on everything they deliver. Again, that's the courier services that are screwing with their customers, not Thai customs. And using the Thai post office over the past 10 years I have NEVER had anything sent to or by me go missing ... literally hundreds of things over that time period."

Yes, Fedex is quite a joke here.
THey have never found my house, and when I have to go (at least an hour drive) to their office, and ask them why they can't find my house, as it's simple and everyone else can find it, they just shrug their shoulders.
I would never ship anything Fed Ex to here.

That being said, I agree with whoever said the Thai postal service is good.
I have never had anything not make it here (eventually)

And rarely get charged duty.
Last time, it was a camera and I had to go to customs,
She pulled out this big, thick book and looked up cameras.
Finally found it: No duty on cameras.
But she charged me 700 baht tax.
Go figure.

I always buy ebay, ship it to my sister's house in the states and she ships it to me.
US Postal service.
But, their rates just went up on Jan 14th I believe. 15% on average.
So beware.
It's getting more expensive to ship all the time.

Edited January 28, 2016 by fiddlehead

[csabo]

Ive got one thing from Ebay here because I couldn't find it anywhere else and the was no added tax. I have been denied shipping from a seller once on Ebay and when I inquired why he just said he didn't want too. Never understood that. I got tired of that attitude so I get most of the things I need from Aliexpress now. In the dozens of packages I have received I have been charged an additional 7 baht twice. Shipping can be slow 4 to 6 weeks not uncommon but I have nothing but time so...

[steelepulse]

If you don't know anyone in the states that will accept the shipment of your purchase, repackage and send on, then perhaps use a service that does this as a business.

[Thian]

Bell helmets are sold here:

http://www.bananaspeedthailand.com/category/24/bell-helmet

[SymS]

I only purchase from Chinese eBay sellers, and usually small items. So I've never had to pay custom duties on eBay purchases.

[aronp1]

I really haven't had any problems buying off Ebay. Just sometimes it's hard to find someone that ships internationally for a good price. As far as I can remember, I only had to pay an import fee once and that was for apoxy resin to use on carbon fiber. Mostly what I see is people charging way more that what it really costs for the shipping.

[aronp1]

I'm curious. Did you open a new Ebay account from within Thailand? Also have your Thai bank card linked to that account? I really don't know if makes a difference, but it may.

[mercman24]

try asking this question in the bikers forum, i have seen "Acro" pipes on bikes in bkk just ask, got to be somewhere here that sells them

[tomyumchai]

Most US sellers do not know there is a world outside the 48 states (yes most just think Alaska is nuts due to a former politician and Hawaii due to Macadamias). Those that ship internationally for the most part are scam (low price - high postage). And now as they have no idea what customs is they can add that to the charges thanks to courier companies having governmental contracts - and of course these are at highest favorable rates for them.

Thailand rates will vary by item if shipped by normal means - but for quick clearance fixed charges are often reasonable and justified. But there are more than a few sellers using this excuse to make there Nigeria profits - nothing to do with Thailand. If we wanted to buy at US price we should have stayed there - and paid the school tax, the property tax, the emergency services tax, the highway tax, the sales tax and the other page or two added to most utility bills these days.

I think you missed the point and didnt read my original post.

Customs is charging more than the price of the items in Thailand. Buyers don't like it and refuse to sign for the item which in turn gives negative feedback to the seller when a paypal claim is made.

Now U.S and UK sellers are collecting it upfront to combat that problem or they just flat out refuse to ship to Thailand anymore.

This isn't a U.S issue, it's a Thailand one.

Customs greed is prevelant as the officers recieve a percentage of duties collected.

i think youre TOTALLY missing the point. the ebay global shipping programe calculates the import duty according to the written law and you then know exactly how much the item will cost you. it says in the listing * no more to pay* so if the item shows up with an extra charge you can refuse it and get ebay to refund you- its not the sellers fault as they followed the proceedure correctly.

i only buy with duty paid up front then theres no chance of somchai adding 300% to it to buy mrs somchai noi a new luk thep doll.

[Songlaw]

I have size XXL for helmets. Bought one last weekend at saphan kwai, under the bts station. It's an INDEX size L that fits me, was too lazy to go check all neighbourshops.

Problem is that if i close the visor totally it works as a lens and i can't see straight through it. So i don't close it totally and then can use it. It also has built in sunglasses...for 1000 baht i still like it. If you need bigger size then check out all those motocy shops under saphan kwai.

For the rest i buy everything abroad, don't want to play games with thai customs. Next trip for shopping is Tokio. Do they have your pipe there?

I don't want the ice cream container helmets that are made here. I want something that is DOT approved to at least western standards.

Then buy a Shoei in TH

The company, "Real" offers pretty good bang for the buck here. A tad heavier than Bell, Shoei and the like, but not by much. Prices are very reasonable and with most sizes available. Am talking about full-coverage helmets. Don't wear one personally, but bought one once for the ex. Well made, with an easily removable/cleanable liner. Easily passes muster with western DOT, however am uncertain about Snell.

[Tom Cahill]

Ebay Singapore is the answer.

You're best doing like MaeJoMTB says. Get stuff from Singapore as they're more business orientated than the troglodytes. I had one---who's otherwise really very educated---tell me that he didn't know what the dialling code for where he was in the US would be "from where you are" last week. They're very much able to make sure you're stuff will get to you and possibly how to totally avoid any taxes.

[Shiver]

I've found that usually things get through okay, but on the few occasions that it hasn't, it has always being either Express shipping or a courier - never got anything though there without tax even once, even if it is just petty cash on delivery. I think the couriers must have their own channels in each country to expedite packages to meet their commitment on delivery times and so check every single package to keep their nose clean, whereas standard shipping they just open a couple that may look valuable or questionable (that too I imagine is probably because of the amount of paper work they create for themselves rather than just letting it pass through - even if everything is above board).

[seancbk]

Only once over the years have we paid what I thought was an unfair tax.....

Everything comes addressed to my wife's name showing first with her last (our/married) name hyphenated...

If it's one of the vendors that opted for the duty collect at purchase I find one that doesn't and it comes unencumbered.....That collect duty up front appears to be a scam to me....

I will give you an example.

Note the import duties sellers are asking for in advance. I don't trust it but that't the only way some sellers will ship the stuff to Thailand.

Once i change my region, the import duties no longer remain in place.

Customs has made it that much more difficult.

If the goods are being sent by courier then the import duties are paid in advance. When I buy stuff from Amazon, they charge for import duties because all courier shipments pay duty.

When the actual duty is less than I was charged they reimburse my Amazon account for the difference. I've never been charged more incidentally.

When the shipment comes by just regular Airmail or Speedpost then there is quite often no duty, and if you use a Thai name there is almost always no duty on packages.

The trick is never use Fedex, UPS etc as those companies pay duty on everything and charge you for doing so.

And if you can stick a Thai name on the address.

Best of luck.

[callaway]

I bought an item before xmas and it was posted prior to xmas. It arrived in thailand and never seen again. Guess someone got a good xmas present. The buyer is now sending out another. I can assure you I did not try to scam because the item was never received at home. LIT (lost in thailand)

[yardrunner]

I think that you will find that the upfront import fees and taxes are something eBay has added as a help to customers (or that is what they claim) but I look for sellers who do not use this service and if I can not find one I will look elsewhere on the net

[thrilled]

I just go back home every so often.Order it and bring it back to Thailand when I come back

[NeverSure]

I agree with those that say you need US forwarding. Then get it by regular post office. We have a good member here who needed something for his US made riding lawnmower that's also obsolete. A US dealer found it in the dark recesses of a warehouse half way across the country and got it for me. Then I shipped it myself to Thailand. Other than the time it took to find it and ship it three times (warehouse to dealer, to me, to Thailand) even the total postal charges weren't much. It sailed into Thailand without a problem. There's no way that dealer would have hunted it down and shipped it to Thailand.

Find a forwarder even if they are commercial and have them ship by regular post. I would recommend America's Mailbox in South Dakota as they are efficient and SD has no sales tax to tack on.

Cheers.

[Langsuan Man]

I agree with those that say you need US forwarding. Then get it by regular post office. We have a good member here who needed something for his US made riding lawnmower that's also obsolete. A US dealer found it in the dark recesses of a warehouse half way across the country and got it for me. Then I shipped it myself to Thailand. Other than the time it took to find it and ship it three times (warehouse to dealer, to me, to Thailand) even the total postal charges weren't much. It sailed into Thailand without a problem. There's no way that dealer would have hunted it down and shipped it to Thailand.

Find a forwarder even if they are commercial and have them ship by regular post. I would recommend America's Mailbox in South Dakota as they are efficient and SD has no sales tax to tack on.

Cheers.

But before you jump compare prices

Shipito will provide package forwarding via several low cost carriers with no membership fee. You just pay for what you use

https://www.shipito.com/shop-pricing

Post Scan Mail will receive all your letter mail and scan all outside envelopes of your mail (up to 30 pieces and will scan the contents of 5 pieces) all for $9.95 per month

https://www.postscanmail.com/pricing.html

[beerzy]

Only once over the years have we paid what I thought was an unfair tax.....

Everything comes addressed to my wife's name showing first with her last (our/married) name hyphenated...

If it's one of the vendors that opted for the duty collect at purchase I find one that doesn't and it comes unencumbered.....That collect duty up front appears to be a scam to me....

No UK VAT collection at purchase is common ut not in US....but why buy there when most items are usually mae in China