Size Matters

I’m talking about the 27-inch Retina iMac and wishing I could find an easy way to ship mine to Chiang Mai when I make my next (and hopefully final trip) from the USA to begin my retirement. As a Photoshop user and graphic illustrator, I can’t imagine life without a large screen workstation. I also have an Apple MacBook Retina laptop. Getting it to CM is easy but bringing the iMac appears to be a more difficult task.

MY QUESTION IS: Do any of you Mac or PC users have any first-hand experience of bringing large desktop computers into Thailand? FedEX or UPS or some other method? My other options is to sell the iMac here and just bring the external hard drives and buy a new iMac when I get there. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. --Rich--

I don't know how much shipping would be. It might be equal to selling your current one and buying a new one here. I guess you have to find that out.

Maybe prepare a good packaging (use some from the box it came) and put it in your check-in luggage.

or

There are "Air Cases" for sale.

You say your trip so presumably you are coming... Pack light and check the imac in. Flown several computers both ways and no worries, chances are no tax. DHL or ups and you get stung on import tax.

Leave the clothes at home, pack Mac well and buy new clothes for less than your import tax or excess baggage.

OP Here: Thanks for everyone’s useful input to this thread.

— I have decided to go ahead and buy the incredibly expensive case shown in the video above (iMac 27 inch: Tenba Air Case, $654.95) even though I expect to use it only once to bring one of my iMac’s to Chiang Mai. I am not 100 percent confident it will survive being moved thru four, possibly five airports on its journey half way around the globe. Yes, I recognize such a shipping container may as well have a fluorescent stickers saying, “steal-me-now” but that is a risk I will have to take. I have until early September to change my mind in case I get cold feet and just go ahead and dispose of the iMac with e-Bay or CraigsList. Thanks again.

Rich - I have transported my iMac on flights using the original boxing it came it (both the inside and outside box). It's really well-designed and meant to be shipped by air via Fedex or UPS or whatever. I have had no problems at all using that. Well, if you still have it!