iherb vs Vitacost shipping / customs

[Cinderella Man]

I'm thinking about ordering some supplements and wonder what is my chance of paying customs

Any current experiences?

iHerb

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/909990-iherb-shipped-via-fedex-globalmaillt/ - from this post it seems to be safe under $60 - $80 and the shipping cost is $4

Vitacost?? The shipping is DHL Global Mail for $9.99

They usually have better prices ... but is this shipping method safe? Any experiences?

Thanks!

[sante]

I don't have any experience with Vitacost but I can comment on my recent shipment with DHL. I usually use USPS Priority Mail when sending items to Thailand but this time chose DHL. A costly mistake. Although the initial shipping charge was lower than all the other options I ended up paying about 60% more upon delivery.

My customs declaration was $54 (for sandals, a travel wallet, 2 small metal clips) that was assessed by customs as 1934.52 baht. Upon delivery 1187.89 baht was the additional demand. That's more than $33 for a package valued at $54. Itemized on the invoice was: Customs Duty, Import Goods VAT, Disbursement (whatever that is). Delivery was quick but in this situation definitely not worth the extra cost.

In the four years I've been in Thailand I've never been charged extra for iHerb orders but I always stay under $60.

[DogNo1]

Vitacost sells larger sizes of supplements at good prices although my shipping bill for around 3 kg of supplements was around $25. Their best deals are during their BOGO sales. Sometimes you get the second jar free or for half-price. I tend to buy their 240 capsules/tablets. I think that in Japan the first 15,500 worth of

supplements is free. After that you must pay tax. I'm not sure what the amount is.

With iHerb, the selection is superb and shipping is very fast and free if you don't* go over the weight limit. If you want a lot of stuff, you can just order packages on successive day. They will be shipped quickly and duty free.

Personally, I use Vitacost to buy the large sizes of supplements that I take a lot of. I use iHerb for their great selection and fast shipping. With the rewards points that iHerb is giving, possibly some of their supplements might cost about the same as Vitacost and the iHerb service is much prompter.

[Iamemjay]

So far as the chance of paying import duty goes, from 10 years of experience of importing supplements from the US to Thailand, I can tell you its got nothing to do with the company you order from - its actually luck of the draw, although there are a couple of ways of reducing your chances of being hit.

In the past, sometimes I have been hit outrageously (and by the way, NEVER use their appeal system. It doesn't work, they simply return your order to the sender and you have to restart, paying the postage all over again.) and sometimes, inexplicably, using exactly the same methods the order get through free of charges. Explanation? There is no rational one.

(Recently, ignoring my own rules, I was charged outrageously on a $64 order (They "valued" it at 3 times the enclosed invoice amount), but a $93 order was not charged at all, both using normal US Airmail.)

The first thing is to limit the value of your order to $50 or thereabouts, the catch being that that usually increases your shipping costs through multiple orders.

Secondly, NEVER use the commercial couriers (DHL and the like) If you use them you are virtually guaranteeing that you will be hit. Use normal Airmail only.

From there on it's just "Best of luck!"

[Utley]

So far as the chance of paying import duty goes, from 10 years of experience of importing supplements from the US to Thailand, I can tell you its got nothing to do with the company you order from - its actually luck of the draw, although there are a couple of ways of reducing your chances of being hit.

In the past, sometimes I have been hit outrageously (and by the way, NEVER use their appeal system. It doesn't work, they simply return your order to the sender and you have to restart, paying the postage all over again.) and sometimes, inexplicably, using exactly the same methods the order get through free of charges. Explanation? There is no rational one.

(Recently, ignoring my own rules, I was charged outrageously on a $64 order (They "valued" it at 3 times the enclosed invoice amount), but a $93 order was not charged at all, both using normal US Airmail.)

The first thing is to limit the value of your order to $50 or thereabouts, the catch being that that usually increases your shipping costs through multiple orders.

Secondly, NEVER use the commercial couriers (DHL and the like) If you use them you are virtually guaranteeing that you will be hit. Use normal Airmail only.

From there on it's just "Best of luck!"

I agree with everything that lamemjay has said. I too have 10 years of experience and the import fees are all over the board from nothing to outrageous. The actual Thai law says that you cannot bring more than a 30 day supply of any vitamin into the country. When Thai Customs quotes that one to you, you know that your fees are going to be high.

[Cinderella Man]

Do you think there would be a better chance by using my Thai gf's name as the recipient?