Amazon.com Int'l Shipping to Thailand, experiences?

[impulse]

Recently, I placed some orders from Amazon.com under their International Shipping Program where I prepaid the shipping and an estimate of the import duties. 

 

They claim that the import duties in excess of the actual amount would be refunded, but that it would take up to 60 days for that to happen.  It will be several weeks before that 60 days is up on my transactions.

 

There are a couple of other items I’d like to order, but the pre-paid import duties make the transactions look pretty bad, unless there will be a refund based on actual duty rate, which I can look up.

 

Has anyone else dealt with Amazon.com long enough to know whether there will actually be a refund, and whether the refund is based on actual import duties, or whether it’s also dinged for some nebulous service fees?  Or is the 60 days just their way of hoping I'd forget all about the deposit?

[SiamBeast]

Weird, I usually just paid the duty amount indicated by Amazon and that was the end of it - and I ordered a lot of stuff from them. If they said 60 days, then I guess you just have to wait.

[attrayant]

Yes, I've been refunded several times.  Amazon will follow up with an email that looks like this:

 

 

This order was placed around Feb 27th, so the refund email came about six weeks later.

Edited February 21, 2017 by attrayant
added add'l info

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, attrayant said:

Yes, I've been refunded several times.  Amazon will follow up with an email that looks like this:

 

 

This order was placed around Feb 27th, so the refund email came about six weeks later.

My experience has been the same. I usually get some of the prepaid import duties refunded, often most of them. 

 

However my shipments are going to Japan.

[mfd101]

Over the last 10 years or so I have bought - in Australia - several thousand books from the Amazons in Usofa, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada & Oz. Their service has ALWAYS been exemplary. On the few occasions there was a problem with delivery or the book (eg missing pages), replacement or refund was made very quickly.

[Suradit69]

I usually avoid using global shipping programs because they tend to gouge you on the customs charges, but I did use that method with the Kindle I ordered from Amazon awhile ago. I did get a refund. Can't really say how long it took, but it came through.

 

The problem with most prepaid customs charges is that for most things if sent by mail (not Fedex or DHL etc) where you are responsible for the duty on arrival, you can often get the item with no duty charged, whereas with any of the courier services, they (supposedly) will pay duty 100% of the time.

 

I used to order things from Land's End in the US. Then they started using a "service" that meant prepaying shipping & customs that was more than the cost of the items ordered. I switched to Land's End in the UK. They still send cheaply through the post office and their shipments have been delivered straight to me without any duty charged ... so far.

 

Everything I have ordered from Amazon, without the prepayment of customs, has arrived safely and I can't recall them attracting duty.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2017 by Suradit69

[NoshowJones]

The only experience I have had with Amazon is their refusal to ship to Thailand.

[maxcorrigan]

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

The only experience I have had with Amazon is their refusal to ship to Thailand.

Apparently that's Amazon UK, Amazon US delivers to Thailand so i've heard cannot speak from experience  as i have used neither.

[laochef]

A LOT of items, Amazon USA, won't ship to TH. Books  and the like, no problem, and the pre-paid, Customs, estimate has always been refunded promptly.

[TKDfella]

I have used Amazon.com (USA) for books and CD/DVD for years with no problem.

[abab]

But can we always avoid this prepaid BS or we sometimes have no choice ?

 

I have never paid any customs tax anywhere in the world and will never, for things that I buy or things that I sell.

 

 

 

 

[StevieAus]

I have used Amazon for years both in Australia and Thailand 

and from what I recall there was only one item that did not arrive and this was promptly rectified

The majority of items are send by mail so the question of import duty does not seem to arise

As one the other posters has commented there do seem to be a number of suppliers in the US who will not ship overseas that is outside of the US

It would assist if this was stated rather than a notification appearing just before you have completed the purchase

[pizzachang]

13 hours ago, possum1931 said:

The only experience I have had with Amazon is their refusal to ship to Thailand.

I've had the same experience but usually they indicate whether or not the item ships to Thailand - before you click the "submit" button!

What I find odd is the items that can't be shipped. Scissors (most) ship but not scissors sharpeners.  Another is, I can't seem to find any brand of small snap/rivet setters that will ship.  I haven't been able to find one in Thailand. 

[impulse]

41 minutes ago, pizzachang said:

I've had the same experience but usually they indicate whether or not the item ships to Thailand - before you click the "submit" button!

What I find odd is the items that can't be shipped. Scissors (most) ship but not scissors sharpeners.  Another is, I can't seem to find any brand of small snap/rivet setters that will ship.  I haven't been able to find one in Thailand. 

  Go to Lazada.com, do a search on "rivet" and click on the "home and living" category.

 

Here's just one of dozens of the styles that come up:

 

http://www.lazada.co.th/taiyo-picus-thr-11-2842609.html

 

They even have Stanley brand, though they're probably all made on China:

 

http://www.lazada.co.th/stanley-heavy-duty-riveter-7169415.html

 

 

Edited February 21, 2017 by impulse

[hugh2121]

It would seem that Amazon.co.uk normally use DHL. This can cause problems with Thailand Customs. The last order I initially placed simply did not arrive as Customs wanted an import licence for 2 bottles of dog food supplement. I contacted Amazon UK and they sent replacements FOC but I advised them to send via ordinary air mail. This they did and the order arrived in a few days. Customs/import duty was refunded within a couple of weeks.

[impulse]

20 hours ago, Suradit69 said:

I usually avoid using global shipping programs because they tend to gouge you on the customs charges....

 

I feel the same way, but a lot of items don't seem to be available any other way.

[ammagic]

Awful. 2 orders cancelled & refunded - didn't arrive

[Gassit]

I recently ordered something from Amazon US - couldn't find the item anywhere in Thailand.

It arrived OK - but with Customs duty the total cost was high - I did have a few dollars refunded after about 2 weeks though. Yes some things Amazon won't ship to Thailand - I have found eBay easier in that regard.

[pizzachang]

On 2/22/2017 at 6:52 AM, impulse said:

  Go to Lazada.com, do a search on "rivet" and click on the "home and living" category.

 

Here's just one of dozens of the styles that come up:

 

http://www.lazada.co.th/taiyo-picus-thr-11-2842609.html

 

They even have Stanley brand, though they're probably all made on China:

 

http://www.lazada.co.th/stanley-heavy-duty-riveter-7169415.html

 

 

Hmm, I didn't see a hand riveter...the kind operated by a hammer, which is the kind Amazon won't ship to Thailand. The plier-type riveters are available at almost any hardware shop. 

[impulse]

Just an update to close the loop.  Today, I received a 940 baht refund against a 1,500 baht import fee deposit on some software I ordered from Amazon on February 21, and received (from the USA) within a few days.

 

That's very satisfactory IMO, and opens the door for me to make some more purchases that would have been too expensive based on the import fee deposit amount.

 

Kudos to Amazon.  This time.

 

[Hockeybik]

Question for you who have ordered from Amazon US for international delivery - Thailand specifically. Do you have to actively apply for the duty/tax refunds? OR does Amazon automatically do it for you?

 

I have ordered small items from Lazada that were shipped from outside Thailand and they guaranteed they would arrive at the stated price and that was true. No added charges on delivery. I have not tried this with a large item - either large price or large size.

 

Thanks.

[canopy]

Refund is automatic. I find typically the refund amount is somewhat small however.

 

2017 has been the breakout year of Amazon for shoppers in Thailand. While you can't get everything, the amount of products available is getting to be amazing.  Note even for items that don't appear to have shipping to Thailand, just check other sellers for the item and you can often find one that will send it to Thailand. True, shipping and import taxes are high, but in many cases it's still worth it for things you can't get in Thailand. This is much better than the old days where if you wanted to buy a premium product you would have to make a trip to a specialty Thai shop and they wanted to rob you for 3x the normal price in the US due to the exclusivity.

 

If you want something quick and opt for super expensive expedited shipping it's extraordinary how quickly they can deliver it to your house; just a matter of days.

 

My experiences. Usually good, but I have had is an item stolen in transit (was replaced free) and another delayed (they threw me a little money), neither of which were too much of a bother and handled promptly and neither were amazon's fault. Another thing i like is i can always open a live chat session with amazon about anything 24-hours a day and be with someone in seconds who's goal is to help. I would highly recommend buying from amazon US and plan to use it a lot more myself.

 

[Langsuan Man]

I don't bother with Amazon shipping to Thailand.  I get the free shipping offered on most items sent to a US re-mailer who will accept the package for me in the US.  Notifies me of arrival, and I fill out the customs label, and choose the method of shipment, and for the fee of $2 per item will process it for me

 

This way I eliminate private couriers such as DHL, UPS, and FEDEX and can use USPS, which will turn into EMS when it gets to Thailand and so far have never paid a cent in import duties.  Most re-mailers also offer  other very inexpensive shipping options that use foreign carriers such as Dutch Post, Singapore Post, or China post

 

And anyone who thinks that Amazon doesn't make any money on International shipping doesn't understand how volume discounts work.  The fees that they show are what an individual would get going to a private carrier, not what Amazon or any other large volume shipper pay