Shopping online in the US and shipping to Thailand

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 7/14/2017 at 9:26 PM, ninjapro2 said:

Thanks for the answers guys, I guess the custom declaration is one the biggest problems here. Regarding the service I did some research based on your reccomendations - Shipito.com looks nice, but they are very expensive - 1lbs 10x10x10 inch package to Bangkok with USPS Express costs $78.04 - I found PlanetExpress.com and there with USPS Express same package costs only $27.04 which is really big difference

I don't think you're paying close enough attention to Shipito's rates and rate options.

 

For a 1 lbs 10x10x10 package, their best rate is always going to be their own Economy Airmail service that would run about $12 total.

 

Unless, you're shipping something that they can't send via their own airmail service, such as something that includes lithium batteries. That's one thing not allowed via their Economy Airmail service. There also are some maximum total dimension limits of like 36 inches, but the size you mention wouldn't exceed that.

 

Otherwise, their own Economy Airmail rates (for anything up to 4 lbs) are always going to beat anything available thru USPS.

 

BTW, I have noticed lately when pricing packages online with Shipito, they've taken to listing available shipping methods thru "Featured Shippers" at the top of the list... ones like Fed Ex and DHL.  And their own Economy Airmail service is listed in a separate section down further in the list.

 

They didn't used to do like that, but started lately. Nonetheless, if you look further down on the list, you'll see their Economy Airmail option and its rate, usually about $12 per pound. It's entirely possible that newbies to their service might not catch that move on their part, and not realize to look further down on their pricing list for the BETTER/BEST rates they offer. So try it again, and make sure to look at the ENTIRE list of shipping options and prices.

 

In the past, they always used to order their shipping options/pricing list with the top several entries being those deemed "most popular." And not surprisingly, their own Economy Airmail shipping method was always the No. 1 most popular option, assuming it was available for that particular package (weight/dimensions, etc).

 

Edited July 17, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's an example of what I was talking about above in terms of how they're presenting their rates chart these days. This is an actual rate quote for a 1 lbs package I shipped with them last week via their own Economy Airmail. You have to pay attention to the entire chart...not just the top grouping under "Featured Shipping Methods".

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, zeekgarcia said:

I am looking on shipito website shipping calculator and for shipping 10-20 pounds to Thailand their airmail service is more expensive then their other options Fedex is their cheapest then DHL then USPS then their airmail

 

 

 

I see the same kind of thing when I price a 10 lbs shipment... Fed Ex economy comes up as their best rate.

 

Folks here need to be aware, Shipito has TWO kinds of their own brand Airmail shipping -- Airmail Economy (up to 4 lbs or so) and Airmail Priority (beyond 4 lbs.).

 

I've always been very clear here in saying their BEST rates -- and AFAIK unbeatable rates to Thailand -- are their Airmail Economy rates for packages up to 4 lbs that work out to about $12 per pound all in.

 

I have rarely shipped heavier packages with them using their Airmail Priority, and for weights just somewhat above the 4 lbs amount, their Priority method still seems to have the best rates.  But once you get up into the 10 lbs or more range, then obviously, their own Airmail methods are no longer economical.

 

But frankly, I almost never ship anything that heavy from the U.S. to Thailand -- because, it's almost invariably going to be very expensive and I'm better off waiting until my next trip back to the U.S. and just packing the item into one of my suitcases instead.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 7/14/2017 at 2:46 PM, StefanBBK said:

Of course the package got held up in customs. Then DHL contacts me and wants my to chose how I wish to pay "clearance fee+ import Tax+ Vat".... I told them that it is prepaid and please contact sender. 

Now they want my original passport, because I have to obtain an import license etc... <deleted> is that. 

Here is their message:

"This case you not  have to pay anything  because all activity in thailand will be charge to sender only .
But receiver have to support document for clearance only.
I will inform you about your shipment has detain by thai customs at suvarnabhumi airport Because the value your product over 40,000 THB. If value the product over 40,000 THB you have to registration import license with thai customs first .
So about process registration import license you have to provide original passport for registration import license of thai customs first. If import license complete already we will start process clearance for you , sir  
If you can’t provide original passport we can’t clearance this shipment for delivery to you."

What do I do with that message.... Decided to ask them and still wait for an answer. 

 

 

I never tried to ship anything valued over 40,000 baht into Thailand.

 

But, I always used to LOVE getting those kinds of half-English emails or other communications from DHL explaining to me why they wouldn't/couldn't deliver my package to me without me paying a lot of extra money to them...

 

That was, right up to the point where I fired their sorry ****** and ceased ever using them for my Thailand shipping.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

OK, so I've asked this question before, and I'll ask it again here -- since no one has really answered it.

 

If you're using some other U.S. to Thailand package shipping service that will deliver everyday items/regular sized packages (up to 4 lbs) for any all-in rate LESS THAN $12 per pound (which is Shipito's Economy Airmail rate), please post the information and verifiable details here.

 

If someone else is offering better REAL pricing, I'll use them myself.  But no one has yet come up with a better option.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

OK, so I've asked this question before, and I'll ask it again here -- since no one has really answered it.

 

If you're using some other U.S. to Thailand package shipping service that will deliver everyday items/regular sized packages (up to 4 lbs) for any all-in rate LESS THAN $12 per pound (which is Shipito's Economy Airmail rate), please post the information and verifiable details here.

 

If someone else is offering better REAL pricing, I'll use them myself.  But no one has yet come up with a better option.

 

 

Since someone above mentioned MyUS.com and I'd never really looked at them in detail before, I decided to do so today, and priced a 1 lbs package to Thailand with them.

 

Their best price was $26.57, whereas Shipito's best price for the same weight package was $12.39, as per the graphic I posted above.

 

Guess I'm not going to be switching to MyUS anytime soon.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On the other hand, I also just now looked at Planet Express, and they do appear to have substantially better prices available than Shipito for 1, 2, 3, and 4 pound packages from the U.S. to Thailand -- which are the sizes I priced via the shipping calculator on their home page.

 

https://planetexpress.com/

 

I've never dealt with them, so I have no idea how reliable they are, or how they are to deal with. But in many respects they do appear to be imitating Shipito in a lot of their account pricing details. But their stated shipping rates are much lower.

 

Here are their rates for 1, 2, 3, and 4 pound packages -- which are significantly better than Shipito's $12 per pound average for their Economy Airmail service.

 

Planet Express 1 lbs. package U.S. to BKK -- 12x12x12 -- $50 value

 

 

Planet Express 2 lbs. package U.S. to BKK -- 12x12x12 -- $50 value

 

 

Planet Express 3 lbs. package U.S. to BKK -- 12x12x12 -- $50 value

 

 

Planet Express 4 lbs. package U.S. to BKK -- 12x12x12 -- $50 value

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I just signed up for a Planet Express account. It was relatively easy to do.

 

You create your email address and password for their account, and then they send a confirmation email you need to validate. As part of that process, you also fill out and have completed online a required USPS Form 1583 giving Planet Express permission to handle your mail. After that, you log back in and they ask you to pay some unspecified deposit amount in order to receive your shipping address with them. They accept both PayPal and Amazon Pay, which is nice.

 

I put a small deposit down thru Amazon, and everything went smoothly, and as soon as my deposit was credited, which just took a moment, the banner info for my online account with Planet Express suddenly showed my shipping address with them in the following format:

 

Account Holder Name
Mail Box #AXXXX
17224 S. Figueroa Street
Gardena, CA 90248, USA

 

The only question I'd have about them thus far is, that kind of address format sounds and appears a lot like a post office box address, and there are a lot of retailers/shippers who won't ship to what appear to be post office boxes.

 

Only a current customer with Planet Express would be able to advise whether the address format issue has been a problem with any of the typical online retailers.

 

[pgrahmm]

You could probably enter that address in a way to make it look like an apartment or work address....

CA taxes what they are might be a concern....Unknown.....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

2 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

You could probably enter that address in a way to make it look like an apartment or work address....

CA taxes what they are might be a concern....Unknown.....

 

I had a couple of follow-up email exchanges tonight our time/this morning their time with Planet Express. They responded directly and quickly, much to my surprise and appreciation.

 

On the address issue, their support staff advised that it's fine to substitute something like "Suite" instead of "Mail Box" when addressing things to them, so long as you still use the proper "AXXXX" number for your box. So that's good.

 

I also asked if they had been "blacklisted" by any of the big retailers that somehow try to identify mailing house addresses and then refuse to ship to those addresses. Target and Walmart are among those that have done like that in the past. Their support staff said they didn't know of any major retailers that would NOT ship to their address. So, I'm planning to test that, and see if they're correct about that.

 

Both Target and Walmart pretty much would not ship to Shipito's address any time I tried to use it in the past.

 

[ChidlomDweller]

Interesting about Planet Express.  I've got 2 packages on the way now with Shipito, let's see how it works out.  One was 16 dollars including some admin costs, and the other (1.5lbs) 22 dollars.  The vendors' shipping method would have cost 35 dollars each, and if I'm lucky these will get through customs without additional duties.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 hours ago, ChidlomDweller said:

Interesting about Planet Express.  I've got 2 packages on the way now with Shipito, let's see how it works out.  One was 16 dollars including some admin costs, and the other (1.5lbs) 22 dollars.  The vendors' shipping method would have cost 35 dollars each, and if I'm lucky these will get through customs without additional duties.

 

As long as you're using Shipito's own Airmail Economy service, which is delivered by Thai Post, and you're not sending anything problematic, it should arrive without any Customs messing, provided the declared value isn't over $50 or so.

 

Tonight, I just ordered a first package, low weight, low value item, to be sent to my new Planet Express address. Will see how their service goes and report back here....

Edited July 19, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Rsquared]

On 7/6/2017 at 4:58 PM, clokwise said:

I purchased a couple $100~150 CD box sets from Amazon this year. Previously when I did this, even at the cheapest shipping rate, Thai customs open them and then Thai post would bill me on delivery. However, as others have stated, Amazon.com now is pre-calculating your duty and tax, and you pay in advance at checkout time. Supposedly, if you end up paying less they will refund you the difference. Not sure how that works.

 

But something changed just this year - Amazon.com now offers a slowest and cheapest rate, without the duty and tax added on. It ships via "UPS i-parcel", with tracking, and arrives sealed up in a massive woven plastic bag delivered by Thai Post. In both instances, it clearly had not been inspected and I escaped paying any duty or tax whatsoever. Shipping time was 3 weeks. Your mileage may vary, but this seems to be the best option for me at this time.

I just received a pair of boots from Amazon,com.us....ticked the standard delivery/shipping box....tax not included. Picked up my boots from post office today.....had to fork out an extra 4,000 Baht for import tax....not happy, but what can I do?, just have to take it on the chin (note: Amazon clearly stated on the box what the contents were and their price in us dollars $299.....the shipping cost was $70, and now the added tax of 4,000B ($120) brings the total cost to $489....wifey was not impressed, nor was I, just for the record.

So is this "standard"?...if so, that's the last time I order things this way....Cheers.

[pgrahmm]

26 minutes ago, Rsquared said:

I just received a pair of boots from Amazon,com.us....ticked the standard delivery/shipping box....tax not included. Picked up my boots from post office today.....had to fork out an extra 4,000 Baht for import tax....not happy, but what can I do?, just have to take it on the chin (note: Amazon clearly stated on the box what the contents were and their price in us dollars $299.....the shipping cost was $70, and now the added tax of 4,000B ($120) brings the total cost to $489....wifey was not impressed, nor was I, just for the record.

So is this "standard"?...if so, that's the last time I order things this way....Cheers.

The item I ordered & received from Australia had a vendor declared value of $200.00AUD....

Got clipped ฿7000.00 more at delivery time....

I've also had 5 quality items purchased on ebay from 4 different countries simply vanish during the last 6 months....Follow up with the sender & am told they've reached to here.....

Go to the post office with my tracking number & after they check the computer then leave to check in another room  - then I'm told "not in Thailand".....

 

There was a topic about this elsewhere & it was astounding how much stuff has dissappeared and people affected.....It always seems to be the high quality goods, the pedestrian is getting through....

[ChidlomDweller]

1 hour ago, Rsquared said:

I just received a pair of boots from Amazon,com.us....ticked the standard delivery/shipping box....tax not included. Picked up my boots from post office today.....had to fork out an extra 4,000 Baht for import tax....not happy, but what can I do?, just have to take it on the chin (note: Amazon clearly stated on the box what the contents were and their price in us dollars $299.....the shipping cost was $70, and now the added tax of 4,000B ($120) brings the total cost to $489....wifey was not impressed, nor was I, just for the record.

So is this "standard"?...if so, that's the last time I order things this way....Cheers.

Yikes, that must hurt.  

 

I used Shipito based on the advice in this thread for some electronic parts from the US (declared value 25 USD) and it came through without demand for customs fees in exactly 2 weeks.  I used the cheapest option (airmail economy) without shipping.  I'm expecting a second package, also with Shipito, any time now.  

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I got my first package delivered to BKK today via Planet Express' own Economy Airmail service. It took about 10 days from shipment from Calif. to my door here.

 

It was a low value, office supplies type item, mainly meant as a first test to see how PE handled my package and how their delivery went. The package arrived timely and in perfectly good condition. Delivered here by Thai Post, and no customs duty or tax assessed.

 

As I said, it was a low value, office supplies item, so no reason for any of the Customs folks to be snoopy.

 

However, the examples of other posters above are good examples reinforcing my long-held position that you never want to send any non-documents package into Thailand using FedEx or DHL, and especially things like clothing and shoes that the Customs folks love to kill with duties and taxes.  It's usually well worth it to find a shipping arrangement that will allow the inside Thailand part and delivery to be handled by ThaiPost.

 

[Rsquared]

21 hours ago, pgrahmm said:

The item I ordered & received from Australia had a vendor declared value of $200.00AUD....

Got clipped ฿7000.00 more at delivery time....

I've also had 5 quality items purchased on ebay from 4 different countries simply vanish during the last 6 months....Follow up with the sender & am told they've reached to here.....

Go to the post office with my tracking number & after they check the computer then leave to check in another room  - then I'm told "not in Thailand".....

 

There was a topic about this elsewhere & it was astounding how much stuff has dissappeared and people affected.....It always seems to be the high quality goods, the pedestrian is getting through....

Ouch!!!!.....that is a real stinger, you have not had a good run,

Previously I ordered a couple of DVDs through Amazon, and they arrived with the package opened, but was not charged any extra, that's why I felt comfortable ordering the boots....the positive thing is that the boots fit my feet perfectly, I was stressed about that....so I look at that side and try not to think of the price, Cheers

[ChidlomDweller]

Re Amazon, it's almost always better to order via Amazon.co.uk.  Shipping prices are lower (I forgot but maybe 3 Pounds per DVD), and they deduct the VAT.  I often buy entire seasons of TV shows for 10-12 GBP shipped there.  It's not worth the hassle of downloading and I don't mind supporting content creators.  I have received tens of packages from them, never with a problem or duties charged. I live in Bangkok, maybe it depends on the location.  

 

For books, bookdepository.co.uk works out more cheaply than Amazon usually, once you factor in the shipping cost.

Edited August 3, 2017 by ChidlomDweller

[ChidlomDweller]

Second Shipito package arrived after 12 days.  Glad I found out about this service.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

FYI, I just did an online order with one of the big U.S. store chains beginning with a red T and successfully ordered it delivered to my PE address. The PE folks told me they weren't being blocked, and at least for T orders, I can confirm that's true.

 

The same chain and well as its sister chain store W would repeatedly cancel any orders I tried to place with them for delivery to Shipito, with T one time flatly saying when I called to complain that they'd identified that address as a re-shipper address and they wouldn't send any orders there.

 

So having a PE account now has broadened my available range of online shopping stores beyond mainly Amazon, which is a good thing.

 

[zeekgarcia]

On 8/3/2017 at 0:02 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I got my first package delivered to BKK today via Planet Express' own Economy Airmail service. It took about 10 days from shipment from Calif. to my door here.

 

It was a low value, office supplies type item, mainly meant as a first test to see how PE handled my package and how their delivery went. The package arrived timely and in perfectly good condition. Delivered here by Thai Post, and no customs duty or tax assessed.

 

As I said, it was a low value, office supplies item, so no reason for any of the Customs folks to be snoopy.

 

However, the examples of other posters above are good examples reinforcing my long-held position that you never want to send any non-documents package into Thailand using FedEx or DHL, and especially things like clothing and shoes that the Customs folks love to kill with duties and taxes.  It's usually well worth it to find a shipping arrangement that will allow the inside Thailand part and delivery to be handled by ThaiPost.

 

For your PE Economy Airmail who was the shipper that PE used? 

And were you able to track the package all the way to your door in Thailand?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

28 minutes ago, zeekgarcia said:

For your PE Economy Airmail who was the shipper that PE used? 

And were you able to track the package all the way to your door in Thailand?

 

Re PE's Economy and Priority Airmail (their two cheapest shipping methods), there is no tracking available, though there is insurance available. If you want tracking, you've got to choose a more expensive shipping method.

 

Re who they're using for those two in-house/non-branded shipping methods, it seems to vary. The first couple packages I sent via their Airmail seemed to get handled internationally via USPS. But then today, I got a couple of Airmail packages from them that took a bit longer than usual, almost 3 weeks from my ship date, and they arrived with shipping stickers from "France La Poste." Perhaps that's why they were a bit longer in arriving.

 

The same thing used to happen occasionally with Shipito. I got Airmail packages sent from the U.S. by them at times that arrived here with some very odd international shipping stickers on them, like from France or Switzerland or Belgium.. But I don't care, as long as my package arrives intact and in some reasonable time.

 

[pgrahmm]

8 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Re PE's Economy and Priority Airmail (their two cheapest shipping methods), there is no tracking available, though there is insurance available. If you want tracking, you've got to choose a more expensive shipping method.

 

Re who they're using for those two in-house/non-branded shipping methods, it seems to vary. The first couple packages I sent via their Airmail seemed to get handled internationally via USPS. But then today, I got a couple of Airmail packages from them that took a bit longer than usual, almost 3 weeks from my ship date, and they arrived with shipping stickers from "France La Poste." Perhaps that's why they were a bit longer in arriving.

 

The same thing used to happen occasionally with Shipito. I got Airmail packages sent from the U.S. by them at times that arrived here with some very odd international shipping stickers on them, like from France or Switzerland or Belgium.. But I don't care, as long as my package arrives intact and in some reasonable time.

 

TGJIB - Who ended up with the best rate using your $# index ratio?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, pgrahmm said:

TGJIB - Who ended up with the best rate using your $# index ratio?

Do you mean, who has the better rates, Planet Express vs. Shipito?

 

[pgrahmm]

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Do you mean, who has the better rates, Planet Express vs. Shipito?

 

Yeah - you seemed to have cost matrices a few of them....Which one served better for the cost? I think you were trying a new one....Seems like most run $25 per pound with some using bigger boxes than needed to drive up the shipping costs....

Just wondering what you've found out so far....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

36 minutes ago, pgrahmm said:

Yeah - you seemed to have cost matrices a few of them....Which one served better for the cost? I think you were trying a new one....Seems like most run $25 per pound with some using bigger boxes than needed to drive up the shipping costs....

Just wondering what you've found out so far....

I had used Shipito for a long time, and recently switched to Planet Express.

 

Shipito has excellent reliability with their low-priced Airmail services. I never lost a package with them in many years of use. But their pricing for that lowest-price option is running about $12 per pound.

 

Planet Express I've used for a couple months now. Their website is functional, but not nearly as polished as Shipito. However, PE's pricing for a comparable Airmail service, also their lowest priced shipping options, runs $7-8 per pound, so the cost savings over Shipito can be significant. They also seem to have better rates on USPS Priority, the next price/service tier up from Airmail. And thus far, my experience has been that their customer service has been very responsive, easy to contact, and quick to reply.

 

Thus far, all my PE packages have arrived without any problem and typically with 10 day to 3 week delivery times via their Airmail service, which is pretty similar to Shipito's own Airmail service, Whether you use Shipito or Planet Express' Airmail services (both of which can be used only for packages up to about 4 pounds), the packages are delivered here by Thai Post.

 

Also similar, with either company's airmail service, as long as you keep the declared value per box under $50 or so, and sometimes even higher, you pretty much can expect to receive your packages without having any Thai Customs duty or VAT tax being assessed here. About half of the time, there's zero extra charge on receipt, and the other half, it's only a 7 baht small package delivery fee charged by Thai Post.

 

BTW, with both companies and their Airmail services, the shipping rates charged are those based on the weight of the package -- not the dimensions of the shipping box. Shipito rounds up to the nearest 1/2 pound, and I think (not sure) PE may do the same.

 

Edited September 15, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[pgrahmm]

4 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

I had used Shipito for a long time, and recently switched to Planet Express.

 

Shipito has excellent reliability with their low-priced Airmail services. I never lost a package with them in many years of use. But their pricing for that lowest-price option is running about $12 per pound.

 

Planet Express I've used for a couple months now. Their website is functional, but not nearly as polished as Shipito. However, PE's pricing for a comparable Airmail service, also their lowest priced shipping options, runs $7-8 per pound, so the cost savings over Shipito can be significant. They also seem to have better rates on USPS Priority, the next price/service tier up from Airmail. And thus far, my experience has been that their customer service has been very responsive, easy to contact, and quick to reply.

 

Thus far, all my PE packages have arrived without any problem and typically with 10 day to 3 week delivery times via their Airmail service, which is pretty similar to Shipito's own Airmail service, Whether you use Shipito or Planet Express' Airmail services (both of which can be used only for packages up to about 4 pounds), the packages are delivered here by Thai Post.

 

Also similar, with either company's airmail service, as long as you keep the declared value per box under $50 or so, and sometimes even higher, you pretty much can expect to receive your packages without having any Thai Customs duty or VAT tax being assessed here. About half of the time, there's zero extra charge on receipt, and the other half, it's only a 7 baht small package delivery fee charged by Thai Post.

 

BTW, with both companies and their Airmail services, the shipping rates charged are those based on the weight of the package -- not the dimensions of the shipping box. Shipito rounds up to the nearest 1/2 pound, and I think (not sure) PE may do the same.

 

Thank you....

[MuntyC0re]

it's better to check on the website when do you shop

[smo]

On 9/15/2017 at 9:36 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Planet Express I've used for a couple months now. Their website is functional, but not nearly as polished as Shipito. However, PE's pricing for a comparable Airmail service, also their lowest priced shipping options, runs $7-8 per pound, so the cost savings over Shipito can be significant. They also seem to have better rates on USPS Priority, the next price/service tier up from Airmail. And thus far, my experience has been that their customer service has been very responsive, easy to contact, and quick to reply.

 

Thus far, all my PE packages have arrived without any problem and typically with 10 day to 3 week delivery times via their Airmail service, which is pretty similar to Shipito's own Airmail service, Whether you use Shipito or Planet Express' Airmail services (both of which can be used only for packages up to about 4 pounds), the packages are delivered here by Thai Post.

 

 

 

I just completed my first shipping via their services. My evaluation is Excellent! First, I emailed them to tell them I just registered with them and that a friend in the LA area would come by to drop my package with them. Got a very instructive and friendly email from Bernie on what to do. Next my friend drove there to give them the package. He was impressed: "whathisname (taking the package) was super cool!" Immediately I received an email from PE with 3 lively pics of the package and its "bio" info. Next it was my turn to put more funds into my deposit, made a custom declaration, bought insurance and then clicked "Send." The next day I received all the shipping info with tracking number and ETA of 1 to 2 weeks.

The service I chose was USPS Priority Mail.

 

Of note is that the tracking number only works with USPS website, the thaipost website doesn't see it. My guess is that this is a special kind of tracking number between USPS and PE only. The last tracking input was that the package has left Suwarnabum for delivery. A couple of day later, ie yesterday the post man delivered the slip for me to go to the post office to pay custom tax and pick it up. I insured the package for 200 usd, the custom tax + VAT was 283 baht for a value of 1,600 baht (determined by custom, then the po clerk slapped on another 20 baht for reason he explained but went over my head.) Total shipping time was roughly one week.

 

Breaking down the shipping expenses: 25 dollars for postage (package weight 1.7kg); 5 for insurance of 200 usd value, and 2 for PE handling service. So in all the total was 32 bucks. Prior to coming to PE, my friend took the package to the post office and checked the cost. Right of the bat 50 usd without tracking number or insurance. One caveat was their website is not quite up to snuff, in the sense that it doesn't tell you what to do next, you have to figure out on your own. Easy enough as a natural progession of logic: for example, package at their warehouse, what to do next? put in enough money for shipping cost. Then what next? click send. That sort of thing.

 

All in all very pleased with Planet Express for both cost and services and again thanks to TallGuyJohninBKK for steering me there. 5 stars recommended!    

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Yes, re Planet Express, their website UI, especially for a first-time user, is not as clear as it could or should be. Takes a bit of getting accustomed to. But it does have the functionality that's needed, and PE does the necessary things like sending you an email when a package has arrived or sending another email confirming when they've sent a package on your behalf.

 

Since my prior posts on them above, I've had added experience with them of shipping additional packages, and almost all of mine have been using their least expensive inhouse Airmail method. Generally low weight packages with values under $50. All of them have arrived here in good condition with no customs duty, though the delivery times have averaged 2-3 weeks, which has tended to be a bit longer than the comparable (but more expensive) Airmail service from Shipito.

 

For whatever reason, on the recent Airmail packages I've sent thru PE, the postage stickers indicated they've been getting routed from the U.S./CA to EUROPE (because I'm seeing French or Belgian post stickers) before ultimately arriving here. That may be related to the reason for the slightly longer delivery times. But for PE's pricing, I'm fine for that. I'm typically in no rush. And if I was, I would use their higher priced USPS Priority International instead.

 

BTW, when I first wrote about PE here, I mentioned that their service details and setup looked a lot like their higher priced competitor Shipito, which is located nearby in Southern California's South Bay area. And it turns out, that's no coincidence. I was reading along the way that the founder of PE is a former executive at Shipito. So there you go!