Shipping my Stuff Back to America from Thailand

[CrashTestDummy]

Greetings,

 

I’ll be returning to the US indefinitely and I’m seeking advice on how to ship some things from Thailand back to the US. I don’t have enough stuff here in Thailand to justify a shipping container, but there’s no way it will all fit with the airline's baggage allowance. I plan to pay for extra check bags with the airplane, but I’d like to ship some stuff back also. The stuff I’ll be shipping can arrive months later. Nothing time-sensitive. 

 

I’ve seen similar topics here, but they’re all pretty old and I’m hoping someone can give updated advice. Thai post, UPS vs DHL? In another thread someone mentioned packing everything in front of the staff at the Thai post office to avoid having customs search through it again. Is this still accurate? 

 

I know when we’ve shipped things into Thailand, we’ve sometimes been hit with taxes. Can we expect something similar for the recipient in America? 

 

Any advice would be appreciated. 

 

-CTD

[CrashTestDummy]

Anyone?

[1BADDAT]

15 hours ago, CrashTestDummy said:

Anyone?

DHL is the preferred carrier for my company from US to Asia but I would get a quote to confirm pricing first.  I had a bad experience with the Thai post.  I would not worry about packaging things in front of anyone.  No one really cares what you export out of a country as long as it is not illegal.  And the taxes you pay coming in the US will be nothing or something reasonable.  I am sure you can do a search to find out what the taxes will be.

 

[Rc2702]

Sound like you should be looking at an LCL consolidation with shipping company which could probably be contracted in US and delivered to a poet holding facility for inspection and upload into a consolidated goods container. This would likely be low cost and a 30-45 sea transit.

 

I'm sure this can be done for personal shipments but it may require Palletisation etc, some companies may provide this.

 

 

[NickJ]

I had a moving company come out and measure what I wanted sent. They build a box for your stuff.

American goods returned is what I wrote in the list of contents. Had. The stuff in California in about eight weeks.

[CrashTestDummy]

7 hours ago, NickJ said:

I had a moving company come out and measure what I wanted sent. They build a box for your stuff.

American goods returned is what I wrote in the list of contents. Had. The stuff in California in about eight weeks.

Just about everything we're sending back was brought in from America. Did you get hit with any customs charges when your stuff arrived back in America? I keep receipts for my expensive purchases and could attach them to shipped items in order to prove it was indeed purchased in America. 

 

Can you give me an idea of how much you sent back to California and what it cost you? I'm trying to compare private shipping companies vs. DHL vs. paying for extra luggage (but I think we have too much for the luggage option). 

[thaibeachlovers]

I posted all my stuff that wouldn't fit in the airline limit. Valuable stuff was registered. All arrived safely. None was searched by Thai customs.

Not American so can't comment on customs duty there.

 

I used surface mail to save money-90 days or less.

 

 

[CrashTestDummy]

Just now, thaibeachlovers said:

I posted all my stuff that wouldn't fit in the airline limit. Valuable stuff was registered. All arrived safely. None was searched by Thai customs.

Not American so can't comment on customs duty there.

 

I used surface mail to save money-90 days or less.

 

 

Did you use Thai Post?

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, CrashTestDummy said:

Did you use Thai Post?

Yes.

The wrapping/ strapping service they offer is excellent and cheap, plus they sell bubble wrap, and the boxes.

[kokesaat]

So, can anyone give some cost comparisons for, say, 100-200 pounds.  No rush in shipping.  The weight could be spread among boxes.  Just personal possessions that we'd like to take back with us.

[CrashTestDummy]

14 minutes ago, kokesaat said:

So, can anyone give some cost comparisons for, say, 100-200 pounds.  No rush in shipping.  The weight could be spread among boxes.  Just personal possessions that we'd like to take back with us.

I contacted DHL in Chiang Mai yesterday and was told they have a flat rate box with a max weight of 25kg. I'm told the box measures 54cm x 44cm x 40cm. The price was 7,437 baht. This is apparently an "express shipping" option and takes 3 days to get to the US. I'd prefer a cheaper, slower shipping option. Nothing we'd be sending is time-sensitive. Regarldess, this still seems like a possible option. An extra 50 pound luggage bag with most airlines is around $200, so comparable in price and weight. 

 

Now to figure out much I can expect to pay in duty taxes once my stuff arrives in the US... I've always scanned receipts for expensive purchases, so I think I'll try to prioritize shipping stuff that I have receipts for to prove they were purchased in the US. 

[kokesaat]

United, our regular carrier from BKK to our home in Texas charges $100 per extra bag........50lb limit......so 3 or 4 large boxes for a few hundred dollars is probably as cheap as I can go.   I can live with that.

 

[NanLaew]

Maybe check out the unaccompanied baggage services?

 

http://www.hellobaggage.com/

[rijb]

You might want to check with shipping companies at your U.S. destination.  If you cannot fill a container, they can offer shared containers.

[Scott]

About a year ago, I moved a fair amount of stuff back to the US.   I contacted a moving company and they gave me a quote and were very helpful.   They delivered the boxes -- they would pack everything, but I wanted to do that myself, so I could sort through 30 years of junk.   I did have to label each box.   In total there were 9 large boxes and several smaller boxes.   Some of the stuff was fragile, but was well packed around towels, bedding etc.   

 

The company came by, checked the boxes, did a minor amount of re-packing, got the list of each box and took them all away for shipping.   They filled out all the customs papers for the US and whatever was needed to get it out of Thailand.   They were very specific about anythings I could not send.    They also had a contact company in the US, so it was door to door delivery.   I never did anything.  

 

Anything that might have a problem with customs -- such as a somewhat expensive color-laser printer, they enclosed the papers when it was purchased etc.,  They also helped guided me through the process of getting my two cats back -- the company could ship them, but one had some medical conditions, so I wanted them on the same flight.  

 

Everything arrived at my door in the allotted time -- 6 to 8 weeks and was brought in the cost was close to 90,000 baht and no problem with customs, but that may have been due in part to each box being labeled and them explaining what to put where, so it wasn't a matter of customs having red flags raised.  

 

On a side note, I had packed a lot of clothes I accumulated over the years and as a friend said to me when he saw me packing them, "You're going back to the US, not to 1950!"

 

Best of luck. 

 

[Familyonthemove]

5 hours ago, rijb said:

You might want to check with shipping companies at your U.S. destination.  If you cannot fill a container, they can offer shared containers.

I tried the shared container option with Crown Relocation,  and it did not work well.  The process was to hold my things in their local warehouse until there was enough from other shared container customers to fill a container,  then they would ship it home.  Estimated time was 2 to 6 weeks, but they could not guarantee a time.

 

It took over 6 months,  and everything was destroyed by mould. Standard insurance covers everything, except mould and mildew.  It was a total loss as I had to throw everything out.

 

 

[CrashTestDummy]

6 hours ago, Scott said:

About a year ago, I moved a fair amount of stuff back to the US.   I contacted a moving company and they gave me a quote and were very helpful.   They delivered the boxes -- they would pack everything, but I wanted to do that myself, so I could sort through 30 years of junk.   I did have to label each box.   In total there were 9 large boxes and several smaller boxes.   Some of the stuff was fragile, but was well packed around towels, bedding etc.   

 

The company came by, checked the boxes, did a minor amount of re-packing, got the list of each box and took them all away for shipping.   They filled out all the customs papers for the US and whatever was needed to get it out of Thailand.   They were very specific about anythings I could not send.    They also had a contact company in the US, so it was door to door delivery.   I never did anything.  

 

Anything that might have a problem with customs -- such as a somewhat expensive color-laser printer, they enclosed the papers when it was purchased etc.,  They also helped guided me through the process of getting my two cats back -- the company could ship them, but one had some medical conditions, so I wanted them on the same flight.  

 

Everything arrived at my door in the allotted time -- 6 to 8 weeks and was brought in the cost was close to 90,000 baht and no problem with customs, but that may have been due in part to each box being labeled and them explaining what to put where, so it wasn't a matter of customs having red flags raised.  

 

On a side note, I had packed a lot of clothes I accumulated over the years and as a friend said to me when he saw me packing them, "You're going back to the US, not to 1950!"

 

Best of luck. 

 

Thanks for the info. We're waiting for a quote from a local shipping company. We're looking into a "LCL" (less than container load) shipping option. I've been told it'll be less than DHL, but don't have the quote yet. I'll post it here after I hear back. 

[somethingnice]

I just send 2 boxes of 20 KG to Europe by Thailand Post - cheapest type called Surface Mail
Price was 3030 baht per. 20 KG box.

Check the rate here:
http://www.thailandpost.com/index.php?page=rate_result&country_code=TH&weight=20000

(Dont forget to choose the right country and weight.)

I have been told it will take 1-3 month, which is okay, as it is not urgent.

But i have read several threads here on Thaivisa from 2014 that someone report that it often takes shorter. Someone mention that "Surface mail" means "Low priority", but it doesn't mean that it's actually og by boat or train/truck the whole way. From what i have read it should be quite reliable.

 

Custom papers are very fast and easy to fill.

 

I have a full tracking number like any other package, but they put a sticker on the box says: "surface mail".

As i just sent it this week, i do not yet have a report about how long time it actually take. 
I will let you know in this threat when i know.

[Gary A]

I moved back to the USA when the Thai economy crashed. I had a company build a one cubic meter crate and fitted into it everything that would fit. It made it to the US without any damage. When I unpacked the crate, it finally occurred to me that the contents were worth no where near the thousand dollars total that the shipping had finally cost me. The most expensive items were my complete dive gear kit. I never used the dive gear again and ended up giving it to my son.

[CrashTestDummy]

46 minutes ago, somethingnice said:

I just send 2 boxes of 20 KG to Europe by Thailand Post - cheapest type called Surface Mail
Price was 3030 baht per. 20 KG box.

Check the rate here:
http://www.thailandpost.com/index.php?page=rate_result&country_code=TH&weight=20000

(Dont forget to choose the right country and weight.)

I have been told it will take 1-3 month, which is okay, as it is not urgent.

But i have read several threads here on Thaivisa from 2014 that someone report that it often takes shorter. Someone mention that "Surface mail" means "Low priority", but it doesn't mean that it's actually og by boat or train/truck the whole way. From what i have read it should be quite reliable.

 

Custom papers are very fast and easy to fill.

 

I have a full tracking number like any other package, but they put a sticker on the box says: "surface mail".

As i just sent it this week, i do not yet have a report about how long time it actually take. 
I will let you know in this threat when i know.

Thanks for the info. Thai Post does seem like the cheapest option at this point. I visited DHL yesterday found their 25kg boxes were quite large. Their 25KG box is just a bit smaller than a large suitcase. Cost is 7,400 baht per box, so quite a bit more than Thai post but shipping time was 4-5 business days. 

 

Local shipping company quoted me the following for "LCL" cubic meter shipments to Portland, Oregon: 

1st CBM 13,814 Baht.

Every additional CBM 8,931 Baht.

 

I still need a bit help demystifying how the possible import taxes/duty fees will play out. I know when I've shipped a few electronics items into Thailand, I was charged a lot in taxes and it wasn't worth it. I need to make sure the same thing won't happen the other way around.  

[somethingnice]

47 minutes ago, CrashTestDummy said:

I still need a bit help demystifying how the possible import taxes/duty fees will play out. I know when I've shipped a few electronics items into Thailand, I was charged a lot in taxes and it wasn't worth it. I need to make sure the same thing won't happen the other way around.  

For this, it will depend on your country.

I know from my own country which is in the EU, that they have a rule, that when a person move from a country outside of the EU to a country within EU, then you will not have to pay any import taxes (except for alcohol, tobacco and cars). This is only for personal used belongings.

Which means, if you pack a brand new camera, computer, or clothes with the price tag on, you can will have to pay tax. For other cases, you don't. 

I think the US have a similar rule: 
See this link:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/134/~/moving-back-to-the-u.s.---sending-household-effects

[CrashTestDummy]

8 minutes ago, somethingnice said:

For this, it will depend on your country.

I know from my own country which is in the EU, that they have a rule, that when a person move from a country outside of the EU to a country within EU, then you will not have to pay any import taxes (except for alcohol, tobacco and cars). This is only for personal used belongings.

Which means, if you pack a brand new camera, computer, or clothes with the price tag on, you can will have to pay tax. For other cases, you don't. 

I think the US have a similar rule: 
See this link:
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/134/~/moving-back-to-the-u.s.---sending-household-effects

Thanks for the info. I previously found that article, but it seems to focus mostly on food and not just general personal property.

 

I've started a new topic in the "Home Country" forum, specifically seeking advice for advice on US import duty/taxes.