Shipping Advice

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RichLB
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Shipping Advice

Post by RichLB »

I am selling my home in California and there are some items I would like to send to Thailand. Mostly I want to retrieve my paintings, but if it's not too expensive there are some larger things I'd like to get here, too. Does anyone know how to do this? I looked up Freight Forwarders on Google, but they seem to all be commercial operations. Has anyone shipped anything from the USA to Thailand and, if so, how did you do it?
lvdkeyes
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Re: Shipping Advice

Post by lvdkeyes »

When I moved here nearly 12 years ago I shipped some items. I went to a moving company and they were able to do it for me. One word of advice. Be sure to have items shipped directly to your home and not have to pick them up at Laem Chabang or Bangkok. It was a nightmare to get them from Laem Chabang.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Shipping Advice

Post by Gaybutton »

lvdkeyes wrote:It was a nightmare to get them from Laem Chabang.
Can you elaborate on that? What happened and how long did it take before you were finally able to take possession of your items? Did you have to pay any import duties?

If it were me, if I wanted to ship over a large number of items, expensive items, or anything that requires shipping, I would prefer to use a professional freight forwarder even if it's more expensive to do it that way - but with one caveat. I would also want a professional broker on this end who can handle everything quickly and, for me, painlessly. I would work only with a freight forwarder who can take care of everything both on the shipping and receiving sides.

Using a freight forwarder might not be as expensive as you would think. Many years ago I was going to be in Brazil for nearly 8 months. I shipped over an entire car via a freight forwarder and had no problems retrieving it via a broker in Brazil. It cost me US $800 to do that, and that was far less expensive than it would have been to rent a car for that length of time. It was an older car that wasn't worth shipping back to the USA. When I left Brazil I gave the car to a Brazilian family with whom I had become friendly. They had no car of their own. The last I heard from them was about 3 years ago and they were still using it.

In my own case, I knew years in advance that I was going to retire in Thailand. Back in the days when on virtually any airline you could take two pieces of luggage and a carry-on without extra charges as long as you were within their weight restrictions, I slowly brought items over in my luggage every trip. In those days, incoming international flights landed at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok. Suvarnabhumi Airport did not yet exist. Customs officers never even asked to inspect my luggage. Half the time, no customs officers were even present at the exit.

Any smaller items that I really wanted, but were not conducive to being carried in my luggage, I simply mailed them to myself the least expensive way - by ship. It took about six weeks before I received my packages, but I did receive everything and nothing was damaged. I was never charged any customs duties.

I didn't have any furniture that I cared about enough to want to ship over. I donated it all to charity, got a receipt, and it made a nice little tax deduction for me.
Up2u

Re: Shipping Advice

Post by Up2u »

I used a company called Rama International and had offices on the East Coast, Los Angeles and S.F./Oakland. I do not know if they are still in business as it has been 5 years since I used them. I shipped furniture and personal effects which were palletized and placed in a shared container. The Thai lady in Oakland handled all arrangements including dealing and clearing customs. Thai students returning to Thailand are entitled to bring back a list of items and the shipping agent makes a deal with them so you are piggybacking using their name(for a nominal amount). My items were trucked to my home and I had no dealings with customs. I hired beach boys to unload the truck. Beware of International shipping companies that ship to Port of Bangkok and let you deal with customs. A friend used this method and payed dearly in time and money, as goods were held until extortion was paid. Whatever you decide my advice is to have no dealings with Thai customs and let your agent in U. S. handle everything.
lvdkeyes
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Re: Shipping Advice

Post by lvdkeyes »

Gaybutton wrote:Can you elaborate on that? What happened and how long did it take before you were finally able to take possession of your items? Did you have to pay any import duties?
They ran me around from office to office for 3 days, even with the help of a knowledgeable Thai lady. I had to pay duty on music CD's.
thaiworthy

Re: Shipping Advice

Post by thaiworthy »

Up2u wrote:Beware of International shipping companies that ship to Port of Bangkok and let you deal with customs. A friend used this method and payed dearly in time and money, as goods were held until extortion was paid. Whatever you decide my advice is to have no dealings with Thai customs and let your agent in U. S. handle everything.
I completely agree with Up2u. My move 4 years ago went flawlessly. At first, I had great trepidations about having to deal with Thai customs for the reputation stated above. I had read many horror stories just like this, but I worried needlessly once I went with my brother's recommendation. This was someone he knew personally.

I packed about 40 double-corrugated cardboard boxes myself, 24X18X18, with the top flaps open. This is so the movers can inspect the boxes for contraband. No smuggling of liquor bottles in shoes and other such nonsense. I had no furniture. They seal, load, store, ship, and cleared customs all on their own. The weight was 975 lbs. via ocean shipment (door-to-door) from St. Louis, MO plus insurance based on value. My customs form was a statement with a taxpayer ID I applied for with the US Federal govt on form SS-4. I supplied the customs form with this ID #, my signature, and the delivery address. I did have to pay a duty, but they just came by, picked up the cash and came back a few days later with my boxes and change. The cost (not including duty) was $3360 plus insurance. The custom duty was less than $200 if memory serves me. Also, if they put all your stuff in one container, so much the better.

It was effortless on my part once I knew what was involved. It only seemed complicated at the time.

Here are some links. The first is the agent I used with Mayflower for the local move and storage in St. Louis. The second is the overseas carrier. I hope this helps.

http://www.dodgemoving.com
http://www.unigroupworldwide.com
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Re: Shipping Advice

Post by christianpfc »

I remember an advert in a newspaper in Thailand: "have space in a shipping container to England, can take anything legal" or similar. That would leave you with getting the stuff to the port and from the other port.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Shipping Advice

Post by Gaybutton »

christianpfc wrote:That would leave you with getting the stuff to the port and from the other port.
That's where a broker comes in. They can handle all that - including pickup and delivery. It's not cheap to hire a broker, but if what you're trying to ship over is important to you, I suppose it's worth the price.
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