Ordering Tongs for Thailand
Hi residents of Thailand. I know there are at least a couple of you here. I have a question. Have you ever ordered a whole tong in the bamboo and had it get through Thai customs? I'm ready to start ordering tongs so any advice will be much appreciated.
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
Yes. I had no problem other than the long wait that often accompanies things from China.
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
Very good to know. Thank you. I suppose two tongs in one package would be totally pushing my luck 
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
You would be fine if its not EMS. Else, prepare to pay 30-40% tax for an order valued over $30 if you have a bad luck.
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
I'm going to order a tong worth several hundred dollars. Should I ask the vendor to declare a lower value, say $150?
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
Its the trade off between insurance value and the declare value. In this case, I don't think a tong of tea would be damaged, so you know what to do 
The key is not to use EMS though. For EMS and over $30, and you would almost certainly have to pay import tax at the rate I mentioned previously for tea, unless you are lucky.
If you are unlucky enough, your tea might got inspected by the custom, as it is apparently not legal to import tea without some official papers. This is very true with teas from India.
The key is not to use EMS though. For EMS and over $30, and you would almost certainly have to pay import tax at the rate I mentioned previously for tea, unless you are lucky.
If you are unlucky enough, your tea might got inspected by the custom, as it is apparently not legal to import tea without some official papers. This is very true with teas from India.
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
Thanks for your insight, Bangkung. It all aligns with what I've heard and experienced from ordering other stuff, such as supplements. And my wife (Thai) used to receive lots of shipments in a previous job and tells me the checks are completely random and never to use a courier service. Apparently, it's technically illegal to import health supplements, too but the law is widely ignored due to the sheer volume of incoming packages. Still, customs has the "right" to mess with packages when they feel like it. The first few times I made purchases of tea from China the packages always got opened but by China or Thailand I have no idea. Nothing went missing, though. But to be on the safe side let's not tell them tea makes me high
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
Usually, they open packages. But, TIT, this is Thailand. Is there any solid answer?
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
Solid answer is not valid, as this is THAILAND. haha
I have never experienced packages being opened if they came from Japan. In the other hands, there is a very high chance for the packages to be inspected if it came from India or Pakistan. This is what a custom officer told me. For China, I think it depends on how your package looks and the completeness of attached forms.
From my experience, they won't bother to open packages if they are not highly suspected. If they don't believe your declare value, they just use some number from their statistic to calculate the tax. Many times, the residents of Thailand faced the overestimate tax and had to make appeals.
I have never experienced packages being opened if they came from Japan. In the other hands, there is a very high chance for the packages to be inspected if it came from India or Pakistan. This is what a custom officer told me. For China, I think it depends on how your package looks and the completeness of attached forms.
From my experience, they won't bother to open packages if they are not highly suspected. If they don't believe your declare value, they just use some number from their statistic to calculate the tax. Many times, the residents of Thailand faced the overestimate tax and had to make appeals.
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
I received a package from China today. Super quick! China Air Post, not EMS. 4 days from Guangzhou. Not opened, and not heavy. Small value under $100 but nothing declared.
Mar 28th, '14, 12:44
Posts: 760
Joined: Aug 1st, '12, 08:20
Location: not anymore Bangkok, not really arrived in Germany
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
As most here have said: best avoid using EMS, which often gets taxed - not just on the value of contents, but also on the value of postage. Couriers such as FedEx will always get taxed.
But it's often completely random, and parcels you expect to get taxed will not be.
Tea shipments, by the way, might earn you lots of face and respect from your postman, as appreciating fine Chinese teas is seen as something quite cultured here. At least that happened to me when my wife explained to our postman, after he asked about the regular parcels from China and Japan he delivers to me.
But it's often completely random, and parcels you expect to get taxed will not be.
Tea shipments, by the way, might earn you lots of face and respect from your postman, as appreciating fine Chinese teas is seen as something quite cultured here. At least that happened to me when my wife explained to our postman, after he asked about the regular parcels from China and Japan he delivers to me.
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
I told my postgirl and her eyes went wide. I have never seen her mouth though. She always wears a mask.
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
Rereading this thread, I see people warned against using EMS, which my wife confirms. So I got lucky with my tong. I told the vendor to use ordinary post but she used EMS anyway.
Re: Ordering Tongs for Thailand
After awhile, the customs officials begin to recognize you and just wave the packages through. 'Oh, it's for Puerlife, mai pen rai'.Puerlife wrote:Rereading this thread, I see people warned against using EMS, which my wife confirms. So I got lucky with my tong. I told the vendor to use ordinary post but she used EMS anyway.