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Shipping from US

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jackbox

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My experience is the same as jonbkk's. I have had boxes get here from the West Coast and Midwest in five days and some take up to a month. I have had three packages go missing from family members, but out of the hundreds I have probably received this is still a small percentage of lost mail, but some does get lost. Make sure the custom's form does not say anything about e-cigs (electronics or personal items is good to put) and value under $30.00 (anything over 1,000 baht is subject to 30% duty plus 7% vat and a postal collection fee of 20 baht). EMS and Priority Mail get opened and inspected more often than First Class, but if the package is not suspicious looking an inspection is still rare. Out of the many packages I have received, three have been opened by customs for inspection and two were considered undervalued and I was required to pay duty and vat based on custom's valuation of the items (which was actually quite spot on). If customs opens a package they mark it as opened so you know they inspected it. Once I had vitamins sent here and including charging me duties and vat they included a letter in Thai in the box telling me that vitamins are considered "drugs" under Thai law and require an import permit and next time they might not let them through if no import permit is included. They were kind and let me have all my vitamins after paying 1,2XX baht in duties, vat and fees.
 

Sickkboy

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Thanks guys for answer. I'm pretty sure even customs open my package it still legal, cause they are just glass tank and ss caps, and a few punched carto which I think customs wouldn't know what they're for, but maybe suspect only carto in the worst part. Vendor also super nice, they just write down the price less than 30$ and why on earth the package still not arrive yet huh!
 

jackbox

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Jan 25, 2012
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Thailand (U.S. Expat)
Thanks guys for answer. I'm pretty sure even customs open my package it still legal, cause they are just glass tank and ss caps, and a few punched carto which I think customs wouldn't know what they're for, but maybe suspect only carto in the worst part. Vendor also super nice, they just write down the price less than 30$ and why on earth the package still not arrive yet huh!

If you still do not have the package you can safely assume it is lost or customs seized it. Any package I have had take over one month from the U.S. has never been delivered. Most get here in a week to two weeks. Customs knows what cartos are and if they did open the package and found them they would seize the entire package. It is best to keep orders small so they come in a bubble mailer or a small box. The larger the box is, the more likely it is to get a custom's inspection. In Thailand the mentality is that bigger is better and nothing valuable can possibly be sent in a small package. My mother once sent me a large box with textiles. It was opened by customs and that delayed it a week (took three weeks). When I got the package it was sealed with "opened by Thai customs" tape. I have never had a small package opened, only larger boxes. Out of probably a hundred or more shipments, I have had three lost. One would have arrived in Thailand right when the main postal sorting center in Laksi was getting flooded so it is possible that package floated away ($50 worth of Beef Jerky). The other two are mysteries, but it is a small percentage compared to the number of packages i do receive.

Do you have an actual tracking number or just a customs label number? If you have a tracking number you can track the package on the Thai Post website. If just a customs label number those do not track within Thailand unless you owe customs duties and then the number might start tracking. Note: If customs has the package or has inspected it the U.S. customs label number tracks on the Thai Post intranet (available to postal employees only) but not on the public website tracking site. You can go to your local post office and nicely ask them to track a customs label number for you on their intranet to see if Thai customs has the package or assessed duties.

http://track.thailandpost.co.th/trackinternet/Default.aspx?lang=en
 
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