Sending items to US

[Bobshere 7]

Good Morning All,

I have about 17 days till I'm back in Pattaya, can hardly

wait. A friend of mine was inquiring about leather goods in Pattaya

especially a leather coat and the price there vs at home. I will look

into this when I'm there. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

If I find his jacket I need a way to send it home. I only

take carry on luggage and therefore don't have the luggage space for

a bulk item like a jacket. Is there a Fed Ex or UPS operating in Pattaya?

Has anyone used this? Is it safe? Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks for any help I receive.

Bobshere

[Paul1970 0]

Used Fedex many times in Pattaya, never a problem. Best to go to the Pattaya Fedex location in the Windmill Plaza in Naklua.

[joekicker 53]

Used Fedex many times in Pattaya, never a problem. Best to go to the Pattaya Fedex location in the Windmill Plaza in Naklua.

 

Fedex is hugely expensive and also will "factor in" customs and of course draw the attention of customs to the package when it arrives in the US. Single advantage is that it's fairly reliable. I recommend ordinary mail packages, which are fairly reliable. Sure works for me.

 

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[lovedog100 1,372]

Why not just wear it home?

[js007 795]

Don't forget DHL. They have a place on Second Road sort of near Soi Diana Inn.

[SCOTTIEDAM 0]

Fed-Ex IS very expensive and not delivered as fast as you get in the States. I sent an overnite envelope from here once and it took 5 days to get there !!

[2 slices short 10]

Why not just wear it home?

 

Actually done this many time when travelling to the old USSR. The full-length leather coat I have (with wollen insert) weighs about 4-5kg and is a complete pain to put in checked luggage - unfortuantely it's also too big to put in hand luggage at that weight.

 

The trick is :

 

a) when checking in drape it over your arm. No one will weigh it as it's a clothing item.

carry a LARGE plastic bag with you in your hand luggage (or in the coat pocket) - DONT put it in the bag until you are on the aircraft or it will be considered as hand luggage and some Fwit will want to test it (some of them are real pricks).

c) when on board stuff it in the plastic bag and in an overhead locker.

d) THAT"S IT - free transport. Works for any similar items to and from anywhere, and I'v tried LOTS of places. Also a handy way to reduce checked luggage weight.

 

Once you're on the plane (as long as you dont need to change flights) you're home free.

 

You can also use this to carry some items that are heavy and would otherwise exceed hand luggage limits. In the older days when batteries for laptops weighed heaps and lasted only a short time I would load my coat pockets with laptop batteries and wear them onto the plane. On one occasion I had over 12kg of extras (not just batteries) in the coat pockets. Just make sure that you pull them out when going thru the scanners. They dont care about what your stuff weighs but put them back BEFORE you get to the gate - they DO care.

 

Cheers : Admiral Ken

 

PS I've not used FedEx or DHL to the US but have used both to Oz (closer) and the expense is horrible. May be worth verifying how much your friend is willing to pay in transport costs. Also both DHL and FedEx MAY attract customs whereas the method I outlined will not.

Edited July 1, 2011 by Admiral Ken

[gaijin 146]

Does he know exactly what he wants and where you can get it? If not, I cannot imagine buying a leather coat in Thailand that could be anywhere near as good as you can get in the states. Most all clothing in Thailand is shit quality IMO. So is the custom made stuff too. For a leather coat, I'd be willing to pay the premium for something that fits and name brand in the US.

[Bazle 1,483]

Does he know exactly what he wants and where you can get it? If not, I cannot imagine buying a leather coat in Thailand that could be anywhere near as good as you can get in the states. Most all clothing in Thailand is shit quality IMO. So is the custom made stuff too. For a leather coat, I'd be willing to pay the premium for something that fits and name brand in the US.

Buying clothes for people who are not present at the time of purchase can be problematic. What happens if it's the wrong size. And buying it in a different country could also lead to problems - e.g. what do you do if the stitching unravels after a short while.

 

Like Gaijin, I am sceptical about value-for-money. Indeed, I am sceptical about availability - I cannot recall seeing leather coats for sale in LOS (not exactly leather coat climate there!).

[joekicker 53]

Does he know exactly what he wants and where you can get it? If not, I cannot imagine buying a leather coat in Thailand that could be anywhere near as good as you can get in the states.

 

 

 

There's a terrific chance the one you buy in the States was made in Thailand. I've seen them everywhere.

 

Most all clothing in Thailand is shit quality IMO. So is the custom made stuff too. For a leather coat, I'd be willing to pay the premium for something that fits and name brand in the US.

 

Almost all name-brand clothing sold in the US, very close to 100 per cent, is from outside the US, and much of it is from Thailand. Pay attention IN Thailand and you'll get it for, oh, a third of the US price.

 

Like Gaijin, I am sceptical about value-for-money. Indeed, I am sceptical about availability - I cannot recall seeing leather coats for sale in LOS (not exactly leather coat climate there!).

 

Bazle, believe me, there are lots of things you've never seen.

 

Thailand not only has great leather coats, it exports them by the thousands. There are half a dozen GREAT leather shops on one short block of a Bangkok street alone, where you can buy off the rack or order custom-made.

 

Got to do something with the cow skins, no one eats them, eh? Thailand is one of the world's top winter-wear and winter sports equipment makers.

 

Go have a look at this one in Pattaya, and then you can say you've actually seen it.

 

Edited July 5, 2011 by joekicker

[gaijin 146]

There's a terrific chance the one you buy in the States was made in Thailand. I've seen them everywhere.

 

 

 

Almost all name-brand clothing sold in the US, very close to 100 per cent, is from outside the US, and much of it is from Thailand. Pay attention IN Thailand and you'll get it for, oh, a third of the US price.

 

 

 

Bazle, believe me, there are lots of things you've never seen.

 

Thailand not only has great leather coats, it exports them by the thousands. There are half a dozen GREAT leather shops on one short block of a Bangkok street alone, where you can buy off the rack or order custom-made.

 

Got to do something with the cow skins, no one eats them, eh? Thailand is one of the world's top winter-wear and winter sports equipment makers.

 

Go have a look at this one in Pattaya, and then you can say you've actually seen it.

 

 

 

If it is made in Thailand, then it will have likely gone through American quality control standards. I'm just saying, there's plenty of excellent places to get leather wear in the US, and buying it in Thailand unless you know exactly what you're getting is really taking a risk. When you buy something that's not from a name brand store in Thailand, it will not have gone through any sense of QC. What kind of savings could possibly make it worth it to bring home a leather jacket from Thailand? You can buy excellent quality in the US for only a few hundred dollars, ~6000 baht. Besides, the cows in Thailand weigh half as less as the cows in America. That's why steaks in Thailand are shit too.

[joekicker 53]

If it is made in Thailand, then it will have likely gone through American quality control standards. I'm just saying, there's plenty of excellent places to get leather wear in the US, and buying it in Thailand unless you know exactly what you're getting is really taking a risk.

 

You don't like or trust Thai stuff and you'd pay three, four times as much for the fine US government and business quality controls that went into Dora the Explorer and Barbie dolls. Okay. Me, I'll use my own judgement and put it way ahead of the US government's in this kind of case, frankly. ONE of the points I consider is that the Bangkok leather shops I'm talking about export to the US.

 

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