Thailand Post Small Packet vs. Epacket Rates for Ebay Sales

[squawkorama]

I'm selling some things on Ebay and would appreciate advice from experienced people on comparative Thailand Post rates and packaging. These are low value items that do not need to be insured; I'd come out better covering the cost of the occasional lost package than paying for insurance or registered mail to track them (also, the US Postal Service doesn't resume the tracking, annoyingly).

 

Question 1 - Postal Rates: Looking at the Thailand Post rates for shipping small packages (link below), I see no ostensible advantage of "Epacket" over "Small Packet" for my situation. I've been shipping small packet rate for a long time with no problem, and it looks like the cheapest option. It's a fiddly system though, and I always wonder what happens to all that string once it reaches the US. With Epacket, can I use a padded envelope and tape? There's a third option: Thailand Post "Economy Air Mail" also called ISAL (International Surface Air Lift). Has anyone used it?

https://file.thailandpost.com/upload/content/Booklet_TH_Post_2018_5b5fc5de167eb.pdf

 

Question 2 - Boxes: I've been buying the Thailand Post boxes, but have accumulated a surfeit of small boxes. Has anyone tried shipping Small Packet or Epacket rate with other boxes (covering all writing, bar & QR codes, of course).

 

Thank you

Edited July 10, 2019 by squawkorama

[Crossy]

I'll move this to General where some answers may be available.

 

[CharlieH]

"postage rates"  available on their website which you should explore as it gives ALL the available services and prices for any given destination and weight.

There is also a free app for it, but that's only in Thai.

 

https://www.thailandpost.co.th/index.php?page=rate_result&language=en

 

[blackcab]

An off topic post has been removed.

[jackdd]

On 7/10/2019 at 6:18 PM, squawkorama said:

Question 2 - Boxes: I've been buying the Thailand Post boxes, but have accumulated a surfeit of small boxes. Has anyone tried shipping Small Packet or Epacket rate with other boxes (covering all writing, bar & QR codes, of course). 

Afaik you can generally use any packaging you want, as long as it's smaller than the maximum dimension. You can use Kerry Express boxes (no need to cover the writing), as well as a padded envelope.

[taiping]

I have used Thailand Post "Economy Air Mail" (ISAL) to post hundreds of padded envelopes to the USA and Europe and as far as I know none were lost You can obtain special "Economy Air Mail" stickers at the PO.

I do warn recipients that it might take 3+ weeks to reach them since ISAL sends items to the main airport in the receiving country and then by surface to the final destination.

If anyone knows of a cheaper option, please let us know.

[cmsally]

I have used small packet airmail and if you register it , USPS does continue the tracking. However Canada and Australia don't.

Lighter items you can send in their padded postpak envelopes - need to staple seal and not stick the flap down.

[Lily Jason]

Hi, finally have a post talking about epacket in Thailand! Thank you! 

I'm trying to sell something on etsy and looking for cheapest and safest options for USA shipment and I saw epacket.

I just want to know do I need to register an account to use the service or I can request to send by epacket at the post office directly? I'm a little bit confused how to use epacket service. I used a courier service near my home once but the charge is sooo expensive (I'm talking about more than 1500bht to send a parcel a little bit under 2kg!!) Luckily my customer was willing to share the cost but it took around 2 weeks :(

Sorry for not answering your questions but I would really appreciate if you can give me some ideas for epacket! Thank you! 

 

*Newbie in Thailand based in Chiang Mai 

[squawkorama]

Thank you for the helpful replies. Lily, Epacket works is cheap, and is SLOW, although a package I sent to Europe took a few days only. I might guess they accumulate them and send them at once, but really have no idea. You just can't tape it - you have to use string, which is weird, but I've never had a problem. Never tried ISAL. I will, next time I need to take a package closed. Sorry it took me time to answer. I didn't come back here for a month because I was figured there would not nothing <snip>

[squawkorama]

Checking back in here. Taiping, thanks, ISAL is great for packages over 2 k. I think small packet still remains the cheapest option, although closing packages with string remains weird. It's just a lot cheaper than epacket for small items. Thanks all for the help and if anyone has further ideas, happy to hear them.

[salsajapan]

Any update on epacket ? is it slow to reach USA ?

It's now the only option available to USA and it's hard to get info.

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1175326-epacket-to-usa-now-available-similar-to-airmail-but-just-a-bit-more-expensive-it-seems/

[MaiDong]

On 7/29/2020 at 4:57 PM, salsajapan said:

Any update on epacket ? is it slow to reach USA ?

It's now the only option available to USA and it's hard to get info.

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1175326-epacket-to-usa-now-available-similar-to-airmail-but-just-a-bit-more-expensive-it-seems/

I wouldn't mind knowing either, one of my businesses has died because of the shipping disruption, and I'd really like to try to revive it but the costs to ship are ridiculous.

I'm going to pop in the PO in a bit, I'll report back here...

[Puccini]

I see there is also this other topic running about E-packet:

 

 

[thailandroadblock]

any details ?

[Raphael Hythlodaeus]

I've used "Economy Air Mail" (Surface Air Lift) to send hundreds of small packages to the USA and Europe. Not one has been lost, so far. Not registered so no tracking, but no complaints. However, this option might not be available to some countries now due to COVID19 restrictions.

Edited August 22, 2020 by Raphael Hythlodaeus