I've sent two birthday cards to relatives to the USA from Thailand in the last 6 weeks and using the regular (cheap) airmail has resulted in delivery times of 18 and 20 days for the two of them. In prior years, I've only done a couple of mailings and it seemed that it only took 10-12 days back then.

 

This typical delivery time now - 18 to 20 days from Thailand to the USA? Just wondering if anybody else has similar experiences.

 

 

P.S. Once the card hits the US shores, I'm fairly certain that it only takes 3 days at most to go from the west coast to Michigan (my home state) so I'm rather puzzled as why it takes 2 weeks+ to get from Thailand to the US. They still using donkeys???

Just wondering if anybody else has similar experiences.

I've sent both mail and packages to the USA many times, from Thailand. I use the local mail services and also sometimes send directly from the post office. The most it ever took for mine to arrive was 8 days. Usually it gets there in 5 or 6 days. I have no idea why yours took so long, but based on my experience the fact that yours took so long is quite unusual.

Both mailings were by hand delivery to the main post office here in Hua Hin. I was careful with the dates (wanting the cards to arrive on or shortly before the birthdays) and dumbfounded why it took so long. Am mailing another card next week or so and will keep track of that one too (but I'm mailing it 20 days before the date I want it there!).

My experiences are similar to GB's and have never had mail I sent to N.America or Europe from Pattaya or Bangkok arrive more than 10 days after posting. I have always considered the Thai postal system to be quite reliable.

My guess is that it's because you live in the boondocks and it takes time for them to send the mail to the central sorting office in Bangkok for onward transmission.

 

Am mailing another card next week or so and will keep track of that one too (but I'm mailing it 20 days before the date I want it there!).

You are getting very close to Songkran with that posting so it may be delayed even longer than normal.

I had some mails sent from a post office in Bangkok just disappear into thin air. So I now use the postal services available in many buildings. There is a slight extra surcharge, but I have never had anything go missing using them. To Europe the norm seems to be 6 - 8 days; the US slightly longer.

I received a birthday card here in Thailand sent from Las Vegas, and it took only six days...I thought that was very acceptable.

I had my friend Phil from Spice! send me some back issues of his magazine, 4 copies. He mailed them January 19. I received an empty envelope with a bright green band around it that read "Examined by US Customs . . . " and a rubber stamp imprint that said "Received without Contents."

 

I received this item just last week.

I had a Christmas card arrive here from England about 6 weeks late. It had "air mail" clearly marked on the envelope and what I assume was the correct amount for airmail postage. But it was in a clear plastic wrapper with something on it in Thai I could not decipher. The card and envelope had a huge chunk missing. It really looked like it had been eaten by a dog!

 

I assume it must have been delayed in Thailand, because if a card does not have the correct postage, the UK mail service will put a chop on it to the effect that it is being sent by surface due to insufficient postage. So I wonder what it was doing in the Thai post office for 6 weeks? Being eaten by the dog, I guess!

"Examined by US Customs . . . " and a rubber stamp imprint that said "Received without Contents."

I guess there's not much you can do about it, but that really stinks. I know of nothing that has ever been in any issue that could be considered remotely pornographic or otherwise illegal. Just somebody at Customs who decided all by himself that you can't have that material. I always thought it was this sort of thing that the USA is supposed to be against.

Anything of value or true importance I always just pay up and use DHL. Three days max. In America I live only 5 minutes from the DHL office at the airport, so maybe the 3 days is exceptional quick, but never a problem. As for US Customs, Bush turned them into the morality police. Let us all pray for a quick revival of the America we grew up with.

I had my friend Phil from Spice! -----"Examined by US Customs . . . " and a rubber stamp imprint that said "Received without Contents."

 

I received this item just last week.

 

No way is that magazine porno. I would be on the phone in an instant and file a complaint. That is homophobia not law enforcement, and you shouldn't stand for it. Somebody in Customs needs to be fired.

 

Anything of value or true importance I always just pay up and use DHL. Three days max. In America I live only 5 minutes from the DHL office at the airport, so maybe the 3 days is exceptional quick, but never a problem.

 

Is the three days for mail from the US to Thailand or Thailand to the US? What is approx cost?

 

I would be on the phone in an instant and file a complaint.

It can't hurt to make a complaint, but I have a feeling it will fall on deaf ears. Considering that the material is neither illegal nor pornographic, I really don't need some homophobic, over-zealous customs official, probably less than half my age, deciding for me what I can and cannot read.

I've sent two birthday cards to relatives to the USA from Thailand in the last 6 weeks and using the regular (cheap) airmail has resulted in delivery times of 18 and 20 days for the two of them. In prior years, I've only done a couple of mailings and it seemed that it only took 10-12 days back then.

 

This typical delivery time now - 18 to 20 days from Thailand to the USA? Just wondering if anybody else has similar experiences.

P.S. Once the card hits the US shores, I'm fairly certain that it only takes 3 days at most to go from the west coast to Michigan (my home state) so I'm rather puzzled as why it takes 2 weeks+ to get from Thailand to the US. They still using donkeys???

 

 

Received a mailing from Thailand yesterday. My mailing experience was the same as that which you describe. Very slow.

No way is that magazine porno. I would be on the phone in an instant and file a complaint. That is homophobia not law enforcement, and you shouldn't stand for it. Somebody in Customs needs to be fired.

 

What's the complaint??? Customs stamped that they received without contents, so who are you going to complain to?? The question would be Did they really received w/o contents??? We will never know.

 

It they thought the contents were in any way illegal, they would have shown that they had seized the items.

What's the complaint??? Customs stamped that they received without contents, so who are you going to complain to??

 

In that case a postal inspector.

I have had to send some checks that I have received here in Pattaya from my insurance company to the US. My Thai friend took them to be mailed as I said "just send them regular airmail". At the post office they asked what was in the envelope and my friend told them it was a check. They suggested using EMS which cost 600 baht to prevent it from getting lost. You can trace the package just like Fed ex. It took 5 days.

 

I was satisfied but regular mail is only 70 baht I think.

Is the three days for mail from the US to Thailand or Thailand to the US? What is approx cost?

 

DHL is far from the cheapest courier company, but I have always found it 100% reliable. Cost depends on weight. If it is less than half a kilo, I think the price is around 1,100 Baht to Europe or the US. When I have used it, it rarely takes more than 2 days. The DHL staff in Bangkok always check the content and sign off on it, which may be one reason why the parcels never seem to be opened. There's a DHL office on Silom roughly half way between Silom Complex and Soi Convent. The EMS service is cheaper and slightly slower.