Tips on Shipping a Used Laptop from US to Vietnam? Fedex / UPS / DHL?

Any of them is fine. Your parents must declare the value of the item (low)  and state it is a gift. When the package reaches Vietnam, the carrier will contact you about custom clearance. If everything is fine, confirm with them and they will do it for you. G'luck!

My advice is that whenever anyone gives you specific advice, ask them if THEY have actually done it.

It's not a Vietnam thing, it's a world thing.  Shipping anything of value entails many different issues, the most significant is customs and import duty.

You can easily be hit with a fee that is equal to the cost of the item, new.

I have NOT done it because, I know very few people who have ever done it successfully in the 20 countries I've been in for any length of time.

bmpham wrote:

Many are saying flat out to not do it as it's too risky.
Others are saying to use UPS, but prepare to pay a lot to receive the laptop.

That's exactly how these threads always go. Worry about theft and high duty. Because there is no rule about duty and valuation that can be predetermined.
My workaround would be to buy a used laptop or chromebook here, which I can sell later. And bring back the laptop in carryon next time I return.

If they do ship it to you, let us know how that went, and what the costs were!

bmpham wrote:

My parents are trying to ship me a used laptop from the US to me here in Ho Chi Minh.

One point before they send it, make sure the mains adaptor will work on 220 v as some US equipment is 110v only.

Wxx3 wrote:

My advice is that whenever anyone gives you specific advice, ask them if THEY have actually done it.

It's not a Vietnam thing, it's a world thing.  Shipping anything of value entails many different issues, the most significant is customs and import duty.

You can easily be hit with a fee that is equal to the cost of the item, new.

I have NOT done it because, I know very few people who have ever done it successfully in the 20 countries I've been in for any length of time.

I totally agree.  I get annoyed by so many people automatically assuming the worst about everything that happens here.

Then I ask them "has it happened to you?"....then they give me this workaround bs answer.

The majority of my interactions here with Viet people and businesses is generally positive...not any worse than other places I've been in the world

dteman wrote:

Any of them is fine. Your parents must declare the value of the item (low)  and state it is a gift. When the package reaches Vietnam, the carrier will contact you about custom clearance. If everything is fine, confirm with them and they will do it for you. G'luck!

Thanks, probably just gonna use UPS or DHL then and get delivered directly to my door

This is not Vietnam specific but my experience while working in corporate agribusiness was that DHL was better at handling customs issues.

It may help to know the model and serial number, in case your package is delayed at Custom.  That's not my experience in VN, but in Italy.  When I declared that the desktop and laptop were my personal belongings, Custom asked me to recite the make, model, and serial numbers before the devices were released to me.  They said even though the devices were mine outright, it didn't mean that I had owned them long enough to avoid paying import tax to Italy.  (Truth to be told, they were new or practically brand new, bought only a month or two before the move.  I didn't show Custom the invoice because of the dates of purchase, but luckily, I had the items' specs in my "Do Not Misplace" folder.)

You may not need the info at all, still ...

(The experience reminded me of car buying in the US.  If I bought a car out of state and registered it in my home state within a certain amount of time, I was obligated to pay sales tax to my home state before the registration can be done.)

so parents thinking about shipping via DHL since there were some work complications with my Mom.

My Dad asked if I should purchase insurance and declare value of $1k on the laptop.

However, I'm not sure if insurance covers if the package is lost or has issues AFTER it reaches Vietnam.

Any of you have experience about purchasing insurance or if I should purchase it?

I know that @dteman mentioned to declare the value of the item low, meaning purchasing insurance prob won't be necessary or worth it.

Would love you guys' thoughts, thanks!

Take the money you would have spent on insurance and spend part of it on some cute stickers for the outside cover of the laptop.  A few on the outside of the box won't hurt either.

So bpmham, how many people have you spoken to who did this successfully?

As i said above, I don't do this, because I have never met anyone who did it successfully in pretty much anyplace.

I'm not worried about theft or loss.
I'm worried that Vietnam is nothing if it's not a big bureaucracy.

I'm positive you will get your computer sooner or later, maybe even before you leave Vietnam.
I'm positive once you get to that stage, the customs duty will be not more than 100% of the new price.

Please let us know how it actually works out. I have been wrong before.

I used DHL previously and had trouble with clearing customs (not DHLs fault). DHL were helpful so perhaps contact them for advice so you dont wind up with a lot of costly and time consuming problems. The contact details I had for them are below and they spoke English:

Do Dang Thanh Ha(Mr.)

Clearance Support Agent

DHL-VNPT Express Ltd.

06 Thang Long Street, Ward 4, Tan Binh District, HCMC, Vietnam

Phone : 08 – 3948 2015

Hotline:08-38446203

Fax : 08 – 3948 7050 or 08 – 3948 7051

Email:ha.thanh.dang.do@dhl.com

Website : www.dhl.com

***update

Using FedEx, received the laptop just fine!

I had to talk to FedEx customer service to confirm a document (pretty much confirming the contents)

Extra notes
- my dad labeled it as "parts for repair"

Not sure if that made a difference

But got everything all good!

Which laptop, if I may ask? it could be sent without a hard drive. I only ever used the USPS.

Well, there is WE SHIP (are they padding the bill? There appears to be a discrepancy between their prices and Ebay's prices).

And I found https://www.google.com/search?client=fi … I_9rU2sbM:

IF Customs adds say 20%, the deal will be dead in the water.

Has anyone tries those companies?

KruChris wrote:

Which laptop, if I may ask? it could be sent without a hard drive. I only ever used the USPS.

dell xps 13

Found this old 2018 thread perhaps still active? If not, please direct me to a more current thread.

My sister in Calif wants to send her used laptop to me in Danang. Has anyone had personal experience and can CONFIRM this is A1 dog sure possible? Googled however too many contradictions. One VN customs site mentions COMPUTER COMPONENTS AND PARTS. A laptop is not a component or part, to my thinking. VN customs interpretation could differ. Also importing is mentioned. I take importing meaning for commercial resale. Shipping a computer with an enclosed battery within the unit appears OK according to USPS. Then there's VN customs but this one's too ambiguous so I won't go there. 

My sister in Calif wants to send her used laptop to me in Danang.

Since she is the one doing the shipping, the first step would probably be for her to directly contact her shipper of choice and/or investigate pertinent information on their website, such as the FedEx page for Vietnam Prohibited and Restricted Items.

Because no matter what anyone answers here about their interpretation or what they think, if the shipper doesn't accept it you'll never have a chance to find out if your interpretations of customs rules are accurate.

One VN customs site mentions COMPUTER COMPONENTS AND PARTS. A laptop is not a component or part, to my thinking. VN customs interpretation could differ.

Again, it's the interpretation of the shipper that's key.

I take importing meaning for commercial resale.

On unaccompanied items (things not brought into the country in your accompanied baggage) the intent to commercially re-sale is the default assumption in virtually any country around the world.

when you fly in on an airplane you may have a duty free allowance but that allowance doesn't transfer over to items that you have shipped into the country.

That's one reason we often encourage people moving to Vietnam (who are wanting to ship such things separately) to instead pay the extra accompanied baggage fee and bring everything through customs when they arrive at the airport.

Shipping a computer with an enclosed battery within the unit appears OK according to USPS. -@River Frogs

It would be helpful if you would supply the source of that and other information through the sharing of pertinent links.

I would want to know if that pertains specifically to shipments to Vietnam AND if that covers all laptops or only new items.

As the FedEx webpage notes, Vietnam prohibits the importing of "Used Consumer Goods".

Your (her) best bet might be to contact a Vietnamese shipping company in her area.

They often utilize the accompanied baggage of travelers to bring things into Vietnam and the forward to the recipient through domestic shipping channels.

Found this old 2018 thread perhaps still active? If not, please direct me to a more current thread.
My sister in Calif wants to send her used laptop to me in Danang. Has anyone had personal experience and can CONFIRM this is A1 dog sure possible? Googled however too many contradictions. One VN customs site mentions COMPUTER COMPONENTS AND PARTS. A laptop is not a component or part, to my thinking. VN customs interpretation could differ. Also importing is mentioned. I take importing meaning for commercial resale. Shipping a computer with an enclosed battery within the unit appears OK according to USPS. Then there's VN customs but this one's too ambiguous so I won't go there.
-@River Frogs

Good points from OB, River Frogs, but I have to ask. Is this a high-end laptop? Any particular reason you want this specific laptop from your sister other than the fact that it is free? Shipping a laptop by courier from the US to VN won't be cheap, if anything like the cost of Fedex from Canada. Shipping by ground (much cheaper) could take up to 3+ months, but then there's the jostling and bumping it'll get on the way to consider. Extra padding increases size, and therefore shipping costs.

Any idea what the shipping cost (- any potential tariffs) will be by courier, or by ground? Might be much cheaper to just buy a used laptop here. When you have a moment, would be great to hear any quotes your sister might have gotten.

Aiden has a good point.  My 2020 Macbook Air cost me over $1000 and can be bought refurbished on Amazon today for around $600.  The OP's parents, and River Frogs sister, may be thinking of what they paid for the laptop rather than what it is worth today.  All laptops sell at a premium in Vietnam, but they still decline in value with age.