It could be more than just hassle if Thai immigration offices can continue to have have different interpretations of what is required to extend for various long term Visa's like the DTV. For this reason alone I'll be avoiding that randomness by bouncing before 180 days. It's obviously more hassle but I think less risky IMO.
And all you need to show is your original DTV approval PDF or DTV sticker if you used an embassy/consulate. No worrying about whether your original documents you used at an embassy/consulate or on the evisa site will be enough for whichever immigration office you try to extend at.
And a DTV (not the extension) costs? In Taipei or in New Zealand? Read my post again. I was saying that by doing an extension vs. reset by leaving and returning, we are opening ourselves to the inconsistencies of these offices. Those documents we used to get our DTVs may not work to get us our extensions because of these differences. I wasn't commenting about extension prices because nobody knows this.
Every immigration office, consulate and embassy has their own unique visa/extension requirements and pricing. For that reason I will be avoiding any extension requirement lottery and sticking to border bounces where I just show my original DTV approval pdf and get a new stamp. That'll also help me stay under 180 days in Thailand until I figure out the lay of the land re: the new taxation policies. 🙂 EDIT: Hey Mar Wan! Just realized it was you. 😀