@Ian *******

Trust him. You can checked archived posts: he's extremely well-informed. He's just trying to help you.

@Graeme *****

Exactly.

AND that agent is also probably trying to set himself up for recurring fees every year. Some people don't want to lock up the 800k and that's fine if they'd prefer the lower but recurring fees. But in the event the agent is pushing that, doubly sleazy.

@Pertti ************

I don't think 3 years is correct. And can you speak and read Thai fluently? Been paying taxes? Earn enough money IN Thailand to meet the rules?

Folks: it ain't that easy. This comment verges on misinformation.

@Dca ****

He knows. He just finished saying this in his comment.

@Brian ******

I often don't like this cliche, but it truly applies to a lot of the bad advice and clowns commenting here.

It's pretty standard in many countries.

@Ben ********

Yeah, a guitar amp or microwave will most likely be made only for the electrical grid of the country where it was sold. But phones, iPads, laptops, *rechargeable* razors are usually compatible around the globe. A plug-in/corded razor, mixers, etc. will not work even with a voltage converter. Anything with a motor requires that the hertz match, too. I found out the hard way when I paid for a converter and my clippers still didn't work. The noise they gave off because the hertz was misatched sounded like armageddon.

@Jamie ********

Depends on the ticketing and airlines. If you use an online booking site that breaks up your flight legs into separate tickets, you well could shafted on the first leg of LAS to LAX/SFO/...or wherever. Southwest, Frontier, Spirit all charge extra for each check-in bag. The transpacific leg will usually allow two free checked bags of 22-25kg. But then your final leg to Bangkok could be on cheapie carrier again, like VietJet or AirAsia. Try to book all the way through on a single ticket unless the airfares are dramatically different.

Last month I flew from BKK to LAS and it was on ANA which codeshares with American. Two free checked bags at 25kg each all the way through.

@Pertti ************

This.

@Tony ********

A person new to Thailand can get a one-time exemption to import personal effects duty free.

OP: Others are correct that it's probably better to buy in TH what you find you need. But you can look up the rules to comply with the exemption and send (or bring) some things that way without paying duties. There's a time limit and a value limit, but it's worth looking into now as it's a one-time thing.