I recently shipped some of my late father’s paintings and sculptures to Thailand. It was expensive but they were sentimental items. One of a kind and sentimental items might be worth shipping.
If you look at the website for the Thai consulate in your home country you will see a yearlong visa called an OA visa which is, or used to be, used for retirement. The OA is NOT the same as the O visa that Tod talked about. I recommend you pursue the O visa in Thailand.
luckily my luggage was one of the first on the turnstile. From plane to taxi it was maybe 20 minutes and that is because of the distance from the plane to luggage.
I did this last month. I had to walk a ways past the normal immigration entrance to another entrance. I kept asking for the fast track line. Eventually I got there and it was indeed fast.