Motorcycle parts DHL shipping is the fast lane out of Bangkok, and it is priced on a completely different basis from the post office counter. This page sets out what a courier actually charges for, what it will not carry, and when paying for one is the right decision.
When a courier is worth it for a box of parts
We despatch by postal EMS, postal air parcel, international parcel, TNT, DHL, air cargo and sea freight. Most orders leave on a postal service, because most orders are small, dense and not desperately urgent. A courier earns its keep in four situations, and it is worth naming them plainly.
The first is genuine urgency, with a machine off the road or a build waiting on one component. The second is a high declared value, where unbroken door-to-door custody and a detailed tracking record are worth paying for. The third is a trade consignment to a workshop that wants clean import paperwork rather than a customs card through the letterbox. The fourth is coverage, because some destinations are served badly or intermittently by the postal network.
Outside those four cases the post is usually the better buy. The comparison of every method we use sits on our guide to motorcycle parts EMS shipping; this page stays in the courier lane.
Chargeable weight, and why bodywork costs more than it weighs
Actual weight against volumetric weight
A courier bills on whichever is greater: the figure the scale shows, or a figure derived from the size of the carton. The second one is volumetric weight, and DHL Express works it out by multiplying length by width by height in centimetres and dividing by 5,000. Whichever number comes out higher becomes the chargeable weight on the waybill.
What that means for real components
A seat cowl, a front mudguard, a side cover, an airbox, a headlight shell or a silencer is mostly air. Packed with the protection it needs to survive a flight and a warehouse belt, a single painted panel can fill a carton that bills at several times what the panel itself weighs. Gaskets, a cam chain tensioner, a clutch centre or a set of bearings do the opposite, being dense, small and cheap to fly.
That single mechanism is why a courier quotation startles people expecting something close to postage. It is not a hidden surcharge; it is the carton being paid for rather than the metal inside it.
What sits on a courier invoice that a postal one does not
The table names mechanisms rather than amounts. We do not publish carrier rates: they move, and they depend on the destination, the finished dimensions and the service level. Send us the order and we will price the actual consignment.
| Cost element | How it is worked out | When it bites a parts order | On postal EMS? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chargeable weight | The greater of actual and volumetric weight | Panels, seat units, airboxes, silencers, bulky retail packaging | No — actual gross weight only |
| Duty and tax at import | Assessed by your own customs authority on the declared value | Every commercial consignment, whichever way it travels | Yes, but settled with your post office |
| Duty and tax advancement | The carrier settles your customs bill and bills it back with an administration charge | Whenever the carrier clears on your behalf, which is the default | No equivalent charge exists |
| Dangerous goods handling | Pre-approval, shipper training and a surcharge where accepted at all | Batteries, gas-charged shocks, aerosols, oils, fuel residue | Refused, or sent by surface |
| Remote area delivery | Carrier-defined postcode lists | Rural addresses, islands, anywhere off the main runs | No — follows the postal network |
| Crating for heavy items | Braced to a pallet, with liquids drained first | Engines, frames, wheel sets, anything beyond parcel scale | Not applicable above the weight cap |
Parts a courier will not simply take
Several things a workshop orders without a second thought become dangerous goods the moment they are loaded onto an aircraft. DHL sets its shipper’s test as four questions: does the destination country allow the item, are lithium batteries involved, is anything combustible, is prior approval needed. Its guidance on what can be shipped from Thailand is the authority we work to.
The usual offenders in a parts order
- Batteries of any chemistry. Lithium cells require pre-approval and trained shippers; a filled lead-acid battery is a separate problem.
- Gas-charged shock absorbers and suspension units, which are pressure vessels as far as an airline is concerned.
- Aerosols and liquids: chain lubricant, brake fluid, fork oil, carburettor cleaner, paint and touch-up pens.
- Used components carrying fuel or oil residue: a tank, a carburettor, a used engine.
When one of these turns up we say so before quoting, because the answer is normally to split the consignment rather than abandon it. The battery or the oil goes one way and the rest goes another. Occasionally an item cannot leave Thailand by air at all, and that is better heard at the enquiry stage.
Packing, crating and used components
Carriers treat vehicle parts as a category of their own once they get heavy. Engines and similar items must be crated or braced to a pallet, and liquids and fuels drained before the item is presented. A used engine is therefore a different conversation from a set of gaskets, and it needs to be had before a price is put on paper.
We pack on our own premises in Ladprao, so we know what a given order will finish at. Panels are boxed with the fixings removed and packed separately where that avoids a rattle.
The other half of the courier deal is the delivery. A courier hands the parcel to a person and takes a signature, and its broker will contact you if the destination customs authority queries the declaration. DHL sets out the mechanism it uses for duties and taxes at import, which is why a courier bill can arrive after the parcel already has.
Frequently asked questions
Is a courier faster than the post out of Thailand?
In general yes, and that is the reason to use one. We do not publish courier transit times, because the carrier sets those by lane and service level. The two timings we do state are postal: EMS runs four to seven days, and postal air parcel about two weeks.
Who pays the import duty and tax?
You do, at your end. Duty and tax are assessed by your own customs authority on the declared value, and sit outside anything we quote. With a courier they are usually advanced on your behalf and billed back afterwards with an administration charge.
Can you send a battery or a can of chain lube by courier?
Not as ordinary cargo. Batteries and pressurised or flammable items are dangerous goods and need approval, trained handling, or a different service altogether. Tell us at the quotation stage that the order includes one and we will work out what can actually travel.
Can I change my mind once it has gone?
No. Once an order has shipped we cannot take it back except for a manufacturer’s fault, and parts cannot be returned to Thailand at all. The order policy states that in full; read it before you commit.
Asking for a motorcycle parts DHL shipping price
Send the part number, or the part name together with your frame number, and add the three things a courier quotation cannot be produced without: destination country and postcode, whether the address is residential or a business, and how many you need. Prices are quoted in Thai Baht, CIF, meaning the goods plus carriage to you. If speed is what you are buying, say so.
Start at our quote request form, or read what to send with a parts enquiry first. Container and whole-motorcycle enquiries belong with our export service, since those move by sea.