Selling your camera before you leave Thailand

This guide is for anyone leaving Thailand with a camera they no longer want to carry: visitors at the end of a trip, people finishing a contract, anyone moving on. The steps are the same; the only thing that changes is how much time you have.

First, is selling it here the right call?

Not always. If the camera is fairly new and you will use it at home, keep it. If you have weeks rather than days, selling it privately usually pays more than any shop will - we explain why in where to sell a used camera in Bangkok.

Selling here makes sense when the camera would otherwise sit in a drawer, when you would rather not carry something expensive through two airports, or when you simply want it finished before you fly.

Bought the camera in Thailand? Check the VAT refund first

If you bought the camera in Thailand and asked the shop for a VAT refund form (P.P.10) so you could claim the VAT back at the airport, that refund is for goods you take out of the country with you. Selling the camera here and claiming a refund on it do not go together. The Revenue Department publishes the full rules for the VAT Refund for Tourists scheme - read them before you decide which is worth more to you.

A timeline that leaves you room

• Three or more days before the flight: find your model on the site and answer the condition questions honestly. The price appears straight away. If your model is not listed, send a photo and the model name on LINE.
• Two days before: book the pickup and tell us your flight date, so the meeting is planned around it.
• Do not leave it to the last evening. If the camera turns out to be in a different condition from the one you described, the price is re-quoted and you are free to say no. You want enough time left to make that choice calmly.

How you get paid if you do not have a Thai bank account

Payment is made on the day, either by transfer to a Thai bank account or in cash within the legal cash limit. Larger amounts are paid by transfer rather than in cash.

So if you are a visitor without a Thai account and your camera and lenses are worth a lot, message us on LINE before you book and ask how that amount would be paid. It is a much better conversation to have three days before your flight than at the pickup itself.

What to bring to the pickup

• Your passport. We record who we buy every camera from. A passport is fine for visitors.
• The camera with a charged battery, so it can be tested properly.
• Any lenses you are selling with it. Camera prices on the site are for the body only; lenses are priced separately and added to the total.
• Box, charger, cables and strap if you still have them. None are required, all of them help.

Before the camera leaves your hands

Copy your photos off the card and keep the card - it is yours. Remove the camera from your phone apps and clear your name out of the camera settings. It takes ten minutes and we wrote it out step by step in how to reset and wipe your camera before you sell it.

Where the pickup happens

Anywhere in Bangkok that suits you: your hotel lobby, a condo, an office or a cafe. The pickup is free. If you would rather come to us, the shop is in Sathon. The camera is checked in front of you, and you get a written record of the sale - useful if you want proof of what you sold, to whom and for how much. What exactly happens at that meeting is in what happens when we check your camera at pickup.