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Hi
Can anyone help with advice or suggestions on this issue? The information below may also be of use to anyone sending goods to Vietnam.

My son works as an English teacher in Saigon/HCM City and has done for the last two years. During his trip to the UK over the summer of 2022, he broke his iPhone and left it with me for repair. The arrangement was for me to ship it to him when it was fixed.

I did so, via FedEx, in a small package that cost around £30.

It was stopped and blocked at Vietnam Customs because they won't allow the transmission of any 'used goods'!

After weeks of delay we got information from the shipping agent as follows:

'Dear Sir,

As your confirmation: PHONE in this shipment is USED PHONE, not new 100%.

In Viet Nam regulations (Decree 69/2018/ND-CP, Circular 12/2018/TT-BCT, Circular 11/2018/TT-BTTTT), USED ITEMS are prohibited items, they are not allowed to imported into Viet Nam.

Therefore, this shipment are not allowed to imported into Viet Nam and can’t be released from Customs.

FedEx US will work with shipper for final disposition.

Pls kindly note that almost USED ITEMS are not allowed to imported into Viet Nam.'


Even explaining that this phone belongs to my son and he was trying to get back his own personal possession made no difference. It was just permanently blocked.

The package was held up for almost 4 months and it took further payments for its return to the UK, together with a payment for import duties!

I now have the phone back in London and my son is not due a trip back here until July of 2023.

Does anyone know of a reliable method of reuniting him with his phone? Clearly, post and couriers are not going to be a solution.

Any advice, suggestions or workarounds would be helpful.

Thanks
-@FinlayFinlayson

Best way is to find someone to bring it into the country with them in their accompanied luggage.

Members of the local Vietnamese community near you would likely have some insight regarding this.

You would make arrangements with a private party who is planning to travel to Vietnam.

Once they arrive in Vietnam and clear customs, they would then connect with your son and he could take personal delivery.

Keep in mind that's technically illegal.

Good luck.

(also thank you for very clearly sharing what happened when you attempted to ship the used phone to Vietnam. There was a person in the forum recently discussing sending a used laptop to Vietnam and he was warned that he would have the same results if he made such an attempt.)

Good Afternoon,

if your son has a work permit.  Please check with a local shipper and obtain proof that this item is essential for his duties as a teacher and prove that he is staying longer then 12 months.  You are allowed to ship personal items. 

@FinlayFinlayson I'm not sure if you want to trust someone you never met, but I am going to Vietnam from the United States in January. I'm also not sure if this would be worthwhile for you or not due to shipping costs to the US.

Its a bizarre rule that affects certain products. Im sure if you pay money it will be cleared. Viet Nams richest woman used to import second-hand office machines and pay fees on them, so, it is possible.

I would wait till your son returns in July to collect it or as mentioned before get someone in the UK to take it to him. I have also done this before.

It's hindsight now but the initial error was repairing the phone in Britain.   New iPhones may be expensive in Vietnam because of duties but repairs are less expensive.  There are several places in HCM that could have repaired the phone just fine.   My wife recently took my old iPhone  6S to Vietnam with an old battery that would only hold about a 4 hour charge.   She had the battery replaced there and gave it to her son. 

The other thing to consider, as with the laptop discussion, is obsolescence or at least the appearance of such.   Based on your narrative, if he bought it just before his initial trip to HCM, the phone was likely originally purchased in 2019 or 2020 at the latest.   This would make it most likely an iPhone 11 or at best an iPhone 12.   It depends how your son uses his phone but if he is into using the camera, he might want to consider a new model 14.

Hi all

Thanks to everyone for the very helpful advice and suggestions! It's always wonderful to get constructive feedback and potential solutions. This is a great community.

As a stating point, I'm going to pursue the idea of someone taking the phone with them when they travel to Vietnam.

Fingers crossed!

@Chris-Minh76 Thanks for the offer but you're right that shipping costs would likely be high. I'll first try to find someone in the UK. Thanks again!

I am in usa i will be back in Saigon Dec 8

@Hooked Thanks for the offer! Would love to find someone going from UK so I don't risk the phone going missing during international postage.

I know I am being a Debbie Downer on this but your son's phone is only worth about £250.00 in Britain (less in the US) if it is an iPhone 11.   Why not just sell it on the used market there and send him the cash.   This page lists the iPhone 11 used in VN at 2,123,000 VND or £70.98.   This is an international site, not Vietnamese, and it does seem a bit low to me, but I expect if he has a Vietnamese friend or landlord he could pick up a good deal.  A lot less trouble and maybe some actual cash to pocket.  Apparently it is only new phones that are overpriced in Vietnam, again going back to my earlier comment on the price of repair labor.

BTW the chain link icon on the top menu bar no longer works for me.  Is it the same for others?

I know I am being a Debbie Downer on this but your son's phone is only worth about £250.00 in Britain (less in the US) if it is an iPhone 11.  Why not just sell it on the used market there and send him the cash.  This page lists the iPhone 11 used in VN at 2,123,000 VND or £70.98.  This is an international site, not Vietnamese, and it does seem a bit low to me, but I expect if he has a Vietnamese friend or landlord he could pick up a good deal. A lot less trouble and maybe some actual cash to pocket. Apparently it is only new phones that are overpriced in Vietnam, again going back to my earlier comment on the price of repair labor.
BTW the chain link icon on the top menu bar no longer works for me. Is it the same for others?
-@THIGV

Yes, the chain link doesnt work for me either, plus, I cant see what Im writing when using a mobile device as the keyboard covers the space below the text. Time to update their system.

I know I am being a Debbie Downer on this but your son's phone is only worth about £250.00 in Britain (less in the US) if it is an iPhone 11. Why not just sell it on the used market there and send him the cash. This page lists the iPhone 11 used in VN at 2,123,000 VND or £70.98. This is an international site, not Vietnamese, and it does seem a bit low to me, but I expect if he has a Vietnamese friend or landlord he could pick up a good deal. A lot less trouble and maybe some actual cash to pocket. Apparently it is only new phones that are overpriced in Vietnam, again going back to my earlier comment on the price of repair labor.
BTW the chain link icon on the top menu bar no longer works for me. Is it the same for others?
-@THIGV
Yes, the chain link doesnt work for me either, plus, I cant see what Im writing when using a mobile device as the keyboard covers the space below the text. Time to update their system.
-@colinoscapee

Yet another thing added to the list for I.T. - I send them your feedback

@THIGV Hi. Thanks for the suggestion which, in practical terms, is a great solution. However, this particular phone has great sentimental value to my son as it was a present. He'll want to part with it only when it becomes completely obsolete.

Look for a Viet shipper in the UK. The U.S. has many. Doesn't cost much, even for electronics. They will deliver your items for you and there is never a customs issue. Go to a nail shop and ask the Vietnamese there who they use. The delivery is also pretty fast, in less than 10 days. Hope this helps.

@Adhome01 Thanks. I'll try to find a Vietnamese nail ship to ask.