Shipping from Pratunam: How Wholesale Buyers Send Clothes to the Philippines and the UAE
Pratunam is Bangkok's wholesale clothing district. Buyers from the Philippines and the Gulf shop there in bulk and ship the goods home instead of carrying them on a flight. Dragon Courier moves those boxes by air, with all duties, costs and tariffs included in the fee, 100% guaranteed. There is nothing to pay on arrival.
Who ships from Pratunam
Justin Squibb, Dragon Courier's sales contact:
"Philippines and UAE export is also 2 large market for us, we get many Philippinos which shop in thailand then send to us to both these countries."
"Most of them stay in pratunam, very concentrated for our customer base."
The pattern is the same on both routes: buy in bulk in Bangkok, ship rather than fly the purchases home, sell or distribute on arrival. The two things that decide the price are weight and dimension. The two things that decide clearance are the description and the declared value.
What a shipment from Pratunam needs
A shipment needs the contents of the package and the receiver's name, address and contact number. That is the whole list. No other information is required. No account is required to start sending, and there is no cap on volume.
The description names the product and the quantity: cotton dresses, 40 pieces, or denim jeans, 25 pairs. "Clothes" or "personal items" on a carton from a wholesale market is what gets a box opened.
How the boxes move
Everything goes by air. Dragon Courier clears customs itself rather than handing it to a broker, then a courier delivers the last leg to the door. Dragon Courier intentionally doesn't get signatures on delivery, because a signature is often what delays the delivery.
Door to door tracking is provided on export day, and the sender can share the same tracking with the person receiving it. When the delivery is done, Dragon Courier sends a file showing proof of delivery.
Drop-off is at the Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Soi 4, until 17:00, Monday to Saturday. A pickup can be arranged in Bangkok for a date and time that suits.
What it costs to the Philippines
The price is weight and dimension, quoted for the zone. One rate covers customs clearance, transportation, delivery and documentation.
Zone | 0.5 kg | 1 kg | 2 kg | 5 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Metro Manila | 343 THB | 426 THB | 591 THB | 1,181 THB |
Luzon | 349 THB | 457 THB | 612 THB | 1,242 THB |
Visayas | 352 THB | 466 THB | 618 THB | 1,273 THB |
Mindanao | 355 THB | 475 THB | 631 THB | 1,273 THB |
With pick-up in Thailand | 338 THB | 416 THB | 571 THB | 1,131 THB |
Prices are on the list of 3 August 2026, duty and tax included. Transit times by zone and the full rate card are in the guide on shipping from Thailand to the Philippines.
The Bureau of Customs sets the threshold for duty-free entry:
"3.9 De Minimis Value - shall refer to the value of goods for which no duty or tax is collected"
Source: Customs Administrative Order 01-2018, Bureau of Customs, customs.gov.ph.
The balikbayan box exemption does not cover wholesale purchases:
"4.2 Balikbayan boxes shall contain personal and household effects only and shall neither be in commercial quantities nor intended for barter, sale or for hire"
Source: same Customs Administrative Order 01-2018, Bureau of Customs.
A carton of 40 dresses from Pratunam is a commercial quantity. On a Dragon Courier shipment the duty and the 12% VAT on it are already inside the fee paid in Bangkok, so the box clears as a declared commercial parcel with nothing to pay in Manila.
What it costs to the UAE
Weight | Price (THB, duty and tax included) |
|---|---|
0.5 kg | 563 |
1 kg | 742 |
2 kg | 1,099 |
5 kg | 2,170 |
Prices are on the list of 3 August 2026. The full picture for that route, including the tailor rate card, is in the guide on what it costs to ship from Thailand to the UAE.
Packing a wholesale carton
A box is billed on whichever is greater, its actual weight or the space it takes up in the hold. A carton sized to the contents keeps the billed weight close to the weight on the scale.
Nothing extra for an urgent shipment, nothing extra for a remote address. There is no discount for anybody. One price applies to all customers, whether it is a first parcel or the fiftieth.
Payment is cash or bank transfer, before export, for every customer. Dragon Courier can provide any invoice a sender requires.
The guide on shipping clothes from Thailand covers fabric, labelling and what customs looks at on a garment shipment.
What can't go
There are many things Dragon Courier does not send to any country, including but not limited to religious items, batteries and anything illegal. Copies of branded goods are on that list for every destination.
The Philippines names them in law:
"(f) Infringing goods as defined under the Intellectual Property Code and related laws"
Source: Section 118, Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, Republic Act 10863, lawphil.net.
A buyer who fills a carton at a wholesale stall with brand-copy shirts loses the carton at the border. Dragon Courier does not accept it for export.
When something goes wrong
When a shipment runs into trouble, Dragon Courier checks what happened first and pushes to get it moving again. For parcels, insurance is available and it covers loss. Dragon Courier does not pay for damage in transit or a missing item from a package. It investigates how it occurred to avoid it happening again, but there is no compensation.
On a delay, Dragon Courier checks the reason and does its best to expedite the package. It does not compensate for delays. An address cannot be changed after export. What the cover includes, and how claims and delays are handled, is set out in the refund and cancellation policy.
About Dragon Courier
Dragon Courier is a Bangkok-based international courier shipping from Thailand to over 200 destinations. It has been doing this a long time, over 30 years, under the same management team for most of it. It started as a British business and is Thai family-run now. Today that is more than 20,000 shipments a month.
For the Philippines and the UAE, Dragon Courier manages export, documentation and clearance directly through its own service. One price is quoted in Bangkok and the person receiving the parcel pays nothing on arrival.
Contacts
The contents of the box and where it is going are enough to get a quote. Office +66 2656 9019, WhatsApp and LINE at +66 6-5937-0812, or info@dragoncourier.com.
Bangkok office: 217/3 Crystal Garden Building, 3rd floor, Sukhumvit Soi 4, Klongtoey 10110. Chiang Mai office on Viangbua Road.
More answers, on every service and destination, are on the FAQ page.
Can Dragon Courier collect from my hotel near Pratunam?
Yes. A pickup can be arranged in Bangkok for a date and time that suits. Drop-off at the Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Soi 4 runs until 17:00, Monday to Saturday.
Will my family in Manila pay duty on clothes bought in Pratunam?
No. On a Dragon Courier shipment, duty and VAT are already included in the fee paid in Bangkok, so there is nothing to pay when the box arrives.
Can I send Pratunam clothes as a balikbayan box?
Not in commercial quantities. The Bureau of Customs limits balikbayan boxes to personal and household effects, not goods for sale. Dragon Courier ships the carton as a declared commercial parcel with duty and tax included.
How much does it cost to send 5 kg of clothes from Bangkok to Manila?
1,181 THB to Metro Manila, or 1,131 THB with pick-up in Thailand, on the price list of 3 August 2026. Duty and tax are inside that price.
How much does it cost to send 5 kg of clothes from Bangkok to Dubai?
2,170 THB on the price list of 3 August 2026, duty and tax included.
Is there a discount for shipping several cartons?
No. Dragon Courier runs a single price for every customer, whether it is one carton or twenty.
Shipping something from Thailand?
Tell us what you are sending and where it is going, and we will come back to you with a price and a realistic timeline.
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