The issue is not with the post office re the import taxes, these taxes are collected by the Customs Department. I am in business and import/export and from my experience with the Customs Department whatever you do with them you will experience difficulties. There are rules & regulations covering the situation you describe, and it should be possible to send the phone to Singapore and receive it again without paying taxes. However the Customs people are either unwilling to apply them, don't know the regulations, or do not have the necessary forms to complete etc. etc.

My advice, forget it, unless you can get the assistance of a savvy local importer/exporter.

My 2 bobs worth. Whould it be better to use a Courier service like TNT or DHL or are they too expensive. You may still have the hassle of Customs with them.

Last time I used FedEx and I had the same issues, so, unfortunately, that's not the answer. Nice idea though....

i have been thinking about buying a phone in from the US, Mike, when you say huge taxes what sort of figure are we talking 50%, 100% value or more of the phone? to get the phone past customs, it will be shipped by one of the usual international couriers

thanks in advance to any who can answer

When you mail it from the VN post office they'll give you a stack of forms to fill in, one of which is an A4 sized customs declaration form where you list the contents of the package and the value. I made it explicitly clear on this form (and every other form I filled in, including the shipping label) that inside the package was "damaged goods sent for repair". Make ABSOLUTELY sure that when they ship your repaired goods back to you, they include this original, stamped form (ideally attached to the outside of the box) and they explicitly write on the shipping label "returning repaired goods under warranty". With this original form attached, I wasn't charged any duties or taxes for the returned goods.

You have to be VERY clear with the post office employees (i.e. be annoying and state it 3-4 times) that you're sending damaged goods to be repaired (hàng bị hỏng, gửi để sửa chũa ở trung tâm bảo hành) and make sure the sender includes the ORIGINAL declaration form you send with the package.

Hope it helps, but with the best and brightest working at customs you can only pray for a miracle.

"Beer"

Agree with the above. It's the only way to do it. I don't know how many of you have struggled endlessly with Post Offices here, but I have a suggestion. The Post Office on the bottom floor of Hanoi Towers has a woman working there who is absolutely spot on and believe or not very helpful. This is for sending stuff out. Getting it back is a different matter...

"Beer"

My son will be going to Singapore in August if this helps.The other option is fly via Saigon with Jetsar for only $49 us.