ONLINE PURCHASE

ONLINE PORTALS

Internet business follows certain rules but opens new possibilities. InIn the previous post, we have provided you with important information about purchasing articles on Jatujak Market. This included retail and wholesale. The internet gains progressively importance as platform for making business. However, there are still people that do not trust the internet and evaluate it as insecure. Of course, there are differences compared with buying products on a market or in a shop in your town. Personally, I would not evaluate the internet as insecure. Nevertheless, I will only write about shopping at KHT Kaufhaus Thailand & Nongluck Thai Wood. I will not and cannot give you any facts about other providers of goods on the internet. Therefor, the here provided information counts only for our business. We do not give you any guarantees that these are applicable for any other internet sales. Please, do not criticize us if you have made any bad experiences on the internet.

DIFFERENT WAYS OF ONLINE SALES

Probably, you have heard of the online market portals of ebay and amazon. Maybe, you have even got aware of us through one of the two. These are the two online market portals that we display our products mainly on the net. We have planned to publish our own online webshop during 2016. This will then be an even less expensive way for making purchases of our products.

EBAY

This is probably the most popular internet market where we sell our articles. In the summer months we are in Europe, more accurately Germany, between June and September. In the other months, we send our products directly from Thailand. The advantage thereby is in the summer months that we can deliver you the goods in a much shorter time, usually within a week. However, we do not have such a diversity of items that we send to Germany for direct sales. On the other side, we have observed that the postal costs can be higher in some cases by sending within Europe compared with expenses from a delivery directly from Thailand. That seems of course crazy!  Therefor, we have to take care that our prices in the summer months are still competitive. This limits our opportunities for super sales at ebay auctions. Maybe, you have seen that some sellers from China can approximately compete with sales of our (!) products, from our production. In the remaining months we can offer a larger variety of articles. Nevertheless, as mentioned above, the delivery time is getting longer. We give you, unfortunately, a hard choice. Either you can receive articles in a short time but only with a limited choice or you have the broad spec of our products but the delivery will take longer. We have seen, that the median expenses in summer are approximately 15% lower than in 'winter' time.

We consider ebay partly as discriminating. Let's be honest and state here that we really like the evaluation system of ebay. Sadly, ebay seems to think that we live in a perfect world. This is not the case as in a harmonic world all buyers would give fair and honest evaluations. This is not always the case. There will be always buyers who just try to gain profit out of any bargain. Those people try to set us, as sellers, unjustified under pressure. Some people are not giving any evaluation at all. We do not know the reason for this behaviour. So please, when you buy something on ebay, please give a fair feedback to the seller. 

Ebay offers the buyer security. Your purchase will be secured through paypal. However, this is connected with expenses for the seller. Therefor, we will always offer you better prices through our own web shop. This means, that you unfortunately will never get the best deals through ebay. You pay for your security without eventually even being aware of that. This additional cost is usually around 10% of the price. 

We appreciate it a lot that the local ebay, the one that you register with, gives the commercial traders a number of free listings. An ebay shop can offer of course a wider variety of goods. This is one of the main reasons why ebay will stay our favoured online market portal. 

There are some other factors which we would like to explain about our products on ebay. We have always all our displayed products on stock. This is only possible because we consider ebay not as a sideline business but as a full-time occupation.  We are always in control of our stock. Additionally, and that might be most interesting for wholesalers, we have additional stock, mainly in Thailand.  Further, our articles are available in different kinds of wood. As an example, our coffee spoons are available in moringa, samean, palm and rose wood. You might sometimes not see that on ebay. We hardly ever offer all kinds of wood for a specific item at the same time. So, if you had seen in the previous month an item in a certain kind of wood but not in the following, just contact us. We try to bring some change every month onto ebay so that you do not get bored.  Just contact us directly if you have any inquiries. On the other side, and we will come in later posts to that, we do offer custom made products on your demand.

HOW CAN EBAY HELP A BUYER?

Ebay offers you some advantages but it is by far not the best and cheapest way to purchase our articles. This part is mainly applicable for wholesalers but it can be also important for wood lovers or retail. We understand ebay as a portal for a first contact. It is certainly a good idea to check out our quality and reliability over a first purchase at ebay. So, if you are interested in a certain product such as a massage tool, then it is definitely a good idea to buy first a sample on ebay.  Nevertheless if you are satisfied with the sample, we would like to suggest you to make further purchases directly with us. The main function for us of ebay is the first contact. Ebay can provide you with the security that you might need at a first business contact. 

Further, we see ebay as a platform to advertise for new products. On ebay you get the best overview of our new articles and about our  best-selling items. This can give you some orientation help. We will not use ebay to display products that are hard to sell. It would be a waste of 'free space' and why shall we restrict our opportunities? This is also in your best interest! Your chance is at ebay to get precise information independently if you are wholesaler, looking for a suitable present or just want to try out something new!

WHY EBAY AND NOT AMAZON?

We have some issues with Amazon even that we admit that it can be excellent. The basic fees to display or offer an article are for free. A business can gain credibility to advertise for their items on Amazon. Amazon only takes a percentage as fee but has no further fees such as ebay with paypal. They even transfer your money to your account so that you do not have to run after customers.

However, out of various reasons, we prefer ebay. The calculated fees on Amazon are much higher than at ebay. We, as traders, have a security that the money is really coming from the customers but we do not appreciate to pay higher fees for it. We do not want to pay this security deposit. Same as ebay for buyers, Amazon takes a lot for security of business. Therefor, we use Amazon only for some articles. 

The credibility of a seller will be improved through Amazon because he can only display articles which were approved. This on the other side describes only the ideal world of Amazon. We, as manufacturer and as seller see the restrictions in it. There are some competitors that display our products as theirs! These have been longer time on Amazon, have a website and some classy pictures. We have even seen photographs that are for sure not real but amazon does not prove that. The classy picture is that of a warehouse from the air, and probably a good enough portfolio. They can easily sell these goods but we, as a newcomer on Amazon, have first to get an approval for our articles. One more time, these are the same articles as some sellers sell already and are even produced by us! So, we have more restrictions then the companies that are allowed to claim that they are the producers. Indeed they have probably bought the articles at our shop or at some competitors. Amazon has become so big that there are problems in proving the credibility of sellers. So, they rely on data which has been extremely manipulated.  We would wish a little bit more transparency and fairness on this online market platform.

 Through these conditions, our actions on Amazon have been limited. As this market requires from us higher expenses on worse conditions, we use it mainly only to advertise our articles. If then suddenly unexpectedly somebody still buys our articles on Amazon we are of course very happy. However, we wish that only initial contact is made through Amazon and following deals should be through our web shop. 

ADVANTAGES OF THE INTERNET

The internet has for sure expanded the shopping possibilities. As already mentioned above, the internet is by far not insecure. I came recently across a comparison of buying on the internet and using a credit card in a restaurant. Now, on the internet you can easily follow the purchase. But do you trust it if the waiter in a restaurant takes the credit card into another room for clearance? Have you got direct control over the actions of this waiter? Now, on the net you have more security! 

The purchase of articles on the market or in a shop is connected with traveling. Particularly, being a bit extreme here, if you buy something at our shop Nongluck Thai Wood, then you have first to travel to Thailand. Would you really do that for a set of cutlery? Even, if you buy something in a shop in your home country, then there are more procedures connected with it. You have to spend time and money to go to the market or shop, withdrawing money from your bank and much more. You even do not get a better price than on the internet. At an internet purchase you can directly come out of your shower to buy something. Nobody will care of haven't combed, got a shave or put some nice clothing on. The payment is easier, either by paypal or by online money transfer. Our packaging is usually environment friendly. You do not have to go for any actions out of your house. So, you safe on money, time and effort.

I hope that this article was of interest and that we can welcome you soon as an online customer!

NONGLUCK THAI WOOD - SHOP RELATED TO KHT KAUFHAUS THAILAND - ON JATUJAK

WHAT'S THIS POST ABOUT?

This post focuses on buying goods in Thailand, on Jatujak. It will cover mainly the part of handicraft items but can be applicable for other goods, too. It can be used for other markets as well. We do not claim that all items are cheapest on Chatuchak. There are more specific markets all over the town, such as clothes at Pratunam or computer equipment at Saphan Lek. We will publish soon further posts about general purchasing in Thailand and on the internet. It will however try to give you an impression about our shop on Jatujak Market that we operate as Nongluck Thai Wood as well. We hope to give you good advice what to look for if you purchase handicraft articles.

JATUJAK MARKET

Imagine the largest open air market in the world. Imagine over 8,000 shops. How can you find orientation? Technically, you can't! There are so many different articles that it seems impossible to write a complete detailed description. Therefor, we will focus in this post on introducing you to the area of the handicraft goods. You can find also our shop Nongluck Thai Wood in that area. 

So, let me make first some markting in our own interest before we proceed. As we have already told you in previous posts, we have two shops on the market distributing wooden products. The biggest advantage to go shopping at our shops and not at our internet online shops is definitely the variety of our items and the product palette. There are only a few items that we offer you online but not in our shop. Shopping on markets is basically a full sensual experience. You can see, smell and touch our products. Here, you can assemble your own personal choice of wooden items. Here, you can get a close relation to the articles that you want to buy. Bargaining as well can be big fun if you do not see it too seriously, but rather as a kind of entertainment

Nongluck Thai Wood & Kaufhaus Thailand Philosophy!

Our attitude to life has not been influenced by the selling on the market but it influences our appearance in all life situations. We will always try to be friendly. Some suspicious minds may take our smile as a marketing strategy. This is not the case, we just do not like negative people. Smiling keeps healthy and it is attractive. One of the highest values in our lives is to be kind. There is a direct connection between Thais looking young, keeping themselves young and their ability to smile. Who doesn't know the Thai smile? Who doesn't know its magic? Everything is only a question about having the right attitude towards life. Unfortunately, there is an influence of western culture and stress on Thai life. So, Thais do not smile as often anymore as a few decades ago. Well, however, there will be always and everywhere people who just can't be, and probably don't want to be, happy. Personal contact is incredibly important for us and a smile can open doors and create contacts. This is part of generally fundamental logic for us! Of course, we do not know if you will ever come back to Thailand. So, why should we smile only out of business interests? We want that people feel good in life. Shopping at our place will hopefully provide a bit of sunshine. Further, there is out of our perspective no better advertisement for a country than friendliness, honesty and hospitality. We do not only sell our articles at our shop, we represent a part of our country - Thailand. However, that does not mean that we will give in too easily as well. As everywhere, you can't behave as you wish in our shop without caring about our emotions. In the case that some unfriendly, rude, bad mannered or ignorant people enter, then we will let them know that they have gone too far. We are sellers not garbage cans that you can treat like a Soi dog! We do not have many problems with Europeans, far from it. We like Westerners but I do not want to sound like a racist. Therefor I will not tell you about the origins of most trouble makers. There are some people that think that Thailand and Thais have to endure everything only because they bring their money to our country. We will not bother anybody to buy something at our shop. Sometimes, people are just shopping because they want to experience the culture. We do understand that! Therefor, we will not directly approach you as soon that you enter our place. This does not mean that we do not care. We just do not want to bother you. So, please, do not feel neglected if in the first few moments nobody of us is speaking to you.  I started also traveling in South East Asia a bit shy and did not want to be hassled all the time. There were moments in the past that I entered a shop and was very interested in the things. Some sellers however jumped promptly on me and this was a shock. So, sometimes I went out of shops which had exciting things. The approach of the seller offended me with his too direct approach. We try to avoid this setting. But, I think you already know what I mean. We, at Nongluck Thai Wood, wish that our customers have all the time that they need. Of course, if you ask us a question, we will try to care as kindly as possible for you and your inquiries. We do not like hectic and stress and follow the Thai ideal of Sabaii Sabaii. This is the art of enjoying to relax. One of the reasons by the way that has kept me satisfied for such a long time in Thailand. Just no stress! The high value of patience is too often misunderstood in the modern world. If you take your time, everything will turn out to your satisfaction! This basically sums up our philosophy. Is it hard to handle? Don't worry, it took me years to get accustomed to the slow, peaceful and calm lifestyle. Fortunately, I am together with an extremely tolerant and generous woman who has let me the time to get used to it and finally becoming a master of Sabaii Sabaii.

Introduction for shoppers

Now, after having pointed out our philosophy, let's get it on with a guide how to buy things in far away countries. Of course, there are differences between countries so it is mainly about Thailand. Sometimes, I am getting really annoyed about all these bestselling travel guides. These books are definitely excellent in some parts such as describing sights, explaining routes and some about hotels and food. However, about shopping, particularly on Jatujak Market, they are rubbish! Well, they are utterly garbage as well about other things that are part of Thai lifestyle, but this is not the point. The Jatujak Market is completely wrong depicted by these books. I do not know about the intention of these writers who describe the shops on Jatujak. Their agenda remains unclear but they are not accurate and generalize just too much. I think the research that they have put into it was probably some kind of brainstorming in drunk conditions. Otherwise I have no clue how they can come up with some of their assumptions. I blame these books to destroy the relationship between any decent shop owner and his potential customers. It might be a hidden agenda to defend and protect traders that rip off customers, but I hope not. Just to say it directly to you, if a sales person gives you a 30% discount on a single item then this trader still rips you off! Any honest business person on Jatujak Market will not try to rip you off.Therefor it will never be possible that he gives you a discount of 30% that easily! That was eventually a bit fast, so let's get into more detail.

A classical example experience

Already in 1993, on the night bazaar of Chiang Mai, I tried to close a great deal. Initially, the sales woman was very kind and told me the price of 1600 Baht for an original hilltribe jacket. I had read in travel guides that it was possible to bargain the price down to the half. I followed the advice and went first ten minutes away and returned then to the shop. However, I was surprised that the sales woman decreased the price only slightly to 1500 Baht. I considered that as strange. I had expected a reduction to 1300 or 1400 Baht. Asked for a price offer, I suggested 600 Baht. If you want to bargain the half of the price, you have to propose first less of it. Now, the sales woman looked at me as if she had just seen an alien. She was obviously starting to get out of balance. This made me feel not that good anymore. I proposed quickly a new price offer at 900 Baht. She was cursing in Thai. I fortunately did not understand. She informed me then that her lowest price was 1300 Baht. I was still not satisfied and had the ignorance of the stereotype backpacker. I told her generously that 1200 Baht were okay. She was pretty annoyed but agreed on the price. She told me angrily that the only reason that she gave it to me was that she wanted to close her shop. Man, I must have really bargained her ass off! I must have really been an excellent bargainer! It was not directly as the travel guides wrote to get on any article easily 50% off. However, 25% or 400 Baht was already a lot. After I had paid and received the jacket, I left the shop. The sales woman shouted after me that I should never dare to come back. Now, that was also not my plan. So, why should I care? In retrospect I am still ashamed that I displayed such a behaviour. I made a good deal, indeed. But looking back, I was very rude. So, please try to understand the sales people. There are only some people with the intentions of ripping you off. Particularly, try to be kind

So, you really want the best price?

Reading the heading of this paragraph, you might think 'yeah. what a stupid question'. Now being serious with you, did you ever get anything valuable easily? I mean, except maybe a Russian mail order bride? Please, forgive me my sarcasm. So, clearly, logically you are just dreaming if you think that good prices are dropping automatically into your shopping bag. If you seriously want THE best price, then that can be as well frustrating. What is the best price for you? The cheapest deal? The lowest money for item? Then, you just make another mistake in your life. I was fortunate to meet an unconventional business man from Germany. He is pretty successful in the most things that he gets his hands on. I learned from him a big part about 'the best price is not always the cheapest'. His philosophy is to deal with nice people, not wasting any time for 20 cent more or less. This helps as well and to have a halfway trustworthy relation to the seller. So, let me rephrase. Do you always want to have the cheapest items? Okay, if your answer is yes, then you missed just the point. However, then you might gain most from the following explanations.

There are indeed ways to get the cheapest items but this needs a lot of work. The question is only if it is really worth to waste so much of your time for it. I hope you have understood my critic on the travel guide books. As I said they do not describe the truth. Further, they support the trader who wants to rip you off more than the honest business man. I invite any travel guide writer to discuss with me selling on Jatujak or even in Thailand! However, they are pretty good in other things such as describing you the way to Jatujak Market! Now, your purchasing trip or hunt for the cheapest price should not even start on Jatujak. You have to bring a lot of patience and time and start looking around on other markets such as Khao San Road, Lumpini Night Bazaar or eventually Patpong. Most of the sellers on the above mentioned markets buy on Jatujak and sell it then at more touristic locations. If you are far away from Jatujak Market then you might even want to buy there instead of traveling all the way to Bangkok's North, to the last Skytrain station. However, it is rather a rare occasion that you get the cheapest price at one of those markets. Now, there is a misconception about Jatujak which also derives from the travel guide books. Jatujak is not a retail but a wholesale market! If you do your shopping on Jatujak, then you will see that some shops really give you a discount of 30%. It is doubtful that you got the cheapest price at these shops. If a shop was 50% more expensive than a concurrent than they, of course, still make more profit by giving you this huge discount. Now, was it really worth it? How low is your salary per hour in your country? Just think about your time and effort in money. Then you will understand the least money for an item is just not the cheapest price!

Would you need some more details? Retail!

There are reasons why you can't expect huge discounts in retail. Our profit through wholesale and export accumulates approximately 80% of our total profit. Only 20% we make through retail. Customers who buy only one piece are in a dwindling minority. Therefor, please understand, we hardly give you any discount if you buy only one item. However, we try to sell in the best interest of customer satisfaction. We still give you a minimal discount of maybe 5-10% if you ask kindly enough. Our prices have been for years now some of the lowest for comparable wood items on Jatujak. We are still happy for every customer who wants to take his small piece of Thailand back home. We love every customer equally independent from the volume of your purchase. If you take only one small coffee spoon or you take an entire set of massage tools or kitchen utensils does not matter for us. However, please consider the value of your purchase. If one piece costs only 20 cents or 20 pennies, do you really want to barter for a reduction of 5 cents? I mean, please understand, we are no beggars but traders. Would you really waste your time for the amount of 5 cent? So, it is hopefully obvious, please do not be ridiculous! Sometimes, we might be so bored that even such a barter can be entertaining but that is usually not the case. 

Well, you were interested in wholesale?

Wholesale has of course more chances than retail. Buy more get it cheaper, that easy. We give you of course larger discounts It is not unusual that we give you a discount of 20% if your total price is 500 Euro, Pounds or Dollars. In the case of wholesale, we however, hope for a peaceful business relationship. So, you make yourself life easier if you are peaceful, calm and patient. Trade will always be done from two sides. Do not expect that we will keep our cool and be calm and friendly if your approach is insulting or rude. In some countries it is a sign of business if you are frontal and tough but that will help you in Thailand not at all. We can on the other side warn of sales people that seem to be a bit dodgy because they don't seem to be honest. Usually they do really not propose you good deals! Better if you keep away from such sales! This does not mean that you have to perceive us as friendly. Not everybody will like my wonderful stepdaughter or my super kind sister-in-law. People are different, in your country and in Thailand, too. I can only promise you that we will try our best to satisfy you as a customer and give you highest respect as a person. Then of course it will be easier to get to a good deal.

Can there be problems with article shortage and delays in delivery times?

We can provide for you most articles in any quantity in the duration of two to three weeks. However, there are certain times that you have to plan with longer waiting times. In April, around the Thai New Year Songkran, most Thais are not working. Then, unfortunately, the delivery periods can be extended of two to three additional weeks. The same is the case during the times of harvest. Most of our friends and family members are, besides being producers of wooden items, farmers. Therefor harvest time is a very intense period of the year. In the case that you wish to be our customer, we will not tell you any lies or stories. We are very much interested in transparency and honesty.  Therefor, we will tell you directly at the time of your order the approximate handling time. We do not see any benefits in giving you false information. This would be contradicting with our desire to extend continuously our customer base. We are not interested in making only the fast cash. After 12 successful years on the Jatujak Market, we have a reputation to loose if we are not honest with our customers.

Sounds nice. Can you give us any suggestions what to buy now?

This depends on if you are interested in retail or wholesale. If you are interested in souvenirs it is different than building serious business based on our products. So, I will write separately about it.

I want a few items that I can't get on the internet!

Generally spoken, we will not offer any of the larger items on the internet. An exception is during our summer sales. If you want to take articles with you in the plane, then there are two things that should be of most interest. First, the weight will be an important issue for you. Our largest articles have a weight of 500 gram. These are the trays, plates and large bowls. This means in most airlines you have a minimum weight of 20 kilogram. So, it should not be such a big problem. The size is the second issue. However, this usually is applicable only for our long shoe horns and the walking sticks. These, many airlines nowadays let you take into the cabin but will store in a special department, so don't worry. Otherwise, I can basically give you only the advice to buy what you really like. If you want to buy a present, then please think what the person would like most and about the interests of the person. Your friend might like massage, then you can bring him a massage tool. Your mother likes cooking? Bring her some cooking tools such as spatulas, serving spoons or bowls. We are sure you will find something suitable if the person is a wood lover. Something else you might be worrying about are the customs. All our used species of wood are from not endangered trees. Customs in most countries will have no issues with manufactured wooden items. It is different to whole pieces of not progressed wood such as a stem or a branch. We do not sell these items and so we cannot take any guarantees for them as well.

Would you like to trade with our articles?

Welcome! No, we are not afraid to loose online business if you become a trader of our articles. We are always happy if we meet new wholesalers. Everybody can make business with our products. We have customers in France, the United States and on the Maldives. The market is far from being satisfied. There is always place for more distributors of our items. You can sell these products in shops, on markets and at concerts. We just don't do one thing which is giving you a sole trading right for a country or a region. Unfortunately, if you expect to be the only trader in your region then we have to disappoint you.

Another question concerns the customs. We can give you only information about Germany where wooden products are custom tax free but we have to pay import tax of 19%. I have no idea how that is with other countries. If this is your first attempt to export products from Thailand, please contact a cargo agent. Usually, the cargo businesses on Jatujak are quite competitive. I have heard tho that there are better deals if you want to load an entire container on Rama IV and Thonglor Road. I would suggest you to send the articles by ship as by air is outrageous expensive. In the case of sea transport, most cargo agents will tell you of a shipping time of around four weeks. That is far beside reality. You can calculate at least with a duration of six to eight weeks that the vessel needs to your country. Be careful about the cargo agent! So far, we have not met any cargo agent that we would trust 100%. Unfortunately, sending things is a number game which relies a lot on the responsibility of the agent. We have already experienced complete failures where parts or the entire cargo got damaged or lost. Please, use logic by evaluating the situation. No cargo agent accepts articles with failures from the trader. This would be too much of a risk. So, we deliver our articles and then they break on the transport and not before. The cheapest agents don't have to be the worst. There is no 'super agent' who can offer you any guarantee! We usually decide in favour of the cheapest option. There aren't any guarantees and we face the same risks with all companies. So why should we pay more money? It just doesn't make any sense! Some agents may offer you fumigation. Only to get this clear, your wood will not be specially treated. The fumigation means that your load will be put into wooden crates. These crates get the special treatment, not your articles. However, this doesn't mean that your goods will be better protected. Therefor, again, why to pay additionally money?

YOU HAVE DESCRIBED EVERYTHING VERY NICELY BUT AREN'T THERE ANY PROBLEMS AT NONGLUCK THAI WOOD?

We are not perfect! I think a statement to be perfect is ridiculous. The biggest problem that you'll probably have to face in dealing with our shop is communication. My sister-in-law speaks splendid English because she has been years in South Africa. However, as you may know there can be always misunderstandings. Services in other languages we do not provide, except German. I offer you additionally one other service, to arrange business between other traders and yourself as I am fluent in English, Thai and German. But this is not a free service and you'll need to contact me at least two weeks in advance.
There is of course always the cultural misunderstanding. These interpersonal errors usually occur when the body language of one culture is differently to the other. So, please do not compare the behaviour of my sister-in-law and my stepdaughter with western styles. They both have contact with foreigners but are still fortunately traditional Thai.

I hope that you are now interested in dropping by in our Jatujak shop. Further, I wish that I got my advices across and that you have now less problems in doing business with Thai enterprises.  If I was successful then you have now won a closer picture about the perspective of us as sales people. One more final advice, please be patient, try to smile and be kind. This will open you many doors in Thailand.

OUR ARTICLES I

OVERVIEW

We wrote in our last post about the variety of the species of wood that we use for our production. This post is the first of a few that have the purpose to explain you some facts about our different articles. The here provided information shall help you to get a deeper view into the details and the background of our items. We'd like to add a bit of a historical insight view this shows the cultural Thai background. Previously, wood played quite a big part in the life of a Thai community. Thais have used wooden kitchen articles and massage tools for ages. Historically, wood was used a lot before it was in great parts replaced by metal and plastic. However, we have hope that it will become popular again as it is a recycling product from nature.

VARIETY

We offer our articles at the moment at two different places. First, on the internet on market portals ebay and amazon and soon in our own web shop. We have as well our shop Nongluck Thai Wood on Jatujak market. some of our articles are household utensils which are traditionally parts of Thai culture. Others, massage tools which have been developed in the last century. Finally, other items such as shoe horns have been introduced because of the contact with western countries. 

HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS

We have a large variety of household utensils in our shop on Jatujak in Bangkok. The first items that we have displayed on ebay is a set of cutlery, including fork and spoon. Why this kind of combination? Thais are usually not using knives for dining. Actually, knives gained only in popularity after Thais developed a fable for western food, particularly steaks. Historically, so to speak, Thais use a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left hand. Often, the Thai is even using only the spoon. The fork fulfills the function of pushing the food on the spoon. Then it is put with the spoon into the mouth. Even now, residing over the summer months in Germany, I have got used to it that much that I use this combination to eat my lunch. The spoon, logically observed, is actually the best piece of cutlery. It is easy to eat with it, and to a certain part, it is difficult to hurt yourself with it. The fork is not that broad as a spoon. There are always falling pieces down from it. The act of piercing which is required of a fork is a violent act. Therefor, it is not that popular among Thais. Now a knife uses cutting and this is not a caring progress and it is also used in warfare. So, what shall it have to do at a peaceful dinner table? It is dangerous and food can be already separated into pieces at the preparation of a meal. So, traditionally, the knife is not a classical part of cutlery in Thailand. We have also no knives for sale in our shop on Jatujak but only tools to spread jam or honey.  

Further, we have a wide variety of small coffee and tea spoons in our shop. We produce them from different kinds of wood in various designs. We have spoons made from moringa oleifera, rosewood, Samean wood, tamarind wood, palm wood and a combination of palm wood and coconut shell. We offer from these kinds of wood as well larger spoons to stir coffee, juice and cocktails. Maybe you had a look at our short video already. Then you might have an impression about the diversity of our products.

Most of our article for the household are made from palm wood. However, we expand at the moment frequently our assortment to products made from rubber tree wood. These have the second largest variety. We use palm wood items as spatulas, ladles and serving spoons. Further we supply from this material pestle and mortars, coffee and wine cups and glasses in various sizes. We have as well dishes and trays and saucers. Rubber tree wood has the advantage that it is a hard wood. We can use it for bigger items. There are different trays, dishes and containers such as cups and buckets.  

Our drinking vessels, glasses and cups, are waterproof and can be used for a few years. We do not use coconut wood as this is not waterproof. It soaks up the water and cannot keep its original shape. These problems we do not face by using palm wood and rubber tree wood. We have however smaller cups and tea cans from coconut shell which is also waterproof. 

Even that our articles are manufactured in small family businesses, we can claim to provide high quality. We do not use any chemicals at the production. We do care about the medical health of our customers. Why should we endanger it only for making some small profit? You can use all our household articles without any problems at dining and drinking. We do not use any lack as well. There is no chemical glue because the health of our customers is the most important thing for us. Just, use common sense at the usage such as you would with any ceramic or plastic items.

There is only one small problem. You cannot put the wooden items into a dish washer. You have to clean them by hand with hot water and as you wish with your preferred cleaning substance. In the dish washer the articles would not only break but you would cause damage at the machine.

OUR PRODUCTS

INTRODUCTION

As I already wrote in our first post, we are one of the manufacturers in Thailand for wooden household utensils and massage tools. We have many friends, kins and distant relatives who have asked us to distribute their products abroad in the future. We have specialised personally on the production of palm wood articles. The other offered products are manufactured by our friends and family relatives. These manufacturers are small family enterprises. It is on the internet often said that these articles are produced by hill tribe people in the North of the country. This is wrong! Being precise, in North Thailand there isn't a great variety on different types of wood. The main wood article of the North was teak. Unfortunately, large companies have exploited this wood too much. In the area around Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son, there aren't large resources of rose wood, palm wood or even rubber wood.  We will introduce you in this post to various types of wood which are used in Thailand. We will as well mention the parts of the country where these species of trees are found most. In a following post, we will display then to you our product palette. 

There seems to be the myth on the internet that the sales of wooden articles support the hill tribe people. Hill tribes do not produce these items. The production of wooden articles is unfortunately not in their ability. These articles do not help the indigenous people to find an alternative to the opium and ganja trade. The items have a complete different cultural background. They are derived from a cultural tradition of people in the Northeast Thailand (Isaan) and central Thailand! They manifest a cultural heritage of these regions.

THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF WOOD

  A wide variety of woods is used in Thailand for the production. There are teak, palm wood, rosewood (the name derives from the colour of the tree and not a relation to the flower). There is a real problem in Thailand about rosewood and teak which were exploited and cut down in too many places. Therefor, these two kinds of wood are only limited accessible. Coconut tree wood is a complimentary to the palm wood. It has gained some market share only in recent years. The wood of the rubber tree has become popular as a white wood besides the wood of the drumstick tree. Later, is usually not declared correctly, neither on markets nor on the net. Further, there are some less known trees used for production such as the  Malacca tree, tamarind and the Albizia saman. Bamboo and mango are not so much suitable for the production of high quality household utensils and massage tools. 

PALMWOOD 

Often, palm wood is used to manufacture wooden articles. It is the wood of the sugar palm. If the tree becomes old or unfruitful it will be cut down and used as a recycle material. Then it is used for the production of household items, massage tools or other practical articles. Previously, these fascinating trees were only cut down and used as fire material. It is also possible to manufacture large items with the wood. These are articles such as furniture, building materials or even complete parquet floor. Palm wood comes traditionally from central Thailand from the provinces of Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi and Petchaburi. Nowadays, there are some fine artisans as well in the Northeast of Thailand such as in Buriram or Sakaeo.

TEAK

This wood has been popular for many years. Unfortunately, nowadays it is an endangered species. It has fell victim to deforestation.  Previously, there was a lot of the tropical teak forest in the provinces Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son. The deforestation was mainly caused by the expansion of North Thailand's road system. As the new highway between these two provinces was built, the amount of deforested area that was incredibly large. Alone between 1945 and 1975 the amount of area covered by forest dropped from 61% down to 34%. Further, Thailand is losing per year 3.4% of its forest. Laws were established to protect the teak trees. The owner of teak is only allowed to cut 10 years after the initial date of planting only 20% of the trees. A farmer has further to replant at least half of the amount of trees with new seedlings. This compensation is however, in my personal opinion, much too low but at least a start.

Teak is an extremely hard wood which is best suited for the production of furniture such as beds, tables, cupboards and shelves. It must be manufactured by using heavy machinery and is so not suitable for the small enterprises. Therefor, even about this wood it is just wrong to state that it is an article made by hill tribe people.

 ROSEWOOD

In the last decade, this famous and fascinating wood has suffered a horrible large decrease by deforestation. Particularly, Chinese millionaires have favoured it for building and decorating their homes. So, too many trees were cut down and which makes it worse Thailand is one of its last habitats. Conservationists project that the species could be extinct within 10 years (by 2026). (1)

Unfortunately, the Thai sense for keeping the nature in balance is not very developed. The concept is missing of keeping the environment intact for future generations. Well, it is even understandable as Thais still believe in the old saying of 'in water, there is fish; in the field, there is rice'. This indicates an abundance of food. It shows as well that Thais never had the need to not consider much about their natural resources. A lot of Thais think that everything will still be there for them plentiful in the next decades.
It is often the greed of keen business people and corruption of the local administration which still does not enforce the rules of a reduction in deforestation. It is an urban legend that Thais would need this nonfunctional policy as they are too poor. Thais in general are not poor but rather wealthy. It is very often the image (or face) that has to be kept. So, they do not plan reasonably with all their resources but waste them only to make money. Well, it is just the same as all over on our planet!
The same rules as for teak apply for rosewood. It is not legal to export it in raw conditions. However, the customs are too often looking away and only a small number of illegal exports is stopped.
Considering this condition, I hope it has become obvious that we cannot offer you a wide variety of articles made from rosewood. Many articles declared as rosewood by other traders are indeed not items made from this material. I will write about compensatory woods in following paragraphs. We will only offer you as rosewood items which are really rosewood. The variety of the items has become limited. We have some smaller items such as coffee spoons, cutlery and massage tools. I promise you to describe all articles with the correct kind of wood that we have  used in the production. 

 WOOD FROM THE RUBBER TREE

This wood has milky white grain. It has become popular among Thais and foreigners. We have launched in the last two years many items manufactured from this wood. The rubber tree, as used in Thailand, is the Para rubber tree or also called sharinga. It is planted mainly in the South of Thailand on large plantations. The primary usage is as resource for the rubber and latex production. After 25 years, the harvest declines and then it is used for the production of many wooden articles. Productsmade from this wood, are 100% recycling products. It is a hardwood and we manufacture dishes, trays, containers, buckets, cups and bowls from this material. There is one thing we have to warn of before the purchase. If you see in stores a rather yellowish rubber wood article than this wood is not really usable. It can be easily infested by smaller insects such as termites.

 WOOD FROM THE COCONUT PALM

The coconut palm has a great versatility and can be used for many items such as food, cosmetics and also wooden house hold articles. The palm is fruitful for a duration of around 25 to 30 years. Then the wood is used as a recycling product. The coconut palm is widely common in Thailand in most parts of the country particularly the South.
There are some important differences to the above mentioned palm wood.  coconut wood soaks water and there is the danger that it can rot in the long run. This limits its usage so that we usually use it only as a complementary wood together with palm wood. Such an item are our yin yang salt and pepper spenders. The obvious visible difference is the colour of both woods' grain. The coconut wood has a rather light brown but the palm wood is darkish brown, such as umbra which can be as dark as almost black.

COCONUT SHELL

The fruit of the coconut shell is mainly used as food or as drink, as coconut meat or water. It is also used for oil and fat. Some interesting wooden household items are made of it, too. One of the most remarkable items are soap dishes. In combination with palm wood it is also used for ladles, cups and tea cans.


WOOD FROM THE DRUMSTICK TREE

The drumstick tree is rather known under its scientific name Moringa oleifera. Other names for it are horseradish tree, benzoil tree and ben oil tree. It is a fast growing deciduous tree which can reach a height of 10 to 12 meters quickly.  The smell of its roots often reminds of horseradish. Its roots were used by English soldiers in India as a horseradish substitute. However its wood looks fascinating and has no strong smell. The fruits of this tree are consumed as food and plant oil can be won from its seeds. Still, even such a wonderful tree has one time reached the age that it cannot be as productive anymore. Then its wood can be used for the production of wooden items. As the stem is not that thick, rather smaller articles are produced such as spoons and saucers. The drumstick tree can be mainly found in Northeast Thailand.

WOOD FROM THE MALACCA TREE AND TAMARIND

The wood of this two species of deciduous trees is often used as a substitute for teak wood. The Malacca tree is the only tree which is currently manufactured on big scale in the North of Thailand. The Malacca and the teak are similar in the wood grain. Many times, it is sold as real teak. So, there needs to be paid a bit attention if you are not offered a wrongfully addressed species of wood. The wood is qualitatively less valuable as the teak as it is lighter and has not such a high density. However, as the teak had to be replaced as a wood for manufacturing, the Malacca tree fulfills at least basic standards. It is known under its scientific name Phyllanthus emblica. Some people call it Indian gooseberry. In its productive years, all parts of the tree can be used in the Ayuverdic traditional medicine. Further, its fruits can be used for many traditional dishes. We use its wood for the production of games and some massage tools. Further, the wood has an excellent grade of hardness that it can be manufactured into wall hangings, boards, cupboards, shells, large elephant figurines and tables. The Tamarind is a further substitute for the teak but is not that often used as it is not that common placed as the Malacca tree.

WOOD OF THE ALBIZIA SAMAN

The Albizia saman or also called Samanea saman is quite popular in Thailand. It is a favourite tree in parks and very productive. It is the habitat of the insect kerria lacca which is cultivated to produce lac. This is used for shellac and resin. This is then used for the production of figurines made by Thai artisans but as well for vinyl products. The wood is a substitute for the rosewood as its grain is similar. Unfortunately, the wood cannot compensate fully the beauty of the rosewood. It is most common in the North of Thailand.

PROBLEMS OF BAMBOO AND MANGO WOOD

Many traders try on the Jatujak market to sell you articles from bamboo and mango. These are definitely beautiful items and have also their purpose and advantages. The bamboo is very often used to produce backscratchers, massage tools and smaller music instruments. The mango wood is often used for jars, flower vases, candle holders and bowls. Unfortunately, both kinds of wood feature big weaknesses.

Bamboo is a light wood which is unfortunately a breeding ground for insects such as termites. Therefor, it does not last a long time. You might ask yourself, after reading such as statement, about the reason that you have seen many bamboo houses in South East Asia. Well, the reason is pretty simple, they cost only 10% the price of stone or brick buildings in the construction. However, you will be shocked or surprised if I tell you that these houses usually only last three to five years without bigger repairs. Very often, these houses were only built for a temporary purpose.

Mango wood does not have such a problem but it is as well a light wood without a high density. So, it gets soaked quickly by water which can cause rotting. Further, this wood cannot keep water and so after only a short time of usage, water will start rinsing out of it. If you have bought flower vases of this material, then I suggest you to put either a plastic bag into it to use it or to use it only for dried flowers.

THE DIFFERENCE OF BRIGHTNESS IN GRAIN

We are asked frequently by customers the justified question about the reason why some items have different brightness in the grain. Trees, like people, are different from tree to tree as we are from person to person. Generally, trees are getting darker with progressing age. As well, same as people have birthmarks, trees have at times darker spots. This is not a mistake, weakness or even disease but a natural progress. As an example, the effect of sunlight or soil can effect the structure of the plant. As well that there are no perfect people, perfect trees are also very difficult to find. This is also the case if you order articles in sets. They are all different and therefor you can see that we do not use any colouring substances or bleaches.

SUMMARY

I hope that I have described clearly enough that we do not use endangered woods at KHT Kaufhaus Thailand and Nongluck Thai Wood. We are very much connected with nature but we see a possibility in recycling trees as a chance to bring it closer to you in your homes. We live on a great farm where my wife tries to grow a wide variety of trees. She is always happy if she can add a new species to our living tree collection. We love it to surround us with nature which means trees, plants and animals as they all bring joy to our lives.

1)  https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/01/more-valuable-than-gold-thailands-fight-to-save-the-siamese-rosewood/

KHT KAUFHAUS THAILAND AND NONGLUCK THAI WOOD - AN INTRODUCTION

KHT KAUFHAUS THAILAND

Hello and welcome, we are Kaufhaus Thailand, a sole proprietorship located in Germany and Thailand. We offer products from Asia, particularly Thailand. Our customers are located around the world. We are the only licensed distributor of articles from the manufacturer of wooden household and massage utensils Nongluck Thai Wood.

NONGLUCK THAI WOOD

 We are one of the manufacturers of wooden handicraft kitchen utensils and massage items in Thailand. We have been since 2005 on the Jatujak Market in Bangkok as a retailer and wholesaler. Initially, we were surprised that it was difficult to distribute our goods from own production on the market. After more than one decade we can happily say that the adventure JJ market was a success. Nowadays, we have two shops on the market and wholesale customers all over the world particularly Maldives, United States, Great Britain, France and Japan. If you are in Bangkok, find the time to visit Jatujak Market, the biggest weekend market in the world, and drop by our shop in Section 8, Soi 14/4 & 16/5. 

HERE A SHORT VIDEO HOW OUR SHOPS LOOK LIKE

GOLDEN SUMMER

We have started in 2016 to distribute our articles from Germany in the months of June to, including, September. This has the positive effect to our customers of a shorter delivery time . Further, the contact between us and you may even be more personally in some cases. As we have seen, many of our smaller or medium customers distribute our articles on the internet. I am German and so we have decided to use the same strategy with Germany as our summer residence. There is of course as well my personal aspect connected to take care of my old parents and spend some quality time with them.