Costs of shipping items to Negril
I recently shipped 4 barrels of new household and bathrooms goods and used clothing for my personal use down here and for future use when my house here is completed in the next several months. I also brought a 40" flat screen TV which I checked on my flight with Carribean Air out of PHL in November. The barrels were picked up in Wilmington, DE and didn't arrive to MBJ until 12/19.
For those who, like me, often wondered what the actual costs are and if it makes sense to ship items or just purchase them here (almost everything is available in Jamaica now), here are the details and my thoughts on the overall process:
Prior to departing for Negril in mid-November, I purchased approximately $2,500US worth of items for my personal use commensurate with the construction of my new house. The items were faucets, shower heads, towel bars, shower curtains, linens for the bathroom, ceiling fans, high quality pots and pans, kitchen gadgets, German knives, silverware, china, etc. and a 40" flat screen TV.
The total cost of shipping, duty, etc. was as follows:
Purchase and shipping of 4 barrels from PHL to MBJ ($95/ea shipping+ $35/ea barrel purchase) $520US
Additional baggage fee for checking TV on plane $0 (yes, that's correct)
Duty paid on TV at MBJ $0 (but it did claim $400US of the $500US duty free exemption)
Importer's fee (Smith's Importing) - for handling items, paid at their office in MBJ $12,000J ($141US)
Wharfingers Receipt - Port Handlers, Ltd (listing non palletized cargo, handling charge, surcharge) $903J ($11US)
Duty paid on 4 barrels (customs assigned values to my goods of Household Items $12,648J, Clothing $10,000J, Toiletries $10,000J) $15,600J ($183US)
"Tip" paid to my friend's friend who works at wharf to bump us up in line $1,500J ($18US)
Tip paid to barrel loader at wharf, helping get barrels unto truck $500J ($6US)
Gas and fee paid to my driver for r/t transportation from Sav $100US
Total cost of shipping/duties, etc. was $979, or 39% of the value of the new goods I shipped. I did not include the value of my used clothing, but I shipped down 30 shirts, 20+ pairs of shorts, 10+ pairs of sandals, belts, over 100 DVDs, etc.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the cost of shipping items to Negril from the US. The 40" TV alone, saved me about $600US as comparible ones here cost about $100,000J (including GCT).
One VERY IMPORTANT tip:
DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT SHIPPING ITEMS AROUND CHRISTMAS TIME. THE VOLUME AT THE WHARF IS VERY HIGH AND IT TAKES FOREVER TO CLEAR YOUR ITEMS. IT TOOK 12 HOURS TO CLEAR MY 4 BARRELS, A PROCESS OF WHICH CAN BE DONE IN 2-3 HOURS ANY OTHER TIME OF THE YEAR.
Forgot to add $400J for 2 Red Stripes on the way home to calm my nerves after spending all day there.;)
