Mailing Boxes To St. Croix

IslandPilots,

Companies like DHL, FedEx and UPS treat VI shipments as international, hence the steep rates. The USPS is the cheapest way to send boxes but you may have to wait several weeks for your boxes to arrive.

I shpped 20 boxes usps. They all arrived safely about 2-4 weeks later

What if we shipped the boxes to San Juan and picked them up at carriers office in San Juan? Is that considered international as well? It sounds like USPS might be the best bet. Do letters take 2-4 weeks as well? Just curious, because if they do it must be really hard to pay bills on time. Thanks for the timely responses!

First class mail take 1-2 days longer.

Ship your boxes priority mail. When shipping to zone eight it only cost a little more than parcel post. Priority mail will arrive in less than a week.

Just make sure to use good boxes, tape all edges and seams. Do not buy cheap packing tape.

Your packages will be fine.

I have never had a problem with anything I sent to STX using the post office.

Jim

We sent 32 large RubberMaid tubs from KC, MO to STX. Some arrived in 2 1/2 weeks, but most arrived about 3-4 weeks. It worked great really - We use the containers now on our patio for storing scuba & snorkeling gear, in the closet for "stupid stuff" we brought down, and for storing all kinds of things.
For shipping we secured the lids on by drilling holes thru the lid and the lip of the container (about 6 holes around the edge) then pulled zip-ties through. Worked great and we didn't have to worry about boxes and tape coming apart in the humidity.

VI Cargo is fast - ship it to them in Miami at US rates and they'll send it over within a few days. It's more expensive than USPS, cheaper than UPS et al, and cheaper than I had expected.

This is a good solution for large items that can't be shipped by the Post Office, however when you ship items this way they have to pass through customs.

This means preparing a commercial bill of lading, paying taxes and duties.

Jim

Just curious, travelwoman, what "stupid things" did you bring down?:)

Out of curiosity..

How did you all ship boxes prior to actually moving? Did anyone have a rental lined up prior to coming, or did you send it to a po box? It seems that most people find a place to stay after going, so how do you ship things ahead of time? We won't have a chance to do another pmv prior to actually moving so I have been wondering a lot about this.

Thanks.

Just wanted to let everyone know that the USPS got everything down here in less than a week!!! We sent them priority mail, and would do it again. Thanks for the advise everyone!

Dear Jim,

You are correct, goods shipped through a carrier, VI Cargo, for example, is subject to customs inspection. However the process is very simple and requires no "commercial" paperwork.

We sent down about 20 boxes and several pieces of furniture with VI Cargo. We put box inventories in each box and taped one to the top of each box, along with our names, address and phone number.

Our son-in-law delivered our things to Florida and VI Cargo handled it from there. They shipped everything down and, when it arrived on STX, cleared the items through customs. They called and told us when we could pick everything up.

We only had used items of minimal value. I don't remember the total cost, but we felt it was reasonable for the service we received.

Nice peole, both in Florida and on STX. Hope this helps.

We have a temporary place to stay but when I asked for an address to send boxes, they gave me a PO box...at this point I am not sure whether USPS will ship to a PO box. I am going to try and find out today and will reply with an answer. If they won't, then we are going to leave our boxes with a friend for shipment when we get a permanent place.

Laura

Laura: As most people here do not have home delivery, only PO boxes, yes, you CAN ship boxes. They put a little note in your box and you pick it up at a window. When I moved here, I shipped 20 something boxes. After a couple of days, the guy would see me walk toward the door and have that day's shipment ready! 😉

Yea! Thanks East Ender:)

I have shipped furniture and other items from Chicago to STX using Econo Caribe.

All a commerical invoice is, is a list putting a value on each of the items in the shipment and the country in which it was manufactured.

If you try to short cut the process, assuming the carrier will accept the goods for shipment, you risk a big headache at the receiving end.

One of the reasons the VI doesn't have more mainland chain stores is that the process of replenishing store inventory involves additional paperwork, processes and costs. Home Depot had problems getting started because they didn't understand what needed to be done.

This additional paperwork is also why DHL, FedEx, etc. treat the VI as an international destination

Shipping by the Post Office to the VI is the easiest method.

Jim

Good Morning,
I left a message in the pvt messages for travelwoman but not sure if you received it. we are making a move to STX by Christmas of 2006. nd will be mailing our items down as well/. we were wondering on wht size the rubber maid containers were adn how much weight did you put into them. also did you use regluar mail or Priority mail.
Thanks

Hello,

Tango, some people don't mail stuff down, they bring just what can fit in the maximum amount of luggage allowed when flying down, some folks have set up mail boxes and mail the items to themselves, some send it General Delivery to the post office expecting to find an apartment soon after arrival and then can bring their boxes there (Gen. Delivery has a set amount of time required for pick up before they return to sender so you have to plan your shipping and your arrival well), some mail items to the hotel or inn they are staying at while they find an apartment (ask wherever you are staying if this is ok - I am sure it depends on how many boxes you are actually sending), some folks leave labeled boxes with friends/family and keep a list with what’s in Box 1, 2 etc. and then ask the friends to send it down when they need what is in the respective box and some do have places lined up from PMVs or friends or realtors. Also there are storage facilities here if you need one.

Allenkavanaugh, I have used the Rubbermaid container for mailing items also (didn't do the drilling on the lid just used a whole lot of tape). I don't recall the size I used, but I wanted to throw a note out that you and others should check the USPS website for weight and also size restrictions so avoid having to unpack and repack boxes (it’s happened to me before). The website is http://www.usps.com. They also have a calculator on there so you can estimate the postage costs on the boxes once you know their weight.

--Islander

Thank you again Islander! You are very helpful.

USPS will send boxes up to 108 inches (Length + girth) and up to 70 lbs.