Shipping Foods
Are there any restrictions on shipping foods, primarily unopened packaged foods, into St. Thomas from the mainland? Are there any taxes or duties that anyone would know about?
When we come down for a few months in the Winter, we go to Sam's Club/BJ's/Costco and buy frozen meats and shrimp and other things that are 1. Favorite things 2. better quality 3. Or less expensive. We put the frozen foods in a big cooler. Duct tape the cooler. Put it in an "army duffel bag", weigh it (70 lbs max) and check it as luggage. We've had no problem getting the food through customs/STT/King Airport and have not had any taxes/duties applied. No questions asked actually. Except, for last year we bought a new "army duffel bag" from the Army/Navy Surplus that, as we discovered at the Tampa airport, had some kind of munitions particles that set off some alarms. Momentary heart stopping event for TSA and me & my husband. Frozen food still completely frozen when we get to the house on Water Island. Sometimes TSA has opened a bag or two (with the telltale TSA notice inside) but no problems.
I've no experience mailing/shipping food through USPS.
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