Walmart Groceries Back to the Virgin Islands?

i made a dummy order a couple of months back. i placed three items in the cart but the shipping was more than the cost of the items.

I'm not sure 40% surcharge for shipping is worth it. I'd be interested in knowing what the $70 worth of items were so I could compare with buying here, or other online sources, to consider it most fairly. Personally I still won't shop at Walmart but it is worth the comparison for my friends who do.

I've never got food with bugs here. Maybe it's because I don't buy much processed food? And I primarily buy my staples at CostULess (yes I know they're Canadian) where the food items turn over pretty quickly.

I do order speciality products like coconut aminos via Amazon. I also will order direct from Bob's Red Mill or beans from Rancho Gordo. Those I ship via VI Cargo and it cost about $5 an order to get here.

Btw my friends and I were discussing a few days ago how prices have gone down at Food Town since the renovation - we expected them to go up. But prices on many things are now comparable to stateside.

IMO, the 40% charge for the shipping is well worth it because most of the items we ordered you can't get here , if you do they are stale, or they are at least 100% more in cost! It is also very convenient. Some of the items were bulky and heavy so that may have influenced the shipping costs. Need ot play around with it a bit!

I did notice a trick to this in that ifyou order over $45 of groceries, which was the cutoff point for Free Shipping in the past, you get a discount on the shipping. In my case, it was $20.

JulieKay, we just took a huge box of Kelloggs Raison Bran back Friday that we had purchased on Thursday. We opened it and a swarm of pantry bugs flew out of it. Not too appetizing! We put the entire box in a plastic bag and took it back. The girl at the store opened it, and more bugs flew out! This is not the first time this has happened.

Have not been to the new Food Town since the remodel. Will give it a try.

That's probably why, I don't buy cereal and stuff like that. More just staples like flour, pasta, etc.

What do you buy that's 100% more in cost here? I see some things that can be more but not 100%? Is that cereal again?

Honestly I feed the two of us on less than $500 a month, including paper goods, and I don't order all that much, probably $100 worth every six weeks or so. And we eat well! *grins*

Btw if you are ordering shelf-stable goods, it's way cheaper to ship via VI Cargo vs. USPS. It's worth the week to wait for me.

I have Amazon Prime so my items are shipped to Miami for free, and then it's on average $5 per order to get it here. Very affordable.

Remember drugstore.com ships here - I just received a huge order from them and it arrived in about a week with free shipping over $35 - Organic Coconut Oil, detergent, peanut butter, protein bars, shampoo, conditioner, cat treats etc. I was expecting it to take 5 weeks as they were shipping via "ground" (not priority) so was pleasantly surprised when it arrived in about a week. I don't eat cereal but they do sell it so it might be worth looking into.

Pia

What do you buy that's 100% more in cost here? I see some things that can be more but not 100%? Is that cereal again?
quote]

Hi JulieKay
Just off the top of my head, Triscuits, Saltines, Long Grain Brown Minute Rice. Triscuits were $4.89 at Plaza yesterday and $2.50 from Walmart. Just returned a box of Premum Saltines to Plaza as they were unedible. Can;t purchase the rice at all.

It's mainly stufff that we can't buy here and we usually haul back from trips to the States.

It's just two of us also and we easily top the $500 mark every month on groceries here.

 

So cool to know that no matter how long I am trapped in some silly overpriced vacation rental before I get to move in, I can still eat because I have a walmart & an amazon card.

No to sound too paranoid BUT I believe all the chatter before is what stopped the shipping.

No to sound too paranoid BUT I believe all the chatter before is what stopped the shipping.

*-) I say nothing! LOL

Oh okay gonetropo, that makes sense. I don't buy those items (crackers, cereal, etc) just because we don't eat much processed food or flour or sugar. I eat low carb/paleo most of the time (mainly meats and vegetables) and my husband is vegetarian most of the time (vegetables, fruits, beans, rice). I buy a lot of local produce, local eggs and honey, and some meats. Rice I buy rice at CostULess, but I'm thinking about ordering organic Indian basmati from nuts.com (they ship here too). I don't use "minute" rice though, I use my rice cooker, toss it in and forget it! *grins* Beans I either order from Rancho Gordo or hand carry them back from the states, stale supermarket shelf beans (even in the states) are icky. Most beans on supermarket shelves are years old! I buy my cheese at CostULess and butter at Food Town (KerryGold). No milk, very little yogurt, I buy the Middle Eastern Labneh yogurt at Food Town when they have it. I make my own spaghetti sauce in season and can it when I can, I make my own pickles, etc. Food prep is a big hobby of mine and it's what I love, during my "down time" I'm always reading cookbooks! But really I don't spend a ton of time on things, a pot of beans lasts 2 - 3 days, when I make rice I make extra, we always have fruit or cheese ready to grab and eat. All we drink is water, tea, and wine, and the tea is from the states (my husband makes the teapot, lol). I will sometimes buy frozen chicken breasts out of desperation but I try not to use them too often, or else I'll buy a local hen from Sejah or an organic hen from Annaly. I do buy the senepol hamburger but I've been told it's blended with chuck from the states, not sure if that's true, I will ask next time I'm in.

That's about all that's in our fridge and pantry, other than spices which I order from Penzey's, I'm an addict. But this doesn't mean we're some kind of food angels, sometimes you will see us at 1844 or Good Spirits having a burger and fries! My one rule about food is that it needs to be "worth eating." Sometimes that means an indulgence. But I gave up processed foods and diet sodas for the most part years ago and really I feel better at 43 than I did at 33. I'm not always perfect with it but I think we eat pretty well, and within our budget. 🙂

How on earth did anyone manage here before internet shopping came on the scene? How on earth did we manage to stay healthy before even supermarkets proliferated? It's simply mind-boggling, isn't it?

I would do just fine, OldTart. I'm happy buying local produce and meats and provisions. I would miss my wine though, ha ha! Guess I'd have to finally get used to rum. *teeters*

FWIW, though, OldTart, people have been importing food to the VI for a LONG time. I think the last people to live here self-sustained were the Pre-Columbian indigenous cultures.

FWIW, though, OldTart, people have been importing food to the VI for a LONG time. I think the last people to live here self-sustained were the Pre-Columbian indigenous cultures.

Thanks for the info. I had no idea that was the case.

Buck Island used to be an essentially "one stop shop" for shipping excursions. Between livestock and provisions and fruit trees that were grown there, it was essentially a re-stocking spot, amongst other things. And a lot of our traditional Crucian dishes contain ingredients that are not indigenous to the islands, everything from fungi to johnny cakes to saltfish. If you want to eat 100% local, I'd recommend reef fish, conch, and cassava, because there's not much else.

Btw if you are ordering shelf-stable goods, it's way cheaper to ship via VI Cargo vs. USPS. It's worth the week to wait for me.

I have Amazon Prime so my items are shipped to Miami for free, and then it's on average $5 per order to get it here. Very affordable.

Hey JulieKay, we have been totally hosed doing the VI Cargo route. For one thing, you don't know the size of the box that the store is going to put it in and then you don't know how many boxes they are going to send. They charge on the volume/cu ft.

Just last year, we sent a package through VI Cargo and when they called, I almost fainted. The cost was $57.00 from Florida for 2 boxes of dog treats. The shipper put the 2 small boxes in a box the size of the refrigerator and pack it full of bubble wrap.
Fortunatley, Marisa at VI Cargo understood and just charged us the minimum.

I haven't had that trouble in quite a while. I do know that Amazon has been on a mission to eliminate the "stupid shipper gang" (not my term, theirs) and "right size" boxes for all their shipments. It's one of the reasons they ask for packaging feedback on every order. I haven't had a big box with a small item in a couple of years now.

The secret is to combine orders and order a number of things at once. Last week I picked up 9 boxes of all different sizes and it was $41. It's generally always that way for me. I use them for pretty much all my shipping here - when 3 cookbooks shipped via USPS from Amazon is $26 in shipping fees, or else $5 if I wait on the boat, I'll take the boat! Also they're advertising summer rates now. It's totally worth it to me.

ETA: I hope you told whoever shipped you those dog treats how dumb that was! 😀

Marissa and crew from VI Cargo started their own company--Paradise Freight; same great service and all the friendly faces we know.

www.paradisefreight.com

I haven't tried Paradise yet but I plan on it. Always comparison shopping! 😉

How on earth did anyone manage here before internet shopping came on the scene? How on earth did we manage to stay healthy before even supermarkets proliferated? It's simply mind-boggling, isn't it?

We remember the terrible frozen chickens they used to sell in Pueblo on stx back in the 80's...looked liked they sat on the dock somewhere for days before being refrozen and sent to us!

We remember the terrible frozen chickens they used to sell in Pueblo on stx back in the 80's...looked liked they sat on the dock somewhere for days before being refrozen and sent to us!

Pueblo was our only option on STT too (Grand Union, which is no more after being destroyed in Marilyn, came later) but I don't particularly remember nasty frozen chickens although I know exactly what you're talking about! It was certainly so very different back then and, Lord knows, I never expected that 30 years later I'd still be here to reminisce!

I haven't had that trouble in quite a while. I do know that Amazon has been on a mission to eliminate the "stupid shipper gang" (not my term, theirs) and "right size" boxes for all their shipments. It's one of the reasons they ask for packaging feedback on every order. I haven't had a big box with a small item in a couple of years now.

The secret is to combine orders and order a number of things at once. Last week I picked up 9 boxes of all different sizes and it was $41. It's generally always that way for me. I use them for pretty much all my shipping here - when 3 cookbooks shipped via USPS from Amazon is $26 in shipping fees, or else $5 if I wait on the boat, I'll take the boat! Also they're advertising summer rates now. It's totally worth it to me.

ETA: I hope you told whoever shipped you those dog treats how dumb that was! 😀

Will have to try that out again, maybe through Marissa at Paradise Freight. Have not tried them yet but have been hesitant to ship groceries through VI Cargo or Paradise. We should try the groceries through Amazon that way.

Yep, did call Petco customer service but of course you get the standard line, 'the warehouse did that, not us' rational!

Butter came in cans from Denmark or you made your own.

There is an excellent book called Traditional Medicinal Plants of STX, STT & STJ which is put out by UVI co-operative extension services which has plants indigenous to the VI. I think, it lists about 68 useful, native plants, if I recall.
Also Cassava is not the only native, edible plant. There are lots more.
I would not be so quick to eat reef fish these days due to ciguatera and lets no forget conch has seasons and limits.

Virgin Islanders got along just fine without ordering via the internet for generations. Of course, things were vastly different then and we did not have the populations on each island we now do and everyone pretty much knew everyone. People for the most part lived in or near towns and shop owners pretty much lived above their businesses or nearby. Our island towns did thriving business without the cruise ships and were busy day and night with people shopping, going to dinner or a movie, all in town. Nowadays, Charlotte Amalie town is dead by 6 PM.

Nice to have the option to order from off island if you so choose but certainly not essential to living here in terms of buying groceries.