VAT??

What he is referring to -  in some stores you pay cash it is an under the counter sale and you do not pay the ITBIS (our VAT)  -  most large stores the ITBIS is built in.

In some cases there is an additional charge that will be applied to credit card payments - the processing fee is quite large here for most smaller vendors. It can be  6 or 8 % or more if they think they can get away with it.

Pricesmart - what you see is what you pay!

Oh...and I'm a "she"  LOL

Yup  the he I was referring to was your hubby.....LOL  I figured you was a she.....

On the subject of taxes, if I ship in several "blue barrels" with obviously old & well used kitchen stuff IE:  toaster, micro, cast irnon pots & pans, processor, knives, plates etc, do I have to have receipts to show their age & puchased value of 15 to 20 yers ago?  Needless to say, I don't have paper work for any of it.
I also have old used wood working tools, saws, drills, wrenches,hammers, all the usual handy man around the house stuff.  Same question.  Nothing is for re-sale, just personal use.  What's the skinny on this?  Thanks for any help. The Tinker does tinker around the house.

LOL  It's all good...I used xoom now twice, once to pay for some work to be done to our house and now for cash pick up and it really was available in 15 minutes!  You can pay like US $5 for a slower out of your bank account transaction....or $75 for immediate...but in a crunch, it's good to know that's an option!

you should be ok gypsy. They can tell used items. I have shipped just about anything equipment wise you can think of. all new. Pressure washers, pumps. compressors, lathe parts , complete suspension for vehicles. Even cut and weld back together if I have to to reassemble.  they gave me a stink eye a few times. The biggest thing they do not like is new electrical items. They always ask that. this is for your use so you should be fine. Just include a list of everything you put in it and photos to make sure you get it all. Our blue shippers are good friends so we tend to get away with some things

I think the blue barrel option might be a good one for next time...we shipped a dual fuel generator because it was $350 cheaper here...and then paid $350 to have it delivered!  LOL  (Bob, Planner, that item was the reason my shipping with CPS was so much more than I thought...) Now, I'm a bit better educated about what type of items it's economical to ship...learning lots every day!

I'm so happy to be having these problems!    Because it means we're Caribbean homeowners now! YAY!

Texas, thanks a lot. that's good news.  I have everything from tsble top  tsble saw to router & bits, several tool boxes for vrious things, ie: plumbing, electrical, chisels, cords, sanders,
etc.  Everything a home shop would have, grinders etc..  I know they don't hassel clothclbeer coasters & baseball caps from around the world. A couple of hundred each. I will take pics of it all.  Do I need prints or is  it ok to have on camera & cell pIt is a great relief toknow that I won't get charged for my personal stuff.  No way could I afftord to replace it all in the DR.  Owe you a few libations for sure.  Thanks again.

brodies2013 yes heavy items are expensive to ship no matter.  We sent a BBQ this past summer but even with the $150 or so in shipping it was about $200 cheaper than it would cost here.

Also many items here and "not the same" quality as the same item bought in the US. A lot of things sold here are either "seconds" or refurbished.

Bob K

Bob is right,  even if it is the same item it is often inferior quality, rebuilt of copies from  China etc.  BUT prices are dropping here on many many items.  TV's are now reasonable, laptops, printers ...... and BBQ's are easier to find (not sure on BBQ pricing) 

Gypsy -  be careful of things like 200 baseball caps -  they will possibly  label those as for resale  They will not likely understand "collecting" things like that. 

and I would  have prints as they are likely to go in some file somewhere, camera won't fit....

Planner,  none of the caps are in "Bristol" condition. They are beaten, battered & obviously used. No one would want to buy them any more than they would buy used underweare.  But then again, who knows what these inspectors ight get off on?  I'll take pics of them hanging on my living room walls.

Hahahahaha  that was funny Gypsy. Thanks.