Amazon in La Romana

Use a Dominican based shipping service. There is CPS, EPS, and Mail Boxes Etc here in Las Terrenas. La Romana will have one or more of those. They will provide you a drop box address in Miami. Ship your Amazon items to this Miami address and they forward to the shipping office in La Romana for pick up. Not cheap, about $5 per pound. And not particularly fast. About a week to get Amazon goods once dropped in Miami.

You phrased your question about ’bringing it yourself’

That is the simplest arrangement
$200 is the limit in the DR before taxes kick in
As said - the shipping is expensive

If you do ship….
You buy on your US account and register a new address
That your courier/importer will give you

Thanks for all the advise.
Should I get an instant pot in the US or can I find them there? If so, how much??

Thank u so much

There is a company called TPack with a branch in La Romana and Casa de Campo.  Whatever you order online - including Amazon, can be shipped and you can either pick it up at one of these two offices in La Romana, or for an extra fee have it delivered to your door.  I have used it for years to ship things to Santo Domingo only though.

Use EPS in La Romana and it gets here 4 days if amazon ships day of order. Highly recommend it.

You can check with stores like Plaza Lama, La Sirena, and other stores that carry small appliances. I haven't seen one here in Las Terrenas, but our shopping options are much more limited!

WillieWeb wrote:

You phrased your question about ’bringing it yourself’

That is the simplest arrangement
$200 is the limit in the DR before taxes kick in
As said - the shipping is expensive

If you do ship….
You buy on your US account and register a new address
That your courier/importer will give you

$200 would be max with using courier in Miami/EPS/amazon as well?

Rarely, will your bag be checked at the airport.... The $200 is moot there

The MIA connection will be taxed every time...
You submit the invoice....
Very strict....

DRVisitor wrote:

$200 would be max with using courier in Miami/EPS/amazon as well?

$200 isn't a limit - it's the threshold for import taxes to kick in. That includes tax and shipping, so you have to make sure the total invoice is less than $200 to avoid taxes.

There is a price mart I believe in Santiago you can get good prices on American products there....It is very similar to Costco, Sam's Club. BJ's etc. You could also just bring the instant pot in your luggage.

And pricemart has 4 locations in Santo Domingo.

Also remember that when importing you must also be aware of quantities even when under US 200 for a purchase.  For example I got hit with tax and duty on 4 sets of headphones.  They decided I was importing to resell.  I wasn't but it didn't matter. I paid the bill to get my items.

Insta Pots are pretty heavy for a suitcase.  I had a heck of a time finding a crock pot so I am betting Insta Pots aren't a real popular item either.

We are in Sosua and use CPS. We registered with them online. They assigned us a maritime address and an air address. I send them the link from Amazon of the item I want and they tell me which address to use.  I have also shipped from Wayfair. The items arrive at the CPS warehouse. They will hold them for a bit.  They will even deliver to your house for a little extra fee.

You do have to show ID and passport. And yes, after $200US, taxes kick in. But sometimes it's worth it.  You get charged taxes at shops too. Be careful on Prime Day. Sometimes Amazon shows the regular price and the sale price. The shipper will see the more expensive price and it gets confusing.

We don't have a Pricemart near us.  And I don't buy in bulk or use Costco here in the states. There are membership fees to join.  So paying the freight might be even if you wouldn't utilize club shopping.

Ikea delivers. There are also lots of local shops for furniture and appliances. It is fun and interesting to learn your neighborhood and bum around checking them out. We bought our living and dining room furniture, and washer/dryer locally. You will hang around all day waiting for delivery though...

But if you really want the Insta Pot, I would Amazon it.

Instapots are available at pricemart right now in Santo Domingo

Good to know. That is a buying club, right?

Yes similar to Costco Sam's etc.

Brewpub56 wrote:

Good to know. That is a buying club, right?

PriceSmart was started by the founder of PriceClub, which merged with Costco Wholesale and became the Costco you know today. They carry a lot of Kirkland/Kirkland Signature items which is Costco's house brand.

Membership is $35/year. We're over two hours to the closest location, but we've had a membership for the past two years - even before we moved here full time.  We find that in addition to better prices, there are some items that we just can't find here in Las Terrenas.

The website is available in English too!

I find the Kirkland products are excellent and you save alot of money.  I dont know if they have this product in DR, but I have seasonal allergies, and I take Aerius, the active ingredient is Desloratadine 5mg.  Well, this is now a generic drug, same active ingredient in the Kirkland brand.  I bought Kirckland's, 180 tablets for $20 (in Canada) where thats the price of 20 tablets of Aerius (in Canada).

Unfortunately, PriceSmart has about 5% of the OTC medications and supplements that Costco has!