I posted this on a completely different site but I think I will have more luck here.

I will be moving this summer to either St Croix or St Thomas from San Juan. I figure since the islands are not far there most be a cheap way to get stuff from Puerto Rico to the USVI.

Any ideas?

It would be nice to move my bed and kitchen table but if I sell those my largest item would be my bike. I moved 27 boxes here from San Francisco and now I will probably have about 35 boxes.

If you go to "The Move" on the top bar this page you'll find a lot of good information about shipping household goods. If you have boxes and they meet the USPS requirements and don't weigh more than 70 lbs then USPS parcel post is the best and cheapest bet but not fast (can take several weeks).

There are several shipping companies that operate between PR, STT and STX, such as [www.blackhawkshipping.com] and [www.normahfreight.com] .

That was very helpful STXBob. I contacted both companies and was provided with a lot of useful information. Even extra information on shipping my car as well

OldTart I did check that section before posting here. One company is out of business and the other only deals with moves stateside, where the third only had an email.

Most people are probably moving to the USVI from the states some information is directed to them. Since I am coming from an island less than 50 miles from STT and about 75 miles from STX my situation is a little different then the standard canned response.

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ChanelCinq
Since I am coming from an island less than 50 miles from STT and about 75 miles from STX my situation is a little different then the standard canned response.

Which is why I suggested the USPS parcel post option - and which I would suggest whether you were relocating from PR or mainland US since your main shipment is already boxed. I wasn't offering a "canned response" as, despite my age, my reading comprehension and general acuity remains intact. Try Tropical and Crowley too if sharing a trailer might be an option.

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OldTart

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ChanelCinq
Since I am coming from an island less than 50 miles from STT and about 75 miles from STX my situation is a little different then the standard canned response.

Which is why I suggested the USPS parcel post option - and which I would suggest whether you were relocating from PR or mainland US since your main shipment is already boxed. I wasn't offering a "canned response" as, despite my age, my reading comprehension and general acuity remains intact. Try Tropical and Crowley too if sharing a trailer might be an option.

Well it is not boxed yet and by being boxed that does not mean small neat sizes. I have two bikes, a surf board, and some other odd shaped stuff. I paid about 800 from San Francisco to San Juan because it went be sea. It was way cheaper than I would have thought. Hoping I can find the same or cheaper to the USVI. Or even better if I can get rid of some crap. I still have furniture and stuff in both my parent's woodshed and my grandparent' garage back in CA.

Sorry if I offended you. I read it as I should read the pages which I had already done.

I'll look into the trailer option you mentioned. Thanks for responding.

The folks that run Norma H are great, and on schedule. Have used them many times. Very reasonable rates too.

Check with Water Spirit Shipping - we use them for work and they are great people.

Thanks guys I'll look up each of the companies you listed. I really don't care how long it will take either. As long is it is cheap but the company is reputable. Though I can't imagine that going from SJU to one of the USVI would take long at all.

It took a month by sea to get my stuff from SFO but that was 4,000 miles or so.

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OldTart
Which is why I suggested the USPS parcel post option - and which I would suggest whether you were relocating from PR or mainland US since your main shipment is already boxed. I wasn't offering a "canned response" as, despite my age, my reading comprehension and general acuity remains intact. Try Tropical and Crowley too if sharing a trailer might be an option.

So my mom ships me stuff from time to time and uses parcel post and from CA it is not cheap because it is zone 1 to zone 8. Once she shipped me a jar of salsa and it was 11 bucks. It seemed absurd to use the USPS to move. I figured if I paid about 800 to ship 27 boxes from CA then at least I would cheaper.

Anyway my point is that I just realized that since the USVI is so close to PR they are in the same zone. So a 70 lb box would be 23.25 USD which is supper cheap so moving via USPS parcel post may work. If I had 30 boxes and they were all 50 lbs (which they will not be that heavy) at 19.35 a box the total would be 580 USD to move. There are some items though that I still would need to get there that would not fit in a box.

So when I was looking at your USPS parcel post option I was thinking of shipping rates to CA. So thanks.

USPS packages that transit the islands experience a high rate of theft. Buying Insurance and/or Delivery Confirmation will reduce the chances of theft. There seems to more accountability that way, so the handlers don't mess with those as much. Without Insurance and/or Delivery Confirmation, the package still gets there, but possibly with the contents switched from other packages.

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STXBob
USPS packages that transit the islands experience a high rate of theft. Buying Insurance and/or Delivery Confirmation will reduce the chances of theft. There seems to more accountability that way, so the handlers don't mess with those as much. Without Insurance and/or Delivery Confirmation, the package still gets there, but possibly with the contents switched from other packages.

Are you kidding me. A classmate and also a neighbor were just talking yesterday about the USPS here by the beach. We both lived near school and the USPS was exactly like back home but now living beachside they are so corrupt. We have mail and pkg missing all the time. While traveling I have shipped packages from Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Indonesia, India, Senegal and a bunch of other countries. Never once has a box gone missing or has it been rifled with. Only once a box from India was cut open by customs and they were so retarded that they cut through some of the stuff in the box. But everything arrived. It is angering that you can get stuff sent from developing countries yet the USPS can't get you your stuff without something going wrong.

So when you get things shipped from companies does that stuff go missing as well?

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ChanelCinq
So when you get things shipped from companies does that stuff go missing as well?

No, stuff from companies is OK because they use tracking (Delivery Confirmation). But there can still be problems with damaged goods because of rough handling, so pack it well.

Without Insurance and/or Delivery Confirmation, we've seen magical transformations when shipping personal items, such as:
hair products => shoes (from states to STX)
book => auction catalog (from STX to states)

Always insure packages sent USPS. Ever since I started to insure each pkg I have had no issues and they seem to arrive faster. Prior to insuring pkgs I had items dissappear from them and one time it arrived empty (I had packed it & mailed it to myself from the states). So I insure everything now!

Wow it may be earier to just use a company to ship my stuff because they will insure the whole lot. Anyone know anything about using barrels to ship? I know where I can get the barrels but I don't know what companies use them. It is much easier in a sense to pack certain things that way.

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ChanelCinq
Wow it may be earier to just use a company to ship my stuff because they will insure the whole lot. Anyone know anything about using barrels to ship? I know where I can get the barrels but I don't know what companies use them. It is much easier in a sense to pack certain things that way.

you'd gotten this response days ago....
STXBob [ PM ]
Re: Cheapest way to move items from SJU to STX or STT?
February 10, 2012 04:24PM Registered: 5 years ago
Posts: 1,186

There are several shipping companies that operate between PR, STT and STX, such as [www.blackhawkshipping.com] and [www.normahfreight.com] .

Suggest you follow up with these companies again...also water spirit to stx.

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beachy

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ChanelCinq
Wow it may be earier to just use a company to ship my stuff because they will insure the whole lot. Anyone know anything about using barrels to ship? I know where I can get the barrels but I don't know what companies use them. It is much easier in a sense to pack certain things that way.

you'd gotten this response days ago....
STXBob [ PM ]
Re: Cheapest way to move items from SJU to STX or STT?
February 10, 2012 04:24PM Registered: 5 years ago
Posts: 1,186

There are several shipping companies that operate between PR, STT and STX, such as [www.blackhawkshipping.com] and [www.normahfreight.com] .

Suggest you follow up with these companies again...also water spirit to stx.

I did and called one of them that day the info was posted and emailed the other but never heard back. I got some good info from the one I got ahold of. I'll call back and see if they do barrels.

Emailing never seems to do much good here...always best to try and get someone in person, even if it means calling a few times.

By the way I called one of the companies that transports cars. I had called them before. A friend of mine who moved from CA to Hawaii put stuff in his car. So I called one of the companies and customs in STT and both the cargo company and customs in STT said it is no problem to fill my car up with stuff.

They charge .16 cents per pound for the car and they don't care what is in it. So if I have 500 lbs. of stuff in my car that is an additional 80 USD. This is so awesome. This is going to be way easier when I pack up to leave Puerto Rico. I'll put the stuff in bins rather than boxes! And it is a Scion xB so I can fit a ton of stuff in there.

This will save money but also packing time.

Is the .16 you are talking about the road tax? If so, they don't actually weigh your car to calculate the tax--they base it on the gross weight listed in your title.

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stxem
Is the .16 you are talking about the road tax? If so, they don't actually weigh your car to calculate the tax--they base it on the gross weight listed in your title.

I am not sure. I was told since my VIN started with a J I will pay 3.5% on the BB value. Also I will pay.16 per pound of weight for the car. This was customs in STT that told me this.

So even beter I would be shipping my stuff for free. Has anyone heard anyone that has done this and had stuff go missing? Obviously I will put mainly household items and things that are not very valuable in the car.

Yep, that .16 is the road tax. Based on weight listed on your title.

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stxem
Yep, that .16 is the road tax. Based on weight listed on your title.

Yay free shipping. Have you ever heard of stuff going missing? Obviously it is not insured so I will not put valuables.

I really don't think you should assume that because the price they quoted you was the road tax that your car will ship for free. Why would any company ship a car full of stuff for free? Better call and clarify.

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kass
I really don't think you should assume that because the price they quoted you was the road tax that your car will ship for free. Why would any company ship a car full of stuff for free? Better call and clarify.

Yeah it may not be free but the difference in price is minimal. If I put 500 pounds of stuff in my car at .16 cents a pound that is 80 bucks. All that stuff that would fit in my Scion that I would have to spend time boxing up and labeling and shipping would cost at least 500 bucks. If I put it in my Scion I will but it in Steralite containers which is super easy.

So wether it is free or 80 bucks it beats the heck of of shipping my stuff in a traditional fashion.

I don't understand why such a high percentage of people on this board always see the glass half empty instead of half full. Definitely not everyone but a much higher percentage of posters then in other forums that I frequent.