The Official Skybox Thread: Take 2

[Blaze d Chalice]

hmm i still pay MIami tax with the sauce

Ok yeah I just checked for myself and the tax is there.
I thought a tuner had mentioned it being tax free.
So it seems is only Aeropost.

Not sure how I missed these articles before.
https://tt.loopnews.com/content/aeropostcom-shaves-7-offline-shopping

Aeropost.com shaves 7% off offline shopping
Loop News November 10, 2016 03:28 PM ET

E-commerce company aeropost.com is giving customers seven percent back on their purchases, due to a commercial exemption with the State of Florida.

The recently implemented Online Purchase Tax (OPT) has made customers wary of added costs for shopping online.

However, Aeropost.com has announced that any customers buying items online through their company will effectively save on the OPT as customers will not have to pay a seven percent tax usually attributed to all US purchases made in Florida.

Customers can purchase items online and ship them to their Florida shipping addresses without paying state sales tax, which varies between six and seven percent, depending on local municipalities.

As a result, customers can negate the OPT of seven percent which was placed on items shipped into the country by air*.

Purchased items, therefore, will consist of the cost of the item, delivery costs within the US, and local charges (VAT, import tax, OPT) – delivery within Trinidad is free.

Managing Director Gillian Rodriguez-Clark said this service means customers can still buy ‘just about everything’ from their favourite US retailers, just ahead of big online sales like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

She affirmed that the measure is legal given the company’s commercial agreement with the State of Florida, where the company’s warehouse is located.

She added that this agreement is exclusive to aeropost.com.

https://www.guardian.co.tt/article-6.2.359979.5099d8d2df

Courier company Aeropost maintains that the newly-implemented seven per cent online purchase tax (OPT) is unfair as it adds another layer of costs to the online shopping community.

At a press conference hosted at the company's head office at Fernandez Industrial Centre, Laventille, yesterday, managing director Gillian Rodriguez-Clark said the company, while maintaining its legal obligation to comply with the tax, is not in favour of it.

"Our position on this tax is clear. We are not in support of it as we do not believe it has been fairly applied across all modes of shipping of online purchases. Like many other companies in our industry we have concerns about the mechanics of the tax which is unfairly targeted at just those of us bringing e-commerce by air. The tax also makes items more expensive for general consumers," she said.

Rodriguez-Clark said because of the company's more than three decades in the shipping and logistics business and its record of working closely with the US Government Customs and Border Protection Agency in Florida, Aeropost has been able to secure a tax exemption allowing its customers to save the US dollar taxes they would have incurred on their online shopping purchases.

[agent007]

Plan smart and save money. Send all your Xmas items via sea freight. Ship out by mid October and they should be here in time.

Are you in a position to provide a rough estimate on sea freight ETA and % savings vs that of skybox?

Eg. 5% average lower costs with 40 days eta

The logic is, if a skybox can take up to 4 weeks to deliver an item in the midst of current challenges, then a sea freight forwarder can take minimum 6 weeks with having to face the same port/customs challenges.

[Blaze d Chalice]

I have a set of items coming through tropic.
I was waiting to collect all at the same time.
But checking email, the first 2 items delivered to Miami on 15th and 16th and was available to pick up on Saturday 25th. and 27.

[DMan7]

Stuff I ordered on the 17th of September I ain't even get yet. I'm using EZone. Best I switch back to the sauce yes.

[Gem_in_i]

I still waiting on some July orders with VIP Platinum

[gastly369]

Cyabin fibah cyar partsssss stickinggggg ah want meh tingggggg ohhgorrrrr

[carluva]

Plan smart and save money. Send all your Xmas items via sea freight. Ship out by mid October and they should be here in time.

Are you in a position to provide a rough estimate on sea freight ETA and % savings vs that of skybox?

Eg. 5% average lower costs with 40 days eta

The logic is, if a skybox can take up to 4 weeks to deliver an item in the midst of current challenges, then a sea freight forwarder can take minimum 6 weeks with having to face the same port/customs challenges.

This is true.

However, sending items via sea freight requires you to have patience and plan.

Here's an example.

I had a barrel, a box and a dishwasher sent down earlier this year. These items were shrink wrapped together and placed on a pallet. They were delivered to Laparkan Orlando warehouse on May 14th. I received the goods at home June 16th. It could have been a week sooner, but they were dropped off at Orlando a day after the cutoff for transport to Miami so I was delayed by one week.

Laparkan cleared the package for me. My fees are attached. I checked it up and for what I bought plus those sea freight charges, plus what I paid my contact in Orlando who packaged and transported everything, I saved well over 2k vs buying locally.

I am having a box with Xmas gifts sent out next week or the week after. That won't even be as much as what is attached. I expect I would easily save about 30% of total cost if I bought the items here and maybe about 20% vs air freight (simply because of the size and weight and quantity of items). If it were one or two, the skybox would make sense. For what we have to get and the weights , skybox would have killed us with cost.

[agent007]

Much thanks for the detailed response bro. I appreciate the break down as well. I have nothing but time so I can wait, but money is tight. That said, I’ll jump on this avenue for several house-hold items in the near future as last time I shipped items out of Miami via sea freight was in 2012 and I got those said items in approx. 2 weeks.

[carluva]

Not intending to derail this skybox thread with sea freight commentary, but if you can plan, save money to buy your items and send via sea freight. Household items: soap, liquid hand soap refills, laundry detergent. WTF carluva - laundry detergent? Yes.

if you know me, I don't mind spending money, but it has to be worth it and worthwhile. High Efficiency washer Laundry detergent locally is super expensive. Much cheaper to buy overseas and send down yearly. Saves money and saves clothes, as those detergents plus the HE washer preserves the colours on clothes for longer than say powdered detergents. So saving clothes = saving money.

We buy clothes for the kids, mostly the eldest as there is always hand me downs for the smaller ones.

The dishwasher I brought down was a Bosch. A similarly spec'd GE or Frigidaire or even Kitchen Aid dishwasher locally would be close to 18k (priced dishwashers before buying abroad). I paid US$1,049 online (say TT$7,200). By the time you add all the costs shown there plus costs I paid for the packaging services, that came in under 18k. Come to think about it now, maybe I was too conservative with my estimated savings. On second look, it may be closer to 3.5k or even 4k vs buying here.

My point is rather than buying the one-one jeans and jersey a few times a year, save your money and buy what you need when you need it and then send your freight. It always works out cheaper. Skyboxes are super convenient (well not now anyway given the delays but still a good alternative to going out in Chaguanas or High Street to "shop") but costs do add up quickly if you buy frequently and/or in bulk.

[dogg]

Not intending to derail this skybox thread with sea freight commentary, but if you can plan, save money to buy your items and send via sea freight. Household items: soap, liquid hand soap refills, laundry detergent. WTF carluva - laundry detergent? Yes.

if you know me, I don't mind spending money, but it has to be worth it and worthwhile. High Efficiency washer Laundry detergent locally is super expensive. Much cheaper to buy overseas and send down yearly. Saves money and saves clothes, as those detergents plus the HE washer preserves the colours on clothes for longer than say powdered detergents. So saving clothes = saving money.

We buy clothes for the kids, mostly the eldest as there is always hand me downs for the smaller ones.

The dishwasher I brought down was a Bosch. A similarly spec'd GE or Frigidaire or even Kitchen Aid dishwasher locally would be close to 18k (priced dishwashers before buying abroad). I paid US$1,049 online (say TT$7,200). By the time you add all the costs shown there plus costs I paid for the packaging services, that came in under 18k. Come to think about it now, maybe I was too conservative with my estimated savings. On second look, it may be closer to 3.5k or even 4k vs buying here.

My point is rather than buying the one-one jeans and jersey a few times a year, save your money and buy what you need when you need it and then send your freight. It always works out cheaper. Skyboxes are super convenient (well not now anyway given the delays but still a good alternative to going out in Chaguanas or High Street to "shop") but costs do add up quickly if you buy frequently and/or in bulk.

Excellent idea - annual or semi-annual shipments!
Do you clear the items yourself? Which shipper do you use?

[carluva]

Excellent idea - annual or semi-annual shipments!
Do you clear the items yourself? Which shipper do you use?

For us its about once a year. This year was the first time we're doing the Xmas shopping early and by sea freight. Last year, skybox charges did add up and we committed to try sea freight this year.

Typically, we buy once a year to coincide with summer sales on clothes for the kiddos (another frugal cost savings idea as sale prices on Old Navy etc. are always so low). At that time, we'd bulk up on laundry detergent, the large liquid hand soap refills, dishwasher tabs, stationery (pencils, erasers etc. as you have no idea how these are used by kids), grocery items and anything else we may need (occasional tools or towel or bed sheet or car care products etc.). But detergent and clothes alone easily fills a barrel.

I used to clear the items myself, but with COVID and the port restrictions, our last two shipments were handled by the Freight Forwarder who cleared and delivered the items to our home. We'll do the same for this smaller Xmas shipment which by no means is gonna be a barrel. Probably a medium sized box.

Laparkan has been my go to ever since I have been sending things via sea freight since 2010 which was the first time I ever sent a barrel. If we travel, we would pack a barrel or two and use Laparkan as well. My experiences with them have been good (*knocks wood*) so I have no reason to try another.

[ed360123]

Ordered a CPU through Aeropost that reached Miami on the 20th and Trinidad on the 5th. So 15 days, it was 23 before.
Things returning to normal?

[st7]

Ordered a CPU through Aeropost that reached Miami on the 20th and Trinidad on the 5th. So 15 days, it was 23 before.
Things returning to normal?

you find 15 days is normal? daz how long i does take with the sauce sometimes.

usually it's in a week.

[widdyphuck]

Are external storage devices currently tax and duty free or that has to wait till January when all computer peripherals become tax exempt?

[st7]

Are external storage devices currently tax and duty free or that has to wait till January when all computer peripherals become tax exempt?

exempted.

[widdyphuck]

Are external storage devices currently tax and duty free or that has to wait till January when all computer peripherals become tax exempt?

exempted.

Thanks.

[Zalos]

Whats a list of the current things that still get charged tax, and would get exempted in January?

[widdyphuck]

Whats a list of the current things that still get charged tax, and would get exempted in January?

Good question. Hopefully someone will answer.

[st7]

electric vehicles and other pc components that still have tax.

[Chimera]

Lol normal is 3 days

[DMan7]

SO I finally got my stuff in my hand this morning. Ordered it on Amazon on Sept. 17

[carluva]

Which skybox did you use?

SO I finally got my stuff in my hand this morning. Ordered it on Amazon on Sept. 17

[DMan7]

Which skybox did you use?

SO I finally got my stuff in my hand this morning. Ordered it on Amazon on Sept. 17

eZone

[hover11]

Which skybox did you use?

SO I finally got my stuff in my hand this morning. Ordered it on Amazon on Sept. 17

eZone

You don't find them expensive ? I left them and went with seabox never turned back

[DMan7]

Which skybox did you use?

SO I finally got my stuff in my hand this morning. Ordered it on Amazon on Sept. 17

eZone

You don't find them expensive ? I left them and went with seabox never turned back

Paid 77 TTD today for an computer peripheral. Not bad.

[st7]

Which skybox did you use?

SO I finally got my stuff in my hand this morning. Ordered it on Amazon on Sept. 17

eZone

You don't find them expensive ? I left them and went with seabox never turned back

Paid 77 TTD today for an computer peripheral. Not bad.

how much pounds was it?

[DMan7]

Which skybox did you use?

SO I finally got my stuff in my hand this morning. Ordered it on Amazon on Sept. 17

eZone

You don't find them expensive ? I left them and went with seabox never turned back

Paid 77 TTD today for an computer peripheral. Not bad.

how much pounds was it?

1 LB

[st7]

Which skybox did you use?

SO I finally got my stuff in my hand this morning. Ordered it on Amazon on Sept. 17

eZone

You don't find them expensive ? I left them and went with seabox never turned back

Paid 77 TTD today for an computer peripheral. Not bad.

how much pounds was it?

1 LB

nah boy, u over pay there. that shuda been 30-45$ at most.

[st7]

has anyone shipped a cell phone lithium-ion battery before?

[DMan7]

has anyone shipped a cell phone lithium-ion battery before?

Yea a few months ago, my battery on my phone ended up swollen, had to buy one online and install it myself.