Buy in VI's or ship there?

[sailmontana]

Hello from MT's ya'll,
May I say that this community is an invaluable resource and I hope to be more of a contributor than user soon...that said,

I am looking to purchase a few big ticket items and wonder if there is a cheaper way than buying locally in the VI's. The yacht is in the BVI.

Looking to outfit our new to us Lagoon 440 with double wind generators, a couple solar panels, new dinghy and outboard. I have a "property manager" on site that can handle logistics, we have discussed many options.

I know the gear I want, now it's a matter of where to purchase - locally or ship there from?

Options are:
Buy locally, it seems that the BVI's are about as expensive as it gets.
Send to St Thomas for pickup and sail back over to the BVI for install (or install there on US side). If it's on the boat or for it, I believe that it's not an "import" item - as in for resale.
Ship to the BVI through the USA (Miami route) paying for all included- shipping multiple stops, duty, taxes ect. They assume it's going to be resold.
Ship to Snt Martin then ship to BVI's

I know there are countless other options but this is what I have distilled down to for what I have time and money for; of which I have more of one than the other...you can guess.

Thanks for all the amazing knowledge here,
Truly one of the best contributing resources to our modern sailing world.
J

[Deep Blue Water]

Using the dinghy as an example, just yesterday I priced a Highfield in Florida (I live in So Cal) and was surprised to discover it was cheaper in Florida because they sell more of them; therefore does the purchase of a dinghy in the US + freight to the USVI come out less than in the BVI?


Since online shopping in the US is so effective at realizing a low price, it would seem that's your best path.