Ordering from Amazon to The Bahamas: direct delivery, forwarders and what Customs charges

Two ways an Amazon order reaches you

Direct. Set your delivery address to The Bahamas and Amazon flies the parcel in by DHL. Orders with at least $49 of eligible items get free AmazonGlobal Standard Shipping; under that, or for items that are not eligible, you pay a delivery charge. At checkout Amazon adds an Import Fees Deposit, its estimate of what Customs will charge, and DHL clears the parcel and hands it over with nothing more to pay in most cases.

Through a forwarder. You ship to a Florida address run by a Bahamian courier or freight forwarder. It flies the parcel in, files the C18A parcel list, pays Customs and bills you for duty, fee, VAT, freight and its own handling. Every one of these firms is a licensed courier, and most will take any US store, not only Amazon.

What the Import Fees Deposit is, and is not

Amazon’s own words: an estimate of the import tax and fees, calculated on the price after discounts plus any shipping, collected at checkout and used to reimburse the carrier that pays Customs on your behalf. You are the importer of record, DHL is your agent. The deposit does not count towards the $49 free shipping minimum.

• It is an estimate. Amazon classifies the item and applies its reading of the Bahamas tariff. On everyday goods it is usually close to the booklet figure; on a borderline item it can land in a higher or lower band than Customs would pick.
• The real figure sits with DHL. Amazon’s terms say to ask the designated carrier for the actual import tax and fees or a receipt. If you want to check a deposit, run the item and price through the estimator first, then compare.
• No US sales tax. An order shipped abroad from Amazon carries no state sales tax, while a parcel sent to a Florida forwarding address usually does.

The bill on a $200 order, bought direct

Two $200 orders, both delivered free by DHL, so there is no freight to value. The first is a pair of sneakers, which carry 20% duty. The second is a Bluetooth speaker, which is duty free. The speaker still pays: the processing fee minimum and VAT apply to every parcel.

So a $200 order costs between about 15% and 38% more than the checkout price on these two items, and up to 50% on a game console at 45%. Each item page on this site has the same card with a box for your own price: sneakers, Bluetooth speaker, cell phone, television, makeup, toys.

Direct or forwarder: how to choose

Send the same $200 sneakers through a forwarder with $20 of air freight and Customs takes $77 instead of $75, because VAT is charged on the freight too. The Customs part barely moves. The decision is about everything else.

• Direct wins for one or two eligible items sold by Amazon itself, when the cart clears $49, and when you want one payment and no US sales tax. It is the simplest route there has ever been for a phone, a pair of shoes or a box of vitamins.
• A forwarder wins for third-party sellers who will not ship abroad, for heavy or bulky goods, and for anyone who shops often. A forwarder holds your parcels and clears them as one entry, so four $50 orders pay one $10 processing fee instead of four, and one freight charge instead of four.
• Returns are easier with a US address: the forwarder can send the item back on Amazon’s prepaid label. A return from The Bahamas means paying to ship it out yourself, so for a cheap item ask Amazon for a refund without return first.
• Eligibility moves. Only Fulfilled by Amazon items marked free shipping count towards the $49, and cancelling an item or changing the address or speed can take the offer away mid-order.

Before you click Buy: a three step check

• Find the item on the duty rates page. The rate decides most of the bill: 0% on computers, tablets, books and vitamins, 20% on clothing and shoes, 35% on a television, 45% on a game console.
• Type your price into the item’s card and read the total. Compare it with Amazon’s Import Fees Deposit before you pay; a gap of a few dollars is rounding, a gap of a tariff band is worth a question to DHL.
• Decide the route. Under about ten pounds, sold by Amazon, over $49: buy direct. Otherwise price a courier and ask what its handling fee is, because that is the number no calculator can tell you.