Some items can ship directly, but getting your order to The Bahamas does not have to be complicated. Here is how Bahamas Purchasing brings shipping, consolidation, customs clearance and delivery together.
Some items, yes — but shipping directly to The Bahamas usually costs more and comes with complications. Many items and sellers won't ship here, and you handle customs clearance and duty yourself, with possible extra carrier or brokerage charges and delays. With Bahamas Purchasing, it's one easy process: ship to our Fort Lauderdale warehouse, we consolidate, clear customs and deliver, with everything on one invoice. Air freight is $1/lb ($10 minimum), plus duty, 10% VAT and the customs processing fee.
Create a free account with Bahamas Purchasing. You'll instantly receive a personal shipping address at our warehouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, formatted exactly the way US retailers expect. The name line is simply BP/ followed by your first and last name (for example BP/Jane Smith), no customer ID needed.
2Go to amazon.com (not amazon.ca or other regional sites). The full US Amazon catalogue is available, including Prime, Lightning Deals, Subscribe & Save, and third-party Marketplace sellers.
3At Amazon checkout, add your US warehouse address as a new shipping address. Put BP/First Name Last Name in the name field, that's how we identify which package belongs to you when it arrives at the warehouse. If a store won't accept the "/", use BP First Name Last Name.
Tip: Save the address as the default for your Amazon account so you don't have to re-enter it every order. 4Amazon delivers to our warehouse (typically 1–2 days with Prime). We unpack the shipping label, match the BP/ name to your account, photograph the package, and log it into your customer portal as a Warehouse Receipt with weight and dimensions.
5We hold packages free for up to 14 days. Most customers wait until they have 3–5 Amazon orders, then ship them all together. This is dramatically cheaper than shipping each Amazon order separately because you only pay one freight charge plus one customs entry.
6We send your shipment by air (3–5 days to Nassau) or ocean for pallets, clear it through Bahamas Customs, and deliver door-to-door. You receive an itemized invoice with freight, duty, VAT, and processing fee, pay online, pickup, or on delivery.
Here's a worked example for a typical Amazon order valued at $100 (clothing, weighing 5 lb), using a 20% clothing duty rate (example — check the Duty Calculator). Your actual duty depends on the tariff code.
| Charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Air freight (5 lb × $1) | $10.00 (minimum applied) |
| Bahamas customs duty (20% on $110.00) | $22.00 |
| Landed VAT (10% on $132.00) | $13.20 |
| Customs processing fee | $10.00 |
| Total shipping & clearance | $55.20 |
| Total landed cost (item + shipping) | $155.20 |
Want to estimate your own order? Use our shipping cost calculator or the Duty Calculator .
Yes, Amazon Prime works exactly the same when shipping to your US warehouse address. Your Fort Lauderdale address is treated as a US domestic delivery, so:
Bahamas Customs assesses duty based on the type of item and its declared value. We handle the calculation and pay duty on your behalf, then bill it on your invoice. Common Amazon categories with example duty rates from the Duty Calculator table (check the Duty Calculator for your item):
| Amazon category | Example duty |
|---|---|
| Books, e-readers, laptops | 0% |
| Baby items, diapers, formula | 0% |
| Smartphones, tablets | 0–10% |
| TVs and home electronics | 35% |
| Clothing and footwear | 20% |
| Household goods, kitchenware | 0–45% |
| Auto parts and accessories | Check the Duty Calculator |
On top of duty, all imports are subject to 10% VAT on the landed value (item + freight + duty) and a small customs processing fee.
Returns are the trickiest part of using a forwarder. You have three options:
Some items, yes — but shipping directly to The Bahamas usually costs more and comes with complications. Many items and sellers won't ship here, and you handle customs clearance and duty yourself, with possible extra carrier or brokerage charges and delays. With Bahamas Purchasing, it's one easy process: ship to our Fort Lauderdale warehouse, we consolidate, clear customs and deliver, with everything on one invoice. Air freight is $1/lb ($10 minimum), plus duty, 10% VAT and the customs processing fee.
Some items may be available for direct delivery to Nassau, but availability depends on the item and seller and direct shipping comes with customs and possible extra charges. With Bahamas Purchasing, send your order to our Fort Lauderdale warehouse; we consolidate, clear customs and deliver to Nassau, with freight, duty, VAT and the processing fee on one invoice.
You can ship eligible purchases from Amazon Prime deals to our Fort Lauderdale warehouse, provided the item and seller accept that address. Check the offer and delivery options at checkout; deal eligibility and US delivery terms depend on your order. Bahamas Purchasing then consolidates, clears customs and delivers to The Bahamas, with air freight at $1/lb ($10 minimum), plus duty, 10% VAT and the customs processing fee on one invoice.
Through Bahamas Purchasing, the freight cost is $1 per pound (with a $10 minimum), plus Bahamas customs duty (varies by item and tariff code), 10% VAT, and the customs processing fee. In our worked example below, a 5-lb clothing order valued at $100 comes to about $55.20 in total shipping and duties.
Yes. When you ship to your US warehouse address in Fort Lauderdale, Amazon treats it as a domestic delivery, so Prime free shipping applies and you get the standard 1–2 day delivery to our warehouse.
Amazon's return policy applies to deliveries to your Fort Lauderdale address, but you'll need to ship the return back to Amazon from the US warehouse. Most customers prefer to file a refund request with Amazon and keep the item, which Amazon often approves for low-value items.
Yes. You can fund your Amazon.com account with US Amazon gift cards purchased online. This is a useful workaround if your Bahamian credit card is declined at checkout.
Air shipping from arrival at our Fort Lauderdale warehouse: Nassau / New Providence 3–5 business days; Family Islands (including Abaco and Grand Bahama) 5–7 business days.
No. Perishable food items, refrigerated, or frozen goods cannot be shipped internationally. Shelf-stable groceries (canned, dry, sealed) can usually be shipped.
Both work. Items shipped by Amazon are usually fastest. Some third-party sellers restrict shipping to forwarder addresses, if your order is cancelled, the seller will refund you and you can find an Amazon-fulfilled alternative.
Yes, Florida sales tax (6%) typically applies to Amazon orders shipped to a Florida address. There's no way around this for forwarder addresses, but it's still usually cheaper than direct international shipping.
Yes, but consider ocean freight for anything over 50 lb. A half pallet ($200) or full pallet ($350) is much cheaper per pound than air freight for furniture, mattresses, exercise equipment, or appliances.
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