Hi, I am in search of purchasing a nice, comfy rattan chair and footrest and a futon too. Please let me know where on Bonaire I can pick these pieces up. I believe City Shop sells just complete sets or can I purchase separately there? If anyone knows of someone selling anything like these as well is good too. Hubby is on the island till Saturday. Thanks

If you can't find some second hand stuff (check out bulletin boards at grocery stores), uh, Miami? Or shop on-line & have it shipped? There's a larger selection in Curacao, but you really have to know your way around. I went to "cost-u-less" in Curacao this week-they had a sofa that'd probably be about $299 at Furniture City in Florida--it was fls 1.100. A 'lazy-boy' type recliner was on sale for fls 699. And Cost-U-Less is very cheap compared to regular furniture stores in Curacao. I have seen futons there in the past, but only the kind with a black tubular metal frame (not exactly 'tropical').

Furniture used to have a very high import duty (not sure what tax is now), to protect "locally made" furniture, which is (from all that I've seen), very poor quality, and extremely uncomfortable, especially if you're over 5'2". Kinda as if K-Mart had a discount branch that sold furniture. Bonaire Superstore has some furniture, but I think only patio stuff.

Good luck-I'm looking for the same sort of chair & footrest-let me know if you find anything!

Hi Debbie,

Saw Gregg about 20 times since Gibi's on Tuesday, we keep on running into him in places like Kooyman, Superstore, ChatNBrowse, etc! Anyway, Check out Home Depot's Expo store (Its there new store with home furnishings) Also Home Depot has an international division in Miami and all you have to do is provide the SKU numbers of the items you want and they will take care of shipping etc. Check it out. Talk to you soon.

Liz Ginocchio

Thanks Ruth and Liz,
Will check it out, Liz, you still have to pay duty on any items, right? Do you know what duty is on furniture, like chairs and futons?

Yes-you must pay an import duty on anything imported, and on top of that, the 5% sales tax (duty is charged on top of the purchase price plus shipping cost). I don't know what the rate is now because customs has changed a lot of rates this year. You could go over to the customs office or Rocargo and ask them. Sometimes the rate varies within a category too--like there might be a difference in rate between a wooden chair or a metal fold-up chair or a plastic patio chair or an upholstered chair or a rattan chair...so be as specific as you can when asking. I'm pretty sure you'll have to explain what a "futon" is--not exactly a common item here, and there might be a difference in rate if they charge it as a bed (mattress) or as a sofa...