I think I know what Billd was trying to say. Take drinks for example- Mixed drinks are outrageous! But rum is cheap on the Island? So why are the prices so expensive??? I was surprised at how expensive drinks were, I didn't expect that , with the price of rum being cheaper by the bottle? At home rum is much more expensive, but the drinks in bars and restaurants are the same price in STT as they are at home? No cheaper! Did we buy drinks, of course we did! But would we have bought more if they would have been more reasonably priced, of course we would have! And we could have supported the island much more! And they would have still been making money. I was even surprised at the prices of items in town- all of those vendors under the blue tents? They did not want to barter at all - and their prices were more than at home, on coach purses, etc.!
But did we have a great time? Of course! But were prices way more than what we had heard they would be? Very much so!

This is just what I observed, and just wanted to share, not complaining at all.

I just don’t see the merchants screwing with people, at all. A burger at the pub down the street from my house in CT is 8.99. STJ Beach Bar Burger is 7.75 and I get to look at the water. Seems like a much better deal to me.

I went to dinner with my aunt at a casual local place last week and she had an absolute martini for $7.00, I can get one on STJ for the same price.
I can go to Happy hour at Woody’s and get a beer for a buck. That NEVER happens in New England.
I drink Cruzan dark and diet coke and I have never paid more than $4.00. I don't see how that is outrageous

In April, I purchased a heavy sweatshirt with embroidered lettering. $34.00
My sweatshirt from Chatham, MA; same exact style, different wording. $48.00

Everything is expensive, no matter where you go. Gas is only 45 cents more on STJ than it is in CT; in comparison, I think that is pretty fair.

I really don’t see merchants screwing with people. I would like to see some concrete examples if you truly believe that.

I agree with the last several posts (and disagree with our resident grump billd.) I don't feel screwed by the merchants. I don't find most of the prices on STJ to be out of line when comparing things back home, especially taking into account that everything has to be ferried over to the island. I can't think of any local places (live in MD outside of D.C.) where I can get a dollar beer, and the fresh fish sandwiches and burgers are actually cheaper on STJ. Of course you're going to get a bit gouged if you dine at a place like the Westin, but you'd get gouged eating at a Westin, Marriott or other similar resort-style place anywhere in the states. And of course STJ ain't what it used to be in terms of development, parking, and just more people & "stuff'; but that could be said of most/many places. Things are changing all over, but we are still in love with STJ!

I don't feel screwed by the merchants in the USVI - it must be a nightmare for the restaurants to keep ingredients in stock and fresh in order to present a varied menu. Liquor may be relatively inexpensive but mixer ingredients are not. Same goes for the food stores - it has to be tough to keep a good selection of fresh and in-code items.

We laughed about a recent $50 sandwich lunch at the Divi's beach bar on STX but that was relative to what we had paid for similar meals elsewhere on the island. If we went to one of the chain hotels here in Chicago, sandwiches and a couple of beers might have cost even more - and without the gorgeous view (as X pointed out).

A small point - Skinny Legs was previously Redbeards - but what a nice perspective islandman describes.
And while rum may be cheap - there is a lot more rum in your VI cocktails than the measured shots in the states - ice,glassware,rent,insurance,mixers and probably a few other costs are likely higher in STJ as well.
I can certainly say the 'blue tent' marketplace isn't selling Coach Bags - illegal knockoffs for sure!

Oh for sure they are not coach bags, knock offs for sure, of course. But the same knock offs that sell for $20.00 - $25.00 in Florida and New York were priced at $40.00 - $50.00 under the Blue Tents. And those guys would not budge, and the few people that were standing around me, weren't buying, and the sellers really didn't seem to mind. It was kind of strange, they had so many purses, more than I have ever seen, and it was like they didn't really care if they were selling or not! And I was there on two occasions and it was the same vibe! Maybe they were just waiting for the cruise ships to come in, maybe they are flooded with people and don't have to barter.
Anyway, just my observation. I do love purses! But I didn't get any, maybe next visit!

There is a way to NOT get sticker shock in St. John which is to vacation in Bermuda first!

Wolf wrote:
There is a way to NOT get sticker shock in St. John which is to vacation in Bermuda first!

Also one here to support the local STT and STJ economy by eating out and buying local. Add to the above quote by throwing in Hawaii and most islands in the Caribbean which have an economy based on the EURO.

Would like to add that I'd rather "chew sand" than buy an illegal knockoff bag anywhere on this planet period. I certainly wouldn't base my opinion on prices on the local USVI economy what swap meet vendors are selling their phony bags for. That said...to each his own...the islands are like paradise to our family.

Sometimes I wonder how much the merchants, specifically wait staff / bartenders, really care about making more money. I know that sounds odd but in a few (or several) instances we were fairly ignored by waitstaff. Literally getting up and looking for someone to get us another drink, when the restaurant wasn't particularly busy. (I've heard the same thing about some of the bars.)

We are always friendly and polite to merchants and waitstaff, so it wasn't an issue of us being demanding or jerks. But we would have had more drinks and dessert more often if we just had someone come by and take our order before we waited so long we just wanted to leave. Waitstaff was always friendly to us (when they came by); that wasn't the issue. It was just a matter of them not seeming to care if we ordered more or not.

This certainly didn't change our love of STJ or affect our vacation, I only mention it here because we would have left more money on island if a few people had just taken our order. Having worked as a waitress, I don't really get it, because I was working for tips (which go up as the bill goes up, of course).

Regarding prices on STJ:

I was shocked and amazed that (literally) $20 worth of groceries stateside cost $75 in STJ. A 12 pack of diet Coke cost more than a half gallon of rum.

Some of the places where we ate out were 2-3 times higher than they would have been stateside, but I can understand the economics of most of that. That said the Beach Bar was right in line with the bars in in-town Atlanta. I just checked online and a cheeseburger at the BB is $7.75, and the equivalent at the same kind of place in in-town Atlanta is $6.95 - cheese extra. Of course, the latter includes fries. The BB charges extra for fries. But you don't need to be eating that fried stuff anyway. 🙂

And nachos are 45 cents cheaper at the BB than the Atlanta equivalent.

On a more relevant note, a few weeks ago at the above mentioned Atlanta eatery, Painkillers were $7. As I recall, the Beach Bar was much cheaper.

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

I'd like to throw in a note on the higher prices for drinks, despite the low cost of rum. There are more than a couple of factors that go into this....first thing that comes to mind is the heavy handed pours. Not sure if you ever watched the bartender make the drinks back at the Beach Bar, but it is pretty amazing the amount of alcohol they throw into that little cup. And yes, the mixers are expensive. And the overhead is absolutely outrageous. For instance....before Larry's moved to it's new spot, I was told by someone who inquired about the spot that the rent was $17,500 a month. Utilities are double what you would pay in the states. And I can assure you, the owners of most of the businesses here do not live any where near a lavish lifestyle off their profits.