What's the point of Duty Free?

colino

The whole point of Duty Free shops in the UK is the ability of retail giants to have a captive audience, forced to spend a lot of wasted time in their environs, when they are in a good mood. Why else would clever, sensible people who have probably researched their flight/holiday to the nth degree end up staggering out with outsized bars of chocolate (designed to hurt when you eat it) and premium brands of booze and perfume that they would have no desire to buy when at home?
Save your cash and time and get into the holiday spirit in the bar.

moneypooh

Some deals to be had though, I bought some Chanel 100ml EDP for £62.00, retail in Boots £78.00. However in 'duty free' shops in Mallorca anything from 85-110 Euros :eek:. Even the airline was cheaper :cool:

bristol_pilot

moneypooh wrote: »

Some deals to be had though, I bought some Chanel 100ml EDP for £62.00, retail in Boots £78.00. However in 'duty free' shops in Mallorca anything from 85-110 Euros :eek:. Even the airline was cheaper :cool:

It costs about 1p per litre to make perfume, hardly a bargain.

1trainer1

all I can say is Dubai Duty Free.

if you have been through Dubai alcohol and cigarettes are a lot cheaper than over here in the UK

Bob_the_Saver

bristol_pilot wrote: »

It costs about 1p per litre to make perfume, hardly a bargain.

A friend of mine posed this question - I personally make no comment.


What possible reason can there be to wear make-up and perfume?



Because of being ugly and smelly was his answer. I personally make no comment.

PolishBigSpender

costapkt wrote: »

If they were really Duty Free should a bottle of whisky only cost a couple of quid ?

They're not really Duty Free at all on intra-EU flights.

One of the best scams I've seen is the Duty Free shop in Schoenfeld Airport in Berlin. People travelling to non-EU destinations could buy 200 Marlboro Lights for 26EUR. The same cigarettes cost about 20 EUR in Poland, with all tax included. Hmmm..

Anyone that buys alcohol or cigarettes at Duty Paid prices is quite frankly an idiot.

Doshwaster

colino wrote: »

Save your cash and time and get into the holiday spirit in the bar.

That's my kind of thinking. I love airport bars (especially when I am on expenses!). All of those people jetting off to so many destinations. I always get talking to someone who is going to somewhere more exotic and interesting than me (which is often a trade show in Geneva. Zzz...)

A few drinks, then get on the plane and fall asleep. The perfect way to travel.

rajuv

how cheap is duty free booze and fags in langkawi.

back to the topic
i found the duty free at heathrow to be ok
i brought 2x200 silk cut silvers for only £40
the same price for this in the normaly in the uk would cost me around £70

Doshwaster

rajuv wrote: »

how cheap is duty free booze and fags in langkawi.

Ah - greetings from the Malaysia thread!

I don't smoke so cannot comment on cigarette prices but alcohol prices are cheap on Langkawi (it's a tax free island so people come from all over to shop there and alcohol is expensive everywhere else in Malaysia). About a £1 for a beer in a beach bar and there are duty free shops all over the is island where a bottle of Western brand name spirits was something like £6 - go for the local brands and they are even cheaper (just don't use Thai whisky for drinking!) .There are supposed to be restrictions but I think I got 4 bottles into my suitcase :beer:

Dubai is also pretty good. In fact the whole airport is a duty free shop with boarding gates attached

bibi_neko

Hong Kong duty free
110$HKD for 10 packs of 20 Marlboro, I don't smoke though.

Beware, some shops in the Hong kong international airport sell stuff at a HIGHER price than if you found the shops located elsewhere in Hong Kong. So my suggestion would just be to shop at Duty Free stores (they call it Free Duty over there).

All depends on what you're looking for and where you go.