What's the point of Duty Free?

geo555

rajuv wrote: »

how cheap is duty free booze and fags in langkawi.

I was in Langkawi a couple of years ago. The duty free shops in the towns were cheaper than the airport. 200 B & H were about £6 and a bottle of scotch was about the same. Watches were cheap at the airport when you haggle.

avinabacca

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

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.

"...quite frankly an idiot", eh?

Well the next time I'm in Schoenefeld waiting for my flight and with a hankering after some cig, I'll be sure to ignore the airport shop, dash outside to the taxi rank and run for the border. It's only about a hundred-mile round trip, isn't it? I'd surely make that in time for Final Call! :rolleyes:

There is clearly no value in your comparison; what's the point you're trying to make?

PolishBigSpender

avinabacca wrote: »

"...quite frankly an idiot", eh?

Well the next time I'm in Schoenefeld waiting for my flight and with a hankering after some cig, I'll be sure to ignore the airport shop, dash outside to the taxi rank and run for the border. It's only about a hundred-mile round trip, isn't it? I'd surely make that in time for Final Call! :rolleyes:

There is clearly no value in your comparison; what's the point you're trying to make?

You're missing the point completely.

The Schoenfeld price is 'Duty Free'. The Polish price is 'Duty Paid'. How can something that has taxes on (the Polish price) be cheaper than something that doesn't have any tax (Duty Free)? Just goes to show how much money they're actually making under the guise of 'Duty Free'.

nico26

rajuv wrote: »

how cheap is duty free booze and fags in langkawi.



At the airport 50myr for 200 cigs but thats all you are allowed. Spirits thik about £10 for bottle vodka.

Tip if you like a tipple bring your spirits with you. Alchohol expensive here compared to europe.

moneypooh

bristol_pilot wrote: »

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

well, if you can lead me to a place where I can get Chanel EDP for 1p a litre, lead on.........

Nordictat2

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

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

I stock up in Duty-free for smokes but then again here in Norway when a A PACK of 100's cost almost £8...damn right I/we buy a few cartons to bring home

Adaline

Remember to make sure you pay for things with your card in the original currency. I nearly got caught out with this in a French airport recently, where they automatically converted it into Brit Pounds for my card, and the exchange rate was so bad that it would have cost far more than to buy it in the UK! So I insisted they charge it in Euros, and with the exchange rate on my card, it came it much cheaper.

eamon

Duty free doesn't exist if you are travelling within the EU. Everything is Duty Paid. What you will find is that the amount of Duty varies between the member states hence beer & tobacco sorties to our neighbours. Even if you are leaving the EU the amounts that you can purchase are small. You also have to carry the goods as well. Other countries such as Australia have Duty Free shops away from Airports and you can purchase from these by showing your passport & ticket. Many countries as above have duty free areas and these are usually designed to attract rich westerners and to provide jobs. Lastly the Duty on goods is relevant to the price of goods in any particular market. Goods are priced to factor in the costs of production (wages, transport, taxes other than duty etc). That is why there is little point in buying Duty Free in the UK and why Duty Paid goods can be cheaper in low wage Poland than in high wage Germany.

IlonaRN

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:

Exactly. The fragrance I like best (Classique, by Jean-Paul Gaultier) is expensive and pretty much never on offer in the stores. I have also not had much luck sourcing it over the internet at cheaper than it usually is in the shops. I know that at the airport, I can save some money on this purchase, that I would make anyway. I checked the price of it in Mallorca airport dutyfree and it was 71 euros, compared to £65 usual price in stores here. In the duty-free shop it is £56.

Prices may be duty-free, but they are definitely not profit-free

But if anyone can find a 100mL EdP at less than £56, please point me in the right direction