Great What to Buy in Duty Free Hunt

clemmie

hilspars wrote: »

Although I have mentioned this before, it is worth mentioning again. If you have any friends working at the airport they are now allowed to buy from almost every store just by showing their pass. The main exclusion is the World Duty Free shop, but you can still buy perfumes in the beauty stores.
If you know anyone working at Heathrow Airport, it is the staff sale this week in the Queens building with some mega bargains to be had.

Thanks. That's a great deal. can anyone tell me if it's same at Gatwick?

ash333

I've found that in Holland the prices are on the ciggarette packets. Its the same price wether you buy one packet or a carton. However, if you buy in shops they invariably give you a free lighter for every carton that you buy.

One thing that I have noticed is that I cannot find English brands in some shops, but the Airports are geared up for us. If purchasing in duty free once you have checked in you also don't need to worry about baggage restrictions.

homealone_2

i have just come back from majorca where the cigs were very cheap 31 euros (£21) for 200 for nearly all brands. they also throw in half bottle of alcohol for anyone buying approx 1600 or more. they are now only available in tabac stores, very few shops sell them and if they do they are kept under the counter and not in any supermarkets. they are also the same price in the airport coming home. litre bottles ofalcohol were sold everywhere for approx £10 a bottle as for perfume only had quick look but they didnt seem to be much different in price to the uk

Inactive

homealone wrote: »

i have just come back from majorca where the cigs were very cheap 31 euros (£21) for 200 for nearly all brands.

As much as that??;) , some English Brands are 22 Euro's a carton.

LesD

sandy2 wrote: »

just a reminder. You can buy antibiotics and most medicines over the counter in Spanish pharmacies. prices are generally lower than prescription medicine in UK

I believe, officially, antibiotics now need a prescription (from earlier this year). But there are still some farmácias that will sell them. It is Spain after all!

Tindella_2

Just need some clarification!

I check my luggage in - then I go to the Duty Free - buy liquid in excess of 100ml - can I take it on the plane in the carrier bag they provide still?

When I went to the US, I checked in as usual - went to Duty Free - bought my booze - took it on the plane. Had to change planes in Chicago - wouldn't let me go through security with liquids - had to go to special part of airport and have a nice man put my booze in a box - label it and add it to the hold! So why did the Duty Free shop sell it to me - they saw my boarding pass and must have known I'd have difficulty gettting on the second plane. I had to reclaim my luggage in Chicago for it to be put on the Vegas plane, so I could have put the bottles in my case then, had I have known in advance!

Anyone had trouble like this? I sure as hell ain't going to buy booze and have it taken off me! thank you

snu

premium makeup tends to be about 25-30% cheaper at most airports.
Example:
>Dior Skinflash 75ml, Purchased at the airport for £19 (Gatwick last April)
Cheapest price in town is £29, Cheapest ebay BIN price £32, most completed listings for 50ml size ended at between £15 - £19
> Chanel sparkly lip gloss, airport just under £10, boots online £15
> Chanel single eyeshadow airport £12, boots online £16

Health warning:
It's very easy to get "carried away", sure that designer mascara may be cheaper than buying it on the highstreet, but point is if you usually purchase non designer mascara you are still spending more than you would.

Some useful tips:
>When considoring makeup airport specials, use the same head as you would with joblots for ebay.
For example Dior lipstick set had 5 lipsticks in, it was an airport exclusive, so RRP was 5x individual lipsticks - small discount (about £64), and they were selling them for what first appeared to be a smashing £28. However as with most of these airport joblots, will you use all the colours? I could only see 2 colours in the pack that would suit me. Same rule applys for airport special makeup pallets, they may be 50% cheaper than the made up RRP, but will you wear all those eyeshadow colours?, even the bright orange one? and would you ever need a blusher that dark/light? thought not.

> Know your shades before you go, if they do not have the shade you are after leave it.

> Do not visit the airport bar before visiting the duty free shop - it will end in tears.

doncaster_2

We went to Barcelona in June , and came back with a real bargain from the aeroporto

We bought a 1 litre bottle of Licor 43, or Cuarenta Y Tres (Spanish for "43") its a sweet vanilla flavour . Great with a mixer or in cocktails.

It was only 20 euros which works out at around £12.50. I ve checked out some of the price comparison sites and it seems we got ourselves a bit of a good deal.

For those of you who aren't whiskey lovers , this is a great little drink AND a fantastic bargain.

Keep a look out for this one people!

monkey_woman

Yes you will be able to buy champagne at Alpha travelling to Crete. Alpha's prices for Champagne and wine are Duty paid, they also have a selection of duty paid spirits for passangers travelling within the EU, which aren't wonderful but ar still generally cheaper than supermarkets (two 70cl bottles of spirits for £20 and they usually have some great offers on Malt whiskeys too which are great if you want to drink on holiday as you can't get a lot of it in many european countries without paying a fortune). And you can take liquids on board as long as you purchase them after you pass through security.
As for buying stuff perfume wise etc it is often but not always cheaper than certain websites but it is always worth asking if there are any special offer sets as ther are often travel exclusive sets with free body lotions shower gels etc or combinations of skin care which are really good value, if you can't see any just ask!! You will get brand new fragrances cheaper than anywhere else and often with a free gift if you just ask!!

Dixons tax free is generally really good, I had my doubts about it but have bought a Creative Zen MP3 player there about 2 years ago which I negotiated the price for, it was about £40 cheaper than i could find anywhere else and I trawled the web for days and recently a nintendo DS for £85 which was baout £10 cheaper than I could find Anywhere else.
Cigerettes are usually cheaper on the plane if you are going outside the EU but I have visited Barcelona, Girona and Dalaman airports in the past 6 weeks and Alpha were cheaper for spirits, cigerettes and fragrance than any of those duty free shops.
I work in Manchester airport so I am always checking out the prices looking for a bargain!!!!
I hope this all helps everyone!!

Inactive

doncaster wrote: »

We went to Barcelona in June , and came back with a real bargain from the aeroporto

We bought a 1 litre bottle of Licor 43, or Cuarenta Y Tres (Spanish for "43") its a sweet vanilla flavour . Great with a mixer or in cocktails.

It was only 20 euros which works out at around £12.50. I ve checked out some of the price comparison sites and it seems we got ourselves a bit of a good deal.

I bet it was cheaper in the supermarkets in Spain, I have yet to find any booze at the so called Duty Free Shops in Spain as cheap as in the Supermarkets.