Spill the beans...on what to buy duty-free

SandraDJ

I don't normally buy in duty free, but did buy cigarettes and blended whisky in Dubai airport last year. I couldn't believe how little I paid!

I came back through Dubai after a cruise this month, and bought the same items. The rate of exchange must be pretty bad at the moment, because they cost me a lot more.

Looking at the prices of Chanel nail polish on ebay, I missed a trick. I should have stocked up on some of the limited edition colours. I could have made a bit of money!

pinkcanna

you can get the 180g(?) bar from the 99p stores or pound shops in brighton, love them. just off to the shops :j

ThinkingOfLinking

totallybored wrote: »

Grey Goose vodka is much cheaper to buy from US duty free. About $30 a litre bottle compared to nearly £35 for a 70cl bottle in the shops here. It was also $1 cheaper to buy in the plane than the shop with United.

Perfume and make up can be cheaper online for decent brands. The only other things I've ever bought from duty free have been cigarettes for a friend depending on the country and how cheap they are.

Never buy anything in Charles de Gaulle airport, even the macaroons cost more there than they do in the Harrods branch!

I agree with Grey Goose vodka from America; a litre for $37...compared with the £32+ for 70cl in UK shops.

I also go for perfume and cosmetics. The little discounts do add up and I spend the rest of the year coveting my Chanel!:rotfl:

toadhall

nothing, its cheaper online

John_Pierpoint

toadhall wrote: »

nothing, its cheaper online

In theory there are items (alcohol tobacco road fuel.....) where it cannot be as the tax ("duty") is considerably more that 50% of the price in the UK.

phatbear

toadhall wrote: »

nothing, its cheaper online

Care to prove that claim?

Last week at stansted duty free i bought

100ml of paco rabane 1 million which came with a 100ml shower gel
&
100ml of boss orange man edt

For under £64 care to show me where i could get it cheaper? and no cheating using ebay

Bob_the_Saver

phatbear wrote: »

Care to prove that claim?

Last week at stansted duty free i bought

100ml of paco rabane 1 million which came with a 100ml shower gel
&
100ml of boss orange man edt

For under £64 care to show me where i could get it cheaper? and no cheating using ebay

Sounds like Ian Paisley but I'm sure it's jolly nice.

robbyj64

Golden_Anemone wrote: »

Normally I would agree with you about Spain. I go most years and the duty free is almost always a bit dearer than in the local supermarkets or tobacconists but I flew back at the beginning of this month from Malaga and Aldeasa, the big duty free store, has a 20% off sale on. Spirits that were 10 and 11 Euro in the supermarkets were 8.15 Euro in duty free. Not sure how long the 20% off sale is on for.

YES! I travel a lot and found that Aldaesa had frequent offers that were substantially cheaper than supermarkets. My favourite was Larios gin. Full strength, and as good as Gordons for a fraction of the cost. Unfortunately, it's been taken over by the huge World Duty Free Group that has stores in most airports so I think that prices may rocket.

cheatthecheatingcheaters

With the pound low against most currencies except the euro, bargains are rare abroad. I always find cheap booze at Heathrow, particularly deals like two 1l bottles of gin for £20. 1l bottles of Campari for €7 is a common sight at European airports.

Singapore airport is very good for electronic items, apple products are cheaper there than in the UK. Never buy at Dixons at the airport!

Some states in the US have low or zero (Oregon) sales tax so buying cheap electronics and fashion items there is easy.

Fluctuating currencies mean that bargains come and go. Get XE currency converter for your smartphone and check a 12 month chart for £ vs the country you are visiting. If their currency has recently dived against the pound, then you may well find bargains there.

pennypinchUK

I've found a great way to make savings of 100% at duty free shops. Just don't buy anything in the first place. Bargain.

I'd say most purchases at so-called duty free stores are impulse buys.

Save your money and only buy what you want, at a price you can afford, at a time that's most convenient to you. I can guarantee you'll save a lot more money that way than going out of your way to buy in duty free stores.