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

Augustus_the_Strong

I seldom buy anything but it's nice to smarten up with duty-free moisturisers and cosmetic testers after a trekking trip before going back into the 'civilised world'.

stewarth99

I usually keep and eye on the offers at my local supermarket and frequently buy from them. That means that I can transfer the alcoholic liquids to plastic bottles. You gain two ways. The weight of the bottle is saved and you can pack them into your baggage. That saves me the hassle of lugging all the duty free onto the plane. Apart from impulse buys, but that's always a hazard, lets face it the holiday starts here.

shazz5555

When I have flown to Turkey in the past, the fags are cheaper to buy on the plane than in the duty free airport shop.

Golden_Anemone

robbyj64 wrote: »

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.

Yup, nobody I know can taste the difference between Larios and Gordons on a blind taste. My sister couldn't until she saw the label then suddenly she could. :rotfl: :rotfl:

iain_c

I bought a Nikon SLR digital camera from Dixons (Edinburgh Airport), it was about £70 cheaper than the next cheapest.

Dave_T_L_W

[FONT=&quot]I travel extensively with work throughout EMEA and I have travelled worldwide for pleasure, needless to say I spend a lot of time in Airports. I'm happy to tell all you bargain hunters that Duty Free is still very much alive and well (if in a slightly different form from years past) - three things to bear in mind; where you visit, what you buy and how much you buy;

What:

-I have never understood why people buy things like chocolate/sweets in airports (unless as last minute gifts for kids??) so I’m going to ignore these products. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-Similarly, I use other methods to get cheap electronics so I don’t pay attention to these - maybe someone else can chip in?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-Perfumes are generally cheaper online/in sales and unless you have a favourite you know a good price for or wifi you are likely to make a mistake with conversion rates thrown in. I therefore avoid these.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-As far as I can see there are three things that are worth buying in Duty Free - Jewellery/Watches, tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, loose tobacco) and alcohol. Depending on where you go you can pick up some great bargains. I don’t buy much jewellery so will skip this but I know rolex/omega can be got at bargain prices while being 100% real/guaranteed. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-The more expensive the product the better the deal ( i.e. better deal on grey goose than Smirnoff vodka)

Where:

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The first thing to consider in EU or not:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]EU:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Because of the whole free trade piece, European tax is still paid in EU airports on all duty free even if the country tax is withheld. This means that really the only thing to look for really is countries where the economy is weaker/goods are cheaper anyway (generally the eastern bloc where they don’t have the euro but that’s a massive generalisation and is dependent on currency strengths against the pound). If you go to parts of Scandinavia you will be paying more for everything anywhere and duty free is therefore redundant but if you go to Estonia, for example, you will be paying low prices anywhere which is reflected in the duty free prices.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Non-EU:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This is where the real bargains are to be had for two reasons. Anywhere you visit you won’t be paying European tax, possibly no country tax and invariably the items will be cheaper outside the airport anyway. The Middle East, SE ASIA and South America you pay £10-30 for 20 Marlborough Lights/golds whereas they cost £7-£8 for 20 (this is a rough guess for obvious reasons) on the high street UK. Similarly cigars are dirt cheap compared to the UK as is rolling tobacco and alcohol is depending on local law. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]N.B. Many countries you will do better to buy your goods outside of the airport but personally I don’t mind paying a slight premium for the convenience/guarantee/selection airports offer. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]How Much:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Within the EU you have paid European tax on booze/tobacco already so technically you can bring in what you want as long as its for personal consumption but if you don’t want to answer a lot of questions/arose suspicion then stick to the guidelines:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]800 cigarettes, or 400 cigarillos, or 200 cigars, or 1 kg of smoking tobacco[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]110 litres of beer[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]10 litres of spirits[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]90 litres of wine[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]20 litres of fortified wine e.g. port or sherry[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Outside the EU, where the best deals are to be had, tighter restrictions apply:[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]200 cigarettes, or 100 cigarillos, or 50 cigars, or 250g of tobacco[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]4 litres of still wine[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]1 litre of spirits or strong liqueurs over 22% volume or 2 litres of fortified wine, sparkling wine or other liqueurs that are less than 22% volume[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]16 litres of beer[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]up to £390 worth of all other goods including gifts, perfume and souvenirs (£270 if arriving by private plane or private boat)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Couple of points on these:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-Without wanting to tempt fate by posting it here – there are discrepancies in the guidelines i.e. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]200 Cigarettes vs 50 Cigars is nowhere near level. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Example:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]200 Cigarettes in Dubai - £10[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]200 Cigarettes in UK - £80[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Maximum saving £70[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]50 Cohiba Esplendido Cigars in Cuban Cigar Factory - £300[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]50 Cohiba Esplendido Cigars in UK shop - £800 (Im lowballing this number as I have never bought a box in the UK only singles at £25 a pop which would equate to £1250 but I’m assuming you get a box cheaper)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Maximum saving - £500!![/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-£390 refers to new items (ie labels attached, unopened perfume or goods looking new), read into this what you will.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]-It is illegal to bring more than these allowances in and if you get caught then they will either confiscate all the product or make you pay tax on all of it rather than just what’s over the allowance (unconfirmed as I have never been caught [/FONT]J[FONT=&quot]). [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Sorry if that was a bit of an essay but I’m rather jet lagged so apologies if there are mistakes. Next time I’m in an airport I’ll take note of some exact prices. [/FONT]

SHIPSHAPE

Short haul, I don't think I have ever found anything that one can buy cheaper on the high street.

Typical example, pair of Ray Ban Aviators, £139 duty free (whilst also claiming 'bargain'), £89 Tesco opticians.

Even a travel plug is £4.99, which one can buy in a pound shop.

I've actually never understood the point of duty free's, do they think people are just mugs?

pencilcase

This is a really interesting thread, I've felt tempted by 'bargains' (cosmetics, sunglasses, watches etc) at the airport but often wondered if they were really good value or not, so didn't take the plunge - is good to see other people's views are similar!

lady1964

My DH bought me a Mulberry bag at Heathrow T5 last year and it was over £100 cheaper than the Mulberry shop - checked prices online then phoned their T5 shop to check. I also got my DH something for our 25th anniversary from Tiffany at T5 - we were living overseas when I got it and the same gift where we were living was around £40 more expensive than on the Tiffany website but at T5, it was around £40 cheaper than the website so it was a saving.

I also get some perfumes that come in gift sets, Clarins Beauty Flash Balm and Touche Eclat as I've found it cheaper.

I've also bought the 2 for 1 bottles of alcohol when going away with my mum, we have a bottle each of whatever for evenings sitting on a balcony.

I do sometimes buy cigs from LGW duty free, generally 200 and then stock up wherever we have stayed abroad, if they're cheaper. For instance, in China 200 cigs in their duty free is £5.50 for 200.

Like others, I price check before I go if I'm thinking about buying something specific, but I also like to wander around the shops in DF to see what's there and if there are any bargains - have got some lovely bits from Fat Face at Gatwick before now in their sale (we don't have a FF where we live).

cajsa

How about the mandatory bag or two of sweets that you take back to give to colleagues at the office - you know the ones, filling pullers that taste like nothing else you can buy in a normal sweet shop::eek::eek::EasterBun

not strictly bought to save on taxes but never the less duty free