dflawyer

Is it cheaper to buy perfume at an airport than in a store? Why is this?

lillehavfrue

It depends on where you live...? Where I live it's expensive, but I couldn't care less because I don't use it. But I think it might be cheaper in a US department store like Macy's.

dflawyer

I live in New York City, but was told that was cheaper to buy in an airport because it is duty free. Don't quite know what that really means, and does it mean at a foriegn airport?

TravelMaster

Hi:

It depends on where you are going and what you are buying. But generally to get 'duty free' products you have to be on an international flight. I live in Ottawa but worked in NYC for a while, at LGA if I was going directly to Ottawa or connecting to Ottawa via Toronto/Montreal I could buy 'duty free' but if I was connecting via Pittsburg/Philadelphia/Boston then I needed to get to those airports before I could buy.

But 'duty free' doesn't mean 'profit free' and the 'duty free' kiosks at LGA we not cheap & had a limited selection.

I would generally find something at a department store downtown as it was cheaper.

But when at European & Asian airports, the selection was usually much better but the pricing was generally only a little better than a US department, but not much better.

Z

FainaAgain

"Duty Free" means no tax charged. They are just hidden in the blown-up cost. Never saw anything in any airport cheaper then in a store.

sandi

And there are so many stores that sell well known perfumes at discount. You just have to lookk for them, or check your yellow pages.
Usually find discounted perfumes at discount Health & Beauty stores or departments.
I've yet to find perfumes at airports (even at duty free shops) at better prices than discount stores.

Scottee25

Faina, actually, when I was a smoker, I would drive to the duty free shop at the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit to buy a few carton of smokes. The cost was only 35-40% of retail which is a HUGE savings. And even though I was in Detroit and staying in Detroit, I had no problem purchasing them.

richardab

That also depends on the airport. In a recent trip I noticed some great values in the Heathrow airport since they had some brand discounted and others tax free.

At Vienna airport I noticed no proce difference.

At Munich there are shops called "travel Value" and they always seem to have great deal and prices.

Remember if you are American, the value of the dollar also has a lot to do with this.

Know you average prices in America before u go!

Christina

It might be that cigarettes are one thing that could be cheaper in duty free because taxes are so high in the US on that product so there is lots of room for profit by selling at a lower rate than stores. However, in the US, I haven't seen any other products in duty free stores like that and I've been able to buy from them without being on a flight because they are just in the airport concourse of shops.

In Europe, I think that is supposed to mean they don't have the local VAT, but I've never seen anything cheaper in airport stores in Europe than in the local stores, either. I think others have said they did, but I do like perfume and always look and it's never very cheap (in duty free airport shops).

richardab

well fragrances aren't always cheap but i usually lok for mine on yahoo shopping. i get great proces.

jimcolorado

Just a side note to this discussion, I would suggest that you sample (if you can)the fragrance if your are buying at a duty free shop to make sure it's the real item, and not counterfeit. Returning from Guyana last year, I had a short layover in Barbados. I decided to bring my wife some of her favorite body lotion by White Diamonds. When I got home, we discovered that the lotion was a different color (slightly yellow compared to pure white)thinner consistency, and not quite the same fragarance. Definetly a counterfeit in my book and nothing I could do about it.

richardab

Guyana?

i don't think you would find this in europe.

elizabeth_reed

Here is a website you can use to help you compare prices: www.99perfume.com/ask/

I've ordered from here twice because I can't buy my fragrance locally. Have been pleased with the price and service.

dflawyer

So is it the general consensus that there is no advantage to buying "duty free" perfume at the airports in Paris, Prague or Venice, if I can buy at home from Macys or other stores?

PCircles

Response for JimColorada - the lotion that you bought may have been genuine.

When I first started wearing perfumed lotion, I traveled a lot and always got my lotion at duty free. I ran out once and bought the exact same thing at Macy's. Well, guess what? When I used it the next day, it smelled rotten. So, I went right back to the store and told them that it had probably expired or something.

Turns out, the parent company ships the lotion in powder form from France. The lotion is reconstituted in the US. Apparently, the US and Europe have different regulations on how much alcohol can go into the lotions. So, even though it was the "same" product, the smell and consistency were different.

Anyway, if you are used to the US stuff, stick to buying it here, if you are used to the duty-free stuff, buy it there. For the brand I use, the parent company is the one that ships the final product to all duty frees, so I am safe shopping duty free for it.

Christina

I think the consensus is that it isn't a sure thing, but why not look, if you want. You just have to really know the prices of something well and not assume it's a bargain. I check a couple of my favorite perfumes and I know what I pay at home so can compare.

I remember Jim mentioning the White Diamonds from Guyana story before and I commented on it because I used to work in the perfume and cosmetic business. I thought that sounded more like inferior product than a counterfeit (either could happen), which is another big problem when you are buying from "discount" places. Stores that sell perfume at a discount may not be getting it legitmately from the manufacturer -- it's called a grey market -- and it may be product that is very old or hasn't been stored correctly, which greatly affects fragrance in general, and consistency and color of some lotions.

LVSue

I think the simplest answer is to find out how much it would cost here (including tax), convert that to euros, and write it down. When you get to the duty-free area in the airport on your way home, check out the price there.

Because of the dollar last year I was able to save about $50 on what would have cost me $110 (Estee Lauder creams). This year I bought at a department store where I could get a percentage off and detax, too, but I still didn't save nearly as much because of the descending dollar.

PCircles

Another thing on prices. On our trip to London last month, I got a bottle of perfume at Dulles before leaving for the UK. It was $60 at duty free as opposed to $78 at Macy's.