Price comparison: Truth about duty free shopping revealed

For decades, Australians have believed an international boarding pass is also a one-way ticket to a super-cheap shopping spree, but experts have revealed the sinister truth. SEE THE LIST

Camille Carstens and Olga Goodman are both sales assistants at Lotte duty free. Pic: Annette Dew

Experts have debunked the decades-old myth that duty-free shopping is the cheapest way to snag everything from alcohol to jewellery, perfume and chocolate.

For decades, we’ve been led to believe that an international boarding pass was a one-way ticket to a super-cheap shopping spree, but thanks to a turn-of-the-millennium tax change, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Angus Kidman, a travel expert and editor at large at Findr explained that prior to 2000, when the Australian government replaced the existing wholesale services tax with the goods and services tax, duty-free shopping at the international airport, or in the occasional inner-city location, was a significantly cheaper way to purchase all those nice-to-have items.

“Its really interesting to me, that the myth of the idea that duty-free shopping is cheaper has long outlasted the period since it was actually true,” Mr Kidman said.

“Until about 2000, it really was the cheaper option, but since GST was introduced … that difference is really minimal, if anything at all.”

“Prior to GST coming in, there were different levels of duty that applied, they were national taxes.”

“So if you were buying overseas, the government said ‘well if you aren’t buying in Australia, we won’t charge you that (tax).”

“Part of the idea of bringing in GST was to make one simple flat rate and the result was suddenly that for duty-free (shopping) those savings would actually help.”

Downtown Duty Free store at Brisbane Airport.

The previously existing wholesale services tax applied different rates of tax to each item dependant on the category of the item, which aside from being a complicated set up, meant that having that tax removed in duty-free could actually be quite significant to shoppers.

Now, a quarter of a century later, duty-free stores serve more as a hotspot for bored travellers to purchase luxury goods, think Montblanc watches to the tune of $5000, expensive wine and spirit bottles in quantities you can’t access elsewhere.

Echoing Mr Kidman’s thoughts, Graeme Hughes, consumer spending expert and adjunct professor at Griffith University confirmed the difference between duty-free pricing at the airport and regular retail pricing is often ‘negligible’.

“Sometimes, those “savings” are barely worth the suitcase space,” Mr Hughes said.

“The allure of duty-free is understandable. The name itself suggests a price reduction, and the airport environment, with its inflated prices in other shops, can make duty-free seem like a haven of affordability.”

“However, a closer look reveals that the savings aren’t always as significant as we think, and sometimes, you might even be better off shopping elsewhere.”

Many stores in the airport, from clothing to stationery to food vendors, have inflated pricing to begin with, thanks to high retail lease costs, which are charged as a percentage of store earnings rather than a set value.

Mr Hughes stressed that some genuine bargains can be found, particularly on alcohol, but irged buyers to plan and prepare to avoid overspending.

“Remember, the feeling of being on holiday, combined with the “duty-free” label, can easily lead to overspending,” Mr Hughes said.

“Duty-free can occasionally offer genuine savings, particularly on specific items such as alcohol in certain locations … however, it’s not the automatic bargain many believe it to be.”

“By researching, comparing prices, and planning ahead, you can make informed decisions and ensure you’re truly getting a good deal, whether it’s at the airport or elsewhere.”

The Courier-Mail undertook an assessment of pricings on select items across the top ten categories of product sold at the duty-free stores at Brisbane International Airport and equivalent standard retail stores, which showed very minimal differences in cost.

PRICE COMPARISON:

Spirits

Johnnie Walker Black label 1L

Duty Free: $79.99

Retail: $82

Hendricks Gin 1L

DF: $86.99

R: $109.99

Lehmann wine feature Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008

Wine

Dom Perignon Vintage

DF: $386

R: $418

Penfolds Cellar Reserve Tempranillo

DF: $69.99

R: $70

Beauty

Estee Lauder Doublewear Foundation

DF: $67

R: $63.20

Yves Saint Laurent Lipstick- Rouge Pur Couture Reno R8

DF: $58

R: $60

Skincare

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair eye gel-crème duo set

DF: $221

R: $131

Kiehls Ultra Facial Cream

DF: $105

R: $122

Supplied images for insider fashion under $300 December 15

Perfume

Tom Ford Black Orchid- 100ml

DF: $300

R: $375

Hermes H24 eau de parfum 100ml

DF: $191

R: $216

Chocolate

Toblerone Bar 360g

DF: $29.50

R: $16

Ferrero Rocher Ferrero Collection 269g

DF: $26.50

R: $28

Coles Ferrero Rocher 30 Pack 375g or Collection Chocolate Gift Box 24 Pack 269g

Sunglasses

Ray-Ban RB2180

DF: $198

R: $174.40

Montblanc Ruthenium blue

DF: $636

R: $565

Jewellery

Raymond Weil Freelancer watch

DF: $5640

R: $6200

Swarovski Matrix tennis necklace

DF: $400

R: $400

Gifting

Moleskins Classic soft cover notebook

DF: $46

R: $47.99

Kinto Day Off tumbler 500ml

DF: $64

R: $63.33

Lego

Lego Marvel X-Men X-Jet buildable toy

DF: $91

R: $99.99

Lego Friends Newsroom Van 41749

DF: $48

R: $45.39

Originally published as Price comparison: Truth about duty free shopping revealed