pointless duty free

[Bigtones]

kirsty, I'm yet to find a store that does cheaper prices than fragrancex. (Some Chemist chains here in Oz do have amazing sale-deals tho) Look them up online and compare prices. Also, you can get an email alert for out of stock items.

Good luck!

I Question whether those cheap chemist ones are real as you can buy all the fake colognes in asia for $5 each. They look real and have the correct packaging even with the fake hologram seal. I bought a ralph lauren one just to test it and it is definetly fake.
my wife bought the Angel one to compare with her real one and it looked identical till you try and open the silver star lid, it didn't open like the real one and it sort of smelt like the real one but lasted 1/2 hr just like mine.
Australian duty free is a complete rip off but I found bangkok duty free ok but the cheapest I've consistently found is on those big American cruise liners for everything alcohol, colognes,jewellery,clothes,

 

[kirstyoz]

kirsty, I'm yet to find a store that does cheaper prices than fragrancex. (Some Chemist chains here in Oz do have amazing sale-deals tho) Look them up online and compare prices. Also, you can get an email alert for out of stock items.

Good luck!

Hey PointyEnd - I've always been reluctant to buy online as a lot of the big online fragrance stores sell fake stuff... and I know customs seized a bunch of fake fragrances a few years ago which had (amongst other things) human urine in it... yum. What country are they based in?

 

[Bigtones]

Hi we do the same never shop in Australia its just too expensive. We go to Asia once a year or 2 with empty suitcases and come back full with new wardrobes. Ralph Lauren, Burberry shirts , designer shorts and pants are only $6 over in Vietnam,Bangkok and Malaysia but Malaysia you need to bargain hard as the price starts at $80 then you bargain down to $6. My wife gets her work clothes tailor made she just shows them the picture of the designer item and they make it identical, I think she paid $40 for 3 skirts last March instead of $650 over here, we could have got it cheaper but I wasn't in the bargaining mood. You need to give them around 3 days though. Any designer sunglasses you can get for a $1 in vietnam at the markets or 50 cents from the women walking around the streets if you know how to bargain. Anything you can think of is over there but unfortunately Hong Kong is not cheap any more.

 

[cfellows]

Hi we do the same never shop in Australia its just too expensive. We go to Asia once a year or 2 with empty suitcases and come back full with new wardrobes. Ralph Lauren, Burberry shirts , designer shorts and pants are only $6 over in Vietnam,Bangkok and Malaysia but Malaysia you need to bargain hard as the price starts at $80 then you bargain down to $6. My wife gets her work clothes tailor made she just shows them the picture of the designer item and they make it identical, I think she paid $40 for 3 skirts last March instead of $650 over here, we could have got it cheaper but I wasn't in the bargaining mood. You need to give them around 3 days though. Any designer sunglasses you can get for a $1 in vietnam at the markets or 50 cents from the women walking around the streets if you know how to bargain. Anything you can think of is over there but unfortunately Hong Kong is not cheap any more.

None of that stuff is authentic boss, of course the tailored items are good but i'm just talking about your list of 'designer' items there.

 

[medhead]

None of that stuff is authentic boss, of course the tailored items are good but i'm just talking about your list of 'designer' items there.

Are you telling me the Chanel and LV handbags I picked up for the kids are not real!? He told me they were best quality.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Are you telling me the Chanel and LV handbags I picked up for the kids are not real!? He told me they were best quality.

Ahh see, you should've gone for "top" quality, not "best"..you've been scammed my friend.

 

[Bigtones]

None of that stuff is authentic boss, of course the tailored items are good but i'm just talking about your list of 'designer' items there.

I know and have always thought that till my asian dentist told me a few days ago that his uncle is in on the racket over there and alot are actually real these days that have been stolen from the manufacturer, he said were not talking about a couple of truck loads its a big business where everyones paid off from the factory manager to the cleaners to the truck drivers to steal hundreds of thousands of these items of clothes. Over the years I have noticed a huge improvement in the quality and have even taken my Burberry and Ralph lauren shirts to the real shops and looked closely at the seams ,stitching, quality of fabric and it has been identical as I heard these rumours before that some of the stuff is real as alot of the brands are manufactured in asia. If its true I suppose we will see it on a current affair or something one day soon.

 

[medhead]

It sure ain't authentic for the prices you've mentioned.

Ahh see, you should've gone for "top" quality, not "best"..you've been scammed my friend.

I didn't mention the price. One child got the little girl with blue eyes discount.

 

[NM]

I know and have always thought that till my asian dentist told me a few days ago that his uncle is in on the racket over there and alot are actually real these days that have been stolen from the manufacturer, he said were not talking about a couple of truck loads its a big business where everyones paid off from the factory manager to the cleaners to the truck drivers to steal hundreds of thousands of these items of clothes. Over the years I have noticed a huge improvement in the quality and have even taken my Burberry and Ralph lauren shirts to the real shops and looked closely at the seams ,stitching, quality of fabric and it has been identical as I heard these rumours before that some of the stuff is real as alot of the brands are manufactured in asia. If its true I suppose we will see it on a current affair or something one day soon.

For me, that is a very good reason not to buy them. I am not going to support or encourage theft. As much as I don't want to pay the asking price for these name brand items, I do not want to support outright criminal activities such as theft, no matter how they try to justify it. I am not interested in buying stolen good.

 

[dadevo]

I am not sure if anyone else has said this already but in Australian now duty free means limited savings as we have limited inbound duty on most things you see I a duty free store

the reason some things are expensiveness Australia is because the retailer and manufactures charge a high price because they can get away with it!

i was in Hong Kong a few weeks ago and everything is as expensive as Australia and the shops are do instead by brands so if you like paying 2k for a handbag the you can save some money on australia

The us and Canada are the place to go ...... On my way back from Toronto now with a full suitcase of clothes .... Left with an empty one ..... Take the labels off and no one will ever know even if you get a search in customs .... And in my experience they are not interested on what is in your case as long as it isn't drugs!

 

[Denali]

.... and have even taken my Burberry and Ralph lauren shirts to the real shops and looked closely at the seams ,stitching, quality of fabric....

You walk into a legitimate designer shop, pull your rip off Ralph out of the Wollies bag and compare quality?

 

[Bindibuys]

In HK these days you need to know where to shop but duty free we give it a miss, with electronics there's a store off MTR exit E in Mong Kok on 16th floor near street cnr., Marantz receiver was around $2000 street price in OZ and there it was AUD$650, weight was 22kg but with 2 in J had enough allowance to bring it back. Clothes and cosmetics are decent prices too. (we'll be there once again tomorrow night).

Clothes and Cosmetics at same location?
First time in HK at the end of this trip, at a total loss as to where to shop, and need to bring home toys etc for the boss's 2 children, any advice appreciated.

 

[dadevo]

go to dinner at Aqua or Grey Cafe and tell the boss you didnt have time to shop!

 

[burmans]

He told me they were best quality.

"Best quality fakes", I've heard that one before when I questioned.

 

[JohnK]

Purchase of alcohol "duty free" in the USA or Asia is pointless. The price out in the street is literally 1/3 to 1/4 of the airport price. I always buy outside and pack it in my suitcase.

Where in Thailand do you get a 1L bottle of Smirnoff Red for <520 baht?

But at 1/3 or 1/4 of the airport price I should be able to get it for ~130 baht?>

 

[ChrisDPom]

For those who have never been to Bali, be aware that a bottle of booze is very expensive from shops. Start around $60 for Smirnoff 1 litre and up to $100 for some higher brand spirits.

Duty Free in the airport is cheaper (1 litre per adult allowed in) but JQ ban carry on alcohol when flying out from DPS (while VA allow it !!!).

Int Duty Free at PER is cheaper than Perth bottle shops on most spirits, so while I can see why my fellow sandgroper stated this:

I buy my spirits at Changi, it is by far cheaper compared to the prices (let alone pitiful selection) at Perth Duty Free. Which brings me to another thing with the recent changes to Perth Intl there is now a maze through the duty free store you HAVE to walk through to get to customs much like in Melb/Syd. So annoying but I will never buy from them ever with their prices that are more expensive then the regular bottle shops in Perth.


I laugh at every sucker standing in line to pick up their cough / buy some after getting off the flight.. less people in front of the smart gate always makes me happy

I am still in the pickup queue after my flight because I am flying in from a lazy Bali holiday, not a Singapore hustle/bustle one.

Chris

 

[Awesom Andy]

Changi is not a bad place to shop for duty free, and since I make visits at least once a month, I get enough to join their reward program as well. Comparatively speaking, the last time I bought something at an Australian duty free place was about 5 years ago, if I remember correctly.

 

[cfellows]

Changi is not a bad place to shop for duty free, and since I make visits at least once a month, I get enough to join their reward program as well. Comparatively speaking, the last time I bought something at an Australian duty free place was about 5 years ago, if I remember correctly.

I havent' found much value in their program, unless you are throwing down large bundles of cash on the designer items we have been talking about in this thread. You need to spend about $5k+ a year there to get any value I think?

My comment about Perth DF vs Street might have been a bit brash, as it has been so long since I've needed to go into a Perth bottle-o (and purchase spirits I don't think I would be impressed with the prices if they are cheaper @ DF in Perth) because my cabinet is overflowing with plunder from Changi thanks to the free changi dollars SIA!

 

[uvkelly]

While I agree Duty Free is expensive compared to the free market, I do sometimes buy wine in the Sydney DF as they do stock some difficult to get vintages and labels, though compared to cellar doors DF are often up to 10% higher.
For all other purchases I buy in the USA (now live here permanently, but even when I lived in Australia) usually at Costco (Australian memberships work in the US) or you can have someone buy you a small gift card which is used to gain accesss and then you spend as much as you want as long as you have cash to pay the bill. the good thing here is the designer items are all real and exceptionally good value think Brietling for just over $3000 and of course the liquor is very inexpensive.

 

[Tykeinoz]

I came back from Fiji end of last year and purchased my ration of malt, not really worth it. Last time I came back from Sing was better but that was 18 mths ago. I tend to agree.