Since Duty Free is so expensive, I wonder why it is so immensely popular. Heathrow is practically a giant shopping mall and many other large airports as well. I tend to buy a few things there just to empty out my pockets of foreign currency before flying home. Maybe that is what everyone else is doing as well.

quote:

Originally posted by RaroGirl:
[qb] Since Duty Free is so expensive, I wonder why it is so immensely popular. Heathrow is practically a giant shopping mall and many other large airports as well. I tend to buy a few things there just to empty out my pockets of foreign currency before flying home. Maybe that is what everyone else is doing as well. [/qb]

I am convinced that the average person thinks that because it is a "Duty Free" shop it has to be cheaper. In most cases, you only have to show them the duty free price on the internet, then show them the full retail price in a shop and they can see that they are not really saving anything, and in some cases they are actually paying more. But guess what? When they arrive home again, they have bought it from the Duty Free Shop, because they had time to waste in there and IT WAS THERE & they still had a few dollars left!!! That is what they, the DF shops, work on.

Guy - you got it, mostly. Add convenience. I sometimes wait until I get to the airport to buy things like cheese, chocolate, etc. simply so I don't have to haul it around so much before heading home.

MonaP . . . that is another excellent point. It's very nice to be able to pick up things at the end of your trip--maybe worth the extra money because you haven't had to lug the stuff everywhere for two weeks or more.

quote:

Originally posted by Guy H:

I am convinced that the average person thinks that because it is a "Duty Free" shop it has to be cheaper. But guess what? When they arrive home again, they have bought it from the Duty Free Shop, because they had time to waste in there and IT WAS THERE & they still had a few dollars left!!! [/QB][/QUOTE]

Been there, done that!! One of the main reasons I am so anti DF Shops is because Mrs Guy H spends up large there on stuff she does not really need on our way home each time , then complains when she see's it in the shops at home much cheaper.

Guy H - is this where we pat you on the back for NOT taking advantage of the opportunity to say, "I told you so"?!