Duty free anyone?

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    Whenever we're in Ezeiza I always browse the duty free or, as they euphemistically call it here, free shop. I've never found the prices to beat what you can get in a Chinese or some of the special offers in supermarkets. In fact, the same could be said for UK duty free, to a lesser extent.

    On the ferry back from Colonia we spent a while in the free shop and frankly, the prices are a joke. Jameson whisky for example is US$24 and I can buy the same in the Chinese for about AR$900. The same applies to most of the other stuff, but we did buy three Toblerone packs as gifts for a round US$12, I think, because Adri has some change left over.

    I felt very poor actually

    Anyway, here are a few shots of what was on offer.

                               

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    Buquebus has probably one of the most expensive duty frees in Latin America but they do have a pretty good selection of prodcuts . Thier fine foodstuffs are pretty decent and they have quite a good selection of malt whiskies.


    They buy in dollars and they price in dollars.


    Clearly they can't compete with Coto , Carrefour and Jumbo who have kept prices quite low since the devaluation


    Right now a Johnnie Walker Black Label drinker should be buying locally and not in a duty free shop.


    The duty free shops with the best prices in the region are probably in Rivera , 500kms , north of Montevideo on the Uruguayan border with Brazil.


    There are about 30/40 shops in the town . The biggest, Sineriz, about 10,000sqm, has really good whisky prices ( but the promos here are probably still better) and a good selection of general merchandise

    I had forgotten, GlasgowJohn , that you have insight into the duty free business. We are usually so loaded up with luggage going to and from BsAs that squeezing in even a candy bar would not be an option, but my impression from the times I've taken a look was that prices weren't tempting enough to buy there anyway. Do you have any buy recommendations for EZE duty free shopping?


    Years ago when we were flying back and forth from the US to Paris, London, Rome fairly frequently, it seemed that I always found perfume and designer silk scarves at irresistible prices through the duty free catalog on board. But this was before the Duty Free Shop phenomenon exploded. Once the airports filled all available space with boutiques, the special finds seemed to go out the window. Am I remembering wrong?

    Haven't bought anything in a duty free shop anywhere in the world since coming to live here. With the price of cigarettes so cheap there hasn't been any need.

    As for booze, I love Caymen Anejo Rum which at 170 pesos for a near 1 litre bottle is a bargain. So cheap, I've even been experimenting with it by adding it to my Sayri Twist pipe tobacco which costs a fraction of the price of the UK tobacco blends available here.


    Glad I'm a smoker and drinker...it makes living here a tad easier. ^^

    I cannot remember really buying duty free since my childhood.....was because booze and cigarettes was very expensive in Scandinavia....since that time, round 30-40 years, I only buy stuff in duty free because it's last chance, or because they have stuff I can't get somewhere else!

    Like Splinter mentioned, it's hardly any of the items that are cheaper...... and many times they are even much more expensive!

    Next one traveling, try and do a whiskey test.... see how much a bottle Jameson or other brand is..... here in offer 900 pesos - 11 USD!!! Wouldn't be surprised if it would be 20 in duty Free!

    Duty free means that good are free from import tax, sales tax and excise taxes.

    But duty free shop operators must pay high rents to the shop owner . Airport shop operators are paying about 32/33% of turnover to the airport owner. They also must be staffed on a 24/7 basis , which is expensive in its own right.

    Border duty free stores in Uruguay for example tend to be cheaper as rents are lower than in airports.

    Excise taxes in Argentina are fairly low on booze and tobacco.

    Locally made tobacco is very cheap, even though it has increased considerably over the last few years

    Most imported spirits pay 20% import taxes and 21% VAT plus a couple of alcohol related taxes.

    What tends to happen with imported spirits is that importers stock ahead when they feel there is a devaluation on the way – then they can decide if they cost out at replacement cost or solely the historic cost. Most imported spirits in the local market are now the cheapest they have been for several years . @JAN has pointed this out several times.

    Personally , I think there will be price increases this year and prices will rise considerably . Sales will fall as a result but then we will see an increase of promotional activity and we will see lots of 2 x 1 offers and the second bottle at 70% or 80% off.

    If you are a malt whisky fan, the best place to buy is the Museo de Whisky in Coghlan . They have a great selection and their prices are pretty decent as well.

    Quote from GlasgowJohn

    Personally , I think there will be price increases this year and prices will rise considerably . Sales will fall as a result but then we will see an increase of promotional activity and we will see lots of 2 x 1 offers and the second bottle at 70% or 80% off.

    If you are a malt whisky fan, the best place to buy is the Museo de Whisky in Coghlan . They have a great selection and their prices are pretty decent as well.

    Good post GJ...those 2 for 1 and 70% off the second unit offers really get on my tits. :cursing:


    As for the Museo de Whisky prices. How do they compare to the UK high street prices?

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    Quote from Rice

    I had forgotten, GlasgowJohn , that you have insight into the duty free business. We are usually so loaded up with luggage going to and from BsAs that squeezing in even a candy bar would not be an option, but my impression from the times I've taken a look was that prices weren't tempting enough to buy there anyway. Do you have any buy recommendations for EZE duty free shopping?


    Years ago when we were flying back and forth from the US to Paris, London, Rome fairly frequently, it seemed that I always found perfume and designer silk scarves at irresistible prices through the duty free catalog on board. But this was before the Duty Free Shop phenomenon exploded. Once the airports filled all available space with boutiques, the special finds seemed to go out the window. Am I remembering wrong?

    Rice , when I travel through EZE , I tend only to look at the stuff on promotion and even then I think about if I really need it .


    Perfumes and cosmetics are much cheaper in US department stores than in most duty free stores – especially when you guys have holiday promotions which seems to me to be every month…


    Airlines have cut back on selling duty free – some because of time constraints, others because of logistical problems and many because airport stores were getting much bigger.


    Amazon has also been eating away at the duty free pie – many people who visit the USA on holiday get stuff delivered to their hotel or to an Amazon locker at prices below you would have to pay at an airport.

    Another thing to note is that duty free arrivals shopping is much more important in Latin America than in Europe or North America.


    In Bs As - Departures accounts for about 60% and arrivals about 40%


    But in Brazil it is about 30% departures and a huge 70% in arrivals


    In Brazil , most Brazilians will buy a case of whisky when they get home from a trip . Alcohol taxes are much higher there than here.