How to Shop at a Duty Free Store
World travelers are shoppers with the upper hand when it comes to shopping tax free, because most duty free shops are located in international airports, on passenger ships or by country borders. If you're traveling to another country, duty free shopping in an airport terminal is often a convenient way to spend time before a flight and provide some breathing room in your wallet.
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Things You'll Need
- Access to international travel zones and a ticket to visit foreign countries
- Airlines that offer in-flight duty free service
Instructions
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Travel for Duty Free
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Frequent regular stores when shopping abroad for duty free benefits. Certain stores within foreign countries offer items duty free for travelers, and a tax refund is provided for these shoppers upon their exits from that particular country.
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Visit Tokyo's popular Akinhabara shopping center to find duty free shops aplenty. Although international zones between Europe and the United States are typically the most common spots for duty free shops, Akinhabara provides an interesting retreat for travelers looking for a variety of different items in Asia.
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Shop at a duty free store at the airport, if you're traveling internationally. You will have to show your ticket to make a purchase. After shopping at an airport duty free store, the airport holds onto all purchased goods until the plane is about to depart.
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Pick up a duty free catalog on airlines offering in-flight duty free stores and shop from the comfort of your aisle or window seat. The flight attendant on such international flights will eventually make an announcement and then bring by the duty free shop with catalog items. Passengers are allowed to purchase from the cart.
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Check out an online store like Dutyfree.com to purchase jewelry of precious and semi-precious stones tax free (see Resources below). Some websites are able to ship internationally while offering consumers the opportunity to shop online and avoid the extra cost of taxes.
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Tips & Warnings
Be aware that duty free shops do not always offer shoppers that much of a discount, if any. Even though a tax is not charged on purchases, the prices on items are often higher than they would be in a normal store that includes tax.
Become knowledgeable about each country's duty free allowance. After spending a certain amount, often hundreds of dollars, foreign shoppers are required to pay export taxes on items that surpass their allowances, dependent upon the country. The United States' duty free allowance is $800.
