by Angela Mccullough

Created on: October 03, 2008   Last Updated: May 31, 2011

We've all been there, you're at the airport, waiting for your flight and you have a couple of hours to kill so you hit the duty free shops. The idea of a bargain tends to drive consumers into a frenzy of shopping madness not thinking through that buying something that you weren't planning on getting is actually costing you money rather than saving it.

Nowhere is this more evident than when duty free shopping. For most of us we can't help but have a big screaming flashing "Bargain" sign in our minds when we think of picking up duty free goods after a holiday abroad. These shops have worked out that by simply stating the RRP (Recommended Retail Price) on their price tags, next to their discounted price, we consumers will feel as though it is the bargain of the century regardless of whether we in fact have 55 bottles of perfume at home that we don't currently use.

Back before the popularity of Internet shopping soared, duty free was one way of picking up items at less than retail. However with the ability to shop from home and compare prices across numerous retailers at the touch of a button, this is becoming less and less of a reality. Often you can be paying more in duty free than you would if you did a simple Google search back home. Throw in the advent of online auction websites such as eBay and you are more and more likely to be overpaying simply for the convenience of getting the item off the shelf on your way back from your holiday.

There is really only one reason to buy duty free (apart from for the last minute presents for those back home), and that is for tobacco and alcohol. As you are not paying taxes and duty on the products (and this is pretty much the only way to get around this) you can make big savings. This is why they limit how much you can buy or every entrepreneur out there would be bulk buying and on selling to make a profit.

If you have a particular brand of sunglasses, or bottle of perfume that you want, or maybe that new camera, do your homework. Shop around before you get to the airport, search online and know how much you can buy it for. That way if you see the item for less than that you can be assured you are getting a good deal.

So feel free to browse, after all it fills in the time, but just think about those 55 dust gathering bottles of perfume, and leave your wallet firmly in your pocket,  catch the real bargains online.

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