20 Things You Should Never Buy at the Duty-Free

Those pricey designer headphones might be tempting as you realize you’re in for a long flight and haven’t packed your own pair, but before you reach for your wallet, think it through. Most flights offer headsets to rent at a small cost – not to mention, if you really are in the market for a new set, you’ll be better off at a local specialty shop where you’ll have more variety to choose from, a better chance at scoring a deal and the convenience of location, should you need to return them or run into any problems with your purchase.

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Worried about neck discomfort during your flight? We don’t blame you! Unless you’re flying first class, odds are you might end up sandwiched between strangers – neither of which you’ll want to rest your head on as you begin to feel the strain of a long flight. Think ahead and avoid over-spending on such a hot-ticket duty-free item by looking for a deal in big-box stores, where they carry a variety of neck pillows year-round at great prices.

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That sweater with the logo for the place you’ve just visited? Sure, you’re saving the duties, but you can bet for the convenience of being an airport-buy and that last-minute gift appeal you’ll be paying a hefty premium over what it’s actually worth.

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Savings in this department are rare, at best – not to mention you’ll be settling for fewer options in the often-limited cosmetics section of your airport duty-free. Save the beauty splurging for your go-to cosmetic shop, where you’re more likely to find an expert on hand to answer any questions you may have, as well as walk away with a few sweet samples. Now, isn’t that worth the wait?

Ever since (most) airlines stopped offering free in-flight food, snacking in mid-air has become an expensive treat. The jacked-up prices in the online menu are enough to scare most travellers into stocking up pre-flight. Truth be told, we wouldn’t fault you for picking up the mini-sized Pringles before boarding, but you’re really better off to think ahead and stock up at the grocery store bulk bins. The markup on duty-free snacks – especially when you consider their bite-size portions – just isn’t worth it. While every airport is different, most allow travellers to bring their own food through security, so save that extra cash for your trip and pack your own in-flight meal ahead of time. Not sure of restrictions? Travel sites like the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority let you plug in whatever item you’re unsure about, telling you via search results if there are any restrictions.

Banking on the duty-free for those tax-free last-minute gifts? Well, the duty-free is counting on it, and that’s why these are often some of the most marked-up items in the store. Make the effort to hunt for local goods and souvenirs prior to the airport, when you’ll have more time to search for deals and really enjoy the experience of finding memorable items – at a lower cost than picking them up at the duty-free.

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A great book or two can really help to pass the time on a long flight, but is it worth stocking up at the duty-free in a bid to save on the tax? Not really. While we won’t scold you for picking up a magazine pre-flight, when it comes to books, less variety and less chance at scoring a deal make this a duty-free item to skip.

A big ticket number wherever you are, spending that extra cash on electronics at the duty-free is a big no-no. For starters, you’ll be investing in something with little room for recourse once you leave the airport. And bear in mind, duty-free shops aren’t often stocked up on the latest tech-offerings, which means you might be settling for outdated products – at a price that your local tech-shop might be offering better deals (and warranties) on.

Duties or not, you’re overpaying for that travel-sized pack of Advil. Do yourself a favour – and avoid the mid-air migraine – by packing some meds from home in your carry-on.

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This one’s a grey area. Generally, we’d suggest skipping this one because, like electronics, this can be a big-ticket item, which you might be better off purchasing from a trusted retailer you know. However, some airports are outfitted with duty-free shops that offer local artisan pieces distinctive of wherever you are. So if you come across something unique before boarding, and the price is right, go for it – but as a rule of thumb: buyer beware.

It’s bad enough that bottled water is overpriced to begin with, but when buying it individually at the duty-free, you just can’t help but feel ripped off. Consider this: for a pack of 24 water bottles at the grocery store, you’re generally paying $3 or less; meanwhile, at the duty-free, a single name-brand bottle of water can run you about the same. Is it any wonder now why water bottles made our list of 20 things you should always travel with? Tip: bring an empty water bottle and fill it up once you’re past the security check point to avoid any hassles.

Odds are, if you’re looking to buy luggage while travelling through the airport, potentially incurring those pesky extra baggage fees and the hassle of lugging another large item on your trip, you’re probably doing so out of necessity. Your own luggage may have broken, been lost or you simply need an urgent replacement for whatever reason – and the airport duty-free is banking on it. Just like the markup on food and snacks that they know hungry travellers will pay for, the markup on luggage they know you might have no option but to buy is often off the charts. Whenever possible, skip this one and upgrade your luggage once home, where you’ll no doubt have a much wider range of options – and prices.

This one’s a hit or miss, because often, it’s not so much the price you’re after when purchasing alcohol at a duty-free abroad, but more so the selection of liquors you may not have access to at home. However, if the price is your driving factor, be warned: what little you might be saving in taxes is often negligible when you factor in the excessive markup, which often means you’ll pay more for that bottle of vodka at the airport than you would at home, taxes and all. So if it’s that great deal you’re after, do your research and make a note of prices at your local liquor store before checking out the duty-free.

We’re 50/50 on this one. It’s true that perfume sold in-flight is often offered in a different range of sizes than you would find in regular retail, making it difficult to compare pricing, however – duty-free shops regularly offer limited-edition options, and if the price is right – how can you resist a new signature scent?

This is one of those big-ticket items that you’ll always want to do your homework on before purchasing. At the end of the day, when it comes to price and practicality of things like returns and exchanges, you’re better off sticking with the big-box stores.

Easy enough to research online, this is another one of those hit-or-miss items. Designer sunglasses are unlikely to be much of a deal, but if you happen to come across a unique pair that you haven’t seen elsewhere, this might be a good opportunity to scoop them up.

So you’ve done some quick research and it turns out you’ve found a deal on that designer dress at the duty-free. So is it worth it? Well, yes and no. Sure, a deal’s a deal, but if it’s designer you’re looking at, odds are you’re still about to spend a small fortune on whatever it is you’re looking at. With that in mind, be absolutely sure that this is the piece for you, as duty-free shops are often smaller than regular retail locations, and offer less selection per brand. If you’re the kind of shopper who likes to see what’s out there before making up your mind, this might not be the ideal environment to be absolutely sure you’ve seen all there from that designer.

We’d suggest skipping the splurge and holding out until you can make it into a proper boutique, where you’ll have your pick at everything available that season.

Until the world completely gives in to the joys of Netflix and the many subscription-based options for music, there will still be CDs and DVDs to buy – and for some of us, there’s nothing better than adding to our collections of movies and music with the disks and hard copies we’ve come to love.

When it comes to that rack of tempting tunes and flicks at the duty-free, your best to skip it. There’s no deal in this department like the ones you’ll find shopping at home in places like Walmart, where they keep aisles of current (and classic) music and movies on $5 discount year-round.

Ok so yes, technically, chocolate falls under the aforementioned “snacks” – but considering it keeps coming up as one of the top purchases to avoid at the duty-free, we figured it had earned its very own mention. Unless the chocolates you're considering come in some kind of novelty or special souvenir-type packaging – skip it. Airports know all too well that the way into any travellers wallet is through their stomach, and if you actually knew just how much you were overpaying, your stomach would be turning over!

One of the joys of duty-free shopping is stocking up on magazines to keep you entertained before a long flight. We’re not saying to skip your pre-flight ritual altogether, but before you spring for that second – or third – gossip mag, consider the better deal in thinking ahead and say, scoring three magazines for the price of two at Walmart, where their “buy 3 for $10” deal is on year-round. And for those tech-savvy travellers, there’s no better deal than a digital subscription like Texture, where for less than $10 a month, you’ve got access to countless magazines you can download onto your tablet and enjoy anytime.

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