kokonutz

I got a poster request via PM asking the TB to consider a Duty Free forum.

I do have to admit to being duty free ignorant. I only shop in them when I am flying internationally and actually NEED something (like, you know, an emergency bottle of scotch or something). So I suppose I would be interested to learn what the advantages of duty free in different regions of the world are and when it is a good bargain and when it is not.

That said, I have no idea if there is enough to talk about to sustain a forum on the issue, so I'm just throwing the idea out for discussion.

Also creating a thread in the private TB forum for TB consideration.

SkiAdcock

I'm not sure there's enough to sustain a forum, but perhaps make it a sticky in Travelbuzz? OVMV.

Cheers.

fairviewroad

An entire forum? No.

A sticky? Maybe.

A thread that's occasionally bumped? Go for it!

I'm really not sure that there would be that much interest. Then again, I see very little in duty-free shops that I want.

peteropny

Or maybe the destinations forums? I really don't think there would be enough posts to warrant a stand alone forum.

obscure2k

I see no need for a Duty Free Forum

kokonutz

I've noticed in my travels that duty free (both on and off aircraft) seem to target the Japanese market heavily (eg, home-shipping services).

Perhaps this idea would have more traction if FT supported Japanese characters?

tazi

ditto

wharvey

This is where I would expect threads on Duty Free to show up.

BiziBB

Hopefully I can help in a small way. I started a thread which I hope we can use to track the best buys in duty free, worldwide.
It will probably do fine where it is, in DiningBuzz, if we're talking about emergency scotch.

It has been up for just over a week, thanks to missydarlin kindly agreeing making it a sticky, to gauge interest:
(DiningBuzz) Duty Free Best Finds.

About the thread:
It's very, very early days. Have a look, post any questions there, come and check in regularly and you should find something!

• DiningBuzz is a good 'home forum' for discussion about favourite drinks (OMNI has some excellent, long-lived threads, though ).
• We have some good price data on Johnny Walker Blue and the other items are starting to build up.
• There is the start of a directory for where to find all kinds of stuff.
• Down the track, other duty free products could be easily added, or use a similar format, if this thread gets used.
• This week we have nine contributors & 400+ page views in ten days. Unfortunately it won't be much use unless there is more info on 'good buys'.
  
  Where is the existing info on FT?
• If there is DF discussion elsewhere I'd like to add links so that it is available to people reading the thread. Post links to other DF discussion to the thread.
  
  Why have this thread?
• What are your 'best finds' in terms of where to find popular drinks?
• There are miles earning opportunities, in many ways, with DF, which should interest most of us too.
• LOTS of people will be flying through SYD on CMB (we hope) or SFO/LAX fares and there will be opportunities for DF buying at many stops along the way.
• Requests and discussion is welcome; I'll just link any good deals to the index page.
  

Please check out the DiningBuzz Duty Free thread if you have any interest in duty free. I hope that it is eventually adopted and becomes useful to any FTer considering a duty free purchase.

Thanks again for everybody who has contributed - cheers and salut! ^

BiziBB

missydarlin had advised that FT had once considered such a forum.
I couldn;t find discussion of it in this forum, but here are a couple of historic electrons:

Mention of a DF forum in a Talkboard newsletter, somehow a part of a post...
Post about the newsletter item, requesting Duty Free coverage.

If there's not much discussion about Duty Free already in FT, publicising a thread might help Talkboard track the level of interest.

ozstamps

FT has FAR too many non airline, non hotel Forums as it is.

If someone wants to start a "Best Duty Free Buys" regular thread on Travel Buzz if there is interest it will stay busy. If not like all threads of little interest it will quietly fade away.

NOT a sticky.

There has been an obscure sticky there for several years that has not had a post for 4 months, and is well out of date, called:

'List Countries Here in Which Visitors May Be Eligible to Receive a Rebate'

No idea why that is a sticky, and not a regular thread. Stickies like that need regular review and the time to review that one seems well overdue IMHO.

lin821

I haven't really read through that thread so don't know how good (or outdated) the info is.

Here are my questions:

1. If the countries-with-rebates-for-visitors thread indeed needs "makeover" as ozstamps put it, should it be a TB topic? How do the TravelBuzz! mods feel about it?

2. How does the duty free thread/sticky/forum differ from that existing thread? (other than they are obviously locating in different fora for the moment being )

Jenbel

I would see what threads are 'stuck' in which forums entirely as a moderator thing. My own personal view is that generally moderators are much more au fait with the dynamics of their own forum than TB, of which a substantial proportion of us may not actually visit any particular forum regularly where there is discussion about the appropriateness of a sticky - for example, I couldn't comment on the appropriateness of a sticky in the UA forum, since it's a forum I visit very rarely. We might be able to draw such things to the mods attention (we're all guilty of not seeing things we see every day for example), but IMHO, it would really be up to the mods to take action and decide what needs to be done.

Dovster

Several years ago, before I was elected to TalkBoard the first time, it not only considered a Duty Free Forum but actually voted to approve it.

It never became a reality because nobody could figure out how to make it workable. If I am flying from JBurg to Atlanta, for example, what interest would it be to me to know that booze is available at a good price in Tel Aviv?

Today, such a forum would be even of less use. Duty Free shops no longer exist in the EU. Yes, they keep that name but they are no longer Duty Free and you can generally expect higher prices in them than you would find in town.

I may be wrong but I would guess that most international flights by FlyerTalkers are either to/from Europe so they would have no role in a Duty Free Forum.

If you do want to find out what the prices are in ATL or JFK (no great bargains in either city), you can post on the local forums. If you are flying TLV-USA you can ask about the Duty Free on the Middle East or El Al Forum (you will be told that the only real bargains are on cigarettes and booze -- but you can't take the booze aboard your US-bound flight).

There are undoubtedly some exceptions but the general rule today is that for booze and smokes your best buys will be on the flight itself and for anything else to purchase it before you get to the airport.

Jenbel

Actually Dov, that isn't correct. You pay duty when flying solely within the EU. You don't pay duty if flying outside the EU. So if I fly MAN-AMS-HKG, I can buy tax free goods at both MAN and AMS, which are still available (green shelves) since my final destination is outside the EU.

But I agree with your assessment that the forum is not necessary, we'd need lots of visitors from all over the world to make it work, and I don't think we'd get that level of use but I disagree with your assessment of the internatinal duty free market. I still buy most of my champagne at duty free, regardless of destination.