Airport duty free - using sterling

Is it possible to use pound sterling at the departure shops? Is there a commission charge for this, & do you therefore get a good exchange rate to the bahtтАжтАжтАж.?

Also accord to uk customs you can only bring back 200 cigarettes, yet I have been sold more than this on occasions. Is this a case that the onus is on the buyer & not the sellerтАжтАж.

They also make a note of your boarding pass, so does that mean there is a maximum amount that you will be sold???

Dont pay with sterling - bad exchange rate.

I buy 1 carton in airport and 7 from chinese supermarket ( cheaper than airport) - last time i was stopped but they didnt say anything - the guy next to me had 11 cartons and they let him through too.

[jinks]

Dont pay with sterling - bad exchange rate.

I buy 1 carton in airport and 7 from chinese supermarket ( cheaper than airport) - last time i was stopped but they didnt say anything - the guy next to me had 11 cartons and they let him through too.

Ditto on the money however in January on my last return I was stopped :(
I had walked through on all of my previous trips.
They took 2500 cigs off me.

As a result I had to visit Spain in February to re-stock :clown:
Ditto in May and August, it's hard being a smoker. :downtown:

Is it possible to use pound sterling at the departure shops? Is there a commission charge for this, & do you therefore get a good exchange rate to the bahtтАжтАжтАж.?

Also accord to uk customs you can only bring back 200 cigarettes, yet I have been sold more than this on occasions. Is this a case that the onus is on the buyer & not the sellerтАжтАж.

They also make a note of your boarding pass, so does that mean there is a maximum amount that you will be sold???

1. Keep some Baht back for the Duty Free shopping that you intend to do, then if you do spend a little more than expected you need only change small denominations of Sterling. There is no 'commission charge' as such but the rate the exchange rate they conduct the sales at compensates for that.

2. The onus is on the buyer not the seller. You know your allowance limit and it is your responsibility to either stick to it or knowingly attempt to exceed it.

3. You will be sold what you ask for in most cases. I have sometimes seem one of the sales staff query a purchase, but remember they receive commission on sales.

Thank you for your heeded advice gents.

ThatтАЩs is rather a lot of cigarettes to get taken off you Jinks, gosh!!

Maybe one could get a non direct flight back from los, & change at somewhere in the EU, like Amsterdam.
That way you have got a better chance of not getting stopped, as customs may think you have just been to Amsterdam, & you can bring back from the EU as much as like, according it is for personal consumption.

[manfarang-old]

Although, as been pointed out, you do get the best exchange rate using baht, the duty fee shops do accept major world currencies and, of course, credit cards.

Thank you for your heeded advice gents.

ThatтАЩs is rather a lot of cigarettes to get taken off you Jinks, gosh!!

Maybe one could get a non direct flight back from los, & change at somewhere in the EU, like Amsterdam.
That way you have got a better chance of not getting stopped, as customs may think you have just been to Amsterdam, & you can bring back from the EU as much as like, according it is for personal consumption.

NOT TRUE. My pal came back from a dirty weekend(!) in Amsterdam through Heathrow two weeks ago with 10 x 200's cartons of cigarettes. He had 6 cartons confiscated. The personal consumption allowance for those arriving from the EU, as interpreted by British Customs, is 800 cigarettes.
He was told he was lucky not having to pay duty on the 800 he was allowed to bring in!!

[jinks]

Maybe one could get a non direct flight back from los, & change at somewhere in the EU, like Amsterdam.
That way you have got a better chance of not getting stopped, as customs may think you have just been to Amsterdam, & you can bring back from the EU as much as like, according it is for personal consumption.

They have that covered too !
Checked in luggage has different labels for the EU to the rest of the world.
(Green edged for the EU)

To do this an overnight in the EU will be needed.

And to the 800... I always have more than this on my trips from Spain..... 5K :)

The cost of a week in Spain - flight, hotel, food, drinksssssss and rental car is тВм 2300 or ┬г1500.
The cost in the UK of 5k (my brand) is....... тВм 2300 or ┬г1500 .
That means a free week in Spain :cheers:

[Daniel-old]

'My pal came back from a dirty weekend(!) in Amsterdam through Heathrow two weeks ago with 10 x 200's cartons of cigarettes. He had 6 cartons confiscated. The personal consumption allowance for those arriving from the EU, as interpreted by British Customs, is 800 cigarettes.'

The interpretation must vary from region to region, as I was told at both Norwich and Stanstead Airport that I could bring sixteen cartons of duty-paid cigarettes for personal use back from Amsterdam. There is a big difference between 800 and 3200 cigarettes.

[Dick]

don't forget that all your personal details as contained in your passport, plus number of pieces and weight of checked baggage, as well as what you purchase duty free, is zapped ahead to your destination for immigration/customs/security etc to peruse. They also have an electronic picture ~ as in your passport ~ to look at, should they wish to single you out. Their computers are no doubt programmed to flag up excesses.

UK Customs are really looking for those who excessively exceed the duty free limits, e.g. who fit jinx's profile:-), and anyone concealing drugs or pornography. If I bring back cigs for friends, I'll often buy 200 locally plus 200 in the duty free shop. The price difference isn't that great, and I'm not advertising the fact that I am exceeding my duty free allowance. I don't buy whisky duty free anymore... Seagram's 100 Pipers at 330 Baht or whatever it is now purchased from the supermarket fits nicely in my suitcase thanks. Its only a little bettered by Johnny Walker Black at 3 times the price duty free.

And what red tape when you buy anything from King Power. One salesgirl to smile and take your selection to the till, another to process the transaction on the till and record your boarding pass, another to check it and or zap a credit card. Cut back on staff with a little O & M training, and they could make their prices more competitive.

On this last trip I broke down for the first time ever and tried to buy a pack of M&Ms on may way through the departure lounge. Those RIPOFFS wanted $3.85 for some thing I pay $1.35 for in the USA and 80 cents for in the remote area I am in now. I will never patronize any store in an airport. They are all thieves and you all are extremely stupid. Spend! See what I care. Support evil people.

So the airport is another vain Bangkok shopping sensation. I'll just close my eyes and get the hell out of it. Shopping malls are so out of place in Thailand.

I, too, was wondering about why one would want to shop at the BKK airport shops. The prices are inflated so that without the tax, they are often higher than the same item purchased in downtown BKK in a legitimate shop with tax. And, depending on where/how much you purchased you might get back the 7% VAT tax upon departure. Granted, I've only priced watches, cameras and colognes. Are there items at the airport duty-free shops that are a bargain?

I donтАЩt recall or know the prices of cigarettes before I get to the airport duty free shops.

Is there therefore a better place to buy cigarettes in pattayaтАжтАж.?
what about the large store on the same round as holywood, going north & its on the same side of this main road.....

i'd rather stuff them in my suitcase than try & take too many through customs, also there already packed & easier to carry then.
Bearing in mind, more than one pack from los to the uk is classed as too many!!

[Dick]

Any 7/11 is good, but the supermarket is better:-)

I will never patronize any store in an airport. They are all thievesIn fact they are all pure monopolists - they will charge you whatever the competition will allow. Since they have no competition they charge whatever price they think you will pay. In turn they are gouged huge rentals by the airport owners who are equally monopolists. Thieving doesn't come into it

I always nab a few (as many as they'll allow, actually) bottles of wine at duty free on arrival into Thailand. The "thieves" sell it for a lot better prices than you can find in the city.

[TrongpaiExpat]

Sorry guys but if they take all your cigs away they are doing you a favor. You are slowly killing yourself.

Some employers in the US are now not hiring smokers saying that the health insurance cost are too high.