Duty Free Shops: Not Really a Tax-Free Bargain

Dec. 7, 2009— -- It seems like a great bargain: buy liquor, cigarettes, perfume and luxury clothing all without paying tax.

Every traveler who has left the country has encountered airport duty free store and those promises of great deals. But are the tax-free prices really that great?

Several travel experts told ABC News that -- in most cases -- the deals at duty free shops really aren't deals at all.

"As a general rule, there are no bargains in the duty free," said Suzy Gershman, a self-proclaimed shopping goddess and author of Frommer's Born to Shop series. "The reason there is so much shopping in the airport is because people are trapped there for two hours."

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A tremendous amount of merchandise is being made specifically for the duty free stores, or at least packaged specially for the store, Gershman said. That makes it harder to determine an item's real value because you can't "compare apples to apples." She likened it to merchandise made specifically for factory outlet stores.

Duty free stores have benefited as more people, following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, began arriving earlier to the airport to clear security. Some found themselves with more free time before their flight and more stores opened to fill the need.

The duty free store owners moved to bring more luxury brands into their stores, Gershman said. But first they had to convince companies that worried about watering down the value of their brand. So, she said, handbag makers started to make items like wallets exclusively for the airport stores.

Liquor, cigarettes and perfumes are often identical to those in your local store but not necessarily cheaper.