Book Online or Call 24/7
+1 (888) 462-1404
Call Now

10 Things You Should Never Buy at an Airport Store

A little world of its own, the airport offers anything and everything the passengers may need during their travel journey. Once the travelers are past security at the airport, the duty-free shops, the restaurants, the foreign exchange shops, and others can fulfil any need that they might have. Air travel being expensive can be stressful but don't add on the misery by going overboard and buying the stuff you may not need or have option to buy it somewhere else. If you believe in the notion that fair pricing exists on the things you buy at the airport, you’re mistaken for sure. Save some dollars in your pocket and try not buy the below 10 things from airport store:

Booze from Duty-Free Shops

Booze from Duty-Free Shops

It’s a common misconception that buying from duty-free stores will help them save on taxes but trust us duty-free shops are never the best deals for casual shoppers out to get a bargain. The booze offered at the duty free shops in airports usually cost less at home or online. Most of the shop owners draw significant markups even on liquor, in comparison retail prices available elsewhere. Passengers should always do some groundwork and draw comparisons beforehand to take the decision to buy booze in duty-free stores.

Bottled Water

Bottled Water

A Flexible Water Bottle is the best remedy to keep clear of the expensive airport water bottles. You can easily stop buying water bottles in your airport terminal for few dollars apiece and invest in one of these foldable, reusable containers. Just get it filled at a water fountain after you’ve gone through airport security and you’ll get the amount recovered for itself after just a few uses.

Souvenirs

Souvenirs

Travellers need to plan ahead and make sure to buy the souvenirs before you reach the airport, waiting for your flight home. The souvenir stores at the airport usually hawk severely marked-up merchandise that can be found elsewhere in the destination for a lot less. Even the wares can be very unoriginal: trite Statue of Liberty T-shirts, ceramic cityscape mugs, small key chains in the shape of Dutch canal houses.

But you can find exceptions to this, as some airports offer some unique souvenirs like gifts hand-crafted by local artisans. The best way to find souvenirs at the best price is to take a look at what’s on offer when you land, and then buy whatever you need when you return to the airport upon departure. Do the research every time before coming to the airport terminal and compare prices for the souvenir up for sale.

Neck Pillows

Neck Pillows

Neck Pillows may appear to be the most innocent and necessary travel product but travellers are at the mercy of anti-consumer pricing schemes. It's the cheapest if ordered online ahead of time, just keep an eye out for special offers and sales. They come in wide varieties and pretty cheap too on Amazon and you can also buy it directly from Travel rest pillow for less than 30 dollars only.

Restaurant Meals

Restaurant Meals

If you've been feeling hungry and reach a sit-down restaurant at the airport, you might be in for eye-brow raising experience. The restaurants at the airport have been charging higher prices for menu items in airport locations than they do elsewhere. There's a pretty good reason offered by the restaurants: the operating expenses are generally higher at airports than at street locations. 

Even the food costs can vary by the terminal which just heightens the confusion for travelers who want to compare the prices. Most of the airports allow to carry your own lunch from home, so that you can avoid sit-down restaurants and check out more affordable snacks.

Wi-Fi at Airport

Wi-Fi at Airport

Plenty of airports have been offering free Wi-Fi for the passengers but still you can move to certain airports who are charging the flyers to search the Web while waiting to depart. Ensure to enquire if you can get connectivity for free before you enter your credit card number. Check for the Wi-Fi located in elite flyer’s lounge or in an airport hotel lobby and that's not password protected. You can also pay a visit to terminal's Starbucks, as all of them offer free Internet, airport locations are sometimes the exception.

Airport Car parking

Airport Car parking

Many travellers wish to do car parking at the airport, as it's the most convenient way of getting you and your luggage as close as possible to the runway. The airport parking is very expensive, and airports tend to capitalize on the face that people will be laden with heavy bags and won't want to walk far. Parking at a nearby hotel or taking a shuttle or getting a quick ride to the airport can help in being far cheaper than airport parking, and might even get you closer to the front door.

Airport store perfume

Airport store perfume

That exotic branded perfume they sell at the duty-free shop in the airport could very well be a fake. It’s not just at the airport stores that you’ll find counterfeit perfume, but at the airport stores, there’s a greater chance that the retailer you’re buying it from has no idea if he’s selling a spurious version. In other words, the airport duty-free shop may be retailing what it believes to be the real deal, but it’s not. You’re far better off procuring your favorite perfume directly from its manufacturer or in a department store that you trust or shop from.

Foreign Currency

Foreign Currency

The currency exchange desks located in airports often hit travelers with very high transaction fees, this is the sole reason airport is probably not the best place to exchange your money. It offers great convenience to buy forex at the airport and move into the city but you should be willing to pay a higher price for it.

A better option is to take out foreign currency at an ATM in your destination and you'll surely get the best interbank exchange rate, which is usually much better than rates offered at airport exchange counters. Just read through the bank's schedule of charges for more information on foreign currency transaction fees levied on ATM withdrawals.

Overweight baggage

Overweight baggage

We've all been in that awkward position at the airport when we're scrambling around to redistribute items from our overweight suitcase into someone else's case if they have some room for little bit extra. But if you're planning to fly alone and all the bags are at capacity, you could be landed with a hefty charge for the benefit of getting all your many items onboard.