Now, a site that compares duty-free prices

MUMBAI: For most passengers, there is a certain element of stress involved in duty-free

shopping

. Even as one strolls around, looking at the wares on display and deciding on the bottles and boxes to buy, a part of the brain keeps track of the time and the distance to the boarding gate and another on whether to buy a particular brand of single malt or perfume at this

airport

, at the stopover or rather at the destination.

That’s where price comparison websites for

duty-free

products come in.

They take away the deadline, that real dampener when it comes to duty-free shopping. There are very few price-comparison sites for duty-free products, though.

The first Indian site was launched only three months ago. “Dutyfreebuzz.com is the first Indian site that compares prices of duty-free goods. Mumbai and Delhi apart, we have 11 other Indian airports on our list. In all, we have data on prices from 44 airports across the world and by the year-end, we are targeting 100 airports,” said Karan Ahuja, founder, Dutyfreebuzz. “Currently, there are no other websites in India or abroad that give straight comparisons of prices of duty-free products across airports like we do,” he added.

So if you are flying from Mumbai to Copenhagen via Dubai, then you would know that a one-litre, 12-year-old Chivas Regal would cost $39.78 in Dubai, $42.67 in Copenghagen and $36 in Mumbai, provided you buy it

online

.

The first such price comparison website, the European

Dutyfreebee.com

, which was launched as recently as in 2014, is currently not functional. Other than that, there are a few others, such as

dutyfreehunter.com

, which used to compare prices, but now limits itself to news items on duty-free outlets.

So how convenient is online duty-free shopping? “When you land in Mumbai, you can switch on your phone and visit

Dutyfreebuzz.com

. After you have homed in on the product you plan to buy, the site will direct you to the Mumbai duty-free website DFS.com, and then, in 15 minutes, your order would be packed and waiting to be collected,” said Ahuja.


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