Duty Free items??

[AttaBoy]

Hi guys, Something I need to clear up,

I will be going overseas in march around the 20th and have already booked and paid my airline ticket.

I'm aware that I can buy something duty free as long as I show the ticket as proof and take it overseas??
I want to buy a media player to take with me overseas and there is a duty free shop in Clayton (Vic).

The question is am I allowed to open it here before I leave?? The reason is that I want to put my music / songs and videos that is stored in my PC onto the media player. I have a feeling that I can't touch it till I'm off Australia...

There is no point buying it if I can't operate the player here before I fly off because all the stuff is on the pc at home.

Also will I save quite a bit of money buying it duty free?? I will will be spending around $400 on a good player with big storage capacity.

Thanks in advance.

P.S, also if you like to recommend me a good player that can play videos and music. $400 budget limit.

[nicko]

hey mate, my parents bought a camer b4 going over seas, u have to take it out of the country with you and yes u can use it b4 u leave. unsure of the savings but on a $1100 camera we saved around $250.

[Shounak]

Two different things, duty free and tourist refund scheme. Basically with duty free, you can't open it til you get on the plane and you need to present a ticket to purchase it. Duty free purchases will reduce most of the duties payable and will sometimes offer their own special rates and deals.

Tourist refund scheme is where you present your receipt and item to the Customs TRS desk before you embark the plane and they refund 10% of the purchase to you (the GST).

Duty free is much cheaper for alcohol, but TRS is often cheaper for electronics and things. If you shop around a bit, you'll see duty free prices aren't that spectacular for most electronics and perfumes.

I say buy the MP3 player here (within 30 days of travelling) and get a receipt. Use it all you want and then get a 10% refund on it before you leave. Also with TRS, you can use the item beforehand, whereas you can't with duty free.

[AttaBoy]

Originally Posted by Shounak

Two different things, duty free and tourist refund scheme. Basically with duty free, you can't open it til you get on the plane and you need to present a ticket to purchase it. Duty free purchases will reduce most of the duties payable and will sometimes offer their own special rates and deals.

Tourist refund scheme is where you present your receipt and item to the Customs TRS desk before you embark the plane and they refund 10% of the purchase to you (the GST).

Duty free is much cheaper for alcohol, but TRS is often cheaper for electronics and things. If you shop around a bit, you'll see duty free prices aren't that spectacular for most electronics and perfumes.

I say buy the MP3 player here (within 30 days of travelling) and get a receipt. Use it all you want and then get a 10% refund on it before you leave. Also with TRS, you can use the item beforehand, whereas you can't with duty free.

Thanks for that, so.. the TRS - do I have to buy within 30 days before takeoff or as long as I have the receipt?? I assume things will be quite cheap because of the Christmas holiday period which is why I want to buy it early.

[vy_storm]

Details on the TRS:
Advice for travellers

[AttaBoy]

Thanks for the info man, I'm considering the Ipod touch which looks cool and has good features. 16GB model is ok, though I may not use up all that space.