Following how to use duty-free shops last time, this time I would like to post A to Z on how to use internet duty-free shops.
I plan to write it in two parts. Part 1 covers basic matters such as membership registration, sales, use of points, and refunds, and Part 2 organizes specific information such as whether existing department store gift certificates can be used and if passport and departure information are changed after ordering. did.
Types of Internet Duty Free Shops
The main internet duty-free stores are Shilla and Lotte.
In addition, there are Shinsegae, Hyundai Department Store, Dongwha, Jeju Tourism Organization, Air Busan, and JDC.
Most people shop at Shilla, Lotte, and Shinsegae because they are large, have many brands, and offer great affiliate discounts and points.
Since different brands offer big discounts at each duty-free store, and brands on sale change every day, it is best to shop at least a month in advance while comparing the main duty-free stores in order to receive great shopping benefits.
I have many experiences in the past where I had already paid, but later canceled and repaid due to a large discount at another duty-free shop.
Shopping period
60 days before departure ~ 3 hours before departure
No matter how early you purchase your ticket, duty-free shopping is possible up to 60 days, 2 months before departure.
Shopping 3 hours before departure is possible only for some products, not all products, but this is listed on the details page.
In the photo below, the blusher on the right has the ‘3 hours ago’ mark, but the lipstick on the left does not have the ‘3 hours ago’ mark.
Shinsegae Duty Free Shop Addiction product page screen. '3 hours in advance' available up to 3 hours in advance at internet duty free shops. There are products with the mark and products without.
‘3 hours ago’ mark
If there is no ‘3 hours before’ mark, order and payment must be completed the day before departure.
Summary of online duty-free shopping procedures
Internet duty-free shops involve making payment in advance at an online mall and picking it up at a designated pick-up point on the day of departure.
Sign up for duty-free shop site → Enter passport information and departure information (flight number) → Shopping → Pick up items at the pick-up area on the day of departure → Depart the country
1. Sign up
First, you must go to each duty-free shop site and sign up as a member.
Since Shinsegae and Lotte use integrated IDs with other affiliates such as department stores, duty-free stores can also log in with the integrated ID after simple authentication and procedures.
2. Enter passport and departure information
All internet duty-free shops require you to enter your passport and departure information during the membership registration process or before payment.
Without this information, shopping at duty-free shops is impossible.
Example of passport information entry: English name (must match passport), passport number, etc.
'Passport Information Management' where you enter your passport information when signing up for an online duty-free shop. screen. English name, Passport number, There is a space to enter your passport expiration date, etc.
Passport information input screen
Example of entering departure information: departure date, flight number, etc.
Screen for entering departure information required when purchasing online duty-free products. Departure location, Departure date, Departure time, Flight name, There is a space to enter the destination, etc.
Departure information must be entered accurately as it is related to the location of the duty-free delivery area.
If your passport information is also incorrect, delivery of the goods will not be possible.
Cases where you have already ordered an item but your passport information changes will be discussed in detail in Part 2.
3. Shopping
Even for the same product, the price varies depending on the duty-free shop in which it is located, and the product price can vary greatly depending on the payment date due to events such as sales and exchange rate fluctuations.
Below is a list of benefits that are good to look at before shopping.
Points and discounts
Points and coupons can be checked on the ‘Benefits’ or ‘Events’ page of each duty-free shop’s website.
There are major benefits of basic points, additional points, payment discounts, and coupons.
<Basic points>
For the latte, I used my savings like water…
The reward points are generous at most duty-free stores.
Although there are differences for each duty-free shop, whenever you log in, the amount is automatically recharged from as little as 500,000 won to as much as 3 million won per day.
'Today’s savings' screen. Just by logging in, today’s savings of 3 million won are automatically recharged.
Reserves
But.. Most brands prevent the use of points at the payment stage, so even if you accumulate points worth several million won, they are often useless.
If you are a brand that allows you to use points, in principle you can use up to 30% of the payment amount.
However, the application rate often varies depending on the brand.
Before Kosi, you could use up to 30% of your savings on almost any brand, so you could save money once you left the country, but that’s all become a thing of the past.
Whether or not coupons and points can be used can be checked on most product detail pages, although the entry location is different for each duty-free shop.
This is the Blanche product page of an online duty-free shop, and whether or not coupons and points can be used is listed. Coupons cannot be used, and points can be used up to 25% of the discount price.
Blanche product page
<Additional points>
Can also be used for branded products where points cannot be used
In addition to the basic points, there are additional points provided depending on the amount.
Even after the basic points are applied, additional points can be used if the payment amount exceeds a certain amount, such as $100 or more or $200 or more.
The additional points are great because you can get a discount if you exceed a certain amount even for brands where points cannot be used.
ex) Shinsegae provides additional points of 20,000 won when you spend more than $100.
It is a brand that does not allow points to be used, but when purchasing one bottle, the payment is $46, so the point benefit amount is 0.
Bulli body oil payment page at Shinsegae Internet Duty Free Shop. When purchasing one bottle, the payment amount is $46 and the point benefit amount is 0 won.
Buy one bottle of disadvantage_payment amount less than $100
However, if you purchase 3 bottles, the payment amount exceeds $100, and you can use an additional 20,000 won in accumulated points.
Therefore, it may be reasonable to make all payments at one duty-free shop rather than splitting them up here and there.
Bulli body oil payment page at Shinsegae Internet Duty Free Shop. When the option was changed to 3 bottles, the city payment amount was $139, and as the amount exceeded $100, additional points could be used, and the point benefit amount became 20,000 won.
Purchased 3 bottles of disadvantage_Payment amount exceeded $100
<Coupon>
There are category coupons and coupons distributed by each brand.
However, just like with points, there are many brands that cannot be used for coupons, and the number of coupons being distributed seems to have decreased compared to before.
<Payment discount>
There are affiliate discounts provided by credit card companies, telecommunication companies, and various payers (Toss, Naver, Kakao, etc.).
Since benefits apply on different days for each company, it is best to check on the event page before shopping.
Event page with affiliate discounts. Samsung Card up to 50,000 won payment discount, There is a thumbnail that links to discounts for affiliate members.
Affiliate discount screen
time sale
The flower of online duty-free shopping
Although points and coupon benefits have decreased significantly, online duty-free shopping is still good because of the time sale.
This is because each duty-free shop has a big time sale of about 50% off for a limited time.
For time sales, the brands involved change every day.
Internet duty free shop time sale screen. Sulwhasoo, Mac, Low Low, Brands such as Roage are having 30-60% off sales.
Time sale screen
According to what I have observed, basic department store brands such as Estee Lauder, Sulwhasoo, and SK2 have a lot of time sales regardless of duty-free stores.
However, there are quite a few brands that originally have a discount rate of around 4-50%, but they come up as a time sale. These also need to be watched over time and filtered through experience.
Exchange Rate
If the exchange rate today is lower than yesterday, don’t pay and wait.
Since all duty-free shop prices are expressed in dollars, they are affected by the exchange rate when paying in won.
The exchange rate is applied on a daily basis and is the closing exchange rate of the previous day announced by the Seoul Foreign Exchange Brokerage.
Welcome to Seoul Foreign Exchange Brokerage Co., Ltd.
www.smbs.biz
In other words, yesterday’s exchange rate is the exchange rate applied for today’s payment, and today’s exchange rate is the exchange rate applied for tomorrow’s payment.
Therefore, unless it is a limited-time product such as a time sale, if today’s exchange rate is lower than yesterday’s exchange rate, it is more profitable to wait and pay the next day.
It is also recommended to check and purchase at the duty-free exchange rate site below!!
Today and tomorrow duty free shop exchange rate
You can check the duty-free shop’s past, today’s duty-free shop exchange rate, and tomorrow’s duty-free shop exchange rate as soon as possible.
dutyfreemania.com
6. Receipt
When and how do I receive the ordered product? Do I need an exchange ticket? What if I didn’t receive the item?
Since the duty-free goods delivery area is located after completing immigration and exiting the gate, pickup of goods is only possible on the day of departure and before departure.
It is said that delivery of goods is usually done 2-3 hours before departure, so if you go to the delivery area too early, there is a high possibility that the goods will not arrive yet.
The location of the delivery area varies depending on the flight, but if you are in Terminal 1, you will most likely be able to receive it at the delivery area located on the second floor of the Martina Lounge.
Before leaving the country, you will receive a delivery text message or KakaoTalk message with directions from the duty-free shop, so just follow the instructions.
There are many blog posts explaining the location of the pick-up area, so don’t worry.
The text message tells you to print the exchange voucher, but when I first used a duty-free shop in the past, I didn’t know so I just printed it out, but there’s no need to do that.
Just show your passport and the staff will take care of everything.
When you go to the pick-up area, there is a booth for each duty-free shop. All you have to do is take a number for the duty-free shop you purchased your purchase from and wait.
You will need to present your passport, so preparing it in advance will save you time.
For some reason, I was unable to receive the product on the day of departure. Can I have it delivered to my home?
This question is a common one, but unfortunately it is not possible.
This is because under the Customs Act, duty-free goods can be received only when leaving the country.
Orders that are not delivered are automatically canceled after about 10 days.