King Power Duty free, Bangkok, Thailand
King Power, which is the name of the company / monopoly of the duty free shops in Thailand, has ( unwisely ) opened a new center near Victory Monument and The Pullman Hotel.
The idea is that people going on vacation, or leaving Thailand can pre-shop at this King Power duty free shopping center and have their goods ready for collection when arriving at the airport.
To some, this might sund like a good idea, but there are a number of flaws in this and one main flaw is that King Power offers very little, if any, in the way of savings.
Once you’ve found your way to King Power, you must ensure you have your flight details in the form of your ticket and perhaps passport. “Check In” at the information counter and proceed into the shopping center where you can browse through the shops without seeing another shopper and this is because it’s a dumb idea.
Firstly, the process is stupid. Why make a journey to a duty free shop that is situated in one of the worst places for traffic jams in Bangkok only to buy something you can’t take with you and might have problems collecting at the airport.
The only thing that makes waiting at the airport acceptable is the duty free shopping where you can wander the shops until it’s time to board. If you’ve already done this, there’s not much else to do.
I mentioned earlier about having problems collecting your stuff and I mention this because this is Thailand and things rarely go to plan and so if you’ve bought all your duty free, paid for it and expect it to be waiting for you at the airport, think again. There is a good chance that when you get to the airport, your stuff is not there waiting for you and then what are you going to do ? 50 mins until you board your aeroplane and that nice Coach bag you bought is nowhere to be seen !!… get real and don’t pay for something you can’t take with you. Anyone forking over money for an item they hope will be somewhere that they will soon leave is asking for trouble.
Also, King Power offers very little in the way of savings. Sure, booze is cheaper and you can save on cosmetics but electronics, local goods and other items are roughly the same price if not MORE expensive.
Take chocolate for example. A big bar of Cadbury’s milk chocolate costs nearly 8 UK pounds. In the UK, it’d cost probably 5 UK pounds max. This is the same for most chocolate and is not sold at a price less than the shops around BKK.
Locally produced spa and body treatment is also priced the same as the shops in BKK as are the silk products of Jim Thompson and other brands. The prices are the same as the shops and no savings are to be made.
Why are there almost no savings to be made ? well, this is Thailand and King Power is a monopoly meaning there is no competition. With no competiton it means that you either pay the prices being asked, or you go without and the average person will fork over that bit of extra cash at the end of a holiday just to round things off before returning home.
We all empty our pockets of the loose change and small notes before leaving the country and the “duty free” shops feed off this notion. King Power or the owners are incredibly rich and it’s obviously such a good money spinner that those now in power have ordered King Power out in favour of another operator.
There has been no statement that another operator can enter the market, it’s all down to King Power getting the boot and another monopoly taking its place so that it can then offer no savings to tourists and make a killing instead.
However, even though King Power has been told to leave and shut up shop, there is no sign of this happening and this is because it’s hanging in there waiting for the new elections to see whether the change in power will allow it to stay or whether it will have to go.
If Thailand was serious about its duty free shopping and was offering a good shopping service to tourists and frequent flyers, it would allow more operators to join the market. Competition means price wars and better savings for the customers. As it is, it will remain a monopoly with the only change being that of the name and that of the person allowed to become richer than they already are.
Unless you know for sure that what you are buying is really cheaper than elsewhere, save your money and buy it at home where you can at least try to bargain the price. King Power is more than likely offering you the items at the usual price or even higher, so don’t assume that duty free mean “cheaper” because it doesn’t.
thank. http://www.bangkokblogspot.com/?p=98
![247608279_3b1b236b48 King Power Duty free, Bangkok, Thailand](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/97/247608279_3b1b236b48.jpg "Thai military launched a coup against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday night, circling his offices with tanks, seizing control of TV stations and declaring a provisional authority pledging loyalty to the king. An announcement on Thai television declared that a "Council of Administrative Reform" with King Bhumibol Adulyadej as head of state had seized power in Bangkok and nearby provinces without any resistance.
AP
I'm at home , TV cut out, internet still working, phone still Ok, for the time being, curfew in place, tanks on the streets, I missed them for 10 minutes. This picture taken from the roof top of my building. Have a good night everyone, :)")
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