Is 'duty free' a scam ?

Duty-free stores in airports are not scams, but they can be misleading. While they offer products without local import taxes, prices might not always be significantly lower than outside the airport. Sometimes, sales tactics or the allure of exclusivity can create a perception of savings that isn't always the case

Duty free shops are miniature freeports where customs duties are suspended. I think the original intention was to provide economic stimulus to often loss-making airports. But retailers often operate as a monopoly in a particular location and increase prices and restrict supply so that most of the benefit flows to them rather than the consumer.

I believe the theory is that you don't pay the duty because you're not consuming the "goods" in the country where you're buying them. But as someone else said, you may or not be getting a deal there, so unless you show up knowing what you want to buy and how much it costs "outside", you may be setting yourself up to be "scammed" just because you don't know how much the item is really worth.

Some things are a good deal
But it is largely a gimmick of sorts.

The liquor shop at Helsinki is awesome. The US customs inspector cracked jokes about us having a "drinking problem.". We were within allowable limits and went on our way.

Depends on what country you are from
But most developed countries have huge taxes on cigarettes and alcohol
But their's limits on the amount to get duty free

Glenfiddich 18 Year:
In the two years (2017-2018) I tried three modes of purchase
On Shelf- $210-$$230 Sgd
Duty Free- $188 Sgd
Online during a sale- $109 Sgd

All it means is there's no Tax or in port fees on the products

No one pays it............its a tax free zone.

Yes

Yes

Used to get bigger discounts,but not much difference between there and online these day's