Peace Arch Duty Free Shop

You think because it’s a duty free shop they would have some name brand items with decent prices right? Wrong, and everyone here is so unhelpful. The staff seem like they didn’t want any customers to walk in.
The moment I walked thru the sliding doors, no one greeted me. Everyone did turn around and glance at me or stared but no one was very welcoming. While I was looking at some makeup one of the sales rep for the makeup department begin to follow me while I was checking out some of the products. About 10 minutes later I finally turned around and smiled at her, and she then quickly turned around and looked the other way. After that I decided to go look at the liquor, while I was checking out some ice wine I seen the same makeup rep staring at me. I made eye contacted again and she finally walked towards me and ask me «Can I touch your Chanel purse?»
–_​– OMG, really? Then she start questioning about how much my purse was and what I do for a living. Then she told me it was stupid to spend thousands of dollars on a bag. So I reply, «Not as stupid as petting someone’s bag that you can’t afford.»
After that she pretty much left me alone and stop following me, which I was fine with. But really how unprofessional and rude was that? On top of that everything is overpriced for cheap looking souvenirs. Chinatown has way better souvenirs and you can bargain! I wouldn’t get anyone anything from here unless it’s someone I don’t care for because they have souvenirs that are super cheap but it’s also very poor quality.
FYI Make sure to know your license plate number or they would make you walk outside to write it down, if you want to shop at this store. Or do what I do snap a pix of your plate number!

Great deal on liquor. Horrible deal on cologne. Saved $ 20 getting a bottle of whiskey. Spent $ 20 more than if I had bought the cologne on Amazon. Check online first people! I ended up breaking even really when I thought I was getting a deal. Other than that, nice people work here and I’ve never seen it busy.

Couple of words… overpriced cheap quality souvenirs. I didn’t check out their spirits but everything else was ok. Becareful for cheap knock off perfumes too…
Their coffee stand was below average as the guy who rang me up for my candies, was the guy who walked over to the coffee bar and helped me out their too. The mocha was probably the worse mocha I have ever had from a coffee stand. I was desperate and didn’t want to wait to hit Blaine to get coffee (they have a Woods drive in!!!). I should have waited… Anyway, I’m running out of words to say because really, it was just a pee break, browsing crap merch and eating fruits in the parking lot that we cannot bring back to the US.
If you need a place to pee and desperate for a cup of crap coffee, come here. If you want to shop, best shop before you head home!

A great place to use up the last of my Canadian cash before returning to the US.

This place is good for liquor if you are looking for some deals. Just make sure you find the deals. I found some good prices but I was also surprised at how expensive some stuff was even with the exchange rate. Good deal on Stoli Vodka.
The souvenirs you can find cheaper in Canada but if you forgot something for someone, then this is a good place to stop before heading home. I was a little disappointed with the election of souvenirs, not much really stood out.
The cashier was very polite to us and patient with my friend visiting from Korea.

The merchandise is overpriced. The cosmetics sales rep said there was an additional 25% off taken at the register. Nope! No discounts given.
Beware! They sell EXPIRED candy. The Donald Duck Jelly Belly package expired last month.
And like many other Unilocalers, I was followed around by the cosmetics rep, which was funny because I can be an indecisive shopper and I had her circling and looping around like duck, duck, goose.
Don’t shop here and if you do, take the time to check expiration on candies and compare prices because you will overpay.

They sell a variety of British chocolates (Cadbury Flake, Malteasers, etc). Check the expiration dates, and keep in mind their dates tamps are DDMMYYYY.

decent selection of single malt scotch for ok prices. at least you don’t have to pay the ridiculous washington state liquor tax

Visited Vancouver with wife and kids for our anniversary. On our way back to Seattle we stopped at this Canadian Duty Free shop to buy some gifts for friends. After spending 300 dollars at the checkout, we’ve been refused to be given extra (PLASTIC) bags and told by the store manager Tiffany (if that’s her real name — no badge) that the border control would check us, because she has to report how many bags we’ve got. I thought it was a Big Lie and the border officer confirmed that they don’ t care how many bags we have.
So, for this «wonderful» customer service coming from a manager, we give it a two star ratting !

I was pretty disappointed on my recent visit to the Duty Free shop when my better half and I departed from BC. The deals on alcohol couldn’t even touch the bargains and total wine and everything else wasn’t a screaming deal by any means.
Plus, every single employee here seemed to be stuck to me like glue. They didn’t even ask if I was finding everything alright, but just stuck close and watched. At least five different employees. It was very strange.
Might skip the Duty Free pit stop next time I come back from a BC trip.

We went into the Peace Arch Duty Free shop a few days ago, and wondered if we had stepped into some strange alternate universe. There were lots of displays of high-​end watches with absolutely no sales associates around, as well as the requisite selection of liquor.
After finally tracking down a sales associate after 30 minutes (really? Does it take that long?) we ended up buying a couple watches. Peace Arch Duty Free is an authorized Omega dealer, and they had a Seamaster model that I had been eyeing for a long time for sale. I snapped it up even though as a US resident I was subject to customs duty.
The border guards sent me to inspection for 30 minutes to review how much duty I’d be charged but eventually let me off with no customs duty at all. Win.
Go to the Peace Arch Duty Free shop even if you live in the US but be aware that you may very well be dinged with customs. This duty free shop is geared more toward Canadians who will spend 48 hours or more in the US.

Quelle petite phrase bouleversante au coeur d’un être?

I bought two 1L bottles of Absolut for $ 25 total.
Usually it’s at least $ 25 for ONE bottle!
They also had a deal going where you could get a 1L bottle of Absolut Watkins for $ 10 more and a free tote bag and a mini bottle of surprise, and I now regret passing that up.
I’m going to have to stop here every time I cross the border.

⁸⁄₂₀₁₁: If there’s a long line (30 min wait) to get to border inspection, head to this duty free shop and buy something to bypass the general line. After purchasing something, you’ll merge back into the line towards the front!
I looked at a couple items for sale and found the following: Omega Seamaster GMT watch (salesperson indicates that this is the only North American duty-​free store selling Omegas watches), regular price $ 4,500 (Canadian), 20% off this summer, no HST 12% tax. This is a good price. No Rolex watches sold here, other brands include Tissot, Rado, Hamilton and Chanel. 21 year old Chevis Regal scotch was selling for $ 129, ok price but I’ve see it cheaper at in-​flight duty free shops.

This place is OK. I don’t think the deals are that great for the most part, but it is convenient if you have forgotten to grab a quick little something before crossing the border. On the whole the rates are pretty inflated, so it makes up for anything you may have saved on taxes. However, I did get a few shaved off on a bottle of my favorite perfume. A friend got a watch and that truly was an amazing deal. However, I wouldn’t wait to get most of the souvenir stuff since it’s pretty pricey here and not the greatest selection…

Wow, this place got a lot of bad reviews.
I didn’t think it was that bad. It wasn’t that great either. We didn’t buy very much. A bottle of Okanagan ice wine for maybe $ 40, and a few tchotchkes.
I don’t remember the employees being unfriendly or following us. The lady giving icewine samples was super nice.

Hahahhahaha.
Oh Canada.
With your rude border patrol guards that treat you as if you’re a criminal, why am I bothering to spend money in your country?
The employees here were RUDE and I felt like I was being followed around in the damn store. I ended up purchasing a designer item (Burberry on sale?!) but I hate dealing with shit service, and horrifically rude border patrols. Sure, protect the country from terrorists and drug smugglers, but WTF! I hardly look like either.

As a last ditch attempt to keep our money in the country, and pack our suitcases to the gills with unnecessary memorabilia, duty free shops are the best and worst ways to get rid of leftover currency. Best, because there’s always someone you forgot. And worst, because the prices for little plastic China made trinkets are often astronomical.
This duty free is no exception, thus the slew of awful reviews. However, the trick to getting good deals is that you have to know what to buy where. Be it liquor, cigarettes, perfume/​cosmetics and other higher ticket items, you’ll likely be getting a break from retail. Like I said, just beware of the little tchotchkes; they’re overpriced and add up quickly, so stick to Robson or Denman for these.
Let’s do a little comparison of the things purchased here:
Inniskillin Reisling Icewine (2006)
Winedotcom = $ 71.99 US vs. PADF = $ 29.75 CAD
Cartier Panthere eau Legere Parfum (1.7 oz)
Sephora = $ 90 US vs. $ 74.75 CAD
Can ol’ Molson Beer (750ml)
Cheap wherever the hell you buy it.
Even without considering our depressingly plummeting exchange rate, it seems that we’ve got ourselves a clear winner. There are other perks at this location; it’s far more spacious with a broader inventory than an airport terminal shop and über clean. The spirit selection is solid, and they also have this cool Bombay Sapphire display of martini glasses made by different renowned artists.
The cosmetics were meh, but the shelves of perfumes were endless. I worked myself into a dizzy tizzy in my attempts to find a new scent. After a bit of a chat about my preferences with the floor manager, she produced the perfect one and even kicked in a sample bottle. Canadians are just so darn nice!
Oh, and note your license plate number before you dive in, you’ll need it when you check out.

As a Seattle resident who grew up in Vancouver BC, I make a lot of trips over the border so I know the duty free stores, both north and southbound. This place is big and fancy looking but everything (except maybe a cup of coffee) is a total rip off.
But that’s not what pissed me off the most. What got me was when some stuffy high maintenance looking white lady in her 50s who works in the cosmetics area started following me like I was going to steal something. At first I thought maybe it was just coincidence, so I tested her by doing a couple loops and figure eights around the aisles and without fail she was on my heels the entire time. Every time I turned around she glanced in the other direction but she didn’t go away.
So unless you are an ethnic minority who LOVES being followed in stores by white people or you like to pay more than you should, don’t stop there. You’ll just get pissed off. Oh and what Jay says is right. After you shop and try to pull back in line, you need to first cross the Nexus lane and hope to hell someone lets you in. If they don’t (which happens when there are assholes in line) you end up blocking the Nexus lane and pissing off the people who need to get through. All in all it just makes for a blood boiling experience.

What a joke! This is perhaps the worst place to shop. On Labour Day weekend we were stuck in one of the worst lines trying to cross the border. I wanted a drink, and walked from the car to this store. I looked around a bit, and actually saw people buying their outrageously priced garbage.
I ended up buying a triple marked-​up coke. I felt guilty drinking it!

My sister and I had foolishly waited until we got to this duty-​free shop to do some of our souvenir shopping– we were both looking for the Vancouver Olympics memorabilia, I was looking for ice wine, and my sister was looking for smoked salmon. I say foolishly, because we thought we’d save on paying the PST and GST by going to here.
Unfortunately, we were wrong– very wrong. Not only did they not have any of the Olympics memorabilia we were specifically looking for (the stuffed mascots), but everything was much more expensive than any of the little souvenir shops along Robson. Should have known that they’d try to gouge us, since its basically the last place you can get souvenirs before you pass back into the US. So, what to do? We decided on a mad dash across the highway and over to the Canadian visitor center because we remembered that they sold the stuffed mascots, as well as trading pins. Luckily for us, INS didn’t come with sirens blaring and arrest us for running like illegal immigrants across a 4 lane highway.
So, consider this your warning– buy your souvenirs in Vancouver and just pay the damn GST and PST– you’ll save yourself some money, time, and having to run back and forth over a highway.