So Much For Tax Free Savings

After getting away with nude shooting, I made my way down to Bondi mall. Big mistake. I ended up shopping close to AUD 100 in body shampoos and rose water for Christmas gifts. They had a decent Borders there and Jeffrey Archer's new book "A Cat with Nine Tales" had been beckoning me for a while. The deterent was of course as with all new releases - the hard cover and steep price. Having worked in publishing before, I was well aware of the fact that hard cover books don't take that much more to bind - in fact, they are cheaper because not many people like hard cover books.

Since I knew that I could easily get a copy of it back here in Singapore (and probably at a better price), I contented myself with browsing. It served me well as I would later realise that all books in the airports were at least AUD 10 more expensive. The said Jeffrey Archer book cost AUD 29.95 at Bondi mall borders, and AUD 40 at the airport. I made a mental note that for all the savings tax free goods gave you, the marked up price factored in by rental probably jacks it up more than what you save.