You would think that a store that sells liquor worth hundreds of dollars, luxury cosmetics, imported chocolates and assorted tschotkes would be able to stock their restrooms with toilet seat covers and not use the world's cheapest, thinnest toilet paper. Make I suggest you stop at gas stations or a fast food outlets prior to reaching the border crossing if the urge to use a restroom happens. Customer service at West Coast Duty Free is excellent. Everyone was friendly without being intrusive. Not all prices are posted. Most chocolates have individual price labels on them. The State of Washington has high liquor taxes. Example: A $45.00 750 ml bottle of whiskey has a 20.5% alcohol tax ($9.22) plus a $3.7708/liter tax making the total cost equal to $57.05...something for residents to keep in mind. Know the current exchange rate and use a currency converter app to figure your cost in dollars. When you leave, look carefully for the duty free entrance back into the RV/passenger car line. You need to cross the Nexus lanes to reach it. read more

West Coast Duty Free - Welcome to West Coast Duty Free! - Duty-Free Shops Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

This 24 hour duty free store is located along Hwy 15 southbound before the US Border. Once you enter the premises (tire spike entrance), you cannot U-Turn back north and must go through US Customs. Before you go inside the store, REMEMBER YOUR LICENSE PLATE NUMBER. The West Coast Duty Free Shop offers a good line of products such as liquor, jewellry, watches, Swiss Army knives, sunglasses, fragrances, cosmetics, apparel, snacks, candy, food, souvenirs, books, gifts, and more. This store stocks merchandise for the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympics including shirts, glasses, mugs, plush toys, postcards & other items. I stopped here on my way back to the US and got some of my favourite Maple Cream Cookies, Maple Syrup, and some cool Olympic postcards. Some good deals here! Plenty of parking and restrooms on site. Just tell the cashier your LICENSE PLATE NUMBER, which goes on the receipt. Upon driving off the parking lot, there may be a staff member checking receipts upon exit towards southbound only. read more

West Coast Duty Free - Duty-Free Shops Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

Watch out for the sharks here. They want you to spend a minimum of $15.00. Regardless of reason for visiting. Sure this will deter people from visiting rather than get them more revenue. read more

I love this store! They have samples of some of the VERY expensive alcohols, upward plus $200 and they are happy to let you taste them. I've purchased a few bottles from them and asked a lot of questions. They have always helped me, known what the answer was when I asked them, and gave a few good tips on different items to try. They are very noticeably lower priced than the Peace Arch duty-free store. They are also much more personable too. This is my favorite place to buy alcohol. The good part is, if you are under 48 hours in Canada, they "may" have you pull in to pay it. It's a whopping $2.18 IRS tax for a 40% liter of booze! The officer was wondering why you were even told to go and pay. Not a big deal, as the tax from Washington would be well over $10-$15, well worth the short stop at the cashier. Kind of funny also. Don't forget about the dollar difference. A $20CAD bottle is $15 un USD. The same bottle is over $35 with tax with you got to BevMo the cheapest in Bham. I go to this place every few months if I need to pick up more booze! So worth it! read more

So this is your last shopping opportunity in Canada before you leave the country and cross the border by car. Being that I love to shop the US dollar is strong and it's the holidays that's a trifecta for stopping. Once inside in the wine and spirits area you actually get a sommelier to advise. He was a great assistance as we were particularly interested in the regional wines of Vancouver. I got two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc so I can recreate my wonderful happy hours of Canada back home. I asked about the regional Gin Long Board however he felt you should leave the Gin making to the Brits and I agree. Than we shopped the costume jewelry and I picked up a nice fashion bracelet. Onward Canadian souvenirs nothing caught my eye. Fragrances and Cosmetics very sparse selection and nothing that I wanted from what was there. At check out got some overpriced Mentos must be an import. If you stop here sole reason is the sommelier and he was personable as well. read more

West Coast Duty Free - Duty-Free Shops Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

This duty free shop is located at the South bound Pacific /truck crossing. It can be used to shortened your border crossing wait times during long weekends if you know how to "use the system". Even though you still have to wait before being let back into the queue, you still save yourself time. Once you enter the Duty free shop, there's no turning back unless you want to puncture your tires on the one way metal spikes. People waiting in the queue can use the washroom and walk back to their cars with no hassle. The shop has a good variety of hard liquor and local BC wines. They also have a decent amount of perfumes/colognes and health and beauty products. There is also a huge collection of souvenirs and chocolates. If you want to be a cheapskate, you can just buy a bottle of water or bag of ketchup potato chips. Just give them your license plate number and it'll print on your receipt which you will need to show the parking attendant to prove that you bought something. On a busy weekend, you can easily save yourself a good half to one hour by buying something at the Duty free if you know how to use all the tricks of this short cut. read more

West Coast Duty Free - Duty-Free Shops Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

Eh, not that great a deal, if you ask me. They sell hard liquor (but not all kinds) and wine, cigarettes, perfume & cosmetics (fancy department store brands), candy, some clothing, and some touristy knicknacks. Prices weren't all that amazing. I got a bag of Smarties candy (don't, they're gross) for $8.50. Icewine was $25 for 2 thin bottles. I suppose if this is what you want, it's an okay deal. Bathrooms are decent but not fancy. Toilets flushed and they had running water. That's what you want, right? We did get to "cut" in line exiting the Duty Free parking lot, but still waited about 10-15 minutes before reaching the border guard. I would say we probably saved 10 or 15 min in the car line, but we spent that much time in the store, so it's not like you are really saving a ton of time. read more

Love the chocolate deals! Usually buy 1, get 1 free. In Canadian bucks too. And the extra $ is well spent to jump 15 min of the lineup, don't be cheap! Lol read more

West Coast Duty Free - Duty-Free Shops Near Me - Surrey, British Columbia

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Duty-free and open 24 hours? Yes please! Recently stopped here when exiting Canada and was pleasantly surprised by the array of goodies that you can get duty-free on your way out. Tons of perfume/cologne choices, lots of tasty Canadian snack-a-doos, and of course, knick knacks. Need a Canadian moose or bear magnet? Or a huge box of Kinder chocolate bars? Nestle Kit Kats? They've got it! Fun fact: If you are 19 in Canada, you can legally buy cigarettes and alcohol. So it's not like I'm promoting "underage" alcohol purchasing, but you know... read more

This place is BIG and loaded with goodies. I bought a beautiful ring for my wife, a "Canada" jacket & hoodie for my daughter and a bunch of huge chocolate Cadbury raisin and nut bars. The liquor deals are great. They have several bottles of liquour at $10! That's $7.50US!. When was the last time you bought a fifth for $7.50 out the door? I mean REALLY!!! read more

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Returning to the U.S. from Vancouver, we got a tip from a friend to skip the Peace Arch and detour a few miles to go through the less photogenic (but less busy!) truckers' border crossing. We were mainly there to save $$$ at the duty-free, but you can also save time by cutting the line if you purchase something from the store, because the parking lot exit spits you out ahead of where you came in. They make a big fuss about taking down your license plate at the register and warning you that a guard will check your receipt on the way out, but as it turned out, the booth was unmanned when we left. If you've been to a duty-free store before, this one is pretty standard. The booze is prominently displayed as soon as you walk in, with a selection of alcohol ranging from supermarket brands like Captain Morgan to upscale whiskeys and tequilas, plus some B.C. wines and beer. The savings vary from product to product, so it helps to be familiar with local prices in your area -- and the current exchange rate -- to judge whether you're getting a deal. (Also keep in mind that duty-free is not customs, and they're in the business of selling you stuff. Just because they package 2 bottles of Tanqueray in a cute tote bag does not mean that's your legal allowance! 1 person, 1 liter.) In addition to booze, they have the usual makeup and perfume, chocolate, and random jewelry and accessories. The chocolate selection mostly seems to be stuff like Toblerone and Cadbury, although you can find a few specifically Canadian candies like Smarties. Previous reviewers mentioned a selection of Canadian chips and salty snacks, but I didn't see any of those as of January 2016, so if you're looking for something cheap to buy just so you can jump the customs line, go for the candy bars. Most of the non-booze items seemed marked up so high that it wasn't much of a bargain, even with the favorable exchange rate. We got our duty-free allowance of alcohol and nothing else. If you forgot to get someone back home a Canadian souvenir, this is your last chance to grab a gift -- but the main reason to stop here on your way through customs is BOOZE. read more

Would you like to be held in your car for 2-3 hours and not allowed into the customs queue because you made the fatal mistake of entering the West Coast Duty Free Ltd store. If you do have 2-3 hours free to sit in a make shift car park outside the West Coast Duty Free store then you can watch other frustrated drivers and completely inept staff trying to handle the situation. Please remember not to talk to the staff about warning future customers about the delays and the infuriating wait because you will get dumb answers like ... "we only tell people about the wait if they ask" and my favourite " well you decided to shop here" This was a truly awful experience which my twitter and facebook followers read on Sunday 26th April. I would never go back to this place ever again on principle. Remember everyone can make mistakes it is how you handle the customers and the situation that define you as a brilliant service provider. All the rest of the information on the store is below : Is the shop good - It is average to good. Is there a great selection in the shop - Yes it is not the best but it is not bad. Is there tons of trickets and trash as well as alcohol, perfume etc - Yes Are the rest rooms clean - No but that is not their busy either I suppose.... Are there staff polite, proactive and deliver great customer service - Hell NO!!! You need to quote your license plate to purchase the goods. read more

I love this duty free store because they have all sorts of fun things. It's really easy to kill an hour in this store just checking out the make up collection, perfume displays, Roger & Gallet soaps and lotions, chocolates to get for the additional 3 hour wait you will have to get to the border guard. I suppose if you need to get a souvenir or something for someone you're visiting down south, then this would be a good place to get it. They also have a bathroom for that 4 hour border wait. But don't bring the car into the parking lot unless you plan to buy something because otherwise they won't let you out. read more

I loved this store. Not only can you find some great souvenirs, when you drive out of the parking lot, you get closer to the front of the customs line. Found a wonderful teapot, a wool scarf for Sis, Ice Wine Cream cookies to take home to Mom, some Ice Wine Truffles, and discounted perfume. Remember your license plate when you go into the store, as you will need it to make your purchases, and yes, you have to show your receipt as you exit the parking lot. read more

I usually come and check out the duty free store before passing the border. They carry various cosmetic brands such as Dior, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Stila, L'Occitane etc and it is a good deal not having to pay taxes . Chocolates are probably at least 30% more than normal retail. They sell anything from alcohol, toys, clothing, jewelry, snacks, souvenirs to charging cables etc. Store is clean and presentable with friendly staff. Parking available. read more

Great duty free store. Everyone is so cheerie and helpful. If you like scotch, brace yourself! They have a selection of single malts to rival any liquor store. Their prices are great and they don't sell junk. Definitely worth a ten minute visit...that will probably turn into 20!!! read more

If you Value Your Time, DON'T SHOP HERE!!! So you are on your way back to your home in America after a great time visiting our friends to the north. You are heading south on HWY 99 and the digital billboard above the road informs you that there is a 2 hour wait at the Peace Arch Crossing and a 45 minute wait at the truck crossing. The decision becomes clear, the 5 minute detour over to the truck crossing not only will save 1 hour and 45 minutes of wait time, you get to visit the West Coast Tax & Duty Free Shop ("WCDF"). This is our story. As we rolled into the WCDF parking lot entrance, my girlfriend and I noticed that the grumpy old man that usually sits in the guard shack, just out of site in his fluorescent vest was sitting there today, apparently watching TV. After parking and visiting the bathrooms, we went into the store and picked-out a bottle of Jagermeister and a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream. After checking out, we walked out to our car and followed the signs to exit the parking lot, that is where our perception of this store changed dramatically. Now, it is important to realize that anyone shopping at WCDF must cross the border into the US through a controlled exit point, this prevents you from re-entering Canada with duty free goods. This also means that you cannot exit the WCDF's parking lot without their employee's permission. Upon pulling into the line to exit the parking lot, we noticed that there were in excess of 100 cars trying to do the same, what a disaster. We pulled into the line and turned the car off. After sitting in the duty free holding pen for 1 1/2 hours and not moving, I started to get restless and decided to get my receipt out and call the store and find out if they were informing potential customers at the entrance as to the wait they could expect when exiting the parking lot? The nice lady told me that there was a gentlemen at the entrance but she wasn't sure if he was letting people know. With that news, I decided to walk over to the front gate to find out. Sure enough, the employee who would be providing this customer service was still sitting in his shack, doing nothing. I couldn't believe it. I knocked on the door and asked the gentleman if he knew that there was a 2 hour wait to get out of the parking lot? He replied that he didn't think that it was that long. With that, I showed the date and time stamp on my receipt from the store and asked the gentleman if he would mind stopping customers prior to their entering the parking lot and warning them of the wait to exit. The grumpy old man replied that he would if they stopped at the guard shack and asked him. I replied that no one driving in would know that he was in the shack unless the really made an effort to look. He told me that was the idea. Needless to say, this infuriated me, how could a company treat its customers this way? Let people enter their store, not tell them of the wait to exit and then once they had their goods and were captive, line them up for a 2 plus hour wait to exit the parking lot. Now, after waiting more than 2 1/2 hour, I was informed by a WCDF employee that it was time to start my car. As we drove-up to the same employee a couple of minutes later, I rolled down my window and called out to the WCDF employee. I asked the employee if he would request that the employee at the entrance to the WCDF parking lot be more proactive in letting people know of the 2 plus hour wait. The employee's response was "there isn't a 2 hour wait, why would we do that..." Needless to say, I was flabbergasted. I replied, "because it is good customer service to let people know that they potentially have a tremendous wait to get out of your parking lot and it should be their choice as to whether or not that is how they want to spend their time." The WCDF employee replied that "wouldn't be in the best interest of the store." I replied, saying "that attitude isn't a very good customer service attitude", at which the WCDF employee replied, with "hey mister, it is your prerogative to feel that way if you choose". Wow. I started to ask myself, why do we go to the Duty Free? The only realistic answer that I could come up with was the perception of savings. Naturally, since I had so much time on my hands waiting to leave the duty free, I thought that I would get my laptop out and do a little research. After logging into the internet, I headed to the Washington State Liquor Boards ("WSLB") website to find out how much money we were saving and how much our time was really worth. Here's the scoop: Bailey's Irish Cream - Price at WSLB: $30.00/Liter, Price at WCDF: $20.00/Liter Jagermeister - Price at WSLB: $30.26/Liter, Price at WCDF: $25.00/Liter We just spent 5 man hours waiting in the WCDF's parking lot to save $15.00. Bottom line: WCDF feels that our time is worth $3.00 per hour. I strongly disagree, we won't be back! read more

I would give it a "0" if I could. There was a guy from the store handing out flyers to people in the 30 min. boarder lineup. We were told if we pulled in and bought something at the duty free we could jump the line. The devil made us do it! What he didn't tell us is that after our purchase we would be put into a holding tank. We were bumper to bumper in a parking lot with no way out for 2 1/2 hours..........no one cared! We almost missed our flight, very stressful. All we had to show for it was a tiny box of $8.00 jellybeans and a lessoned learned. Don't go near this place! read more