Diplomats Pay Low Prices at Little-Known Duty Free Shop by Carolyn Chapman Beauty surrounds visitors as they step inside Linda Fordís Dupont Circle shop. There are cases of perfume and cosmetics from every major company; sunglasses from Christian Dior, Cartier and Gucci; leather goods from Lancel, Longchamps and Mont Blanc; watches from Chopard, Omega and TAG Heuer; and jewelry from Majorica, Swarovski and Crislu. Here, youíll find crystal, china, spirits, belts, scarves, ties and a plethora of other fashion accessories. Better still, the prices are considerably lower than those found at department stores and other high-end boutiques. Itís a shopperís paradise, and business is sure to be booming during the holiday season. ìWeíve had customers from every country from Azerbaijan to Zambia,î said Ford, the general manager. Well, almost every country: ìEvery country except America,î she hastily pointed out. Actually, the store is pretty much unknown to Americans, and for good reason. Thatís because this is an unusual store. In fact, itís the only one of its kind. The Diplomatic Duty Free Shop is open only to diplomats stationed in the United States who h ave tax-exempt status. This centrally located boutique has been in business for more than three decadesóand has been in the same building for the past 15 years. ìWeíre hidden away in an office building,î said Ford, who has worked for the company for 20 years. ìBut weíre just like a regular store, and we know most of our customers.î Most of these customers, Ford noted, work at embassies and agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Ford and her multilingual staff are extremely careful about who they sell their products toóhaving a tax-exempt card is a must. From there, the generousity depends mostly on the diplomatís respective nation. ìThe whole idea of the way we treat diplomats is based on reciprocity,î said Darlene Kirk, a spokeswoman for the State Departmentís Office of Foreign Missions. ìItís based on what other countries allow our diplomats to do.î In other words, if U.S. diplomats stationed in a foreign country only get tax-exempt status on certain goods, then diplomats from that country who are stationed here only get tax-exempt status on those same goods. There is no spending limit, said Kirk, although in some cases there could be a minimum purchase amount. The type of diplomat who qualifies for tax-exempt status also varies from country to country. ìIf a country allows our entire embassy staff to have it, then we will do the same here,î she said. ìBut if they only allow what they consider to be diplomatic staff to be tax exempt, then we will do likewise here for their embassy staff.î The Diplomatic Duty Free Store is part of a larger company called Carisam-Samuel Meisel, which has been serving the diplomatic community for more than 60 years. ìWe created a place where diplomats can feel comfortable shopping because nearly every [major] language is spoken there,î said Chief Executive Officer David Granek. ìThe point of the shop is to create a place where diplomats can pay the prices that they are used to paying.î Granek is very careful to point out, however, that these goods are not technically duty free. The company is able to offer lower prices because they have cultivated special relationships with vendors. ìWe create our pricing from having a lower markup. Our prices are exactly what duty-free prices are,î explained Granek. ìWe are very, very careful to whom we sell. We will not sell to anyone who cannot prove that they have status. ìWe have pledged to our vendors that we will not sell our goods to the general public. Morally, we have a commitment to our vendors,î Granek added. Thatís why they have made the shop so discreet and difficult to find. ìItís like walking into an oasis.î In addition to the store, Carisam-Samuel Meisel runs a catalogue that sells items the store doesnít carry, as well as a few that it does, such as fragrances. The catalogue offers nearly every type of liquor in addition to a large selection of wineófrom French champagne and Australian Shiraz to a sizable collection of American wines, including Opus One. The company, which supplies embassies and ambassadorsí residences with duty-free goods and maintains more than 900 diplomatic accounts worldwide, is able to offer these items duty free because embassies themselves are considered to be foreign soil. ìFor us to deliver to the Embassy of Nigeria, we are delivering to Nigeria,î said Granek. Shopping from the catalogue can be a bit tedious, Granek admitted. Customers must first fill out an application from the State Departmentís Office of Foreign Missions and request approval for the items they want to buy. Getting approval can take several days or up to a week. Shopping at the Diplomatic Duty Free Shop, on the other hand, can be more convenient. Once customers have proved their tax-exempt status, they are free to take their purchases with them immediatelyóa perfect way to complete that holiday gift list. The Diplomatic Duty Free Shop is located at 1818 N St., NW, Suite 101. For more information, please call (202) 466-8524. Carolyn Chapman is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.