Budget traveller: What is a bucket shop? Can I save money with them?

The term bucket shop has its origins long before airlines were even in existence. It is believed to come from small dealers in London that would sell goods, often of subpar quality, from a bucket they carried around with them. The first widespread usage referred to small stock brokerages that would collect buy and sell orders for the whole day, then match them up at the close of business to maximize their personal profits. The people trading stocks with these companies never knew the actual price of the stock, so their buys would normally be above the true value, and their sells would be below the stock's value.

The term then became used for another stock scam where the broker would have a partnership with the company whose stock they were offering. This allowed them to control the prices of the stock to increase their profit. Several other business models, most of them scams, have come to be associated with the phrase bucket shop as well. See the link above for more in-depth reading.

Present-day bucket shops are just another option in the multitude of choices available to consumers looking for discount airfare. They operate in the following method:

1. The bucket shop contacts an airline and establishes a relationship with them.
2. The airline sells leftover tickets, normally international, to the bucket shop at deep discounts.
3. The bucket shop then sells these low-cost tickets to customers looking for cheap flights.

How do these new-style bucket shops relate to the earlier scams that the term derives from? First, the shop has a connection with a specific airline or airlines, so they will try to sell more tickets for their partner companies. Second, unlike ticket consolidation sites which post airfares received directly from the airlines, the buyer never knows exactly what the bucket shop has paid for the tickets. This allows the shop to establish their own profit margin.

Bucket shops are actually quite common, if you know where to look. They normally operate in one of two ways. First, there are the online shops which will sell tickets to anyone they can. You can normally find these without too much trouble through a search engine. The second type is the more traditional brick and mortar shop. They normally occupy small storefronts in larger cities. Many of these bucket shops are located in areas which have a high-concentration of immigrants. These shops will cater mostly to people looking for tickets back to their homeland. For instance, a bucket shop located in a Chinatown district will normally sell tickets for flights back to China and other areas of Asia.

For a comprehensive list of bucket shops throughout the world, you can read the book Air Travel's Bargain Basement, which is available above through Amazon.

For many air travellers, bucket shops can provide a great deal to an exotic destination. However, it is important to do your homework before shelling out several hundred dollars for tickets. There are several guidelines that you should follow when planning your next vacation.

• Shop Around. Don't limit your search to just one website or one bucket shop. Besides the large ticket consolidators and airline websites, there are hundreds of bucket shops, each with their own airline connections. Since the bucket shops are normally linked to one or two airlines, they will try to sell you tickets from these airlines. Therefore, the ticket they are selling you may not always be the cheapest available.
• Who Else Uses Them? There are many bucket shops out there, and not all of them are reputable. The business model for a bucket shop allows almost anyone to start selling tickets without a very large initial investment. New bucket shops pop up every day, but others go out of business every day also. When deciding which shop to buy from, it is helpful to have a good recommendation, either from someone you know, a travel magazine, or the Better Business Bureau.
• It's All in the Details. As in all large transactions, you should always read the fine print and know exactly what you are getting into. Check to make sure you avoid any unexpected charges or fees. Make sure you know the conditions on the ticket, so you know if you are able to rebook, at what cost, and what happens if you miss a flight. Sometimes bucket shop tickets come without the normal conveniences and guarantees of a regular ticket.

In summary, ticket shops can be a great way to save money on your next international flight. This is especially true for less-popular destinations which do not experience the fare wars that flights to places like London and Paris are subject to. As with any purchase related to your travel, the best advice is to be cautious. While there are many deals to be had at bucket shops, there are also more risks than with using a mainstream ticket broker. If you do your homework and remain informed and alert, though, you should be on your way to your dream destination happy and worry-free!