View Full Version : Rip Off Ireland Prices
After all the talk about British retailers not giving a fair exchange rate the new argos catologue came out yesterday. Here a few random comparisons.Is it any wonder people are shopping in the north.
Irish price: Madison 8 seater patio set (6523385)was €1299.99 now €922.99
Sterling Price: £499.99 approx £633.86
That’s €289.13 Dearer
Irish price Panasonic SDRH40EBS HDD Camcorder €369.99
Sterling Price: £249.99 approx £319.92
That’s €50.07 Dearer
Irish price Sony VAIO FW11s 16.4in Laptop €1799.99
Sterling Price: £1199.99 € 1,521.29 approx
That’s €278.70 Dearer
dublinred
28/07/2008, 8:31 AM
No surprises there , B&Q is worse , they use higher wage costs as the reason but always convienently forget to mention that they register as Irish shell companies to take advantage of the much lower corporation tax band.
If you don't like it don't shop in those stores. We have higher wages & VAT here but companies will charge what customer are willing to pay. If no one paid those prices they would not sell them. Is there a suggestion that Irish companies charge lower prices?
Is that true about B&Q? A few years ago when we were building the house their prices were very close to the UK equivalent (close enough that you could work out near enough based on their website)? Having said that, still cheaper than our home DIY stores in my experience, and much better stocked.
Like the way Tesco now have the balls to expect a pat on the back for essentially admitting they were ripping us off for years with their new range. I'll continue with Lidl thanks (and spend all my savings on tools and gadgets that I really do need, honest!).
jebus
28/07/2008, 10:15 AM
We have higher wages & VAT here but companies will charge what customer are willing to pay. If no one paid those prices they would not sell them
That's what I never understand about the Irish. They whinge and whinge about companies ripping them off and yet fail to realise that every single company charging them extra are doing so because they are following the simple economic law of supply and demand. Do people even realise that when Argos put a price on a TV of €1,000 that all they are doing is asking you to make them an offer on it? You can choose to pay it, you can choose to bargain with them or you can choose to leave the store, either way it's not foreign companies ripping the Irish off, it's the Irish being too ignorant and lazy to change the system, but what else is new there?
Competition brings down prices. Competition from Lidl/Aldi is why Tesco have responded with lower prices. I haven't been in Lidl for a good while mainly because it is not convenient but they are like Ryanair in that they bring prices down even if you do not use them.
Foreign (UK) stores are attracted to Ireland due to good margins. If prices were not high to start with they would probably not have come in here.
Irish retailing is summed up to me by the massive rents paid on Grafton Street. It is more expensive than cities multiple times the size of Dublin. Interesting to see Lidl trying to get the lease for former Habitat store on College Green.
jebus
28/07/2008, 11:08 AM
Irish retailing is summed up to me by the massive rents paid on Grafton Street. It is more expensive than cities multiple times the size of Dublin. Interesting to see Lidl trying to get the lease for former Habitat store on College Green.
Even better is to sit back and watch the Southsiders get in a huff over the tone of the area being brought down :D
John83
28/07/2008, 11:28 AM
Even better is to sit back and watch the Southsiders get in a huff over the tone of the area being brought down :D
Best still is watching locals claim that Stringfellows would bring down the tone of Parnell Street. Anyone who claims that has either a tenuous grip on reality or no experience of Parnell Street.
Ringo
28/07/2008, 12:28 PM
If you don't like it don't shop in those stores. We have higher wages & VAT here but companies will charge what customer are willing to pay. If no one paid those prices they would not sell them. Is there a suggestion that Irish companies charge lower prices?
If enough of us shop in the north, they'll have to have look at their prices. Tesco CEO admitted that the "new" range would still not be as chaepas the north. I was also looking at stuff in Belfast in the Disney store. it was dual priced £2 or €4. That is just ripping off someone paying in Euro.
Best still is watching locals claim that Stringfellows would bring down the tone of Parnell Street. Anyone who claims that has either a tenuous grip on reality or no experience of Parnell Street.
I found that very funny myself.
I don't think Tesco actually want people to buy these new own brand products. Apparently they will be on the same isle with horrible yellow/black shelves. I don't see that encouraging any one to purchase.
passinginterest
28/07/2008, 1:23 PM
I found that very funny myself.
I don't think Tesco actually want people to buy these new own brand products. Apparently they will be on the same isle with horrible yellow/black shelves. I don't see that encouraging any one to purchase.
Was in Tesco yesterday with the re-branded aisles and ended up buying a load of Tesco own brand stuff.
So I guess it worked on me :o
anto1208
28/07/2008, 1:25 PM
I buy very little in big stores like this anymore all my grub comes from local buchers/ fruit and veg shop. about all i but in Tesco is milk and butter.
All my games/dvd/cd gadgets and a lot of my clothes are all bought online.
Always brought my meat in the butcher - better prices and a better product. We've never found the tesco own brand stuff as good as Lidl and Aldi anyway. If they stocked Kellogg's cereal and the right brand of baby milk I'd happily never darken tesco's door again for the family shop.
Tesco is convenient to me but I almost never buy meat there as I find it poor quality. Mainly Superquinn for meat even though can be pricey is good quality & reasonably convenient.
eamo1
29/07/2008, 12:56 PM
i work part time in a deli in dunnes stores while im in college.i have to say their meat is decent quality alright but the prices are a total rip off,a manager told me some ridiculous profit margin figures on chickens and lamb,ill try ask him again and give ye them.
gilberto_eire
29/07/2008, 1:05 PM
If you go into shops like ''New Look'' you'll notice that a top thats £20 is usually €30 :eek:, mark ups are usually along those lines!
I don't think Tesco actually want people to buy these new own brand products. Apparently they will be on the same isle with horrible yellow/black shelves. I don't see that encouraging any one to purchase.
Noticed on the dart coming in yesterday that Tesco had adverts at every station the whole way in from Greystones that has the big billboards advertising the own brand, with the tag "Nobody helps you spend less" - yeah right :rolleyes:
Also noticed the price comparisons on the shelves in Tesco are now Lidl and not Dunnes, although the product I noticed them on (milk) it was only price matching Lidl, not cheaper. Didn't bother checking anything else, but if the height of it is only price matching Lidl, I'll stick to Lidl thanks.
How can Lidl offer such cheap prices? Who are they exploiting to get those deals?
E25 for Drogs v Kiev. Pats v Olimps is only E10. Are Drosg the M&S (without the quality) of the LOI?
:p
How can Lidl offer such cheap prices? Who are they exploiting to get those deals?
Limited range of products, same layout for all stores, no fancy displays. I think the have a lower unit profit than Tesco (who are hardly known for the great deals they give to farmers/ suppliers are they?), but work on the volume of sales of the limited range.
Slightly off topic but I saw an advert for Lidl jobs last week. I would have thought they paid minimum wage but paying something like E2 above it for starting salary.
They don't seem to have much of a turnover of staff either, judging from our local store.
Student Mullet
30/07/2008, 1:36 PM
When I was in Tesco's Lidl paid nearly double the hourly rate. There's a lot of busy work done in Tesco's, facing off shelves and arranging the products into displays where as the staff in Lidl's will roll a pallet of stock onto the shop floor and then go back for the next one.
John83
30/07/2008, 1:53 PM
Slightly off topic but I saw an advert for Lidl jobs last week. I would have thought they paid minimum wage but paying something like E2 above it for starting salary.
Their management training and pay is supposed to be excellent.
Lidl operate with a skeleton staff and only order things as they need them,unlike Tesco and Dunnes who use to do the opposite although now they are changing.If youve been to Dunnes or Tesco lately you will have noticed your quing time at the check out is now much longer,they started cutting back on loads of staff and cutting hours for existing staff.A manger in Dunnes told me sales are down 15-20% this year but usually you can add another 5% to what they are saying.Also,Lidl pays its staff monthly,this is to avoid some tax they'd have to pay etc.So because they do this and only order as they need too and clear it out ASAP they can afford to sell cheaper.Plus,they import foods from countires that have weak currencies,polish zyolta for example.
I just wished i liked more of the products in Lidl,i dont and so keep shopping in Dunnes.
I wouldn't have noticed the stocking being any worse in Lidl. Infact, I'd say it would've been one of the things that annoyed us about Tesco when we started shifting over 4 or 5 years ago.
Just out of interest, why would monthly pay mean less tax than weekly pay? I can see it'd be less admin, but not sure where the tax implication would be?
Student Mullet
30/07/2008, 3:13 PM
I wouldn't have noticed the stocking being any worse in Lidl. Infact, I'd say it would've been one of the things that annoyed us about Tesco when we started shifting over 4 or 5 years ago.Lidl's have their specials. If I want a bicycle pump from Tesco's I go along and buy one. If I want one from Lidl's I keep an eye on their website 'til they get them in and then head in at 8am to be sure of getting one.
Their management training and pay is supposed to be excellent.
While I did not work for supermarkets I previously worked in that field & Retail Management in all the multiples is very good. Probably a very good career starting point too but not easy. I have seen adverts for Lidl Management & they seem to put Assistant Managers in charge of individual stores with Senior Managers overseeing several of them.
The thing about supermarkets is even in recessions people still need to buy food.
I saw in Sunday paper talk of Asda moving into the Republic as apparently they are already in the North. Of course they are owned by Wal-Mart so massive buying power. If Dunnes get squeezed in a price war would they look to sell up?
thischarmingman
30/07/2008, 9:21 PM
Slightly off topic but I saw an advert for Lidl jobs last week. I would have thought they paid minimum wage but paying something like E2 above it for starting salary.
I've read a few articles about how horrible a place it is to work in. There's one particular article I'll look for but for now I've found these:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/27/germany.supermarkets
The German discount supermarket chain Lidl has been accused of spying on its employees, including recording how many times they went to the toilet as well as details about their love lives, personal finances and menstrual cycles.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/mar/14/businesscomment.supermarkets
With more than 400 stores in the UK - and plans to open another 40 this year - Lidl is becoming the supermarket of choice for foodies in search of a bargain, as well as families on a tight budget. Yet while Tesco comes under fire for its aggressive expansion, no one seems to care what Lidl does - even if some staff suffer in the rush for profits.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/mar/14/businesscomment.supermarkets
That articles would not look out of place in the Telegraph or Daily Mail.
Tesco is British, Lidl is German. There are shopping baskets and neatly stacked shelves in Tesco; only pay-for trolleys and piled-high pallets in Lidl. The former is giving loyalty-card points; the latter is charging 3p per carrier bag.
In Ireland does any one even mention German & Lidl in the same sentence?
Lidl blames price gap with Germany on our higher taxes
http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/latest-news/lidl-blames-price-gap-with-germany-on-our-higher-taxes-1443708.html
SUPERMARKET giant Lidl last night defended huge price variations between its Irish and German stores, blaming higher government taxes here for the difference.
An independent survey showed Irish customers paid up to €11 more for 700ml bottles of gin and whiskey, and a basket of 18 assorted items cost €37.51 more in an Irish store than in its German equivalent.
In Ireland, the 18 products -- including toilet paper, bread, pasta, juice, chocolate, fish cheese and spices -- came to €73.19, but in Germany they came to only €35.68.
The most marked difference was in the price of alcohol.
A 750ml Margot whiskey, a 750ml dry gin and three different bottles of wine came to €19.35 in Germany, but in Ireland they cost 250pc more, at €47.71.
i think the earlier point of we pay what we deserve fits well here.
http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/latest-news/lidl-blames-price-gap-with-germany-on-our-higher-taxes-1443708.html
The "Independent" spins for big business, again.
Lidl's have their specials. If I want a bicycle pump from Tesco's I go along and buy one. If I want one from Lidl's I keep an eye on their website 'til they get them in and then head in at 8am to be sure of getting one.
I was more thinking of the general stock, which I find tesco and dunnes brutal for keeping stocked. The specials are specials - I would've thought at this stage everyone would be aware they have to be there early if they're a good deal.
You can't compare drink between Ireland & Germany as our taxes on those goods are huge in comparison. easier to compare food as no tax on most foodstuffs.
Student Mullet
31/07/2008, 1:42 PM
I was more thinking of the general stock, which I find tesco and dunnes brutal for keeping stocked. The specials are specials - I would've thought at this stage everyone would be aware they have to be there early if they're a good deal.
You're right but it's much easier to keep the general stock stocked when you have a much narrower range of products. The range available in tesco's is much wider than Lidl's and you're much more likely to run out, either on the shelf or in the storeroom, if you're maintaining small stocks of a large number of products instead of large stocks of a smaller number of products.
soccerc
31/07/2008, 1:50 PM
You're right but it's much easier to keep the general stock stocked when you have a much narrower range of products. The range available in tesco's is much wider than Lidl's and you're much more likely to run out, either on the shelf or in the storeroom, if you're maintaining small stocks of a large number of products instead of large stocks of a smaller number of products.
When Tesco bought out Power Supermarkets they introduced a huge Point of Sale system that was supposed to improve stock levels.
It was designed also to calculate, estimate and restock within 24 hours once minimum stock levels were reached. It failed miserably as Irish shopping patterns differ hugely from those in the UK
John83
31/07/2008, 1:55 PM
When Tesco bought out Power Supermarkets they introduced a huge Point of Sale system that was supposed to improve stock levels.
It was designed also to calculate, estimate and restock within 24 hours once minimum stock levels were reached. It failed miserably as Irish shopping patterns differ hugely from those in the UK
Marks & Spencers have a working system like that. Their Grafton St store is (or was) too small to have any substantial stock room, and when they first set it up (it was their first store here) they had no other property here. Everything had to be shipped over from England. Daily shipments were calculated based on stock levels, packed into the lorries in such a way as to have the items for the back of the store first out of the lorry and so on. My little brother is studying commerce and was telling me about it. Sounds like a fantastic piece of work.
Student Mullet
31/07/2008, 2:05 PM
I've worked with the electronic system in Tesco's and a paper based one in Supervalue and Supervalue's is much easier and more reliable.
pineapple stu
31/07/2008, 2:18 PM
Just out of interest, why would monthly pay mean less tax than weekly pay? I can see it'd be less admin, but not sure where the tax implication would be?
It wouldn't. You have an annual tax credits sum and an annual 20% tax band, which is divided by 12 or 52 as appropriate.
It wouldn't. You have an annual tax credits sum and an annual 20% tax band, which is divided by 12 or 52 as appropriate.
That's what I thought - even under the old non-cumulative system I don't think it would've made any difference. It's a few years since I worked in payroll so just wasn't 100%.
drinkfeckarse
01/08/2008, 2:51 PM
I did a check on Jet2.com there a few weeks ago as my brother had booked a flight from Cork to Newcastle for approx €120.
I just reversed the destination on the same date and could have got it for £60. The Euro is screwed automatically. At the time the exchange rate in the UK was 1.21!
MariborKev
05/08/2008, 10:39 PM
I did a check on Jet2.com there a few weeks ago as my brother had booked a flight from Cork to Newcastle for approx €120.
I just reversed the destination on the same date and could have got it for £60. The Euro is screwed automatically. At the time the exchange rate in the UK was 1.21!
Whoosh........
I think you need to read a bit more on how airline fares are calculated.
drinkfeckarse
06/08/2008, 8:03 AM
Whoosh........
I think you need to read a bit more on how airline fares are calculated.
Do explain. I make no bones about the fact that I don't know how airline flights are calculated or how a trip to the same destination on the very same day would cost a lot more in one currency than it would in another :rolleyes:
anto1208
06/08/2008, 8:34 AM
It seems to be more expensive to buy using euro i was on Play.com and when the price was in sterling i worked it out using xe.com as costing 40 euro but when you click for the site to calculate it, it was 46 euro dont know if they factor in postage but for a site that offers free postage it would be poor form.
MariborKev
06/08/2008, 2:01 PM
Do explain. I make no bones about the fact that I don't know how airline flights are calculated or how a trip to the same destination on the very same day would cost a lot more in one currency than it would in another :rolleyes:
Your first post said that your brother booked a flight from Cork to Newcastle for €120, but you reversed the destination(Newcastle to Cork) on the same dates and it cost only £60.
This is totally independent of the value of euro.
OneRedArmy
06/08/2008, 2:47 PM
As Maribor has intimated airlines uses complex predictive models with fairly meaty algorithims to set fares.
Thats why fares may go up and down many times in the days and months before a flight.
Nothing to do with the exchange rate, generally this is one area where airlines are fairly fair.
It is reasonably easy to predict what price fares will increase to although not 100% accurate. On Ryanair for example pick 2 tickets for random destination for next week, then try say 6 tickets & keep increasing ticket quantity. You will see the price per ticket increase in increments based on how many seats remaining. The more seats sold the more expensive the remaining seats as airlines know someone booking at short notice (e.g. business) are less price sensitive.
OneRedArmy
06/08/2008, 3:15 PM
It is reasonably easy to predict what price fares will increase to although not 100% accurate. On Ryanair for example pick 2 tickets for random destination for next week, then try say 6 tickets & keep increasing ticket quantity. You will see the price per ticket increase in increments based on how many seats remaining. The more seats sold the more expensive the remaining seats as airlines know someone booking at short notice (e.g. business) are less price sensitive.
Ryanairs model is fairly simple & include more rules rather than behavioural or predictive factors. They also only do point to point bookings which keeps it simple.
Other airlines release seats into fare buckets on a regular basis and hence there are regular price fluctuations.
drinkfeckarse
06/08/2008, 3:17 PM
Your first post said that your brother booked a flight from Cork to Newcastle for €120, but you reversed the destination(Newcastle to Cork) on the same dates and it cost only £60.
This is totally independent of the value of euro.
Fair enough. Both were return journeys though. So the same airports are visited at the same times on the same dates just in different order. Was just pointing out what I felt was a major difference in price.
drinkfeckarse
06/08/2008, 3:28 PM
As Maribor has intimated airlines uses complex predictive models with fairly meaty algorithims to set fares.
Thats why fares may go up and down many times in the days and months before a flight.
Nothing to do with the exchange rate, generally this is one area where airlines are fairly fair.
Other airlines release seats into fare buckets on a regular basis and hence there are regular price fluctuations.
Oh I see...
I knew that the prices would vary from day to day just wasn't expecting such an obvious gulf.
Poor Student
06/08/2008, 6:02 PM
It seems to be more expensive to buy using euro i was on Play.com and when the price was in sterling i worked it out using xe.com as costing 40 euro but when you click for the site to calculate it, it was 46 euro dont know if they factor in postage but for a site that offers free postage it would be poor form.
You can't just pluck the rate off XE currency converter at any given time and expect things to match it. If you go into a bank it will use a midmarket rate from yesterday's activity to give you a stable rate for today, so if you look at XE it will be giving you today's market rate up to date by the minute.
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