Letter from todays Indo

dudara

Life's cheaper in the North
Sir - As a heavy taxpayer, mortgage payer etc, I can no longer afford to pay the sky-high prices that are being charged in the Republic for consumer goods, whether it be furniture, electrical goods, retail goods etc.

Therefore, I decided to take a trip up north to Newry. The difference between prices there and in the South were startling, even with the difference in the exchange rate. Sainsbury's in Newry were providing an excellent rate of 73c to £1.

I filled the boot of my car with shopping for approximately £37, which with the Sainsbury's rate worked out at just over €50. I then used the change I had left in sterling to purchase deodorants, shower gels, moisturisers etc, which were literally 50% less in price than the South.

I am not the only one who has had no choice left but to do this to curb costs. The car park just outside Sainsbury's contained approximately 50% Southern registrations and I noticed in particular that most people who were doing this had a family of two or three children.

I feel angry and betrayed by my own people that I have to resort to this tactic to decrease my monthly outgoings but I have been left with no choice. Since the introduction of the euro there has been blatant profiteering in all sections of consumer-related goods and services and I am going to do everything in my power to limit the effect it is having on me and my pocket. I urge Irish consumers to resort to this tactic as the only way prices will decrease is to vote with your feet. It's happening already but needs to be done en masse.
Stephen Quinn,
Elderwood Road,
Dublin 20

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

Ste.phen

it might actually be worth the petrol costs?
probbaly not for a weekly shop, but if you went up and stocked up on non-perishable goods; health and beauthy stuff, alcohol, etc?
I know a lot of people that went up north for their christmas shop and they seemed to think they got a great deal.

Lafortezza

Lots of people in my old job organised a big shopping list for booze and Christmas stuff for up North. They rented a big van and 3 of them went up one weekend and bought everything that everyone wanted.
They worked out that each person saved about €100 on their shopping, this was after van rental and a few quid for the shoppers was done.

ednwireland

actually i drive to the north to pay my sterling credit card its cheaper than buying a sterling draft (i do live in donegal) also do a lot of my shopping in derry the multiples make the prices cheaper but i do check prices locally (and buy stuff so my local hardware store will continue to stay open, the big chains are useless for small items)

Genghis

Cost of going to North from Dublin would be - €6 in tolls, €15-20 in petrol.

However, there are substantial savings to be made - last year, passing through, I noticed for myself the price difference on deodorants, brylcreem, razors, toothpaste. I remember buying 12 deodorants, 4 Gillete Mach3 Blades, 2 Brylcreem, and 2 tootpaste with change from £20. So for about €30 I got 9 months supply of these items (I bought them last July, and they are starting to run out only now).

Also, beer is indeed much cheaper, and in general they have better 'multi-pack' or 3-for-2' type deals which make things a lot cheaper than here.

The very fact that we are treated so differently is apparent in the fact that Tesco or Dunnes do not offer the exact same prices in the South as in the North - I cannot see any reasonable justification for not doing so, except that they can get away with it.

The best thing that happened for the likes of Tesco was the introduction of the Euro - before British retailers would often charge the same 'pound price' in either jurisdiction, meaning that we were often 20% cheaper than the UK in real terms. Now that there is no longer 'similarity' between the currencies they can get away with ripping us off.

Just a thought - it would be a great idea if RipOff Ireland could price an 'average' basket of goods (say the grocery part of the one the CSO use for measuring price inflation) in Dunnes North, Dunnes South, then Tesco North and Tesco South and see the difference. You'd get miles of publicity from the results, I'm sure.

LFCFan

Originally posted by Genghis
Just a thought - it would be a great idea if RipOff Ireland could price an 'average' basket of goods (say the grocery part of the one the CSO use for measuring price inflation) in Dunnes North, Dunnes South, then Tesco North and Tesco South and see the difference. You'd get miles of publicity from the results, I'm sure.

That sort of comparison would mean actually going to the shops unless I could get volunteers to go to 1 of each shop with a list of items and then report back. You wouldn't need to buy them either, just price each item. Good idea. I'll look into it.

Genghis

I'd be happy to help out, let me know LFC Fan. I live a good way away from the border, but I wouldn't have a problem doing a price check in my local Tesco and/or Dunnes.

If we do this, then we should do it properly - i.e

1. We should agree in advance a shopping list - if it is a standard such as the CSO basket, all the better - I'll have a look and see if I can find it.
2. The items on the list should be specified without ambiguity - brand name, packet size, multi-pack or not, pricing standard (some items are per item, others by weight, etc, etc. )
3. All researchers should follow the same procedure - i.e. record the lowest price most accurately, etc.
4. Research is done on same day everywhere.
5. The results should be presented in a concise, professional way.
6. There should be no 'wriggle room' for the supermarkets to talk their way out of the findings.