ALDI Ripoff

Gunther_Gloop

Aldi are selling a HDTV next week at (only) 1399euros.

Same set in the UK will be selling for £849.

That equates to 1,261.07 EUR.

Allowing for the vat increase (17.5% to 21%), this brings it up to around 1300euros.

...Let's not forget the 15euros for our government's extra taxation on electrical goods.

...Which means, Aldi are charging _at least_ 80euros more than they should be.

Now I wonder why they would charge extra like that?
:mad:

Ste.phen

*shrug* Powercity have a Samsung 40" HD ready LCD for € 2139.95
I'd rather pay the 1400 from ALDI to be honest, even if it means i've to pay 80 more than someone in the next country over.

Gunther_Gloop

Igy wrote:

*shrug* Powercity have a Samsung 40" HD ready LCD for € 2139.95
I'd rather pay the 1400 from ALDI to be honest, even if it means i've to pay 80 more than someone in the next country over.

Yup. That's the attitude that let's them get away with it.
They're not all equal though, by the way.

I saw a 42" (HDReady) Panasonic recently showing SKY digital and it was nothing short of shocking -clumps of colour all over the shop. I'd definitely not fork out for a set sight-unseen in Aldi ...especially not after their last (mis-represented) _Plasma_ offer.
Those sets were crap.

...and doubly-especially when I know they're adding on a premium for Ireland "Because they can".

europhile

It's only about 5% more. Not bad value when you consider the higher labour and property costs in Ireland. Hardly a rip-off.

Kali

Transport costs from the UK... I doubt you'd be able to ship one from the UK for 80EUR. To repeat the last-poster it's hardly a rip-off.

GrumPy

Just buy one in Power City Least you can see the quality of the sets on the shop floor before buying.

Owen

80 Euro Rip Off? Yes, because the logistics involved in getting these from the UK aren't in the equation :rolleyes:

Seriously, 80 is not a rip off. Ireland is more expensive for businesses to setup in. More labour costs, insurance, and transport/warehousing of products. 80 Euro in this instance is very reasonable.

Capt'n Midnight

Would €80 cover petrol to Newry ?

Gunther_Gloop

Kali wrote:

Transport costs from the UK... I doubt you'd be able to ship one from the UK for 80EUR. To repeat the last-poster it's hardly a rip-off.

*sigh*
They're not shipping one. They're shipping hundreds -or since they have an ongoing relationsip with the supplier- probably thousands.
Aldi is a German company. They source "bargains" from everywhere they can and sell them in their stores throughout Europe. It's not too expensive to ship items with that economy of scale.

Property and labour costs in Ireland aren't dramatically different to (most of) UK costs either anyway.
Aldi are already making money from the UK price (as they should). The extra price here is all cream.

The opinions raised here only enforce my initial point though... Aldi charge so much more in Ireland because they can.
In a way, I'm not criticising Aldi (they'd charge extra in the UK too if they thought they'd get away with it there).
I'm criticising the fact that they _can_ get away with it here -as others here have most-satisfactorily proven.

pH

Gunther_Gloop wrote:

They're not shipping one. They're shipping hundreds -or since they have an ongoing relationsip with the supplier- probably thousands.

You're working under the belief that if you pay DHL to ship a TV here they charter a plane just for that TV?

Gunther_Gloop

pH wrote:

You're working under the belief that if you pay DHL to ship a TV here they charter a plane just for that TV?

Huh? Er, yes. Yes indeed. Around a quarter past twelve.

...I raised the point I wanted to. I was aware beforehand that it would attract more people to the offer than it would repel (if any), but I still felt it was worth raising.

If everyone else believes it's all ok, then more power to the lot of you. I'm not going to bicker back & forth about their right to slap on a premium. The rest is up to you.

I'm sure it's a lovely set (nicer than the duff plasmas they sold a few months back at least).

Enjoy it.

TBMC

He has a point. It shouldn't be dearer. Lets hope Aldi dont read this or they will add an extra cost onto everything because We Irish dont seem to mind, and when we do speak up (As Gunther has) We shout him down.... wow

YoYOPowder

Gunther_Gloop wrote:

Aldi are selling a HDTV next week at (only) 1399euros.

Same set in the UK will be selling for £849.

That equates to 1,261.07 EUR.

Allowing for the vat increase (17.5% to 21%), this brings it up to around 1300euros.

...Let's not forget the 15euros for our government's extra taxation on electrical goods.

...Which means, Aldi are charging _at least_ 80euros more than they should be.

Now I wonder why they would charge extra like that?
:mad:

:eek:

Get over it..

paddylonglegs

Are you aware that a wall bracket is included in this price? Brackets to hold a 40' are above 300Eu.

Pretty sweet deal I'd say

Gunther_Gloop

paddylonglegs wrote:

Are you aware that a wall bracket is included in this price? Brackets to hold a 40' are above 300Eu.

Pretty sweet deal I'd say

I'm aware of it -and that does make it nicer, but it still doesn't invalidate my point. The exact same specs are on the UK offer.

It's not as sweet as it could, should or would be if there weren't so many people with more money than sense in this country.

roseq65

Any reports on the HDTV in question? Hopefully saying its a dud....but with 2 HDMI ports and a free wall bracket it sounds like a real bargain. Needless to say they sold out in 5 mins in the 2 Aldis near me!:(

Lump

Moany Bastard

byte

paddylonglegs wrote:

Are you aware that a wall bracket is included in this price? Brackets to hold a 40' are above 300Eu.

Pretty sweet deal I'd say

You should be able to get a bracket for about €80 or less. You'd get a damn good bracket for €300 though.

roseq65

Spot on.

DirkVoodoo

I agree with Gunther gloop and co. €80 is not much.

Granted its a Tevion (or whatever) with an LG tuner and Samsung panel held together by old chinese newspapers and bargain bin electronics, but they are still selling them for quite cheap.

Ok, so the quality isnt going to match sony/panasonic, but most people just want a large, LCD and dont care about pixel response time variations of 2ms and colour shifts towards the red band (as i believe the more expensive sony bravias are known for). Lets face it, its still a half decent TV that the average joe will think is great and much better than his 21" CRT.

In fact, i was going to buy one as a second tv for PS2, etc. Too late now tho, they are 1 day offers right?

godtabh

DirkVoodoo wrote:

Too late now tho, they are 1 day offers right?

The tv sold out before the shop even opened in most places. People qeued up long before the shop was due to open

eamon234

Plus the TV had a three year warranty which is pretty damn good you won't get that in any retail store without paying a fortune for it

Saruman

Jaysus... how many times will this rubbish come up?? Of course stuff is more expensive here than the UK... its a different country with a different economy... There is poverty all over the UK.. where as we are second richest country on this planet in terms of GDP etc... we have more take home pay at the end of the day than your equivalent English person... so we can afford to pay a little extra.. its the way of capitalism. If we could not afford to pay more then we would not be charged more than the UK.

If you want to get a big TV for €80 cheaper.. feck off to England and buy it and then bring it home... will cost you a LOT more that way but since it seems to be the principal of the thing.... that will show them

Gunther_Gloop

I weep for the future.

unklerosco

Gunther_Gloop wrote:

I weep for the future.

:rolleyes:

Why don't u go live in the UK then??? Did u actually buy one of these tvs???

Here's something for u...

Aver price of petrol in the UK is €1.35, in Ireland its €1.11

Fill and ave car, say 40ltr tank, once a week... Its €9.60 cheaper here..

So when u move to england, and after 10 weeks there.. When u've spent €96 more on petrol you'll kick yourself and think "Why didn't i just pay the extra €80 for the TV???"

Gunther_Gloop

unklerosco wrote:

So when u move to england, and after 10 weeks there.. When u've spent €96 more on petrol you'll kick yourself and think "Why didn't i just pay the extra €80 for the TV???"

It's funny how more posts made here seemingly against what I say serve more to prove my point than negate it.
Not everything is dearer here. Likewise there is no automatic reason why Aldi should charge more for the same set (after vat + other charges are taken into account) in the 2 countries.

Also, I posted about one rip-off (as I see it) around a week ago. That offer has come and gone, but still people take it upon themselves to jump in with the pack.

Yes, the price of the telly was still cheaper than other similar offers elsewhere in this country. Yes it included a bracket and a warranty. Yes we have things in Ireland that are cheaper than in the UK. Yes we have more expensive things too. Yes we should have bands marching in the street in celebration of the magnificence of this amazing offer. Whoop de whoo.

None of that changes _anything_ I actually said when making my initial point. I fail to see why you all seem to _want_ the higher price, but as I said before ...you're all free to do so. I'm sure some people here first noticed this offer only after I posted this thread.. good on you all.
I don't tell you what to do or personally insult you. I made my point a week ago. Let it rest.

Gunther_Gloop

Oh and by the way...

I bought a hdmi dvd player in Aldi on Friday and it is great. My older dvi set has been on the rocks for a few months. I was waiting for a particular Pioneer model to come in stock at computeruniverse, but this one was half the price -so I bought it.

UK price was £39.99, which makes it around €59. After adding the extra vat and 'recycling tax', it's still €4+ euros more expensive than it should be.
...I still bought it -but I did so with my eyes open for my own reasons. Everyone is free to buy whatever they choose as long as they have the money to pay for it.

None of that justifies flaming the guy (in this case me) who points out the price difference.

pH

Gunther_Gloop wrote:

I don't tell you what to do or personally insult you. I made my point a week ago. Let it rest.

Well the reason it hasn't been let rest is 2 points, your poor understanding of both English and economics.

First English:
rip-off
1 : an act or instance of stealing : THEFT; also : a financial exploitation
2 : a usually cheap exploitive imitation

A rip-off is a dishonest act, selling something that is not what it seems. If the TVs were badged say as SONY but really were Tevions, then that's a rip-off. Merely charging a price higher than you think something is worth is definitely not a rip-off.

Now economics, ALDI's job is to maximise its profits. If you want to live in a socialist state where the government gets involved in setting prices - then go and find one. Most people in this country are quite happy in this capitalist economy.

For a business like ALDI (Stocking goods like this TVs for a few days only) the only question is at what price will all those TVs sell out. They don't want any left at the end of the sale, yet they need to maximise their profits. Given the reported speed at which the TVs sold out there is a strong argument to be made that (for the Irish market) they priced them too low.

Gunther_Gloop

pH wrote:

Well the reason it hasn't been let rest is 2 points, your poor understanding of both English and economics.

First English:
rip-off
1 : an act or instance of stealing : THEFT; also : a financial exploitation
2 : a usually cheap exploitive imitation

A rip-off is a dishonest act, selling something that is not what it seems. If the TVs were badged say as SONY but really were Tevions, then that's a rip-off. Merely charging a price higher than you think something is worth is definitely not a rip-off.

Now economics, ALDI's job is to maximise its profits. If you want to live in a socialist state where the government gets involved in setting prices - then go and find on. Most people in this country are quite happy in this capitalist economy.

For a business like ALDI (Stocking goods like this TVs for a few days only) the only question is at what price will all those TVs sell out. They don't want any left at the end of the sale, yet they need to maximise their profits. Given the reported speed at which the TVs sold out there is a strong argument to be made that (for the Irish market) they priced them too low.

Again personal insults.
Your selective definition of rip-off is fine, but you should really broaden your view before lashing out like that.

I agree with your point that they probably priced it too low in Ireland (and in the UK by all acounts). But then, it wouldn't be a "special offer" if they priced it at the level it should be.
They _want_ to generate queues and hype about their amazing offers -getting more people in to buy their other goods too. Where have you seen me say Aldi should do otherwise?

pH

Gunther_Gloop wrote:

Your selective definition of rip-off is fine, but you should really broaden your view before lashing out like that.

No, that is the definition of rip-off. Recently a group of the neo-wealthy middle classes have 'redefined' the term. Now the economy is booming and they're making loadsa money, they have started a whine about the price of restaurants, weekend breaks, golf tournaments and now big plasma tellies. Moaning about high prices obviously didn't have the correct ring to it, but being ripped-off sounds so much more reprehensible "ooooh, ooooh - surely the government should do something".

It shows both incredible self-absorption and ignorance to not understand (or to refuse to understand) how prices are set in a free market economy. Here's a tip for all those whining about the price of a 'night out' or a plasma TV - try reading about Supply and Demand.

Gunther_Gloop

pH wrote:

No, that is the definition of rip-off. Recently a group of the neo-wealthy middle classes have 'redefined' the term. Now the economy is booming and they're making loadsa money, they have started a whine about the price of restaurants, weekend breaks, golf tournaments and now big plasma tellies. Moaning about high prices obviously didn't have the correct ring to it, but being ripped-off sounds so much more reprehensible "ooooh, ooooh - surely the government should do something".

It shows both incredible self-absorption and ignorance to not understand (or to refuse to understand) how prices are set in a free market economy. Here's a tip for all those whining about the price of a 'night out' or a plasma TV - try reading about Supply and Demand.

I find your post both funny and sad. Thanks.

TBMC

I think Gunthers Point is that certain companies look at the Irish Market and see a people who are quite happy to pay a little bit extra for the same thing. I think he welcomes the likes of Lidl and Aldi, as I do, and the prices they have brought. But I would like them to be cheaper if they could be. I think a dangerous message is being sent here to thse companies, that yes it is right to charge extra in Ireland because market forces will allow for it. Some people are too interested in getting in to word play. They just want to preach. Gunther tried to start a discussion on the topic. Thats all. On the subject of word play(:)) I would have thought that selling a tevion as a Sony wasn't a rip off. I would have though it was Fraud.

Cheers

pH

TBMC wrote:

I think a dangerous message is being sent here to thse companies, that yes it is right to charge extra in Ireland because market forces will allow for it.

Well if you think that it's a 'dangerous message' then I seriously suggest you are in need of a basic education in economics. The basic foundation of a free market and capitalism is that you charge what the market will allow. You may believe that want to live in some sort of socialist utopia, but I suspect you just want things your way.

If you consider capitalism/free markets to be a 'dangerous message' then I'd love to hear your alternative. Some sort of global socialist fixed pricing?

Gunther_Gloop

pH wrote:

Well if you think that it's a 'dangerous message' then I seriously suggest you are in need of a basic education in economics. The basic foundation of a free market and capitalism is that you charge what the market will allow. You may believe that want to live in some sort of socialist utopia, but I suspect you just want things your way.

If you consider capitalism/free markets to be a 'dangerous message' then I'd love to hear your alternative. Some sort of global socialist fixed pricing?

If Aldi charged 80euros extra in the UK for those tellies, I guarantee you they would have sold out there on the same day anyway. Market forces don't really come into this case -the price was cheap in both countries. They could have priced it at *200euros* more and chances are they would have sold-out on the same day in both countries.
Aldi weren't trying to find what the market would bear... just to create a buzz about their amazingly-low prices.

The issue (for me) is the fact that Aldi selected a higher price in Ireland, "just because."

Your personal attacks and your rigid outlook are misguided and self-deprecating in my view.

TBMC

pH wrote:

Well if you think that it's a 'dangerous message' then I seriously suggest you are in need of a basic education in economics. The basic foundation of a free market and capitalism is that you charge what the market will allow. You may believe that want to live in some sort of socialist utopia, but I suspect you just want things your way.

Thanks for that. I think maybe you need a basic education in reading. My point was we are sending the message that the Irish Market WILL allow you to charge more because we will just accept it. I want more money in my pocket because even on a decent wage i find it hard to make ends meet in Ireland, never mind saving for the future.....

pH

Gunther_Gloop wrote:

The issue (for me) is the fact that Aldi selected a higher price in Ireland, "just because."

Your personal attacks and your rigid outlook are misguided and self-deprecating in my view.

That's funny - you really haven't a clue, what exactly does 'just because' mean? it couldn't mean that Ireland is further from their distribution hub and is a more expensive place to do business could it?

My point was we are sending the message that the Irish Market WILL allow you to charge more because we will just accept it. I want more money in my pocket because even on a decent wage i find it hard to make ends meet in Ireland, never mind saving for the future.....

You send an economic message by either buying at a price or not. Those that bought the TVs at the price Aldi were prepared to sell them have sent all the messages that Aldi and other retailers need to hear. Whining about it on an internet forum sends no message at all. Trying to organise the population into a single coherent buying force is a completely futile act.

What part of free markets/capitalism/Supply and Demand do you guys either not get or refuse to understand?

It is inherently completely correct to charge as much for a product/service as you can possibly get. It is the foundation of free market economy which in the long run makes us all more wealthy.

TBMC

pH wrote:

Trying to organise the population into a single coherent buying force is a completely futile act.

It is inherently completely correct to charge as much for a product/service as you can possibly get. It is the foundation of free market economy which in the long run makes us all more wealthy.

Not trying to organise anything. Just giving my opinion.

But in the interests of everyones happiness and the modern Utopia I will do what the Irish Consumer does and bow down to you superior wisdom. You win. You are the better person....

Gunther_Gloop

pH wrote:

That's funny - you really haven't a clue

There's not much more to be said that hasn't been said already. You like to 'score points' by littering your posts with personal attacks. I'm afraid I can't converse with you on that level.

You throw in non-sequiters and further attack the justifications you say others make for them. I'm afraid I won't converse with you on that level.

You can interpret what I've said in anyway you chose, but it still doesn't alter what I said.

subway

why dont people sell houses cheaper?
im sick of people selling houses at high prices "just because"

this is "the way" things work.
do you have a house?
were you ripped off?
is there not a cheapre country you coudl move to?
if you can afford a big fvck off tv, you hardly have a right to complain that somebody 500 miles away got it cheaper than you.
yes there are rip-offs in ireland, but 42" flat screen tv's is hardly what matters to the people actually, really, properply, severely affected by it.

and on a serious note,
maybe, since we have a smaller population, aldi shipped proprtionately less tv's to ireland.
hence shipping was proportionaltely higher thatn the uk who have a population some 15 times that of out little island.

Gunther_Gloop

subway wrote:

why dont people sell houses cheaper?
im sick of people selling houses at high prices "just because"

this is "the way" things work.
do you have a house?
were you ripped off?
is there not a cheapre country you coudl move to?
if you can afford a big fvck off tv, you hardly have a right to complain that somebody 500 miles away got it cheaper than you.
yes there are rip-offs in ireland, but 42" flat screen tv's is hardly what matters to the people actually, really, properply, severely affected by it.

and on a serious note,
maybe, since we have a smaller population, aldi shipped proprtionately less tv's to ireland.
hence shipping was proportionaltely higher thatn the uk who have a population some 15 times that of out little island.

I'm not sure if you read the entire thread, but everything you said has been addressed already.

subway

Gunther_Gloop wrote:

I'm not sure if you read the entire thread, but everything you said has been addressed already.

yes i did, and you have not been addressed any of them.
your argument that its not fair "just because" is infantile and does not deal with your actual complaint.
you want something to be done, but we cannot control the market.

you say its everyone else is at fault yet you bought one of their "overpriced" dvd players.
surely we should "weep for the furture" on your behalf.
you are the ultimate hipocrit, everyone else should complain that the item is overpriced, yet you should buy it?
brilliant.

get some principles and have the balls to back up what you say or, for gods sake, stop whining

subway

subway wrote:

yes i did, and you have not been addressed any of them.
your argument that its not fair "just because" is infantile and does not deal with your actual complaint.
you want something to be done, but we cannot control the market.

you say its everyone else is at fault yet you bought one of their "overpriced" dvd players.
surely we should "weep for the furture" on your behalf.
you are the ultimate hipocrit, everyone else should complain that the item is overpriced, yet you should buy it?
brilliant.

get some principles and have the balls to back up what you say or, for gods sake, stop whining

oh, sorry,
i realise you bought it because "your eyes are open"
not because you actually mean what you say.
grow up.
i can buy anything for whatever the **** reason i want.
its my money.

Gunther_Gloop

subway wrote:

get some principles and have the balls to back up what you say or, for gods sake, stop whining

Clearly you have no understanding of what I said or the reason I made the original post. That is fine by me.
The only whining I've seen on here has been done by people hurling personal abuse due to a perceived attack on what they (obviously) hold dear.
You are free to continue in that regard also, but I won't be arguing with you. Not my style I'm afraid. You can fling your mud, but in my opinion it only serves to dirty yourself.

subway

The opinions raised here only enforce my initial point though... Aldi charge so much more in Ireland because they can.
In a way, I'm not criticising Aldi (they'd charge extra in the UK too if they thought they'd get away with it there).
I'm criticising the fact that they _can_ get away with it here -as others here have most-satisfactorily proven.

If everyone else believes it's all ok, then more power to the lot of you.

It's not as sweet as it could, should or would be if there weren't so many people with more money than sense in this country.

I weep for the future.

I fail to see why you all seem to _want_ the higher price, but as I said before ...you're all free to do so

I bought a hdmi dvd player in Aldi on Friday and it is great.

I made my point

just to clarify,
your argument is that they charge more money becuse they can.
you think were a bit silly for giving them our money.
your the only one here who gave them money.
but its ok because you didnt give them the money because you thought you were getting a good deal, but because you wanted a cheap hdmi player?

your posts beggar belief.

ive come to the conclusion that your shilling for aldi as thats the only way any of this makes sense.

Gunther_Gloop

subway wrote:

just to clarify,
your argument is that they charge more money becuse they can.
you think were a bit silly for giving them our money.
your the only one here who gave them money.
but its ok because you didnt give them the money because you thought you were getting a good deal, but because you wanted a cheap hdmi player?

your posts beggar belief.

ive come to the conclusion that your shilling for aldi as thats the only way any of this makes sense.

I agree that your clarification makes little sense.
I really don't have an argument at all in fact -I leave that to others. I reported on a price difference between one Aldi store and another. If that causes the fabric of our great country & economy to crumble, then it's not based on very sturdy fabric.
...but I don't believe anything of the sort.

subway

there your words, not mine.
im trying to make sense out of your contradictory statements.
you have done more than reported a rpice and left arguing to others.
potential reasons for the difference have been explained and you have responded by saying things as

if there weren't so many people with more money than sense in this country.

do you have a point or are you just trolling by now?
if you do not wish to clarify your stance ill leave it at that.

Gunther_Gloop

subway wrote:

there your words, not mine.
im trying to make sense out of your contradictory statements.
you have done more than reported a rpice and left arguing to others.
potential reasons for the difference have been explained and you have responded by saying things as


do you have a point or are you just trolling by now?
if you do not wish to clarify your stance ill leave it at that.

I made my point with the first post I made ...but here it is again because you are so desperate to hear it again...

Aldi marked-up the price of the item in question in Ireland... because they believe (right or wrongly) that people here are willing to pay more. Reactions in this thread have proved this to be correct.

I used no personal taunts or attacks and I didn't try to misrepresent or reinterpret what anyone else has said. Those tactics really take from any point a person might be trying to make (whether they know what they are attacking or not).

subway

thats what i thought your point was.
for some reason you seemed unwillinly to reiterate it,
particularly when i was accurate in all of my above statements.

so, since you have so eloqeuntly restated your point, can we get back to the issue i have with your post please?
do you not feel like a hypocrite for buying the dvd player which was similarly overpriced.
i mean are you not justifying aldis overpriced selling by stating that you bought one of the items?

tabatha

unklerosco wrote:

:rolleyes:

Why don't u go live in the UK then??? Did u actually buy one of these tvs???

Here's something for u...

Aver price of petrol in the UK is €1.35, in Ireland its €1.11

Fill and ave car, say 40ltr tank, once a week... Its €9.60 cheaper here..

So when u move to england, and after 10 weeks there.. When u've spent €96 more on petrol you'll kick yourself and think "Why didn't i just pay the extra €80 for the TV???"

some people overexaggerate so much! petrol prices in the uk are average 92.6p at the moment. asda have droped them to 79.9p, thats 118.9 euro.
http://www.whatprice.co.uk/car/petrol-stations.php
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3791589.stm

thats not to far off the current irish prices and far less than your estimate

Gunther_Gloop

subway wrote:

so, since you have so eloqeuntly restated your point, can we get back to the issue i have with your post please?
do you not feel like a hypocrite for buying the dvd player which was similarly overpriced.
i mean are you not justifying aldis overpriced selling by stating that you bought one of the items?

Again, your question is based on a premise of your construction. You can make your own mind up (as you have already) on my motive for anything.

I'm not justifying anything I, Aldi or anyone else is doing. I will leave that to the moral philosohpers.

unklerosco

http://www.petrolprices.com/

Its 106 at the mo...