Shopping in Northern Ireland

Our man in Havana

I bought a 37 inch LCD TV in Argos NI for €450. Same TV was €1000 in Argos in the south.

paddydriver

Niamh78 wrote: »

Do you not think they would have done this if they could? Do you think they are going out of business as a choice??? Retail seems to be the only sector that gets no govt support... builders, banks, public service all get help but retailers are just left to die where they stand. What chance do they have with Mary Coughlan as the minister in charge?

She does get fairly dalled (dail'ed) up these days so I am sure she supports her local clothes retailers... although being a Donegal lass (as I think she is) she probably pops over the border to buy her clobber in Derry:D

paddydriver

corny wrote: »

Retailers have been helping themselves to grossly inflated profit margins at the expense of the Irish consumer for years now. Let them reap what they sew.

Didn't the ESRI do a study not too long ago which suggested the average differnence in price on basic goods between the Republic and the North should be 6% or 7%. This is accounting for higher wage and utilities costs in the Republic. Now even if the exchange rate went back to 65p to the euro people would still gain by shopping up the north! They're charging us what they like down here, have been for ages now. Theres something fundamentally wrong with that. The average consumer has a duty to themselves before any BS patriotism to do whats best for them and not for greedy retailers or politicians who take home 200,000-300,000 a year and really couldn't give f*** about us anyway.

From December 2007, until January 2009, Tesco, Dunnes Stores and SuperQuinn all jacked up their prices - Tesco by 4.9%, Dunnes by 3.5%, SuperQuinn by 2.8%. Now at a time when demand and prices are generally falling in Ireland, our supermarkets are INCREASING their prices by nearly 5%! You're finding fault with the wrong people i think.

Even, if and, when the rate goes back in STG's favour the bad taste will remain in people's mouths forever as regards the ripping off that retailers have been doing to us in recent years. The problem has been that we have had this perceived wealth for so long and did not bother shopping around and now that things have got so bad so quick the whole idea of getting a bargain in NI and UK is big news so everyone is aware of how much we have been ripped off.

I seriously doubt it will ever get to the stage ever again that my wife will be able to say to me that she is going down to local Monsoon to buy a dress in € - I will always have a bad feeling towards places like that and think she is waking up to it now too and is shopping around online etc for better pricing in STG.

The future is very gloomy for retailers of all types, even when things pick back up, as they are the first place to get a chunk of your wages (after the tax man and the mortgage providers:mad:) and this shake up will introduce a lot of financial prudence.

Those that can survive now and make a real effort to reduce prices will reap the benefits in 12 or 18 months time - well hopefully that soon anyway:)

daithip

Maybe in the bargain alerts but Glucosamine Sulfate supplements £1.99 in Semi Chem, Enniskillen, £6,99 in Holland and Barret. €15 in the south omg

Simian!

Bond-007 wrote: »

I bought a 37 inch LCD TV in Argos NI for €450. Same TV was €1000 in Argos in the south.

Also got a a 37" in Newry (just after Christmas) - cost €500 up there and €950 down here. It was a great bargain. Went up again to do sh*t loads of grocery shopping but I think the savings are minimal when petrol/toll fees are all taken into account.

hotredhead

I actually enjoy the drive,a bit like therapy coasting along listening to music before I get to shop till I drop!!:) Sometimes it's the only chance I get to sit down all week!

Famous45

Went to Sprucefield in Lisburn last night, left Drogheda at around 6:35, got by the Carrick Dale and all I could see was red lights, took about 25 mins for the traffic to pass through Newry, was half tempted to go to Sainsburys there but we both knew if would be empty shelves and almost every car we saw was ROI was def 75-25 in favour so we knew they'd all be heading down to Newry so onwards we went to Lisburn, which is only 25-30 mins away and Sainsbury's was empty, not a sinner around, fully stocked shelves - a shoppers delight. Spent £195, which included 2 x 20 Bottles of Coors at £10 and 18 cans of Harp for £10. Bottle a few bottles of the Oyster Bay on offer and the woman picked up some clothes for her Mother's Day present have to say the clothing is quite nice there.

Massive thumbs up to Sprucefield again, so friendly as always.

Stopped off in Mickey D's for a quarter pounder on the way home was only £2.79 compared to I think €4 in Roi? and the same price for 6 Chicken Nuggets which I think is €4.50 maybe in Roi?

As above, I also enjoy the drive up, I seen one mad thing on the way home and was hoping someone could shed some light, there was a slight fog around Newry but coming thru it on the A1 over the mountains on the opposite side of Newry you could see this huge ring of what seemed fire or ash or something just wondering if anyone knew anything about it, it just stood out a mile, you couldnt miss it.

okidoki987

huge ring of what seemed fire or ash or something just wondering if anyone knew anything about it, it just stood out a mile, you couldnt miss it

Was it the 2 Brian's (C & L) setting fire to Sainsbury's?

Famous45

Was it the 2 Brian's (C & L) setting fire to Sainsbury's?

Oracle

You gotta laugh about the doublethink and hypocrisy of Brian Lenihan and the government. According to them, we should be patriotic and loyal to the Irish Republic when spending our money, but be patriotic and loyal to the EU when voting for the Lisbon Treaty.

Stark

How is there a conflict there? Ireland is a member of the EU.

DonJose

I just posted this in RIP OFF IRELAND, thought it might of interest here. Silent Night Double Matress.

Argos UK/NI - £259.44
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6603377/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CHome+and+furniture%7C12107022.htm

Argos ROI - €784.99
http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=30001&catalogId=1500001501&langId=-1&searchTerms=SILENTNIGHT+FLORENCE+DOUBLE+MATTRESS

Stark

The one in the UK is on sale though.

DonJose

Stark wrote: »

The one in the UK is on sale though.

Whats your point? The matress in ROI isn't on sale but its the same matress sold by the same company. Even if the matress wasn't on sale you'd save roughly €250, now its on sale you save over €500.

paulusdu

granted it is on sale, and if you double the price and even at a very generous exchange rate of say.85, there is still a marked difference, even if you factor in higher wages, insurance tax etc. if companies like argos, pcworld, etc don;t start dropping their prices south, how can they run a store 100km from the boarder ?
Is it any wonder that tesco are rumoured to be planing a massive new store at newry.

DubDani

Tesco and Asda have both Planning permission for big shops on the outskirts of Newry.

jaime

paulusdu wrote: »

granted it is on sale, and if you double the price and even at a very generous exchange rate of say.85, there is still a marked difference, even if you factor in higher wages, insurance tax etc. if companies like argos, pcworld, etc don;t start dropping their prices south, how can they run a store 100km from the boarder ?
Is it any wonder that tesco are rumoured to be planing a massive new store at newry.

You also need to consider things such as buying from local distributors.(supporting irish jobs) Silentnight may have an exclusive distribution deal with someone down south (a common occurance for many businesses here), therefore if argos IE want to sell them they have to buy from distributor (to ensure warrenty coverage etc) distriutors can have a 30%+ impact on cost prices. add that to higher costs of operating in ireland and advance hedging it is concievable that prices can be so disproportionate.

Comparing prices north and south is not as striaghtforward as people think, there are many factors which people are unaware of.

Our man in Havana

It is still no justification for rip off prices.

paulusdu

As far as i know Silent night are a UK manufacturer, so Argos IE would have a very similar purchasing agreement as the UK branch. the same goes with Dyson hoovers as an example given earlier. I agree that local manufacturers and distributers would not have the same agreements in place as the UK branches, but you have got to think that for large stores like argos etc, they do have a preferencial purchase agreement with these manufactureres that enables them to sell at good prices.
If it is the distributors that are adding 30% to that price, then they will be hit when people go north. Either way, its hard to justify paying that extra 30% just so a dstributor, supermarket can make extra profit. You can't expect consumers to continue to support greed from these outfits anymore.
Its hard and unfair to compare indiginous companys to uk chain stores, but when those UK chain stores are quiet blatantly ripping us off, its pretty hard to ignore.

Dooish

asda 92.5 exchange rate

jaime

paulusdu wrote: »

As far as i know Silent night are a UK manufacturer, so Argos IE would have a very similar purchasing agreement as the UK branch. the same goes with Dyson hoovers as an example given earlier. I agree that local manufacturers and distributers would not have the same agreements in place as the UK branches, but you have got to think that for large stores like argos etc, they do have a preferencial purchase agreement with these manufactureres that enables them to sell at good prices.
If it is the distributors that are adding 30% to that price, then they will be hit when people go north. Either way, its hard to justify paying that extra 30% just so a dstributor, supermarket can make extra profit. You can't expect consumers to continue to support greed from these outfits anymore.
Its hard and unfair to compare indiginous companys to uk chain stores, but when those UK chain stores are quiet blatantly ripping us off, its pretty hard to ignore.

Sorry i think the point i was making was missed...im not talking about indiginous retailers, im talking about multinational companys and a reason why prices can be so different.(aside from the usual tax differnences, rates etc)

Argos UK buy a Uk sourced product (ie washing machine) for £200 and sell for £480
The assumption would be that Argos IE should therefore sell it for around €600
however, if the manufactuers have an exclusive deal with a distributor in ireland, Argos could not sell that product with the backing on warrenty and service as the irish company that hold the distribution rights would not support a service on a product they have not recieved payment on.Therefore Argos would have to buy locally if they want to avail of service/warrenty support (must have).
To buy locally can add over 30% to cost price, therefore in this instance the retail could go as high as €780. to an average guy in the street it looks like argos have ripped the customer by an extra €180 when in actual fact they still have the same margin return as the UK as they have to buy locally.

In the north/south examples previously how did they compare with other irish retailers.

I dont get comparing prices between 2 different countries and currencies, it does not happen in mainland europe so why here? Do you think ikea prices are the same in each country once you extract local taxes etc? they are not

jister

jaime wrote: »

You also need to consider things such as buying from local distributors.(supporting irish jobs) Silentnight may have an exclusive distribution deal with someone down south (a common occurance for many businesses here), therefore if argos IE want to sell them they have to buy from distributor (to ensure warrenty coverage etc) distriutors can have a 30%+ impact on cost prices. add that to higher costs of operating in ireland and advance hedging it is concievable that prices can be so disproportionate.

Comparing prices north and south is not as striaghtforward as people think, there are many factors which people are unaware of.

Bottom line is we know a ripoff when we see one. Ballygowan water made in Limerick is cheaper in Asda than any shop in Limerick. People need to continue voting with their feet.

Morgans

See the retailers are as much a victim as the consumer. Large retailers of course cant place any pressure on those nasty distributors.

jister

Morgans wrote: »

See the retailers are as much a victim as the consumer. Large retailers of course cant place any pressure on those nasty distributors.

Nor can they drive across the border and buy goods off the distibuters up there, or set up a shelf company upthere and buy at UK prices and sell to themselves.

jaime

sarcasm doesnt suit you....of course they can but still wont get over the fact that they need to buy from a distributor to avail of warrenty, guarantees, service call outs etc.

I just dont fall for sensationalist journalism and lazy price comparisons by the NCA...fact is it is not in the interests of any company to rip off their customers...may have a short term gain but all they will do is alienate customers by doing it, i would bet Argos IE net margin is no higher than that of Argos UK

Our man in Havana

Warranties are valid EU wide, it would make no difference where the washing machine etc was purchased. The warranty would be honoured EU wide.

noodler

jaime is speaking a great deal of sense here.

There is no doubt we pay more for goods in the Republic but it is certainly not as much as the face prices would suggest.

NI is in a different country. I mean you have to remember you can't demand prices be the same in London as they are in Dublin. NI prices should be higher than they are (due to the smaller market and pain of shipping ) but as part of the UK there has to be equalisation.

I am not suggesting people don't take advantage of bargains but there are some reasons for higher prices here that have been well-documented (VAT, Rent, Economies of scale becasue there are 5 million people here and 40m in the UK, a much higher minimum wage, average wage etc).

I mean it is a worrying trend, the idea of people in the South taking there higher wages up to the North every week is clearly not sustainable. There is definetely a case of having your cake and eating it.

We should remember above all that NI is a completely different country.

Morgans

Some retailers obviously seem to think that their customers want to drive to the north for their grocery shopping. If they make an effort, customers would prefer to have 3 hours plus for themselves at a weekend.

Some retailers, super valu for one, have reacted with good deals each week. Anedotally, and evidenced from boards, this has been well received, and hopefully will show in their figures.

Retailers who steadfastly believe that they were offering the best value to the Irish customers lets say 2 years ago despite anecdotal evidence caused this problem. Of course it couldnt be proven conclusively as multiples wouldn't disclose profits for ROI specifically. Those who still think that they are offering best value and refuse to drop prices will reap what they sow.

paulusdu

i think we would be foolish to believe we didn;t have to pay more in the south. Yes we are a different country to NI, and our tax rates, average wage, insurance, etc, is all higher. We know that.

But, what we cant accept and we have to point out (and we have been doing by shopping in the north) is that it is obvious that the amount we are being changed by a lot of retailers down here, especially the big uk chainstores defies reason. i can;t accept that a warrenty is the reaosn that i can pay 270 euro more for a laptop in currys in dublin than the exact same one an hours drive up north.
If i bring the laptoip back, it gets sent to the UK to be repaired. So that doesn;lt really point out to me that the extra 230 is being pumped back in to local distributors, etc.
We accept we have to pay more, to we also have to stop being overcharged.

We're not that foolosh to think that we should pay euro for sterling for items, but we are starting to realise that we have been paying far too much in the past.

jister

I can accept that some items, a freezer for example, might be cheaper in the north (but it shouldn't be more than around 15%) but there is no excuse for water made in Limerick being cheaper in Asda.