Golf Rip Off

1916

Last w/e I saw a pair of Adidas Beacon shoes in The Heritage Golf shop for €159, you can get them on www.tgw.com for $49.95. Thats €159 v's €37'ish

Don't care what way you cut it, add on what you want for VAT / Excise duty but that is extortion

Above, said, course was fantastic, but bunkers were s**t

1916

death1234567

I have found that golf shops in ireland are probably THE biggest rip off merchants on this desolate rock of a nation.

Fatswaldo

Bought a pair of these shoes for 40stg (50euro) from onlinegolf earlier this year. Like slippers. Not really for the wet though!

neckedit

I have found that golf shops in ireland are probably THE biggest rip off merchants on this desolate rock of a nation.

Heard this kind of rubbish for years, with regards to how Golf shops rip off the golfing public, How? if you choose to buy on the internet go and do so, but remember the lack of overheads they have in that kind of operation in comparison to a Retail outlet in Ireland. inflated Rates, inflated Rent, inflated cost prices from overseas suppliers, inflated shipping costs, staff costs and general running cost. The majority of shops in Ireland provide a service,some better than others granted, but a service none the less. I wonder how often you've used the service provided in a shop and then gone off and bought on the net? Double whammy for the Retailer. Wasting time on a guy who wants all the service but won't buy it after extracting all the info and feedback he can get, maybe he even went in and hit a few balls in the net/bay provided by the retailer, taking the retailer away from a genuine customer. Then to add insult to injury he goes off and buys on the net. Thus driving up the average cost of sales. In these times when cash is supposed to be getting tighter, more people will turn to the net when looking at luxury items like golf equipment, and as a result more local and smaller operations will go to the wall. Its a downward spiral that is happening already in the dreater dublin area. where will ya go then for all your free advice?

waterville72

death1234567 wrote: »

I have found that golf shops in ireland are probably THE biggest rip off merchants on this desolate rock of a nation.

Any examples of this?

kingshankly

neckedit wrote: »

I have found that golf shops in ireland are probably THE biggest rip off merchants on this desolate rock of a nation.

Heard this kind of rubbish for years, with regards to how Golf shops rip off the golfing public, How? if you choose to buy on the internet go and do so, but remember the lack of overheads they have in that kind of operation in comparison to a Retail outlet in Ireland. inflated Rates, inflated Rent, inflated cost prices from overseas suppliers, inflated shipping costs, staff costs and general running cost. The majority of shops in Ireland provide a service,some better than others granted, but a service none the less. I wonder how often you've used the service provided in a shop and then gone off and bought on the net? Double whammy for the Retailer. Wasting time on a guy who wants all the service but won't buy it after extracting all the info and feedback he can get, maybe he even went in and hit a few balls in the net/bay provided by the retailer, taking the retailer away from a genuine customer. Then to add insult to injury he goes off and buys on the net. Thus driving up the average cost of sales. In these times when cash is supposed to be getting tighter, more people will turn to the net when looking at luxury items like golf equipment, and as a result more local and smaller operations will go to the wall. Its a downward spiral that is happening already in the dreater dublin area. where will ya go then for all your free advice?

this reply must be from someone in the retail trade and i agree and disagree with you i buy a lot of golf gear im one of theese golfers that always looks part but not always playing it and 9 times out of 10 i will buy locally unless the saving is 50% or more online. i find that most golf shops will take 10 to 20% of the mark price and you have the comfort of it being local if it need returned.i find pro shops can be more expensive than the chain shops and their overheads cant be too great.you can see now a lot of reductions in shops due to the weak £ which has taken a while in comming the pound has been weak for some time now.but all in all i think golf shops in ireland can be dearer but not by much and they are more competitive now than at any stage.golf equipment is now cheaper than 5 to 10 years ago which is probably due to online competition and i think if people arnt loosing too much they should buy locally especially in the current climate

ShriekingSheet

kingshankly wrote: »

.i find pro shops can be more expensive than the chain shops and their overheads cant be too great.

That's no so much to do with overheads. How would TM or Callaway wholsale 20 drivers to a proshop at the same price as 2000 to McGuirks?? No chance.

On top of that, bigger chain stores can afford lower margins given higher turnovers. A pro shop sells only a small amount and needs to make some worthwhile profit.

My view is that a club member who choses to pay €10 or €20 more to his club pro for something is doing so to support that pro. The pro might also be your teacher in which case he is the most qualified person to recommend a club for you. In the same way, I don't stop at Spar on the way up to the club to get my Nutrigrane, Water and choclate for the round because I'll save a euro or two versus the proshop.

Much like neckedits point, if we don't support our cub pro shops they simply wont be there.

I'm not saying everyone should pay more for a 'good cause' but I definitely think if you're lucky enough to be in a situation where a tenner here or there doesn't break the bank I think it's a good way to go. If you're not in such a situation, fine, but giving out about the prices in such shops is ill-informed.


I agree with neckedits post on bigger stores. The suggestion here seems to be that we're being ripped off by these shops who are kicking back and watching us idiots fork out high prices. Anyone who's seen any of the internal workings of the industry knows it's a stressful, hugely competitive market. Golfworx and Premier Golf having to shut down is example enough of this I think. If the rip off argument was valid, surely they would have just dropped prices and stayed afloat. They couldn't.

stockdam

The "rip-off" may not be happening in the shops as was suggested. The distributers or manufacturers may be the issue. They may be selling at different prices in different countries.

Retail isn't as easy as you think and it is very competitive.

Also buying "overseas" ends up in less money being available in our own country (the "rich" golf shop owners won't have the money to buy your "rip-off" houses or cars etc.).

I think the word(s) rip-off is used too readily and implies that somebody is fleecing us.

Fatswaldo

I agree with shriekingsheet where an extra 10 or 20 quid to the local pro makes little odds to me as opposed to giving it to a faceless stranger. But.. there are times where a bargain is a bargain and buying a pair of shoes retailing at E150 for a third of the price is just too good a deal to pass up just because a poor golf pro needs the money:rolleyes:. We all have to tighten the belt you know! Horses for courses and all that.

f22

There is also the fact that certain manufacturers won't let retailers purchase in sterling, thus not being able to take advantage of the strong euro.

It's like clothing, ever see the sterling to euro rates on lables, shocking!

badbrian

I'm a believer in supporting your pro if you are lucky enough to be in a club that has a good one.

I bought my irons a few years ago. Paid 740 for them (from the pro in our club). McGuirks were retailing them at 850 a couple of months later when a friend of mine went to buy the exact same ones (they matched the price when I told him to go to my pro).
Also I got a Titleist Driver on the cheap from a friend. The face broke and my club pro got it replaced free for me (remember I hadn't bought it from him).
Finally I was going to buy a new driver a couple of years back (the face cracked again). I saw one of the chain stores had very good offers. I asked my pro if he had similar. He was able to tell me that that model was being withdrawn (hence the cheaper price). He then got me a customised one of the newer model.

But I'm lucky in that we have a good pro and It doesn't kill me to give him the extra few quid. I don't find him much dearer if at all to the chain stores (except on balls) - I understand a few of them buy together to avail of discounts.

neckedit

Hey KingShankly, I do work in the trade as i've said in other posts, the local pro's cost are higher due to lack of buying power, the cost difference in a sole trader buying 40 drivers a year and a large company buying 4000 is, as you can imagine, massive. It has become an extremely price sensitve market in recent years, with the advent of internet retailers buying a lot of clearence deals off suppliers as soon as the product has been deleted, while the high street and the pro shops still have it on our shelves as current lines, this all ads to the ill concieved idea that golf shops are a RIP OFF

1916

badbrian wrote: »

I bought my irons a few years ago. Paid 740 for them. McGuirks were retailing them at 850 a couple of months later when a friend of mine went to buy the exact same ones

I'm happy to go along with that and would pay a pro-rata rate for an item that can be picked up for €40 ish, but the differential you quote on your irons is less than the shoes I saw.

My OP was on a specific instance, I am not commenting generally on prices in shops, a +300% variance on these shoes is waaaaay too much.

1916

kingshankly

neckedit wrote: »

Hey KingShankly, I do work in the trade as i've said in other posts, the local pro's cost are higher due to lack of buying power, the cost difference in a sole trader buying 40 drivers a year and a large company buying 4000 is, as you can imagine, massive. It has become an extremely price sensitve market in recent years, with the advent of internet retailers buying a lot of clearence deals off suppliers as soon as the product has been deleted, while the high street and the pro shops still have it on our shelves as current lines, this all ads to the ill concieved idea that golf shops are a RIP OFF

i understand all this and at no point in my post do i suggest golf shops are a rip off on the contrary i recently found there more competitive especially if you can haggle( live close to cavan) a few pound off

BrianD3

Some shops are nearly as cheap as UK based online shops - eg McGuirks Blanch and Howth often have good value. Obvously as probably the biggest golf shop in the country and as previouly mentioned in the thread, they have more leverage with suppliers than a smaller shop.

But several years ago when the McGuirks chain consisted of just a cramped little room in Howth Golf Club, they also had good value.

neckedit

kingshankly wrote: »

i understand all this and at no point in my post do i suggest golf shops are a rip off on the contrary i recently found there more competitive especially if you can haggle( live close to cavan) a few pound off

Sorry KingShankly, wasn't by any stretch of the imagination having a go, and I found you original post very supportive and understanding of the cost issue that confronted a Golf retailer. Cavan men know how to haggle too. played Co Cavan Quite bit in the past, fine track always enjoyable, not a great winter track but vry solid in the summer time.(remember when we used to get summer):p

Fulton Crown

Important to differentiate between the "shops" in prestige clubs and the high street shops..agree with previous posters that one should support the club pro's provided they deliver the service.

kingshankly

neckedit wrote: »

Sorry KingShankly, wasn't by any stretch of the imagination having a go, and I found you original post very supportive and understanding of the cost issue that confronted a Golf retailer. Cavan men know how to haggle too. played Co Cavan Quite bit in the past, fine track always enjoyable, not a great winter track but vry solid in the summer time.(remember when we used to get summer):p

not to worry neckedit this auld Internet craic is like them auld mobile phones I can't see them ever catching on