Irish Daily Newspapers - Paper Profits...

Lplated

All this talk about euro/sterling etc... and articles in newpspers, caused me to look at the front page of two our National Daily Broadsheets.

Under the title, The Irish Times has the following prices - €1.80 (incl VAT) £1 Northern Ireland.

If you use a converstion rate of 85 cent to the pound, Northern Ireland price equals €1.18, then we pay an extra .62 cent, or 52percent higher.

The Irish Independent has the following - €1.80 (75p in N Ireland).

Same conversion rate, N Ireland price equals 88 cent, then we pay an extra .92 cent, or 105% higher.

I know there's a VAT difference but I think this takes the biscuit...

aidan_walsh

Are companies expected to change their prices every time the exchange rate fluctuates?

mikemac

Here you are paying the standard price

In Northern Ireland it's a lower price as:
It's not their main market so extra sales are a bonus
THey have to compete with all the UK papers

Yeah sure, the UK papers can be bought here too but again, it's not their main market either

heyjude

It doesn't explain all of the price discrepancy, but newspapers are zero rated for VAT in Northern Ireland compared to 13.5% here.

parsi

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Are companies expected to change their prices every time the exchange rate fluctuates?

The problem is that these two publications are to the fore in printing articles condemning other companies for charging more in the 26 counties than they do in Sterling-land.

I still don't believe that we can constantly be comparing prices and claiming rip-offs especially where the difference is due to currency fluctuations. If you go to France there are some things which tend to be cheaper (local alcohol) but most other stuff is broadly similar (milk & fuel are dearer).

The UK is cheaper at the moment because its exchange rate is going down the tube but 8-10 months ago those same sterling prices were on a par with Irish prices. Sometimes I think folk get carried away with the supposed bargains (as we all do sometimes) and end up buying stuff that they don't really want. By the same token the NI folk are complaining about prices as well because they aren't exactly cheap when you take into account their financial situation.

However we did sow some of the seeds in that we were happy to shovel out money to retailers for goods and services. Now that money is tight the retailers will have to fight harder for our money...

Lplated

aidan_walsh wrote: »

Are companies expected to change their prices every time the exchange rate fluctuates?

No, one would expect they would try to pick a price that would be appropriate over a period regarldess of exchange rate fluctuations.

But, picking a price that is more than double in one case would seem to preparing for a fluctuation that will make records for many years to come.

Yes, there is obviously a VAT difference, there may be the point that the papers aren't 'standard daily' fodder up there and so need to price down a bit to encourage sales, but at the same time I think the difference is a bit over the top.

There was a time (up to two to three years ago), when i used to buy two broadsheets a day, six days a week, now thats down to two a week. Ditto for Sunday papers.

I appreciate the importance of the fourth estate, and their contribution to life in a society, but paper price has got too dear for my money. When you then look and see how cheap the papers can be sold for just one hour up the road, it certainly wouldn't encourage me to increase my weekly paper spend.

RiverWilde

I've stopped buying papers here in the south ... the quality of them has really plummeted. The Irish Times which used to be the standard has slipped in my estimation. Consequently, I read papers online. I'll read a mix of the broadsheets before I get up in the morning to get the gist of what's happening in the world. If something grabs my attention I'll look at it more closely. Most mornings however, I just read the papers and get on with my day.

Riv