spar in drumcondra- hash browns

pog it

59 cents for a single hash brown in the spar in drumcondra next to the station.

madness.. i complained but of course was just shrugged at :rolleyes:


39 cents in dunnes.

feck them. they are not short of traffic

the groutch

pog it wrote: »

59 cents for a single hash brown in the spar in drumcondra next to the station.

madness.. i complained but of course was just shrugged at :rolleyes:


39 cents in dunnes.

feck them. they are not short of traffic

they probably don't want you as a customer either, everyone wins

MistyCheese

95c in McDonalds.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

the groutch wrote: »

they probably don't want you as a customer either, everyone wins

The price doesn't seem too bad to me given that they are a convenience store, but your comment is a bit stupid - of course they want the OP and everyone else as a customer.

pog it

the groutch wrote: »

they probably don't want you as a customer either, everyone wins

hm.. yeah course they don't want a regular 5 day a week customer buying newspaper and different stuff every day :rolleyes:

To be honest if you are happy to pay 59cents for a hash brown off with ya Sad thing is, if you are happy to over pay for it, we all are brought down to being ripped off along with you.

didn't mind your money much during the celtic tiger did ya?

Max Power1

Is it just me or is 60cent for a hash brown not actually a ripoff?

iMax

hash brownies are so much better

whippet

pog it wrote: »

hm.. yeah course they don't want a regular 5 day a week customer buying newspaper and different stuff every day :rolleyes:

To be honest if you are happy to pay 59cents for a hash brown off with ya Sad thing is, if you are happy to over pay for it, we all are brought down to being ripped off along with you.

didn't mind your money much during the celtic tiger did ya?

59c for a piece of hot food served instantly by a staff member in a convenience store seems like good value to me.

I'd be interested in hearing what the OP reckons the cost should be?

I really get frustrated by the flood of ill informed opinions on boards like these, national press and the airwaves spouting about rip-offs etc .. when alot of the time absolutely no consideration is being made as to the costs of providing these services or goods.

While I am not in retail I am involved in B2B sales and only today I had a potential customer shouting the odds at me demanding a 10% discount for a new purchase if he didn't look for credit terms. As the product in question works off a 3% gross margin before overheads .. I couldn't offer any discount.

The product was worth about e1500 so selling at a 10% discount would have lost me nearly 100 quid before overheads.

This clown on the phone went on a rant about rip-off ireland and me not wanting his custom (actually I don't want his custom) and in these days I was foolish to turn down a sale.

I could sell stuff at a loss all day long!!! but the amount of ignorance amongst the public is crazy!! but why would you want the facts to get in the way of a good story.

ScouseMouse

Or the lady who complained that no way should a buttered roll cost 65c when it is 45c on its own.

Then I pointed out the staff member had to be paid.....

rubadub

Max Power1 wrote: »

Is it just me or is 60cent for a hash brown not actually a ripoff?

Its not, if you are not familiar with this forum it involves people usually buying something, then finding it elsewhere for cheaper, usually in the UK maybe Mongolia or China to really expose the "unjustifiable difference", then they rant & rave how they were "ripped off", even though they were obviously glad to pay the price in the first place. In some cases they do not buy stuff since it is obviously overpriced, and rather than be helpful and spend time posting a good bargain in bargain alerts which others could avail of they just point out a high priced item which nobody would probably buy anyway.

The first rule of Rip-off Club is never compare like with like
The second rule of Rip-off Club is NEVER compare like with like

Comparing a large supermarket with a convenience store fits the rules nicely.

Gringo180

pog it wrote: »

59 cents for a single hash brown in the spar in drumcondra next to the station.

madness.. i complained but of course was just shrugged at :rolleyes:


39 cents in dunnes.

feck them. they are not short of traffic

Are you having a laugh??
20 cents difference and your complaining :eek::eek:

pog it

And 35 cents in supervalu - all conveniently located right beside Connolly station. Spar are ripping people off at 60 cents per hash brown. i am in no way stingey, but I am no fool!!


3 hash browns: total cost:

supervalu:- 1.05
dunnes stores:- 1.27
spar in drumcondra:- 1.80


Fair feckin difference there.

rubadub

pog it wrote: »

Fair feckin difference there.

Yes, the difference does seem perfectly fair, reasonable & understandable.

pog it

I am the customer and I say it is overpriced and i won't buy overpriced food. for the price of four hashbrowns in spar I can get sandwich, crisps and bottle of water for lunch in Dunnes Stores. It is on those kind of terms that I the consumer judge value for money.

Spar managers and owners will have to accept that their profits will have to come down in a recession and my money will be moving away from them.

pleasant Co.

Supermarket (Dunnes) ≠ Convenience store (Spar)

You're right not to be shopping there, but understand that you do pay a premium in convenience stores...because, well, they're often in convenient areas, it's not like their aim is to attract customers in for the weekly shop, it's to get the one off punters in who need something quickly.

rubadub

Mactard wrote: »

Supermarket (Dunnes) ≠ Convenience store (Spar)

You're right not to be shopping there, but understand that you do pay a premium in convenience stores...because, well, they're often in convenient areas

+1 The ignorance in these threads is really bafflling, it beggars belief and half the time I think the posts are pisstakes.

pog it wrote: »

And 35 cents in supervalu - all conveniently located right beside Connolly station.

papachango

I refrain from paying over the odds for items in a convenience store because it is inconvenient to my work life balance. Over a year I could spend an extra €500 for the same lunch items if paid for in a convenience store. How many extra hours work is that?

pog it

Spar is a huge chain of shops and in fairness they can buy in bulk just like Super Valu and Dunnes. It's not like they are a small independently owned corner shop. So I do not consider Spar as being a convenience store.

pog it

papachango wrote: »

I refrain from paying over the odds for items in a convenience store because it is inconvenient to my work life balance. Over a year I could spend an extra €500 for the same lunch items if paid for in a convenience store. How many extra hours work is that?

Exactly. It's convenient for them to charge over-the-odds prices alright.
Drumcondra is busy place-- they have no excuses.

rubadub

pog it wrote: »

Spar is a huge chain of shops and in fairness they can buy in bulk just like Super Valu and Dunnes. It's not like they are a small independently owned corner shop. So I do not consider Spar as being a convenience store.

This is bizarre logic, can you honestly not get the concept of pricing to what the market will bear? this is a fundamental concept/idea of business. If I won a lifetime supply of bars should I sell them in my shop for 1cent even though people are willing to pay €1.

You have already said the shop is conveniently located, usually an area like this can cost more, like in the city centre, or simply costs more to run due to economies of scale, they probably have lower volume of people per energy/staff/rent usage for the one location.

pog it wrote: »

Drumcondra is busy place-- they have no excuses.

Yes, they have no excuse to be so foolish as to charge the same as a supermarket.

Tesco & dunnes benefit from bulk buying power, they do have smaller convenience type stores and do charge a premium for some items in them.

I don't get the logic of thinking they "need an excuse".

RoadKillTs

hash brownies are so much better

Or just hash on its own

How much are they usually? I thought most shops sold them for around 50/60 cent.
Not the biggest rip off tbh.

Captain Flaps

pog it wrote: »

Spar is a huge chain of shops and in fairness they can buy in bulk just like Super Valu and Dunnes. It's not like they are a small independently owned corner shop. So I do not consider Spar as being a convenience store.

I believe somebody needs to explain the concept of a franchise store to this gentleman.

snosae

Captain Flaps wrote: »

I believe somebody needs to explain the concept of a franchise store to this gentleman.

LOL!

pog it

Captain Flaps wrote: »

I believe somebody needs to explain the concept of a franchise store to this gentleman.

Eh.. why assume I'm a gentleman? Take a look at my avatar again maybe!

Not as sharp as you'd like to make yourself out to be are ya :rolleyes:

And I fully understand the concept of a franchise store. That isn't my point but hey I'm not expecting you to listen to anything anyone else says.

Anyway the lesson has been learned, I have changed my morning shopping habits to an independent store as I already cited who charges less for same product and sure we're all happy. I'm saving money, Mr. Independent with one store is happy and Mr. Franchise has none of my money in his pocket.

papachango

rubadub wrote: »

This is bizarre logic, can you honestly not get the concept of pricing to what the market will bear? this is a fundamental concept/idea of business. If I won a lifetime supply of bars should I sell them in my shop for 1cent even though people are willing to pay €1.

You have already said the shop is conveniently located, usually an area like this can cost more, like in the city centre, or simply costs more to run due to economies of scale, they probably have lower volume of people per energy/staff/rent usage for the one location.

Yes, they have no excuse to be so foolish as to charge the same as a supermarket.

Tesco & dunnes benefit from bulk buying power, they do have smaller convenience type stores and do charge a premium for some items in them.

I don't get the logic of thinking they "need an excuse".

What the market will bear? have you heard of sustainability or client retention? Surely screwing your clients to the maximum is a very short sighted, but typically Irish, way of doing business. Short term opportunism does not garner brand nor client loyalty.
You mention economies of scale but you refer to it as a disadvantage. Economies of a scale realises lesser costs for the business, that is the whole point of economies of scale, not the opposite. But then these 'cost savings' are not then passed onto the consumer, nor even shared a bit with the consumer. Just fatter profits.
Any you dont see the 'Guaranteed Irish' logo around much these days, I wonder what back alley it is lying in?!:rolleyes:

rubadub

papachango wrote: »

have you heard of sustainability or client retention?

Yes, and most businesses will balance this, its not like the spar was charging €10 for the item hoping for one sale per year, that would be foolish.

papachango wrote: »

You mention economies of scale but you refer to it as a disadvantage.

Read it again, I meant the lack of economies of scale, thought it was obvious.

papachango wrote: »

costs are not then passed onto the consumer, nor even shared a bit with the consumer. Just fatter profits.

Yes, its strange how people cannot understand this simple concept.

papachango

rubadub wrote: »

Yes, and most businesses will balance this, its not like the spar was charging €10 for the item hoping for one sale per year, that would be foolish.

Read it again, I meant the lack of economies of scale, thought it was obvious.


Yes, its strange how people cannot understand this simple concept.

Spar are very overpriced IMHO, and charging €10 for a bottle of water would not be beyond them if they thought they could get away with it.
Centra for example sell franchises, but the franchisees have to buy their stock from Centra, so they can buy at the cheapest available wholesale rates in the republic for their stock, yet their retail prices are amongst the highest.
Bottom line is that from the landlord to shopkeeper to the suppliers, stock, energy, insurance etc, they all charge over the odds for their wares and thats why we have rip off Ireland. There is no 'value chain' on the consumer side unless you insist upon it by shopping elsewhere. And even if that means shopping up north, so be it.
A lot of Business owners are being pure hypocrites expecting the public to pay above the odds for items. Whereas the business owner will ALWAYS look to source the lowest price for any item he stocks. Its frugality for the shopkeepers money and they expect the public to be flippant with theirs.
Boll1x to that!