Newry Shoppers

mpindundalk

does anyone care about what is actually happening to our towns by shopping up north all i see these days are D reg cars on the motorway its making me very sad:(

jprender

If prices come down there wont be as many cars heading to Newry.

Simple really.

mpindundalk

in fairness though is really worth all that **** on the m1
are you really saving money
and how can we complain about the state of the country when were all contributing to the problem?

In_tuition

Seriously, you need to take yourself here

mpindundalk

ah come on lads we might have well watched the match last night IN NEWRY CO,DOWN/ENGLAND

KTRIC

mpindundalk wrote: »

ah come on lads we might have well watched the match last night IN NEWRY CO,DOWN/ENGLAND

Since when is Co.Down in England ?

mpindundalk

well is the money you spend going to england or ireland???

jprender

I like to think of it as "money staying in my pocket".

And yes, the savings are huge. On everything.

mpindundalk

im new to this and im from co.louth so im sorry if i have offeded anyone

mpindundalk

also concerned

mpindundalk

mpindundalk wrote: »

does anyone care about what is actually happening to our towns by shopping up north all i see these days are D reg cars on the motorway its making me very sad:(

So you don't like seeing D reg cars on the motorway but other counties are ok

On a serious note, I myself care more about my pocket and my family, it's not nice to businesses losing out here but prices are just too high and people don't have the money these days. Would you rather people starve and struggle even more than they are already ?

Stephentlig

Perhaps the reason they are still all down there is because newry want them there?

Stephentlig

hellboy99 wrote: »

So you don't like seeing D reg cars on the motorway but other counties are ok

On a serious note, I myself care more about my pocket and my family, it's not nice to businesses losing out here but prices are just too high and people don't have the money these days. Would you rather people starve and struggle even more than they are already ?

Hellboy I disagree and perhaps you can persuade me back to your belief here. I feel that by shopping in newry its running our local businesses into the ground by not spending here. sure we need to feed the family, but its a bit like binge drinking, that things seem great now and we are under the illusion that we are ''saving'' money when in fact we are losing money because it wont be long before the hangover hits us? am I making sense?
let me know your thoughts.

Stephen

mpindundalk

great point stephen

at least someone gets where im coming from

Isn't the Argus printed in Newry :rolleyes:

mpindundalk

maybe we should ask them

mpindundalk

maybe they do? but i think they always did so i think that counts them out seen as there would have been a day when it was costing them more to get it printed there so i guess you could call it personal preference on there behalf

Stephentlig

Stephentlig wrote: »

Hellboy I disagree and perhaps you can persuade me back to your belief here. I feel that by shopping in newry its running our local businesses into the ground by not spending here. sure we need to feed the family, but its a bit like binge drinking, that things seem great now and we are under the illusion that we are ''saving'' money when in fact we are losing money because it wont be long before the hangover hits us? am I making sense?
let me know your thoughts.

Stephen

Valid points you make, but you can't ignore the fact that there is a major difference in prices and seeing as we are 15 minutes from Newry it's a bit of a no brainer.

Here's one example:

I bought a TV in Curry's last year, in Curry's here in the town it was €1100 and up north the same TV was £800.

Before I went up north to get it I went into my local Curry's to ask if they would match the price or give a discount, I got told no to both, the sales guy wouldn't even throw in a HDMI cable for free , so up north I went of course.

Going into the northern store was like walking into a different business, staff were all very friendly, the sales guy I dealt with gave me a HDMI cable worth £40 for free, I bought a few other bits bringing the total to just over a £1000 and at the till he gave me a 10% discount. Is it any wonder people are going up north and businesses are losing out here.

I make savings every week with my grocery shopping up north, we had to do are weekly shop here a few weeks back, got the usual items as we stick to the same each week, what usually costs us €80 up north came to near €120 here, near €40 a week saving, €160 a month, it doesn't take a genius to decide what and where your going to shop. That €160 a month saving is paying the bills, I'm not working at present, thankfully my wife still is, so every bit we can save is great and means we get by.

I do feel for businesses here but I have to put my family and my current situation first, if that means going up north then so be it, our own Tainaiste has told us to shop around and she herself has been seen shopping up north too.

Stephentlig

I'm not sure what your point is hellboy, but if its ''Local businesses are spending in Newry'' then they are just to blame as anyone else, nobody is picking on just us consumers within the public domain, but anyone; whether they be of the local business/public consumer chain they should all be shopping down here.

we havnt any evidence to show that businesses are spending up there, so such an accusation of ours that harbours no evidence to sustain it is nothing but a mere strawman.

regardless of what may be happening, both the public and businesses are being greedy ( which is how we got into this mess in the first place ) and are enjoying the honeymoon, but it wont be long before the light goes out and we are in the dark again.

mpindundalk

mpindundalk wrote: »

maybe they do? but i think they always did so i think that counts them out seen as there would have been a day when it was costing them more to get it printed there so i guess you could call it personal preference on there behalf

Our own council have got stuff printed up there too, there's an old saying, "you lead by example" :rolleyes:

Stephentlig

hellboy99 wrote: »

Valid points you make, but you can't ignore the fact that there is a major difference in prices and seeing as we are 15 minutes from Newry it's a bit of a no brainer.

Here's one example:

I bought a TV in Curry's last year, in Curry's here in the town it was €1100 and up north the same TV was £800.

Before I went up north to get it I went into my local Curry's to ask if they would match the price or give a discount, I got told no to both, the sales guy wouldn't even throw in a HDMI cable for free , so up north I went of course.

Going into the northern store was like walking into a different business, staff were all very friendly, the sales guy I dealt with gave me a HDMI cable worth £40 for free, I bought a few other bits bringing the total to just over a £1000 and at the till he gave me a 10% discount. Is it any wonder people are going up north and businesses are losing out here.

I make savings every week with my grocery shopping up north, we had to do are weekly shop here a few weeks back, got the usual items as we stick to the same each week, what usually costs us €80 up north came to near €120 here, near €40 a week saving, €160 a month, it doesn't take a genius to decide what and where your going to shop. That €160 a month saving is paying the bills, I'm not working at present, thankfully my wife still is, so every bit we can save is great and means we get by.

I do feel for businesses here but I have to put my family and my current situation first, if that means going up north then so be it, our own Tainaiste has told us to shop around and she herself has been seen shopping up north too.

thanks hellboy I understand the dilemma we are in. on one hand they are deceiving us down here, and on the other hand they are deceiving us up the north too. because if we shop up north we drive ourselves into more liquid s.h.i.t and if we shop down here we cant afford it. Its mighty horrible and I'd love to just go to another country to get away from it all.

there should be a write up in the argus and a good protest to stomp it out.

Stephentlig

Stephentlig wrote: »

we havnt any evidence to show that businesses are spending up there, so such an accusation of ours that harbours no evidence to sustain it is nothing but a mere strawman.

Superquinn source most of their products form the north and that statement was made by them.

mpindundalk

That was then and this is now. what about all the small business all i hear is currys superquinn what other multinational will you be quoting next?

Stephentlig

hellboy99 wrote: »

Superquinn source most of their products form the north and that statement was made by them.

they've no idea how much they are kicking themselves in the backside, and kicking all of us too. I'm tired of us all being pushed around like cows for slaughter. Its time to fight back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I

mpindundalk

I think people should mooooov back to ireland this christmas

Stephentlig

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0bcRCCg01I&feature=related

man my youtube link didnt work, here it is.

TIME FOR WAR!!!

mpindundalk

mpindundalk wrote: »

That was then and this is now. what about all the small business

What about them, my local shop is far too expensive to shop in, €2.40 for Brennans White Pan Sliced.

mpindundalk

heres a suggestion! how about you bake your own I DO. lets face it you've got loafs of time on your hands. LOL

mikemac

Well it's been said already but your own council who you voted for printed flyers to "shop local" and used a firm in Northern Ireland to produce them

And that's the leadership for the county??

petes

People will shop around for the cheapest goods. Have done in the past, doing it now and will do in the future.

I don't shop down the north and don't do a whole pile down here either, just the essentials and an odd splurge but I don't begrudge anyone going elswhere be it across the border or anywhere else to find cheaper options especially when money is tight.

mattock

I was in both Drogheda and Dundalk today, and I just cannot believe that Louth CO CO, Drogheda Corpo and Dundalk TC are getting Mexcian contractors from across the border to do all the Civil works on the roads while local contractors are letting local lads go and have nothing to do, its a fooking disgrace.

In Drogheda on constitution hill Gibson contractors from Lisburn ahve the contract to reinstate the road, Dundalk on clanbrassil street filling in pothole were O hagan's from forkhill, out Blaney rd again Gibson/TH Moore contractors doing a stretch of roadway,All of this money is going north it is spent by OUR local authority which is our local government and these same politicans are telling us not to go north and shop local.

If we keep our taxes in line or below the Nordies we will gain, but by being over taxed it slaughtering the local business and who can blame people if they can save a couple of hundred on their shopping.

mpindundalk

I really can't argue with you there i think its a disgrace also! however i do believe in what i said earlier and just to recap the local authority also did this during the boom so maybe its a personal preference on there behalf or maybe not and also note that a lot of people at the top in the local authority are from up north anyway so i seems like there just lookin after there own turf?

so maybe we should be doing the same

thats just my opinion

Ann22

I shop in Newry 'cos I can afford to buy nice branded food there and fill my trolley, here I've to count the amount of dinners I need for the week and buy the cheapest own brands I can find or I've an empty purse for the week:(. In Sainsburys I can afford to throw a few extra bits in my trolley without looking in horror at my receipt(and the staff are so helpful and friendly), never mind Iceland which is mega value. I bought something for my oh in the Quays last week (won't say 'cos it's for xmas and he might read this:o)that cost me €27 (£25) in Newry, here it would've cost me €94. It was on special down there but still, there are always great bargains to be had. I can't get down to shop this week so I'll be going to Dunnes, just had to write a list of essentials..No lovely treats in the fridge this week:(.

Drummer Mummer

I know everyone wants the best prices for items bought but when a shop or factory closes down in the South how many people bemoan the fact all the jobs are lost, when shopping North of the border just adds to all our economic woes. I appreciate money is tight but it will get tighter the more people go on the dole, God help us all. And the up and coming Budget, I dread to think how most of us ordinary folk will cope!

Stephentlig

no matter what way we go at the moment whether we be in the south or north, we are still getting a bad deal.

when we shop in the north we run our local businesses out of money
and when we shop in our local area, the prices are too high and we run own pocket into the ground also.

the first one ( shopping in the north ) seems like the easy way out, but such a quick fix, that gives us the illusion that we are saving a pretty penny is fallacious because we are going to have to suffer the hangover of such eventually and the hangover ( if we dont stop it ) will be a bad one I fear.

therefore I think we should all just shop down here, scrimp and save and sit it out, until its all over, but also getting unto our local businesses to really get those prices of theirs down.

You'd have to be mad to not go North.

I'm no politician or economist or anything like that, but it strikes me as pretty odd that there is such a huge saving to be had 15 minutes away.

Surely the republic would be able to do this also. I know we have a higher VAT rate, but that should be adjusted accordingly.


If shops like Harvey can have a new sale every weekend, why can't they just adjust their prices permanently and give the "we're having a sale" bollocks a rest?


I'm sure there are many stores in the republic very capable of selling products at better prices, but instead choose to play the sympathy card with Joe Soap and try to guilt him into shopping there.

petes

Ann22 wrote: »

I shop in Newry 'cos I can afford to buy nice branded food there and fill my trolley, here I've to count the amount of dinners I need for the week and buy the cheapest own brands I can find or I've an empty purse for the week:(. In Sainsburys I can afford to throw a few extra bits in my trolley without looking in horror at my receipt(and the staff are so helpful and friendly), never mind Iceland which is mega value. I bought something for my oh in the Quays last week (won't say 'cos it's for xmas and he might read this:o)that cost me €27 (£25) in Newry, here it would've cost me €94. It was on special down there but still, there are always great bargains to be had. I can't get down to shop this week so I'll be going to Dunnes, just had to write a list of essentials..No lovely treats in the fridge this week:(.

Ding dong.

Ally Dick

Talking to a local businessman in Navan who's business went to the wall. He said that the ground rent he was being charged for his premises was way to high, and he had to set his prices to a certain figure to make any money. He was trying to petition his landlord to drop the rent but he got nowhere and he had to close up. I think that's half the problem with higher prices in the Republic. Greedy landlords, or landlords who bought shop space at a high price and have set the rent high. That and the fact that the shop employees have to get a higher wage in the Republic to pay the higher mortgage that they have on their own house. I can't see any way around this. We're trapped in a high price bubble that started because of the property bubble

TravelJunkie

The tesco's in the long walk shopping centre in Dundalk is very good value for money. You'll find it's more value than Sainsburys in Newry. The only reason to go North is for the alcohol really. I used to go for AWear but now the one in dundalk has brought its prices down.
Maybe everyone from Dublin should shop in Dundalk!!!

mpindundalk

Short term gain means long term pain:(
Northern ireland is now out of bloody recession because were spending YES what little money we have for christ sake even the polish or any of our european counterparts know the value of keeping the money you earn in there own country they have been working here for years and sending the money home.(fair play to them)
My friend had a business that went belly-up he told me how hard he had it with all of his over heads and during that time his life was up-side down.I take my hat off to people who own a business right now because there very brave to risk everything in this storm that is just getting worse.

Its time to stand up and be the proud irish nation that we once were!!!

mpindundalk

mpindundalk wrote: »

Short term gain means long term pain:(
Northern ireland is now out of bloody recession because were spending YES what little money we have for christ sake even the polish or any of our european counterparts know the value of keeping the money you earn in there own country they have been working here for years and sending the money home.(fair play to them)

I would have to take a wild guess and assume they're not sending their money home so they can be patriotic or care about their country. They're sending the money to Poland because, much like in NI, the euro goes a hell of a lot farrer than it does over here.

whelan1

ye just had a latvian apply for a job i have going on my farm he says he needs money too send home:eek:

Stephentlig

whelan1 wrote: »

ye just had a latvian apply for a job i have going on my farm he says he needs money too send home:eek:

and if they are not spending it here then I suggest you hire someone else ;)

Arthur Daley

Stephentlig wrote: »

and if they are not spending it here then I suggest you hire someone else ;)

You think things are bad here? Unemployment in Latvia is 20%, so I doubt they're living it up on whatever they're sending back there.

Stephentlig

Arthur Daley wrote: »

You think things are bad here? Unemployment in Latvia is 20%, so I doubt they're living it up on whatever they're sending back there.

your post is only evident that the problem does not just exist in Ireland but is one on a more global scale.

Its none of our business what they spend it on Arthur, its where they spend it that effects us the most.

May I just end with the sincere desire to express my concern for statistics that have no relative links or other evidence to back them up. Even if you do provide such evidence my previous points would still ( I feel ) be valid ones.

Darksaga87

hellboy99 wrote: »

Valid points you make, but you can't ignore the fact that there is a major difference in prices and seeing as we are 15 minutes from Newry it's a bit of a no brainer.

Here's one example:

I bought a TV in Curry's last year, in Curry's here in the town it was €1100 and up north the same TV was £800.

Before I went up north to get it I went into my local Curry's to ask if they would match the price or give a discount, I got told no to both, the sales guy wouldn't even throw in a HDMI cable for free , so up north I went of course.

Going into the northern store was like walking into a different business, staff were all very friendly, the sales guy I dealt with gave me a HDMI cable worth £40 for free, I bought a few other bits bringing the total to just over a £1000 and at the till he gave me a 10% discount. Is it any wonder people are going up north and businesses are losing out here.

And that is why Currys is no longer in Drogheda. The reason you did not get a discount is because the store was making no money and they could not afford to discount. everyone went up north and then complained when they could not get any deals there, if someone has no money then they cant afford to sell you something at a near loss.

I understand the counter argument that if they gave discount, more people would go there. But i can tell you, at the height of it, you would have gotten a large serious discount. Then one day, it was put a stop to.

positron

Last year, I was looking for a second hand car (been saving for years for this, and the previous rust-bucket kinda died).

Best price from authorised dealer in Drogheda (salesperson with an attitude)= 21k.
Same car imported from UK + VRT + flights + ferry + fuel + professional sales staff = 10k.

I am a poor private sector commuter PAYE with negative equity and pay freezes, and on top being shafted left right and center by corrupt or incompetent government and administration, and then there was this 110% price difference. I bought in the UK - please don't hate me!

I know a car is different to groceries. I do most of my shopping here in Drogheda, but I will make at least one trip to Newry pre-Christmas - I just can't afford to shop here for major items, never mind the unpleasantness..!

Ann22

After posting here yesterday, I nipped over to Dunnes in Muirhevna Mór to do a wee bit of shopping. As they closed at 9 I only had about 20 mins to run around. I have to say, I got a fair bit of shopping for €99, pity I didn't have more time to browse. There were some good deals:). I felt I had to say this after ranting earlier on, credit's where it's due.

lmnop

Ally Dick wrote: »

Talking to a local businessman in Navan who's business went to the wall. He said that the ground rent he was being charged for his premises was way to high, and he had to set his prices to a certain figure to make any money. He was trying to petition his landlord to drop the rent but he got nowhere and he had to close up. I think that's half the problem with higher prices in the Republic. Greedy landlords, or landlords who bought shop space at a high price and have set the rent high. That and the fact that the shop employees have to get a higher wage in the Republic to pay the higher mortgage that they have on their own house. I can't see any way around this. We're trapped in a high price bubble that started because of the property bubble

Have to agree with this....but i will be one of those shoppers heading up to Newry soon but I wont do all my xmas shopping up there. Only the things that I feel i am being overcharged too much for south of the border. Bought an x box in Newry last year and i think it was between 60 and 80 euro cheaper than in Drogheda.
I do believe we should support local businesses - but haven't we been doing this throughout the year? As xmas is so expensive these days you cant blame anyone for heading up to Newry - i think spending a bit here and a bit in Newry is fair enough.

havana

I'm going to belfast next week for a spot of shopping. Making a couple of days of it and staying over. I did debate it in my head, what with all this talk of shopping local. But then i realised, what i need to buy from small business here i will still buy. What i will be buying up north I'll be getting in the large uk chains as i would have down here.

I wonder how many people who say 'buy local' actually do? To my mind buying your meat in tesco instead of the independent butcher, or your clothes in debenhams instead of small boutique, is hardly buying local.

borderlinemeath

I work in retail in Drogheda and it sickens me that so many people are willing to spend their few quid north of the border.

Most people blame the government, they aren't helping but it's not all their fault, landlords, insurance, warehousing and transport all cost far more than in the UK.

I bust a gut day in day out trying to sell and achieve targets for people to walk out the door or argue that they can get it cheaper in Newry.

People don't understand that retailers are cut to the bone with staffing and overheads, my company hasn't cut pay or jobs yet but it's only a matter of time.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that if you are a family living on a small wage or even social welfare then every penny counts, but to spend upwards of €1000 on a telly or to go to sainsburys for a trolley full of drink is just greed. Dont patronise me with how you don't have the money!