Spar ballsbridge!

Elessar

I always knew this place was expensive but this just takes the cake. Went in to buy 2 1.5l bottles of volvic - €5.38!!

Dumbfounded for a second, I begrudgingly took just one. I would have walked but I was on company time and the taps were frozen in work (it was for the kettle). Needless to say I won't be buying water, or much else there anymore.

Hootanany

Fckin Chancers €1.10 for soothers told them to shove it

ScouseMouse

Elessar wrote: »

I always knew this place was expensive but this just takes the cake. Went in to buy 2 1.5l bottles of volvic - €5.38!!

:eek:

Hogzy

Their chicken roles are ace though

JohnThomas09

That is outrageous.i can get 10l of Water of 4.99...

Gurgle

JohnThomas09 wrote: »

That is outrageous.i can get 10l of Water of 4.99...

SuperValu: 2l = 39c, that €1.95 for 10l.

Hogzy

Gurgle wrote: »

SuperValu: 2l = 39c, that €1.95 for 10l.

And tap water is free :rolleyes:

€5+ is a disgrace to pay for volvic, However people saying they pay such and such for water is stupid, I think volvic, evian and vittel are justified in paying more as somehow their water is MUCH nicer than the competitiors.

Bally G and Riverrock are just not nice.
French water is the way to go but not at the price the OP bought it for

cianor

Everything is a rip-off in that store (except items which are pre-priced by the manufacturer and cigarettes). I have never come across a more expensive store in Ireland.

Hogzy

cianor wrote: »

Everything is a rip-off in that store (except items which are pre-priced by the manufacturer and cigarettes). I have never come across a more expensive store in Ireland.

Clearly you dont own a car then, Most service stations charge the same.

jhegarty

Was there no non-branded water there ?

podgemonster

These guys are chancers. Cans of softdrink are 1€ and all say 'Multipack, not sold seperatly' same for some of the chocolate near the till.
The ice creams that were there near the summer were all from lidl and the same price as the brand name ice creams.
They also charge 50c extra for phone credit while the shop across the road (Bon expresso) does not.

Gurgle

Hogzy wrote: »

And tap water is free :rolleyes:

Yeah, try drinking the crap that comes out of my taps.

I think volvic, evian and vittel are justified in paying more as somehow their water is MUCH nicer than the competitiors

The power of advertising

Hogzy

Gurgle wrote: »

The power of advertising

Eh no the power of taste :rolleyes:
and tbh bally-G and Deep Riverock advertise a hell of a lot more than Evian, Vittel and Volvic

10000maniacs

I needed to break a €10 note for the bus so I went in to buy a bar of chocolate. €1.40. They should be doing time for highway robbery.:mad:

James Forde

i refuse to shop in spar/centra any of these smaller "supermarkets" they're a bunch of thieves

ScouseMouse

bryanjf wrote: »

i refuse to shop in spar/centra any of these smaller "supermarkets" they're a bunch of thieves

Thats your perogative.

craggles

bryanjf wrote: »

i refuse to shop in spar/centra any of these smaller "supermarkets" they're a bunch of thieves

Most of them are grand so long as you're not an idiot but that Ballsbridge Spar is absolutely extortionate. There's no other way to look at it.

rubadub

podgemonster wrote: »

These guys are chancers.

Well it seems the chance/gamble is paying off for them. The OP bought the item so they will figure there is no reason to lower the prices if people are willing to pay.

Elessar wrote: »

Dumbfounded for a second, I begrudgingly took just one. I would have walked but I was on company time and the taps were frozen in work (it was for the kettle). Needless to say I won't be buying water, or much else there anymore.

Needless to say? You bought it last time then why not again if you are in the same situtation?

tommy21

rubadub wrote: »

Well it seems the chance/gamble is paying off for them. The OP bought the item so they will figure there is no reason to lower the prices if people are willing to pay.


Needless to say? You bought it last time then why not again if you are in the same situtation?

So true on both counts. Nobody forced you to pay for it (and you didn't anyway I'll wager, it came out of your company's petty cash). Not attacking you but not much point in complaining about it and then buying there.

podgemonster

rubadub wrote: »

Well it seems the chance/gamble is paying off for them. The OP bought the item so they will figure there is no reason to lower the prices if people are willing to pay.


Needless to say? You bought it last time then why not again if you are in the same situtation?

The OP paid coz they were at the till. Quiet hard to turn around at that point and no guarantee to that the shop across the road would be any better! People may pay once but after that they will be hesitant to visit again.

Naturally OP was in a rare situation but for future purchaces i imagine the OP will associate that place as a rip-off (which it is) and avoid the place.

It is the nearest shop to me and I still walk the extra 10 mins to another shop for the odd few things coz i kno il be saving a good €2-3.

tommy21 wrote: »

Not attacking you but not much point in complaining about it and then buying there.

The OP bought it there first and then complained. And from the rest of the posts she isnt the only one complaining and they are dead right to!
Whether its petty cash or a lil kids allowance money is money and its still a rip-off!

tommy21

podgemonster wrote: »

The OP bought it there first and then complained. And from the rest of the posts she isnt the only one complaining and they are dead right to!
Whether its petty cash or a lil kids allowance money is money and its still a rip-off!

She is perfectly entitled to complain whether they bought it or not, and your right money is money. The point I was making is that the op sacrificed making a stand to save themselves inconvenience/embarrasment and the only message that sends is that its alright to keep charging outrageous prices.

rubadub

podgemonster wrote: »

The OP paid coz they were at the till. Quiet hard to turn around at that point

The OP never said he/she was at the till or not when they discovered the price, if there was no price displayed where he picked it up I would be reporting them.

He said he just took one and gave the reason he still bought the other.

Elessar wrote: »

I would have walked but I was on company time and the taps were frozen in work

If it was a pub where the pint is pulled it would be awkward to refuse it, but not a shop at the till, they should be the ones embarrassed to ask for such a price.

podgemonster wrote: »

no guarantee to that the shop across the road would be any better!

OP was in a rare situation

Exactly what I am getting at, he probably would do it again in the same situation.

podgemonster wrote: »

its still a rip-off!

Well people have different ideas of what consitutes a "rip-off", I would describe the item simply as expensive. A rip-off in my mind infers deception, trickery or some sort of scam, like if the 1.5L bottles were filled with tap water, or only had 1L in them. The OP got what they WILLINGLY paid for, a consensual transaction is not a rip-off in my mind. This is a perfect example of what the market will bear, it WILL bear outrageous prices like this, and if a guy opens a shop next door he will be checking his neighbours prices to find what he can charge too.

the groutch

the problem with Ballsbridge is that there's no competition within a mile radius, so they'll charge whatever they want and most people will pay it

podgemonster

rubadub wrote: »

Well people have different ideas of what consitutes a "rip-off", I would describe the item simply as expensive. A rip-off in my mind infers deception, trickery or some sort of scam, like if the 1.5L bottles were filled with tap water, or only had 1L in them. The OP got what they WILLINGLY paid for, a consensual transaction is not a rip-off in my mind. This is a perfect example of what the market will bear, it WILL bear outrageous prices like this, and if a guy opens a shop next door he will be checking his neighbours prices to find what he can charge too.

Online Dictionary; Rip-of:[slang], A product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality.

Prices that are extortionate are a rip-off. If its of good quality (which everything should be) but is like 30% more expensive than the same item would be elsewhere then its a rip-off! Naturally if there deception then it takes it too another level (i.e. supermarket multi pack items sold separately, which are everywhere in this particular shop).

rubadub

podgemonster wrote: »

Online Dictionary; Rip-of:[slang], A product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality.

Prices that are extortionate are a rip-off. If its of good quality (which everything should be) but is like 30% more expensive than the same item would be elsewhere then its a rip-off!

Like I said -people have different ideas of what consitutes a "rip-off", so I will play your game.

http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en&safe=off&ei=3VZOS5uJIYqOjAfDgtyWDw&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&ved=0CAQQBSgA&q=define%3ARip+Off&spell=1

Definitions of Rip Off on the Web:

* cheat: deprive somebody of something by deceit; "The con-man beat me out of $50"; "This salesman ripped us off!"; "we were cheated by their clever-sounding scheme"; "They chiseled me out of my money"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* heist: the act of stealing
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* A ripoff (or rip-off) is a bad deal. Usually it refers to an incident in which a person pays too much for something. A ripoff is distinguished from a scam in that a scam involves wrongdoing such as fraud; a ripoff, on the other hand, is in the eye of the beholder. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip-off

* Rip-Off is a top-down vector shoot 'em up arcade game released by Cinematronics in 1980. It is the first arcade game to feature cooperative gameplay and to exhibit flocking behavior.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip-Off

* A bad deal; an unfair price or rate; A theft or robbery; A scam; A copy, especially one that is illegal or inferior
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rip-off

* To pull off by ripping; to steal, cheat or swindle; to copy, especially illegally; to charge an exorbitant or unfair rate
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rip_off

6 definitions, 1 a game, the rest a mixture as I would expect, once says distinct from a scam, other says a scam, other says stealing.

podgemonster

We're going in circles here. As you said before different people may have different opinions of what constitutes a rip-off and we clearly do!

Wonder what other people think...
However the Spar Ballsbridge thread is in the right category imho

Elessar

I'm a bloke :eek:

Yeah, in a perfect world, I would have walked out and wasted more company time to find somewhere else selling the water at a respectable price. But I didn't, I couldn't as explained earlier. I re-used that same bottle the last couple of days and have not gone back to that shop. Nor will I. It's ok to complain about a rip-off if you needed to buy it.

Tricity Bendix

the groutch wrote: »

the problem with Ballsbridge is that there's no competition within a mile radius, so they'll charge whatever they want and most people will pay it

There is another shop across the road, but I don't know how they compare price-wise.

whatsupdoc?

I'd guess Ballsbridge is the most interesting word here.
As stated before not a lot of competition, RDS close by, couldn't see them charging anything else tbh.
People will buy the goods so they will charge what they like.
Unless people vote with their feet, they will continue to charge these prices.

ClutchIt

Hogzy wrote: »

Eh no the power of taste :rolleyes:
and tbh bally-G and Deep Riverock advertise a hell of a lot more than Evian, Vittel and Volvic

I'd love to give you a blindfold test.

Hogzy

ClutchIt wrote: »

I'd love to give you a blindfold test.

TBH id be fairly confident i could tell the difference. As a matter of fact i think ill do it, Have a bottle of Riverrock downstairs and i have a bottle of Evian in my bad, Mind you the evian is not fresh. Might give it a go.

Zamboni

Shocking place. I've avoided it like the plague for years now.

I remember getting a sandwich that I'd bought regularly in the Spar around the corner from Waterloo Road for €2.50.
They tried to charge me €4.85 for the exact same thing in Spar Ballsbridge.
That is some price change for two Spar shops about a mile apart. :pac:

Gringo180

Zamboni wrote: »

Shocking place. I've avoided it like the plague for years now.

I remember getting a sandwich that I'd bought regularly in the Spar around the corner from Waterloo Road for €2.50.
They tried to charge me €4.85 for the exact same thing in Spar Ballsbridge.
That is some price change for two Spar shops about a mile apart. :pac:

I get that too, I usually get a ham salad roll out of the local supervalu maybe 2 or 3 times a week, but the inconsistency in the price is mad, some days E3.30 then a few days later the price will be E3.90 for the exact same roll

Radiotower

Gringo180 wrote: »

I get that too, I usually get a ham salad roll out of the local supervalu maybe 2 or 3 times a week, but the inconsistency in the price is mad, some days E3.30 then a few days later the price will be E3.90 for the exact same roll

I hate that - think maybe you should start keeping the price stickers off the rolls as evidence and make an offical complaint...

I hate going into that Spar in Ballsbridge always a rip off, sometimes you've no choice and so have to bite the bullet..

Btw I drink a 2litre of Aldi Irish spring water every day - its something like 48c - i cannot differ between any of the bottled waters (except the difference between still and fizzy)

the groutch

I remember my first time ever going into that Spar (about 15 years ago now) just before a testimonial in Landsdowne, the prices were so extortionate I thought they increased them specifically on match days

rubadub

the groutch wrote: »

I thought they increased them specifically on match days

I think they do, burger places like abras jack up the price in slane or similar venues. Before concerts people are all out drinking on the street due to overflowing pubs, I remember them charging loads for cans in that spar, there is nothing much the gardai can do as people are outside the pubs on the street drinking, they would have to arrest everybody to be fair. The spar know this so charge over the odds since the alternative is queueing for ages in the pub for a pint in a plastic cup anyways. I was saying to a mate he was mad paying €2 for a can that should be €1, but he figured he was still saving since the alternative was similar muck in a plastic cup for €5+

Just plan ahead and bring your own food & drink.

the groutch

rubadub wrote: »

I think they do, burger places like abras jack up the price in slane or similar venues.

thing is they weren't, because I was back there a few months later on a non match / RDS event day and prices were the same, they were just so out of line with the rest of the city that I thought they had jacked them up

Moojuice

The Ballsbridge spar is the most expensive store I have ever been in. Its a rip off. Never shopping there again. Don't buy anything there, don't go in and they will get the mesage.

ejmaztec

Are they catering for up-market Ballsbridge people who have more money than sense?

We should organise a rent-a-crowd demo outside the shop, and wave placards and fists until they call the Guards.

We could choose a different shop each week.

Ghandee

Ok, I have read the thoughts of the "pro" rip off camp!
Tbh your right! No one forced anyone to buy Anything from anywhere. However, (IMHO) prices charged are a rip off, hence op posting in the "rip off" forum.
Getting charged almost 6yo yo for volvic water is exactly a rip off!
Stop jumping to centra and spars defences folks!
Ffs you lot would have shredded the op had he of posted in bargain alerts!

Make up your effing minds!

Any wonder this countries in the pooh?

I'm raging now!

Hate thieves, and conmen

rubadub

ejmaztec wrote: »

Are they catering for up-market Ballsbridge people who have more money than sense?

Thats exactly it, people are still paying so they would be fools not to maximise their profits. Some people are attracted to places that are expensive, if this spar was cheaper the queues would be bigger, some people will pay more for convenience, like people nipping into a newsagent alongside a major supermarket. Some people like to pay for "exclusivity" in many ways, sometimes it has some benefits.

Gucky wrote: »

Ffs you lot would have shredded the op had he of posted in bargain alerts!

Of course he would, if people post non-bargains in that forum they do get told it is not such a great bargain, people usually have sound reasons why they do not consider it such a great deal. Same here, if people do not think its a genuine ripoff they will say so. And all too often people ask something like "how can they justify this?", then they get upset when they hear an actual reasoned answer to their possibly rhetorical question.

Gucky wrote: »

Stop jumping to centra and spars defences folks

Its more a "defence" or rather an explanation of common business practice.

Gucky wrote: »

Hate thieves, and conmen

+1 but there is no theiving or confidence tricks going on in that shop. If they were selling tap water labelled as volvic it would be a con.

podgemonster

rubadub wrote: »

Thats exactly it, people are still paying so they would be fools not to maximise their profits. Some people are attracted to places that are expensive, if this spar was cheaper the queues would be bigger, some people will pay more for convenience, like people nipping into a newsagent alongside a major supermarket. Some people like to pay for "exclusivity" in many ways, sometimes it has some benefits.


Of course he would, if people post non-bargains in that forum they do get told it is not such a great bargain, people usually have sound reasons why they do not consider it such a great deal. Same here, if people do not think its a genuine ripoff they will say so. And all too often people ask something like "how can they justify this?", then they get upset when they hear an actual reasoned answer to their possibly rhetorical question.

Its more a "defence" or rather an explanation of common business practice.


+1 but there is no theiving or confidence tricks going on in that shop. If they were selling tap water labelled as volvic it would be a con.

Firstly thieves and conning(an exaggeration there but fuelled by passionate anger usually felt by some when they are ripped-off), they are selling multipack items seperately. Selling lidl ice-creams for the same price as magnums so there are tricks in place here, fact!

I do expect to pay for convienence. I am a fan of hopping into Daybreaks, Centras and spar and getting out quickly and yes they do charge a little bit extra but nothing to the jaw dropping increases of this place.

Naturally yes there is a business aspect by maximising profits but there should also be some business morals here, your entitled to charge more for convienience but come on there is a line. There is an element of greed here and not good business.

You mention that some people are attracted to places that are expensive: yes like Brown Thomas, Marks and Spensers not a Spar, seriously like rich people do queue from time time, iv seen em.

To jump the defense of people in ballsbridge (never thought id ever say that) but from someone who lives and works in ballsbridge myself, my house mates and my co-workers avoid this place, there are now two other alternatives in close proximity to this shop (alot friendlier inside there too) but these shops dont charge €1.60 for a Mars bar, they dont charge an extra euro for phone credit or €1.40 for a sausage roll. Are these new shops fools for not having higher prices. They have the business morals to charge more than the usual supermarket yet not be a rip off, thus getting repeated custom and not a thread named after them telling people not to go there.

coylemj

whatsupdoc? wrote: »

I'd guess Ballsbridge is the most interesting word here.
As stated before not a lot of competition, RDS close by, couldn't see them charging anything else tbh.

There is a convenience store just across the bridge between Bellamy's pub and Roly's so there is competition in the area.

That said, it's an upmarket part of town, even today you'd be hard pressed to find a decent house costing less than a million in the area so it's not surprising that they charge premium prices.

But if they get away with ripping off mugs people who think that it makes sense to import bottled water from France then good luck to them.