how can a business charge this

gav240

i went into my local stationary shop last week and asked to get something printed. the person said fine it costs 70 cent for a color copy. so i handed over my usb key with the file and the person said that they charge €5 to handle usb keys. what a rip off.

5h4mr0(k

It's only a rip off if you let them do it to you. Are you saying that they told you up front, and you still used them and paid it?

If people stand up and say they won't pay stupid rip off prices, the rip off people have a choice of either stopping the practice or going out of business. Keep paying them, and complaining about it afterwards, and they'll keep doing it.

MarkR

Name and shame. I hope you went elsewhere?

gav240

i only wanted one copy to see if it would turn out right and if it did i was going to get a lot more copies but once the person said the €5 handling fee for the usb key i laughed and walked away. i don't think i should name and shame as its a new business in a small village. i think this business will fail soon enough. i don't think it needs my help

Stuxnet

name and shame !!

CptSternn

€5 isn't as bad as €10. Thats what TM charge. I took a flyer to get printed out - 5 copies - colour copies were almost €1 each, and then they tacked on the €10 handling fee, for having to open the document in Word and click 'PRINT'.

My advice, try Copystop (www.copystop.ie) down near the main post office in Ennis - much better prices. Submit your file online to them, then go collect it. No 'handling' surcharges.

Shapey Fiend

I'd advise cutting out the middleman and buying a printer but that's a whole different minefield. Any of the cheaper machines cost a fortune to refill, and have very small custom cartridges so you have to spend a good 400+ euro for one that doesn't cost you and arm and a leg in the long term.

CiaranMT

Only reason I can guess is that they charge to cover insurance fees against accidental loss of data? Ridiculous charge though.

kollegeknight

TM charged me 2.50 to open the memory stick, and a euro to change the paper in the printer. i think they called it office work charge.

firesidechat

Ennis chamber on O Connell Street.

Scan one sheet of paper and send it as an Email.
I was in town and stuck for time so i figured i would use their services.

Total Cost 5.00 euro ! :eek:

carmel27

firesidechat wrote: »

Ennis chamber on O Connell Street.

Scan one sheet of paper and send it as an Email.
I was in town and stuck for time so i figured i would use their services.

Total Cost 5.00 euro ! :eek:

Wow. Bargain.

And they wonder why people dont support local business more....

dr.fuzzenstein

It's a pity to read stuff like this.
These people are stuck in the 80's when "computhers" and all that was fierce fancy stuff altogether and of course it would cost €5 in electricity alone to fire up your €10000 piece of kit, but they haven't copped on to the fact that everyone now has a scanner and printer and like so many businesses in small towns they are about 20 years behind (to be kind).
These people still think faxes are the zenith of technology ffs.
+1 on Copystop though, the guy is copped on and decent, can only recommend.

redhot

More people should vote with their feet and walk from the many overpriced shops. With reduced disposable income due to all the tax etc coming up, it really makes sense.

Some of the big UK retailers have been making a mint out of lots of us here (eg Tescos, B&Q). Corner glass shower enclosure €2300! UK same one available for £335 from a major DIY chain (similar item). I thought they'd added an extra zero. Tesco's margins in IE are the largest in any country they market to, according to news reports.

So long as people pay these prices, they'll be here.

See you in the €2 Euro shop!

Claregirl

What surprises me most is the price of Petrol. €1.28 per ltr before the budget on the Limerick Road in Ennis and and €1.40 after! It's not easy to vote with your feet when they're all at it!!

redhot

Petrol is pricey, but one of the few things cheaper here than in the UK. Its the equivalent of €1.45 for unleaded, and their diesel is a higher price then their unleaded)..

CptSternn

I posted this here in another thread, but there is a website I like to visit called Yelp (www.yelp.ie) where you review local businesses.

There are many reviews for all sorts of businesses around Clare. I primarily use it when going out to eat or booking a hotel but they have every type of business you could want listed there. A great resource for seeing what others think about local services and businesses.

BobMc

come across the 5e handling charge before, its a service they are providing, you are using their machinery that they have to pay for + labour + copy charge, some places will waive it for multiple pages but .70c for one copy from a usb is making the place no profit

dr.fuzzenstein

BobMc wrote: »

come across the 5e handling charge before, its a service they are providing, you are using their machinery that they have to pay for + labour + copy charge, some places will waive it for multiple pages but .70c for one copy from a usb is making the place no profit

Completely disagree, one thing that is only fairly new in Ireland is "Economics of Scale"
And if someone says to me "I'm charging you more because I'm not making enough out of you" I will assure them that my fcuking heart bleeds for them on my way out the door.
Ireland is the only country where people have said "it's not worth my while doing business with you".
You can be sure that I will not turn towards them when I have more work in the future.
You charge less, increase your turnover. You make less profit per item, but increase your overall profit.
Charging €5 to print from a USB key is the equivalent for selling bottles of coke for 20 cent but charging €5 for the use of the bottle opener.
It's cute hoor, it's ripoff, it's a way of business that will only result in one thing: People going elsewhere.
But what mostly happens here is "hm, taking in less money, better raise prices, oh wait, I'm making even less money, better raise prices, oh sh*t I'm going bust, need to raise prices, hey, where did my business go?"
Compete or die, the open market has exactly 0% sympathy, keep up or be left behind.
Ireland is changing and you cannot rely on the old cronie deals anymore, many people who are living here now have been abroad and they have seen how proper business works.

BobMc

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Completely disagree, one thing that is only fairly new in Ireland is "Economics of Scale"
And if someone says to me "I'm charging you more because I'm not making enough out of you" I will assure them that my fcuking heart bleeds for them on my way out the door.
Ireland is the only country where people have said "it's not worth my while doing business with you".
You can be sure that I will not turn towards them when I have more work in the future.
You charge less, increase your turnover. You make less profit per item, but increase your overall profit.
Charging €5 to print from a USB key is the equivalent for selling bottles of coke for 20 cent but charging €5 for the use of the bottle opener.
It's cute hoor, it's ripoff, it's a way of business that will only result in one thing: People going elsewhere.
But what mostly happens here is "hm, taking in less money, better raise prices, oh wait, I'm making even less money, better raise prices, oh sh*t I'm going bust, need to raise prices, hey, where did my business go?"
Compete or die, the open market has exactly 0% sympathy, keep up or be left behind.
Ireland is changing and you cannot rely on the old cronie deals anymore, many people who are living here now have been abroad and they have seen how proper business works.

the coke analogy is ridiculous, its a print job not a photocopy, but I agree dont pay it, I wouldn't but the place charging the low price will be gone soon enough

CptSternn

BobMc wrote: »

the coke analogy is ridiculous, its a print job not a photocopy, but I agree dont pay it, I wouldn't but the place charging the low price will be gone soon enough

How so?

It's not like doing single print copies is their only business. A printers does banners, brochures, wedding invitations, business cards, etc. If they reduce their prices to say €0.70 for a single print, they are not going to go out of business. Sure, they might not make that much off the one single print, but I'm sure they will make up for it on larger jobs.

Thats just one aspect of a much larger argument you are glossing over. For example there is location. Some printers in town are located in the highest rent areas, while others are not. If the guy who is paying 1/2 the rent and rates of his competitors charges less, it won't effect his bottom line.

I could go on, but you get the idea. Prices are only one facet of the business model sure. If a business is depending solely on prices and cronies, they are doomed to begin with.

Sadly this is the norm in many parts of Clare today, but with the economy now the way it is I expect people will start to do more shopping around.

dr.fuzzenstein

BobMc wrote: »

the coke analogy is ridiculous, its a print job not a photocopy, but I agree dont pay it, I wouldn't but the place charging the low price will be gone soon enough

Print job or photo copy is the same, they both come out of the same machine.
Whether it comes from the copiers scanner or the PC makes no difference.
In fact if you're printing, you're using less of the copier, so it's less wear and tear and should be cheaper in fact.
Why would the place charging the low price be gone?
Economics of scale!

pedroThePirate

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

I'd advise cutting out the middleman and buying a printer but that's a whole different minefield. Any of the cheaper machines cost a fortune to refill, and have very small custom cartridges so you have to spend a good 400+ euro for one that doesn't cost you and arm and a leg in the long term.

You can now get Lexmark laser printers online for under €150 and they
come with enough toner to do about 1000 copies. Don't bother restocking
the toner - just buy another printer ! Works out at 15¢ a copy in colour.

Chris

kollegeknight

i was stuck, and had to go into TM on christmas eve. She had to do loads of editing for me and only charged me 2 euro for a quarter hour and one print on good paper, which was better than what i said in a previous post.

I also went to copy stop last week for some printing, he is a great service in there. got very ink heavy colour prints for a euro a sheet.

Palmach

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

You charge less, increase your turnover. You make less profit per item, but increase your overall profit.

What rubbish! You charge what the market can bear. If the turnover is down reducing your prices cuts it down even more. The thing to do is jack up prices on the less price sensitive things. It is always seems to public sector people and people who don't run business that whine about prices. It is simple. If the price is displayed it is up to you to pay it or not.

dr.fuzzenstein

Palmach wrote: »

What rubbish! You charge what the market can bear. If the turnover is down reducing your prices cuts it down even more. The thing to do is jack up prices on the less price sensitive things. It is always seems to public sector people and people who don't run business that whine about prices. It is simple. If the price is displayed it is up to you to pay it or not.

Them days are over. People now look after the pennies and have a bloody good look at the price label.
Look at Ryanair, they ripped through Aer Lingus like a mortar shell through a tiger era paper machee house.
ALDI and LIDL did take business away from Dunnes and Tesco.
The old way of doing business, FF, scratch my back, brown envelopes, look after your patch, throwing contracts out to family members and cronies, wink wink, nudge nudge, look after me and I'll look after you, that is all over.
Government in Ireland so far has been nothing but a corrupt mess, Ireland's recent "success" has been nothing more than smoke and mirrors because, at the end of the day, where's the money?
It's in the back pockets of a small band of thieves and criminals and we are left to pay the tab.
It was only a blip, you now have seen that Ireland is not different, your economy is not somehow following different rules than the rest of the world and what happens now depends on what is being done about it.
If things stay as they are, Ireland will simply become a small, obscure country again that has nothing special going for it, least of all an economy that is the talk of Europe.

drunkmonkey

I think you should have a crack at running a business Dr, 70cent is nothing, you add up the cost of that sale and you'll see at 70cent the shop was making a loss. At €5 is probably worth their while but still not much profit.

The €5 is a handling free, if a staff member has to rummage around on a usb stick getting the right image at the right rotation with the right colour €5 is not a rip off.

Not going ahead with the photocopy probably cost the store in the region of 50cent just on wasted staff time. That's how easy it is to loose money in business.

Palmach

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Them days are over. People now look after the pennies and have a bloody good look at the price label.

Anyone who has a knowledge of retail can tell you that 3 out of 4 people change their shopping habits because of a perceived lack of service. Most people beyond standard items or large purchases like LCD TVs, Cars and the like don't know and mostly don't care about the price.

Look at Ryanair, they ripped through Aer Lingus like a mortar shell through a tiger era paper machee house.
ALDI and LIDL did take business away from Dunnes and Tesco.

This is what I am on about. Simple to see one off purchases like airline tickets and regular purchases like groceries. Let me give you an example. I sell cooker hood filters. A light mesh that is inserted into cooker hood filters to sift out grease. I was charging 5.99. The supplier laughed at me and said I should charge 8.99 as this was the recommended retail price. They cost me 2.99 so I was dubious. He said he was one of two importers of that brand in the country and the other was B&Q. Within a year of opening they sold twice what he did and 6 years later sold 10 times what he did. B&Q's selling price ....wait for it....24.99 and you can bet they bought it cheaper than my supplier. People don't know the price of these items so will pay whatever the price is. This isn't just in Ireland it is also in other countries. Don't be surprised if Obi and Castorama are doing the same thing despite what smug Germans and French think.

The old way of doing business, FF, scratch my back, brown envelopes, look after your patch, throwing contracts out to family members and cronies, wink wink, nudge nudge, look after me and I'll look ..............If things stay as they are, Ireland will simply become a small, obscure country again that has nothing special going for it, least of all an economy that is the talk of Europe.

The rest of this is an incoherent and frankly stupid rant which I find a bit insulting. Most business people work hard and don't give brown envelopes nor engage in corruption. For the record I have never voted FF.

professore

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Completely disagree, one thing that is only fairly new in Ireland is "Economics of Scale"

You completely misunderstand economies of scale, don't you ?
One copy is not an economy of scale. If a guy walks in and asks for 200 copies or 10000 copies then economy of scale applies. I think a minimum charge would make more sense, one that allows the shop to break even at least. If your guy is printing the one copy at 70c, all the other costs are the same, i.e. his wages, the ripoff rent he is no doubt being charged, heat, light etc. for the guy with one copy and the guy with 200 copies (assuming the time involved is roughly the same). Only difference is the cost of paper and ink and wear and tear on the machine, which is only a small part of the total costs of running a shop I bet.

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

And if someone says to me "I'm charging you more because I'm not making enough out of you" I will assure them that my fcuking heart bleeds for them on my way out the door.
Ireland is the only country where people have said "it's not worth my while doing business with you".

Utter rubbish. Any business not prepared to say this if they are losing money by taking on a job will be bankrupt.

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

You can be sure that I will not turn towards them when I have more work in the future.
You charge less, increase your turnover. You make less profit per item, but increase your overall profit.
Charging €5 to print from a USB key is the equivalent for selling bottles of coke for 20 cent but charging €5 for the use of the bottle opener.
It's cute hoor, it's ripoff, it's a way of business that will only result in one thing: People going elsewhere.
But what mostly happens here is "hm, taking in less money, better raise prices, oh wait, I'm making even less money, better raise prices, oh sh*t I'm going bust, need to raise prices, hey, where did my business go?"
Compete or die, the open market has exactly 0% sympathy, keep up or be left behind.
Ireland is changing and you cannot rely on the old cronie deals anymore, many people who are living here now have been abroad and they have seen how proper business works.

I have lived abroad and there is no difference in how successful businesses are run. If it's so easy why don't you do it ? And I don't know what you mean by crony deals, this is to do with politics, not business ? Businesses are there to make money. If you're charging too much you should be burnt. If the sums don't add up then you go bankrupt. If you provide a good service at a competitive price that allows you to make a profit you prosper. And if you're not happy take your business elsewhere. In the words of Michael O'Leary "If you don't like it **** off". Simple as.

highlydebased

5 Euro to open a memory stick and get the document is utter greed. The establishment should operate under goodwill- at least they are getting business, albeit only 70 cent worth. Charging for "effort of having to open the memory stick and find the document" is crap, those days are long gone. If thats the attitude they have then they dont deserve to be in business!

CptSternn

Neon-Circles wrote: »

5 Euro to open a memory stick and get the document is utter greed. The establishment should operate under goodwill- at least they are getting business, albeit only 70 cent worth. Charging for "effort of having to open the memory stick and find the document" is crap, those days are long gone. If thats the attitude they have then they don't deserve to be in business!

+1

This for the most part is a technology business. If you are in a technology business and don't keep up with the times, you will be out of business.

It's the same for computer parts here in Clare. The closest place to get a decent price is Limerick. If you want the best price you have to go up to Dublin or, if you really want to save money, order online.

I understand businesses here have certain costs, but is that the customers problem? Rent in Ennis town is way out of scale with the rest of the country. Same goes for rates. It's scandalous. But as many have pointed out, a business can't pass along these high prices to consumers any more as people are now stuck and starting to shop around.

I don't fault businesses for trying to stay afloat, but I as a consumer am savvy enough not to pay quintuple the normal cost for anything in these economically challenging times.

dr.fuzzenstein

CptSternn wrote: »

+1

This for the most part is a technology business. If you are in a technology business and don't keep up with the times, you will be out of business.

It's the same for computer parts here in Clare. The closest place to get a decent price is Limerick. If you want the best price you have to go up to Dublin or, if you really want to save money, order online.

I understand businesses here have certain costs, but is that the customers problem? Rent in Ennis town is way out of scale with the rest of the country. Same goes for rates. It's scandalous. But as many have pointed out, a business can't pass along these high prices to consumers any more as people are now stuck and starting to shop around.

I don't fault businesses for trying to stay afloat, but I as a consumer am savvy enough not to pay quintuple the normal cost for anything in these economically challenging times.

Absolutely.
Clare Co Co is fcuked in the head with the rates it charges.
Rent is no help either and that's countrywide.
I have a small business on the side and it can only succeed because I work from home and get all my material from the UK via the interweb.
I have tried to buy what I need locally, but it's a complete non starter because non of the stuff is available even in Ireland (mostly blank media like paper and CD's) except Inkjet.ie
They decided to pile high and sell low.
But paper, ink, CD's. DVD's and computer hardware is a complete non starter in Ennis.
The old business model of selling "bespoke" (i.e twice the price) is a hangover from the 80's and the internet, Ryanair and large chain stores ripped through that like a tornado.
There will always be a market for "high quality, high price", but with so many discounters these days that market is very, very narrow indeed and mostly reserved for established names.
breaking into that is very hard.
So you'd have to either compete or die or go upmarket and high end.
Simple as and any shop that hasn't learnt that is for sale or let now.
Business is brutal, it's cut throat and dog eat dog.

freefone

Palmach wrote: »

People don't know the price of these items so will pay whatever the price is. This isn't just in Ireland it is also in other countries.

There werw times when credit cards were hard to get (for "regular" people) and only other option was laser - not highly accepted online. And PayPal accepted only some cards (now bank a/c too). But that time is over. Now there are so many prepay mastercards around, competing with rates, and loads other options for shopping online. And people arent fools, just lazzy - when we had more money, we impulse shopped and prefered to get stuff straight way. But now we "google" and shop around and are prepared to wait 1 -2 weeks for sake of 5 euro. Because those 5ers adds up.
And in most! cases its cheaper to order online abroad no matter how expensive delivery costs are!

Regards printing odd copy, i always use libraries or internet caffee's - if you say in advance, that you need printing, then mostly will be charged reduced or none hourly (internet) rate.

Rita Mc Inerney

firesidechat wrote: »

Ennis chamber on O Connell Street.

Scan one sheet of paper and send it as an Email.
I was in town and stuck for time so i figured i would use their services.

Total Cost 5.00 euro ! :eek:

Ennis Chamber does not operate the business on the ground floor of our premises on O'Connell Street. They are separate private business who provide a reception service for us.