We all know how expensive Ireland is but what is the BIGGEST rip off?

cakeisgood

Convenience stores are waaaay too expensive. How come they can charge so much more then the bigger Supermarkets for the same product?

Toyota_Avensis

it's because they need to charge more to break even and then to make a profit. Cost Prices of Goods in Supermarkets are much cheaper as the big companies can buy all stock in bulk. Therefore, selling prices are lower. Convenience stores buy there (smaller amounts) of stock and thus, pay higher cost prices. Simple business logic really.

JustAddWater

Still doesn't explain why spar Rathcoole charge €2.99 for a chicken roll and spar citywest charge €3.99. Exact same product!

Same spar charges €3 for 2 sausages, bread and butter. Have gotten it before in centra for €2

So now, I bring my own, they lost my business

thomasj

In one of these convinience stores a couple of days ago and saw that the price for a packet of chickatees was 89c!

Ffs i thought to myself, its not too long ago that chickatees were 10p!

later12

Actually one great example of a success story in business this year is the Musgrave group, who own Centra and Super Valu. They have faced extraordinarily tough trading conditions and are constantly tightening and improving their business, and have even increased their pretax profit by 3% to €72m.

I actually find Centra far more reasonable than any other convenience store of its kind, often rivalling Tesco. I think they're doing a great job in remaining competitive in a very difficult situation where everyone is looking for value.

ballsymchugh

to answer the op's question, i would say insurance is the biggest rip off. when i can insure my car for 400stg in the uk, and get quotes of 1500 here then that's a bit nuts. professional indemnity is 3 times higher here than the uk too.

motherriley

Airports in all countries are the biggest rip off; they take all your drinking water before you get though security they charge 3 times the amount for it.

motherriley

motherriley wrote: »

Airports in all countries are the biggest rip off; they take all your drinking water before you get though security they charge 3 times the amount for it.

I'm always amazed that a bottle of water in the airport costs more than a coke.
It's water...

Bullseye1

€9.50 a day at long term DAA carpark. Governments duty/vat on vehicular fuels.

cakeisgood

Cigarettes are a huge rip off. Yes I know they are bad for you etc etc but I think its crazy that the price is over double what they are for the same cigarettes in some areas of continental Europe

RichardAnd

thomasj wrote: »

In one of these convinience stores a couple of days ago and saw that the price for a packet of chickatees was 89c!

Ffs i thought to myself, its not too long ago that chickatees were 10p!

Ahh yes, a bag of meanies and a chomp for 20p, the good old days

The reason prices are so high in Ireland has two sides to it. On one hand, wages in Ireland are high which I've never really understood but they are. We all know the time honoured Irish tradition of coming home from holiday from Italy or Spain and telling all who will listen the price of dining there and how Ireland is a rip off. When what such people fail to see is that wages in those countries are lower so the prices will be too.

The second reason is quite simple. Shops can charge 3.99 for a chicken roll because people will pay it. If no one would buy a chicken roll for that price then they wouldn't sell it at that price.

You could say that this is food for thought

cakeisgood

JustAddWater wrote: »

Still doesn't explain why spar Rathcoole charge €2.99 for a chicken roll and spar citywest charge €3.99. Exact same product!

Same spar charges €3 for 2 sausages, bread and butter. Have gotten it before in centra for €2

So now, I bring my own, they lost my business

I 100% agree with you there. I understand businesses have to make a profit but I think a lot of it is greed. Also the extortionate rent prices that businesses have to pay for their premises is a factor in prices being so high. Why is rent so high anyway? A small minority in this country are getting rich at the expense of ordinary people, its disgusting

Pandora2

RichardAnd wrote: »

Ahh yes, a bag of meanies and a chomp for 20p, the good old days

The reason prices are so high in Ireland has two sides to it. On one hand, wages in Ireland are high which I've never really understood but they are. We all know the time honoured Irish tradition of coming home from holiday from Italy or Spain and telling all who will listen the price of dining there and how Ireland is a rip off. When what such people fail to see is that wages in those countries are lower so the prices will be too.

The second reason is quite simple. Shops can charge 3.99 for a chicken roll because people will pay it. If no one would buy a chicken roll for that price then they wouldn't sell it at that price.

You could say that this is food for though

Was with you up until the last word

RichardAnd

Pandora2 wrote: »

Was with you up until the last word

Fixed!

Wheelie King

Road tax. It actually does'nt even go directly to fix the roads.

mikemac

€2.70 for a bottle of coke in a pub.
And so €5.40 for a rock shandy
Why, it'd almost drive you to drink! :pac:

I don't realy have an issue with other pub prices.

But there's a crazy markup on minerals. The publican makes more profit on a mineral then a pint. No installation, no coldroom, no pipes, just space on a shelf.

And from working in hotels, I know how much a publican pays for these minerals from the distributor

Diairist

it be de peeps

if enough people continue to pay, prices stay up. If enough don't pay, jobs are lost, loan sharks do better and eventually prices come down. (By the way, why did the media stop talking about quangos, the cost of their CEO's, their car spaces and Xmas parties?) (Also, do we still have two government jets?)

gaffer91

I think the price of a pint here is scandalous.

snubbleste

Wheelie King wrote: »

Road tax. It actually does'nt even go directly to fix the roads.

What's road tax?

Funkfield

Rent.

cgarrad

Funkfield wrote: »

Rent.

It's much cheaper than paying a mortgage, count yourself lucky

irishh_bob

sheltered sectors of the economy like GP,s , dentists , consultants , theese people operate like a cosy cartel and thier sector is completley ringfenced from competition

only last friday , i decided i needed to visit a gp as i have a chest infection , im not too keen on the local GP so i decided to try for an appointment with a selection of other doctors within a twenty mile radius , not one of them would see me , was told to go back to my local doctor , imagine going to the tesco outlet in the next town over and being told to go back to super value who operate in your local , in depression era ireland 2011 , it is obscene that theese elites should be protected from real free market competition

Al Capwned

Petrol & Diesel - Simple as that!
Fill-up costing 90euro here costs a fraction of that in the middle east, and substantially less in many european countries

Diairist

cgarrad wrote: »

It's much cheaper than paying a mortgage, count yourself lucky

and taking time off work waiting for washing machine installers, the tv repairman, not looking for a receipt then reading 'rising unemployment' rants on boards.ie wondering why PAYE jobs are being lost....

Count yourself lucky.

RichardAnd

alproctor wrote: »

Petrol & Diesel - Simple as that!
Fill-up costing 90euro here costs a fraction of that in the middle east, and substantially less in many european countries

Petrol is expensive all over europe. I was in manchester earlier this year and the price at the pumps was about 1.39 sterling for a litre.

I agree with you though, petrol is way, WAY too heavily taxed. So much so that it actually puts me off both day trips and also buying a new car.

Fighting Irish

If i owned a shop and i knew people would pay €5 for a mars bar, why would i charge the correct rrp?

If something was a RIP OFF!!!!!!11 then nobody would buy it

mikemac

Our local Spar opens for a few hours on Christmas morning

You'd want to see the prices of batteries :eek:
They're jacked up hugely

But hey if I owned a shop, I'd do the same

keithclancy

alproctor wrote: »

Petrol & Diesel - Simple as that!
Fill-up costing 90euro here costs a fraction of that in the middle east, and substantially less in many european countries

Petrol 1.68 / Liter
Diesel 1.31 / liter.

Thats around the average, cheapest Diesel I've found is 1.29 liter.

Motor Tax here in Holland though is 1246 / year on a 2.0 Liter Diesel.

The Majority of money you pay on fuel is Government Duty, Thats why its so cheap in the Middle east.

Shops charge what people will pay. If you have a product people want that isn't available elsewhere then you can charge a higher margin.

Nobody is forcing you to buy anything, Ireland is flush with supermarkets and shopping centers, ffs .. they're even open on Sunday

caseyann

Petrol stations and the NCT.And cigarettes.

And tv licenses.

motherriley

irishh_bob wrote: »

sheltered sectors of the economy like GP,s , dentists , consultants , theese people operate like a cosy cartel and thier sector is completley ringfenced from competition

only last friday , i decided i needed to visit a gp as i have a chest infection , im not too keen on the local GP so i decided to try for an appointment with a selection of other doctors within a twenty mile radius , not one of them would see me , was told to go back to my local doctor , imagine going to the tesco outlet in the next town over and being told to go back to super value who operate in your local , in depression era ireland 2011 , it is obscene that theese elites should be protected from real free market competition

I completely agree.... these professions command salaries that are way above what they are worth....lots of misdiagnosis

caseyann

motherriley wrote: »

I completely agree.... these professions command salaries that are way above what they are worth....lots of misdiagnosis

Dont forget politicians.

longshanks

Birthday cards. Its a bit of card and an envelope.

That'll be 4 euro and fifty cent please.....

Fffffuuuuuuuu...

Icepick

Rent
Transport
Eating & drinking out

pog it

Wheelie King wrote: »

Road tax. It actually does'nt even go directly to fix the roads.

Absolutely. 30 per month is mine and that is low compared to a lot. It is far too much.

The TV licence fee is another disgrace.

uriah

Changed my car. Last car - over €600 per annum.
New car - €158 per annum. Great value!
(both 2 litre diesel)

pog it

The rent allowance has to be contributing to the still unreasonably high rents in Dublin.

They should have fallen far more than they have and I'm beginning to think the rent allowance is having a huge effect on this.

Icepick

pog it wrote: »

The rent allowance has to be contributing to the still unreasonably high rents in Dublin.

They should have fallen far more than they have and I'm beginning to think the rent allowance is having a huge effect on this.

The lower end of the market is distorted by the allowance.

Statistician

Most of the stuff mentioned on this thread are optional purchases.

in free market capitalism, price is determined by how much someone will pay. Spar costs more because people will pay more, probably for convenience.

By far the biggest rip off in Ireland today are government enforced taxes.
Consider what you get for your PAYE, USC, PRSI and now pension levies. These are the real rip-offs. Where does your tax money end up?

Expect the great Irish rip off to continue. Look at who gets our money.

Forget about sausage rolls, taxes are the real rip off.

longhalloween

motherriley wrote: »

Airports in all countries are the biggest rip off; they take all your drinking water before you get though security they charge 3 times the amount for it.

There are water fonts in most airports. In fairness a bottle of coke is 1.35 in Dublin airport. Cheaper than most shops.

DePurpereWolf

alproctor wrote: »

Petrol & Diesel - Simple as that!
Fill-up costing 90euro here costs a fraction of that in the middle east, and substantially less in many european countries

It really aint that bad. Prices in the middle east are subsidized by royal decree. I wouldn't want that now in Ireland.

The price of gas in europe is around double of what it should be. But at least, half of what at you pay at the pump goes back to the state instead of going towards some fat cats off-shore account.

Suryavarman

DePurpereWolf wrote: »

It really aint that bad. Prices in the middle east are subsidized by royal decree. I wouldn't want that now in Ireland.

The price of gas in europe is around double of what it should be. But at least, half of what at you pay at the pump goes back to the state instead of going towards some fat cats off-shore account.

What did the state do to deserve half of what we pay at the pump?

irishh_bob

motherriley wrote: »

I completely agree.... these professions command salaries that are way above what they are worth....lots of misdiagnosis

the only reason they can get away with theese extortionate chargest is due to the fact that thier numbers practising are capped

pog it

DePurpereWolf wrote: »

It really aint that bad. Prices in the middle east are subsidized by royal decree. I wouldn't want that now in Ireland.

The price of gas in europe is around double of what it should be. But at least, half of what at you pay at the pump goes back to the state instead of going towards some fat cats off-shore account.

Ah no are you not aware of what the state is doing with the bulk of this money?

yosemite_sam

The biggest rip off in Ireland is the Public service pay and it's social welfare system. Supermarkets know people get way too much money and can charge what they want

Daniel S

Must.... not.... say.... "Yore m...

Al Capwned

Wheelie King wrote: »

Road tax. It actually does'nt even go directly to fix the roads.

Not to be pedantic, but it's actually known as Motor Tax....

AlekSmart

keithclancy wrote: »

Petrol 1.68 / Liter
Diesel 1.31 / liter.

Thats around the average, cheapest Diesel I've found is 1.29 liter.

Motor Tax here in Holland though is 1246 / year on a 2.0 Liter Diesel.

The Majority of money you pay on fuel is Government Duty, Thats why its so cheap in the Middle east.

Shops charge what people will pay. If you have a product people want that isn't available elsewhere then you can charge a higher margin.

Nobody is forcing you to buy anything, Ireland is flush with supermarkets and shopping centers, ffs .. they're even open on Sunday

KeithClancy,as a matter of mundane interest,what is the level,quality and affordability of Public Transport like round your way ?

Icepick

Medical costs

cakeisgood

Rent is a joke, its dead money and a lot of landlords are greedy and put NO money into their rental properties. If I could get a mortgage I'd rather pay double the money cos at least eventually it would belong to me. I added up how much I spent on rent over a 4 years period and I wanted to cry (and I always rented in the CHEAPEST place) :mad:

cakeisgood

Icepick wrote: »

Medical costs

100% with you there. I was on medication and it was costing me over 70e a month. F*****g joke

robertpatterson

The cinema
I went with my daughter to the movies last week and got a large popcorn
27.50 for me and her and a popcorn!!!! ffs
What a rip off:eek:
Ill keep looking at dvds from now on:P