Double Priced Tiles

andrewk08

Got a quote for some 130mm X 130mm tiles in Navan, cost €8.98 p/p.
Just happened to be going to the UK and decided to price the same tile (from Winchester Tile Company - Chateau Range)
In the UK, they sell for £4 p/p

Is that rip off Ireland?
Saved myself €200

davo10

andrewk08 wrote: »

Got a quote for some 130mm X 130mm tiles in Navan, cost €8.98 p/p.
Just happened to be going to the UK and decided to price the same tile (from Winchester Tile Company - Chateau Range)
In the UK, they sell for £4 p/p

Is that rip off Ireland?
Saved myself €200

Exchange rate/vat ?

andrewk08

Both had vat

Xterminator

no, he means that vat rate in ireland vs vat rate in UK are not the same. hence when you convert 200 pound sterling using xe convertor, you are not going to get the any most products at the equivalent rate.

you are going to pay more because cost of business (min wage, vat, insurance and energy costs) are all higher in ireland.

shouldn't be twice the price tho.

witnessmenow

There is tonnes of reasons why they could be more expensive

As mentioned the cost of business is a lot higher in Ireland.

UK company maybe buying the tiles direct from the manufacturer versus buying via third party supplier.

Freight on tiles is a huge expense, probably is cheaper in the UK, especially if the factory is also in the UK

Irish company might be buying them in smaller quantities, they could be buying a pallet while the company in the UK might be buying a full container.

L1011

Add everything together and you're still not likely to get that price difference, though. Lots of posts on here don't meet the idea of "rip off Ireland" but I would see this one as doing so.

That is assuming that there are no cheaper vendors for the tile in Ireland - the UK price will almost certainly be the cheapest found!

witnessmenow

We really don't have enough information to decide if it is a rip off though.

Like is it a rip off if the corner shop charges E2 for bread and Tesco charge a euro?

I worked in my Dad's tile shop when I was younger and somone asked about the price of a Triton shower and I gave them the price and it was something like E270, they said the same model was only E180 in a B&Q (and I checked it up, it was on offer) so I looked up to see could I do anything on the price, and we were buying it for something like 170 (not including vat), meaning it would actually be cheaper for us to buy them off B&Q than the supplier. Is that a rip off?

That said, if it was the same tile shop chain with the price difference it would definitely be a rip off.

This is the benefit of shopping around!