Shopping in Northern Ireland

Amanda7148 · 20-12-2010 3:37pm

Went to Newry on Saturday and then on to Asda in Kilkeel. Below are some examples of my savings:-

8 x Bottles Smirnoff Ice = €8.00
15 x Bottles Bud = €8.00
Blossom Hill Zinfandel = €4.50

Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely Eau de Parfum 100ml €28.00

New Poundland opened in the Buttercrane Centre as well...excellent value branded items, such as toiletries and food.

Iceland also very good value for money!

Mr Moon · 19-04-2011 9:44am

Will the shops be open on good Friday up the north?

muffler · 19-04-2011 10:12am

Mr Moon wrote: »

Will the shops be open on good Friday up the north?

They will. Shopping as normal afaik.

tregan · 19-04-2011 1:39pm

they were in past years so i guess so. you going? is it worth the drive any more?

Moanin · 20-04-2011 10:56am

I hear alot of people saying that there is still value in ASDA Enniskillen for grocery shopping.I used to do Newry regularly up to 18 months ago. I'm living in Navan and am wondering would it be worth the spin to save a few quid?

Thanks

veryangryman · 20-04-2011 11:04am

Havent been up so much lately. Why?

1. Petrols too expensive to justify 2-2.5 hours of a trip
2. VAT up norths gone up
3. The old "3 frozen chicken/steak/whatever for £10" has been surpassed by Tesco/Dunnes here doing "3 for €9"
4. Spirits, while still cheaper up there doesnt make up for the affore-mentioned things enough

Yes there is value, but TBH if you live more than an hour away, its not worth your while. Personanly i would have to be spending >€500 to make it worth my while. And my freezer just aint big enough

Check www.asda.co.uk before you travel. From my experience, the following is still much cheaper up north

1. Spirits
2. Shaving Blades/gel
3. Certain confectionary Items
4. Shampoos, Lynx etc. Id imagine for the ladies, their bathroom-related products are also decent value
5. 3 bottles of decent wine for £10 is pretty swish

Plus you have the Argos nearby which is ~20% cheaper at current exchange rates.

Thats pretty much it. As i said before, your better doing some research. If you REALLY want to do it, id advise bring a friend/relative to share the petrol costs and obviously get their own bits n pieces too. Fill the boot ;o)

muffler · 20-04-2011 11:07am

The sterling/euro exchange rate is quite favourable at the moment so probably well worth a trip.

Just bear in mind that not everything is cheaper in N.I. so go there and select only the items where you are making a saving otherwise it wont be worth it.

DublinWriter · 20-04-2011 12:58pm

We go up to Newry every fortnight and what hadn't occurred to me before was the savings to be made by getting your prescriptions filled in a Northern Pharmacist.

For example, the wife's Symbicort Inhaler costs €85+ in our local chemist and it's £54 pounds in Boots, Newry.

veryangryman · 20-04-2011 1:56pm

Whats the exchange offered across Enniskillen ATM by the way?

maxer68 · 20-04-2011 6:10pm

veryangryman wrote: »

Whats the exchange offered across Enniskillen ATM by the way?

Current exchange is about €1.16 per £1 but as others have said, very little savings except where there are tax differences.

Even on spirits, its only about €2 a bottle as there are plenty of €15 / bottle offers here. Beer seems to be a little more expensive unless there's a mega multi box deal.

There are savings on fashion as some UK stores still charge way too much here. Top Shop, Debenhams, Wallis & Monsoon are about 30% cheaper whilst the better quality Oasis, Karen Millen & Coast are much the same north & south.

Where a lot of money is lost is people buying way over what they need and then either using it for the sake of using it or throwing it out cos its gone past the best before date.

tatabubbly · 20-04-2011 7:33pm

Any been up in junction one? Thinking of going up next week.. Just want to know if they still have the two cosmetic shops?? Fab value on clinque, bobbi brown and mac products

Jxd · 02-05-2011 10:09pm

Fair to say if your an alco its worth a trip

gingernut79 · 09-05-2011 9:05am

Anyone in Asda enniskillen lately - whats stock like on those humongous tins of SMA for £8? thinking of going up this week. the baby and toddler event is on until sunday

leopardlady · 13-06-2011 11:44pm

Can anybody please tell me where to buy a pvc sun lounger in Ireland, the type they have on the Spanish beaches with V shaped legs and adjustable headrest. I could probably buy online but would prefer to see & collect it personally.

RobitTV · 19-11-2011 9:14pm

The Northern ireland shopping madness is going to return!

Irish goverment to increase VAT rate to 23%, meaning boost for NI shops.

the move would push Irish VAT 3 per cent higher than in the UK, making cross-border shopping more attractive, and special offers in NI on the rise.

RTE article

bladespin · 20-11-2011 1:38pm

Car's fuelled up and ready to go.

RobitTV · 20-11-2011 2:43pm

Also it's now possible there may be a VAT reduction in the uk, because the eu boosted it's contributions to the uk economy.

And inflation fell abit in the uk.

And there may be a fuel vat cut in the UK, so fuel will be cheaper in the north.

Won't be long now until everyone rushes back up north.

Richard · 20-11-2011 7:47pm

RobitTV wrote: »

Also it's now possible there may be a VAT reduction in the uk, because the eu boosted it's contributions to the uk economy.

And inflation fell abit in the uk.

And there may be a fuel vat cut in the UK, so fuel will be cheaper in the north.

Won't be long now until everyone rushes back up north.

I don't think VAT is going to be cut by the current UK government, and petrol duty is actually going up by 3p in January under current plans.

RobitTV · 20-11-2011 7:54pm

Richard wrote: »

I don't think VAT is going to be cut by the current UK government, and petrol duty is actually going up by 3p in January under current plans.

It's possible there may be a temporary reduction, and also MP's in the UK Parliment are asking for a cut in VAT fuel.

munchkin_utd · 21-11-2011 10:20am

RobitTV wrote: »

The Northern ireland shopping madness is going to return!

Irish goverment to increase VAT rate to 23%, meaning boost for NI shops.

the move would push Irish VAT 3 per cent higher than in the UK, making cross-border shopping more attractive, and special offers in NI on the rise.

RTE article

the VAT change is irrelevant in the bigger scheme of things for cross border shopping
Its changing by a measly 2%.

The currency though swings by a much larger % depending on the "markets".

Last christmas Eur-Stg was .95 , now its .856 , a change making shopping in the north dearer by 9.8% on currency alone.
And I would hazzard a guess that the euro will devalue even further (sterling being seen as an alternative to the eurozone with its worries) meaning the north getting even more expensive for euro holding irish shoppers and cross border shopping less attractive again than the near 10% dearer that it already has gotten.

copeyhagen · 28-05-2012 3:47pm

thread revival, do the banbridge outlets still do the euro for a pound deal

ButtersSuki · 29-05-2012 3:01pm

copeyhagen wrote: »

thread revival, do the banbridge outlets still do the euro for a pound deal

Nope. Haven't done so for AGES.....definitely per-Christmas 2011.

fasttalkerchat · 29-05-2012 7:25pm

copeyhagen wrote: »

thread revival, do the banbridge outlets still do the euro for a pound deal

Quays in Newry might still do it.

DubDani · 29-05-2012 7:40pm

Living in Newry I can say that there are currently no major shops that would offer Euro for £ deals. The only one that has it on occasionally is the Pet Food Shop in Newry and one of the (generally) overpriced clothing shops in the Quays Shopping Centre.

The only shop that I have seen in Banbridge doing Euro for £ is a Shoe Shop that rarely has anything decent (can't remember the name right now).

youngblood · 24-06-2016 7:05am

so might this thread see a resurgence???

robo · 24-06-2016 9:44am

Ah the tailbacks on the EU funded M1 motorway back up for the cheap shopping

muffler · 24-06-2016 9:59am

One big difference though from the good old days when sterling had a lower value, we will now see customs operating so you will possibly have the same personal allowances as if you were returning from a holiday in Spain for example.

youngblood · 24-06-2016 2:25pm

muffler wrote:

One big difference though from the good old days when sterling had a lower value, we will now see customs operating so you will possibly have the same personal allowances as if you were returning from a holiday in Spain for example.

They're wouldn't be customs for at least 2 years though.... Or until they sort something out..... In the meantime if the pound fell in our favour I presume it would be back to tailbacks into newly.....

Atlantic Dawn · 24-06-2016 5:11pm

muffler wrote: »

One big difference though from the good old days when sterling had a lower value, we will now see customs operating so you will possibly have the same personal allowances as if you were returning from a holiday in Spain for example.

Those limits are technically already in place if customs stopped you and found you had over the "limit" for alcohol.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1878.html

Edit or maybe not as they don't list a method if arriving by road...

5. Customs Procedures

Sea
A person arriving in Ireland by ferry from another EU country with no goods to declare may, unless challenged (see paragraph 6), exit the port directly without passing through Customs controls.
Air
If both a journey and the flight a person travelled on began in an EU country (s)he should go through the Blue Channel.
If a person is arriving in Ireland from an EU Country on a flight which began outside the EU (e.g. New York – London - Dublin), (s)he must, regardless of nationality or country of residence, clear Customs by going through either the Green (Nothing to Declare) or Red (Dutiable Goods) Channel.

muffler · 24-06-2016 6:01pm

youngblood wrote: »

They're wouldn't be customs for at least 2 years though.... Or until they sort something out..... In the meantime if the pound fell in our favour I presume it would be back to tailbacks into newly.....

Agreed on both counts.

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Those limits are technically already in place if customs stopped you and found you had over the "limit" for alcohol.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/leaflets/pn1878.html

Edit or maybe not as they don't list a method if arriving by road...

Well thats the part Im a bit unsure of myself.

But for people who live beside the border (like my family) and shop in the North regularly or those who travel there once a year there certainly will be changes. Over the years we have become accustomed to (see what I did there

) crossing over the border and buying things such as a new TV, PS console, suite of furniture, loads of booze, fridge/freezer, car tyres etc etc etc - generally things that would be cheaper in NI and there were/are no restrictions but that will change. When and to what degree remains to be seen.

Shopping in Northern Ireland

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