Rip off Ireland; Alive and well in Dunne's Stores

bmaxi · 13-10-2007 11:37am #1

Dunne's, along with Debenham's, Heaton's, Tesco and a few more, have taken to using dual pricing i.e. Sterling/Euro on some of their products. Fair enough, they operate in both markets. What puzzles me is how can the converted price for similar articles differ. I was looking at sweaters last night and one was priced at £10/€15 and the other at £10/€20, how can this be? Presumably, if you bought one of each in the U.K. you would pay the same price, why not here? On another rack a £16 shirt was €25 while a £17 shirt was €30.

Tipsy Mac · 13-10-2007 11:59am

Yes noticed this myself too, however I have noticed in Dunnes a shirt which was less in euro price then sterling but this was very much an exception.

It would be very interesting if you took out sterling to pay for it to see there reaction or if you suggested they bill your credit card for sterling amount instead of euro:D

Nightwish · 13-10-2007 12:54pm

Its cos Vat is higher here, along with other overheads such as transport, insurance and wages.

dahamsta · 13-10-2007 1:12pm

Nightwish wrote: »

Its cos Vat is higher here, along with other overheads such as transport, insurance and wages.

You might want to actually read the OP's post before replying, instead of just the thread title.

bmaxi, did you point it out to a staff member and ask why? I'd be interested in their excuse. If it's not satisfactory you could try escalating it, see what the managers say. You'll probably get guff, but you can post it here and we can all see it and have a laugh about it. And not shop there again, obviously.

(Not that I shop there anyway, if I can avoid it. They're not a patch on Roches. Roches was quirky and got away with it, Debenhams is British and doesn't.)

adam

Nightwish · 13-10-2007 1:54pm

I did read it the OP's post. As costs are higher here, companies are within their rights to apply the extra charges on different products. Say if shirt will sell well here as opposed to the UK, they might stick on an extra €6. It sucks I know, but they're not breaking any laws.

dahamsta · 13-10-2007 2:40pm

The question asked and the answer you gave bear no relation. The answer you gave applies to pricing policy, not the cost of taxes, insurance, etc.

Gillo · 13-10-2007 3:34pm

bmaxi wrote: »

I was looking at sweaters last night and one was priced at £10/€15 and the other at £10/€20, how can this be? Presumably, if you bought one of each in the U.K. you would pay the same price, why not here? On another rack a £16 shirt was €25 while a £17 shirt was €30.

The variance in prices is based on exchange rate's amoungst other things, for the sake of arguement we'll asume that you agree that it's not practicle to changes the prices of item's every day in line with currency flucations.
If items a launched / prices are set at different times of the year then you may well see a variance in the prices of items when converting the respective currencie's.

There's no point in asking about the pricing in a store like Dunnes Stores, you'd be much better off contacting their purchasing department in Stephen St.

Beano · 13-10-2007 6:54pm

i very much doubt its down to currency fluctuations. £1 hasnt been worth 2 euros for a long long time, if ever.

Time Magazine · 13-10-2007 7:04pm

Ah stop ye're moaning will you? It's not rip-off. Companies should and do price according to demand rather than costs. If you're not happy with the price of something, don't buy it. If you are, don't give a sh*te what somebody in the North is paying. You'll have an easier time trying to sell a Glasgow Rangers tracksuit in the North because there's more demand. Accordingly you should sell more or raise the price. It's the same with a jumper that has a higher demand here. There's no reason to assume the demand is the same and thus they should simply use the market exchange rate for all goods.

You don't care when students get discounts in barbers. You don't care when you pay less than the person beside you on the plane because you booked earlier. You don't care when the people who went to the matinée got in cheaper. Don't care about what Nordies pay, either.

Look at the € price and decide whether you want to buy it or not. Otherwise you're like the people complaining that the price of the iPhone fell so quickly after they doshed out the cash for it two weeks before. If they weren't happy with the price they should not have purchased it. They should be happy for all the other people who can now afford it. Complaining about price differentials in different locations is no different. And my problem's not just about the moaning, either; that attitude causes a heap of economic problems. Problems that are bad for consumers and workers.

bmaxi · 13-10-2007 11:05pm

Ibid wrote: »

Ah stop ye're moaning will you? It's not rip-off. Companies should and do price according to demand rather than costs. If you're not happy with the price of something, don't buy it. If you are, don't give a sh*te what somebody in the North is paying. You'll have an easier time trying to sell a Glasgow Rangers tracksuit in the North because there's more demand. Accordingly you should sell more or raise the price. It's the same with a jumper that has a higher demand here. There's no reason to assume the demand is the same and thus they should simply use the market exchange rate for all goods.

You don't care when students get discounts in barbers. You don't care when you pay less than the person beside you on the plane because you booked earlier. You don't care when the people who went to the matinée got in cheaper. Don't care about what Nordies pay, either.

Look at the € price and decide whether you want to buy it or not. Otherwise you're like the people complaining that the price of the iPhone fell so quickly after they doshed out the cash for it two weeks before. If they weren't happy with the price they should not have purchased it. They should be happy for all the other people who can now afford it. Complaining about price differentials in different locations is no different. And my problem's not just about the moaning, either; that attitude causes a heap of economic problems. Problems that are bad for consumers and workers.

Thank you, I don't need any patronising lectures to decide what is or is not good value. I had of course forgotten that Dunne's like all commercial establishments are, in fact, altruistic philantropists who would rather cut off their hands than see Mrs Gonzales in Indonesia lose her €0.50 per day.
The message I get from this pricing structure is, "We can only get so much from the Brits, but sure we'll screw Paddy instead" If that's not contributing to the notion of "Rip off Ireland" then what is?
As regards "that attitude" being bad for the economy/workers/consumers, are we not told every day that inflation is the biggest threat to those very things and are not rising prices at the seat of that spiral?

Guy:Incognito · 13-10-2007 11:19pm

bmaxi wrote: »

The message I get from this pricing structure is, "We can only get so much from the Brits, but sure we'll screw Paddy instead" If that's not contributing to the notion of "Rip off Ireland" then what is?
As regards "that attitude" being bad for the economy/workers/consumers, are we not told every day that inflation is the biggest threat to those very things and are not rising prices at the seat of that spiral?

That there is a whats called Econoics.

Wages people earn in Ireland x what they are willing to pay compared to the same in the comparison contry. It's what economics is all about. Why dont you find the most expensive country in the world and champion their cause.
You can work your way down from there.

professore · 13-10-2007 11:24pm

bmaxi wrote: »

Thank you, I don't need any patronising lectures to decide what is or is not good value. I had of course forgotten that Dunne's like all commercial establishments are, in fact, altruistic philantropists who would rather cut off their hands than see Mrs Gonzales in Indonesia lose her €0.50 per day.
The message I get from this pricing structure is, "We can only get so much from the Brits, but sure we'll screw Paddy instead" If that's not contributing to the notion of "Rip off Ireland" then what is?
As regards "that attitude" being bad for the economy/workers/consumers, are we not told every day that inflation is the biggest threat to those very things and are not rising prices at the seat of that spiral?

Then don't shop there ??? Obviously that's what "the Brits" are doing.

ejmaztec · 13-10-2007 11:26pm

Lot more competition in the UK, where the likes of Dunnes is an insignificant tooth on a small cog in a big wheel. Pretty stupid of them to dual-price and assume that nobody will notice the difference, thereby in this case, and others, pis*ing the consumer off big time. At the end of the day, they're probably making the same profit on both sides of the Irish Sea.

I noticed the same dual-pricing in some German/Austrian shops, where the goods cost more Euro in Austria than in Germany, even at the border towns. I assume that the Austrians moan about that on Boards.at, if there is one:)

Time Magazine · 13-10-2007 11:40pm

bmaxi wrote: »

Thank you, I don't need any patronising lectures to decide what is or is not good value.

That's a start. Do you need patronising lectures to help you see how price rigidity for the sake of price rigidity is a problem?

I had of course forgotten that Dunne's like all commercial establishments are, in fact, altruistic philantropists who would rather cut off their hands than see Mrs Gonzales in Indonesia lose her €0.50 per day.

You see there's two problems with your point here. First, I never complained Dunnes are philanthropic. In fact I said they should charge what they can get, did you read that bit? And you know that if you pay Mrs Gonzales more that you'll have to pay more, too?

The message I get from this pricing structure is, "We can only get so much from the Brits, but sure we'll screw Paddy instead" If that's not contributing to the notion of "Rip off Ireland" then what is?

You get the wrong message. How much do you think a Glasgow Rangers strip would sell for here? How much do you think Clonakilty pudding is in London? Does you analogy of screwing the Paddies extend to Dunnes' imaginary shop in Indonesia and Mrs Gonzales? Should they lower the prices to suit the market there or screw her over, too?

They should charge according to the demand. If Irish people are more willing to pay for a jumper than the Brits, it's not screwing them. Are you screwing the person who buys your house by accepting their bid rather than mine?

As regards "that attitude" being bad for the economy/workers/consumers, are we not told every day that inflation is the biggest threat to those very things and are not rising prices at the seat of that spiral?

Inflation is not the same thing as the price level.

The problem with inflation and "Rip-off Ireland" is not the prices set; it's the prices paid. It's a problem with Irish consumer mentality rather than entrepreneurial mentality. If you're not happy with the price of something, don't pay it. Shop around. That will lower prices. But don't complain when prices change because they only represent what the consumer is willing to pay. Unless of course, you want to complain about what people are willing to pay; rather than what retailers are willing to charge. Because it's the former that causes inflation. (Well, that and European Monetary Union. But I'm being myopic for you.)

bmaxi · 14-10-2007 11:14am

Thank you all for your insights in to the economics of the issue. I accept there are valid points made. This however was not the core issue of my post. The fact remains that Dunne's chose to increase the price of the item by more than 30% to sell in the Irish market, leaving economics aside, I fail to see how this decision is incompatible with the perception of "Rip Off Ireland".

Guy:Incognito · 14-10-2007 1:56pm

bmaxi wrote: »

Thank you all for your insights in to the economics of the issue. I accept there are valid points made. This however was not the core issue of my post. The fact remains that Dunne's chose to increase the price of the item by more than 30% to sell in the Irish market, leaving economics aside, I fail to see how this decision is incompatible with the perception of "Rip Off Ireland".

You cant leave economics aside when the whole reason for the issue is economics.

rubadub · 15-10-2007 10:00am

I have seen pricing in the opposite way on some Dunnes stuff. So there is probably some UK forum with lads saying "Ripoff UK is alive and well".

One jumper could be made in Ireland or is "landed" here, and so could be cheaper to Dunnes to offer for sale here, so I could fully understand why prices on similar articles could vary so much.

Rip off Ireland; Alive and well in Dunne's Stores

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