smyths toys â‚¬10 0ff â‚¬50 spend cancelled for 2020

OmegaGene · 23-09-2020 7:56am #1

so this is not a bargain alert but bargain related and more of a heads up for parents like me that rely on smyths vouchers every year for Christmas, they have decided to scrap the €10 0ff €50 spend 2020 to reduce footfall in store, they are promising discounts but i think that is nonsense.
this offer has proved very good over the years for me and others i know and keeps customers returning throughout the year, i think it is a big mistake to cencel it and surely they could have done it online, with the current exchange rate Amazon wlll work out cheaper.

Mods feels free to move if this is out of line

bigron2109 · 23-09-2020 8:14am

You would think they would run it online wouldn’t you.

road_high · 23-09-2020 8:16am

A likely excuse! You’ll find that from here on in, Covid will be the reason spun for everything and anything you can think of

JDxtra · 23-09-2020 8:23am

Businesses have suffered incredibly in recent months. I fully understand that businesses may not be in a position to offer heavy discounts at the moment. Many are probably entirely depending on reasonable Christmas sales for their survival.

I'd rather spend money with Smyths than Amazon if there wasn't much in the difference.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 8:30am

I heard about this a couple of weeks ago. As someone said, why can't they just operate it online instead? Smyths were open throughout early days of the lockdown, offered a click and collect service, they shouldn't have been too badly affected.

I noticed they increased the price of the Switch Lite by €10 when new stock arrived last month. I saved €26 ordering it on Amazon instead.

Smyths is blacklisted by me for this year, will do the bulk of the Xmas toy shopping on Amazon especially since the exchange rate is decent and prices are generally cheaper.

Bad move by Smyths really.

Pacifico · 23-09-2020 8:38am

In fairness Smyths prices are competitive, especially when compared to other B&M stores. The 10 off 50 was a great offer but like others have said they have probably been hard hit by Covid

DeadSkin · 23-09-2020 8:42am

OmegaGene wrote: »

I spent €400 on a few toys two weeks ago and compared every price to amazon and Argos and saved €160 and I was working from a specific list rather than selecting amazon bargains
I always use smyths but with the € for £ at the moment and using Revolut it’s a big difference

What's the advantage of Revolut? Thanks.

recyclops · 23-09-2020 9:03am

are people now complaining because a company is not giving them free money?

so much for the be kind and shop local trends online, Amazon will save you cash now but when the jobs start being lost here and our taxes go up to support a struggling economy youll be certain Amazon wont care.

As a nation we tend to be able to not see past our own noses and now its gone as far as the bargain alert is " dont go to smyths, amazon is cheaper " wonderful.

rob316 · 23-09-2020 9:05am

Doodah7 wrote: »

More Facebook arseh0lery... when will it end.

The left for ya, absolute poison.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 9:10am

recyclops wrote: »

are people now complaining because a company is not giving them free money?

Yip, they're not giving free money and they've increased prices, that's a double-whammy for parents who maybe have no other outlet to purchase items. Argos have put prices up aswell.

DareGod · 23-09-2020 10:02am

Surely all businesses have been forced to suffer tremendously because of the enforced lockdowns. Think of all their staff and the staff's families. Then stop worrying about €10. Can most people even afford Christmas presents this year anyway?

van_beano · 23-09-2020 10:03am

DareGod wrote: »

Surely all businesses have been forced to suffer tremendously because of the enforced lockdowns. Think of all their staff and the staff's families. Then stop worrying about €10. Can most people even afford Christmas presents this year anyway?

Smyths were open during the enforced lockdown.

recyclops · 23-09-2020 10:11am

van_beano wrote: »

Smyths were open during the enforced lockdown.

but less people were going in there as nobody really wants to be wandering around shops with kids.

They are probably also budgeting for a more difficult year or two ahead.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 10:14am

recyclops wrote: »

but less people were going in there as nobody really wants to be wandering around shops with kids.

They are probably also budgeting for a more difficult year or two ahead.

There was no wandering to be done, it was a click and collect service and the queues outside the Fonthill one was a sight to behold.

Dognapper · 23-09-2020 10:14am

OmegaGene wrote: »

so this is not a bargain alert but bargain related and more of a heads up for parents like me that rely on smyths vouchers every year for Christmas, they have decided to scrap the €10 0ff €50 spend 2020 to reduce footfall in store, they are promising discounts but i think that is nonsense.
this offer has proved very good over the years for me and others i know and keeps customers returning throughout the year, i think it is a big mistake to cencel it and surely they could have done it online, with the current exchange rate Amazon wlll work out cheaper.

Mods feels free to move if this is out of line

It’s pure greed and making the best of a panemic because they know people will need to buy the toys anyway, I won’t be buying in Smyths this year

rob316 · 23-09-2020 10:15am

van_beano wrote: »

Smyths were open during the enforced lockdown.

They were closed for April and May?? Unless you mean their online operation.

The cost of freight from china has soared, that has got to be hitting the bottom line for them and making promotions like this impossible.

Dognapper · 23-09-2020 10:17am

recyclops wrote: »

are people now complaining because a company is not giving them free money?

so much for the be kind and shop local trends online, Amazon will save you cash now but when the jobs start being lost here and our taxes go up to support a struggling economy youll be certain Amazon wont care.

As a nation we tend to be able to not see past our own noses and now its gone as far as the bargain alert is " dont go to smyths, amazon is cheaper " wonderful.

No people are complaining because Smyths are profiting from misery , I was in Smyths the other day in Naas with my daughter spending her communion money , store was absolutely packed didn’t seem to bother them then but when it comes to this sale they seem to be worried about safety

harr · 23-09-2020 10:21am

OSI wrote: »

They always bumped up the prices during the 10 for 50 promotion anyway so you never actually saved anything.

I noticed this last year , had my Christmas list done and priced fairly early ( October) and when I went to order and use the promotion I noticed the majority of items increased in price by about 20% .. so I was paying same money if I had purchased items before the 10 for 50 started .
Most of the large retail companies do this Harvey Norman are particularly bad . Up the price a few weeks before a sale starts and then drop price back to original.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 10:22am

rob316 wrote: »

They were closed for April and May?? Unless you mean their online operation.

The cost of freight from china has soared, that has got to be hitting the bottom line for them and making promotions like this impossible.

I'm sure if that was the reason that they would come out and say it, like waste companies do when they say the price of recycling has increased due to China. At least then it might be a bit believable.

Instead Smyths come out with the poorest excuse - not wanting a stampede in the shops! Naïve people may believe that but scratch under the surface of that excuse and you can expose many holes like, for one, provide it as an online service only.

brick tamland · 23-09-2020 10:25am

OSI wrote: »

They always bumped up the prices during the 10 for 50 promotion anyway so you never actually saved anything.

This

The deal was always September/October time but the time-Mid December came around most things were cheaper. I compared items I bought last year and would have saved more if I just waited.

Basq · 23-09-2020 10:33am

It's been a tough year for retailers and we don't know what's to come.. they probably need profits where they can get them.

Kimbot · 23-09-2020 10:36am

In fairness, its a promotion that they run if it is viable to do so. This year isnt viable so they arent doing it, at least they told people in advance about it.

Doodah7 · 23-09-2020 10:46am

The lack of basic commercial sense in this thread is astounding. Not one poster has stopped to consider that perhaps the toy manufacturers increased THEIR prices and Smyths are merely passing on these increases. Smyths are not a charity but *shocker* they do have to run a business, pay their staff, rent, utilities etc. AND make a profit. It's what a business is designed to do.

The amount of whinging over not running a promotion they ran previously is pretty sad. "Will anyone think of the childurr and the Christmas" type of nonsense. The consumer does not have a right to anything in this argument. If you don't like it, vote with your wallet but otherwise let them get on with what they are doing.

Oh yeah, thanks OP, bought 10.

rob316 · 23-09-2020 10:55am

Doodah7 wrote: »

The lack of basic commercial sense in this thread is astounding. Not one poster has stopped to consider that perhaps the toy manufacturers increased THEIR prices and Smyths are merely passing on these increases. Smyths are not a charity but *shocker* they do have to run a business, pay their staff, rent, utilities etc. AND make a profit. It's what a business is designed to do.

The amount of whinging over not running a promotion they ran previously is pretty sad. "Will anyone think of the childurr and the Christmas" type of nonsense. The consumer does not have a right to anything in this argument. If you don't like it, vote with your wallet but otherwise let them get on with what they are doing.

Oh yeah, thanks OP, bought 10.

Agreed

Its easy to call them greedy when you haven't the foggiest about running a business and the bottom line.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 10:56am

Doodah7 wrote: »

The lack of basic commercial sense in this thread is astounding. Not one poster has stopped to consider that perhaps the toy manufacturers increased THEIR prices and Smyths are merely passing on these increases. Smyths are not a charity but *shocker* they do have to run a business, pay their staff, rent, utilities etc. AND make a profit. It's what a business is designed to do.

Nah, not buying that. Nintendo didn't put up the Switch prices on their official site nor did Amazon but Smyths did.

Basq · 23-09-2020 10:58am

van_beano wrote: »

Nah, not buying that. Nintendo didn't put up the Switch prices on their official site nor did Amazon but Smyths did.

I don't think Doodah is singling out billion-dollar companies like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft

But rather toy manufacturers whose workshops and / or factories were closed or short staffed. And even likely suffered layoffs.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 11:04am

Basq wrote: »

I don't think Doodah is singling out billion-dollar companies like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft

But rather toy manufacturers whose workshops and / or factories were closed or short staffed. And even likely suffered layoffs.

If manufacturer costs rose then I've no doubt Nintendo would have passed them on, they aren't shy with their pricing.

It's unfortunate that Smyths have the toy market completely cornered in this country, there's absolutely no real competition that provide a walk in toy shop experience. Fair enough the €10 promotion may be considered a slight-of-hand gesture with prices being high at the time of the promotion but at least it gave some semblance of a bargain. What they've done here is just heaped some bad PR on themselves.

Doodah7 · 23-09-2020 12:03pm

van_beano wrote: »

If manufacturer costs rose then I've no doubt Nintendo would have passed them on, they aren't shy with their pricing.

It's unfortunate that Smyths have the toy market completely cornered in this country, there's absolutely no real competition that provide a walk in toy shop experience. Fair enough the €10 promotion may be considered a slight-of-hand gesture with prices being high at the time of the promotion but at least it gave some semblance of a bargain. What they've done here is just heaped some bad PR on themselves.

Wy are you obsessing on Nintendo? Smyths sell thousands of brands from VTech, Lego, Ravenspree jigsaws, Tony, Mattel, Fisher Price and a thousand other toys. Is it extraordinary to you that a toy shop sells toys??!! Not merely video games and consoles!

van_beano · 23-09-2020 12:15pm

Doodah7 wrote: »

Wy are you obsessing on Nintendo? Smyths sell thousands of brands from VTech, Lego, Ravenspree jigsaws, Tony, Mattel, Fisher Price and a thousand other toys. Is it extraordinary to you that a toy shop sells toys??!! Not merely video games and consoles!

I'm obsessing with Nintendo as that's the current market that I am purchasing in so that's my point of reference for a factual discussion.

I don't know the pricing of the other items other than Lego which is also overpriced in Smyth compared to online.

Do you not find that this is a bit of PR blunder by Smyths? Could this not be seen as being slightly opportunistic in a pandemic?

Dodge · 23-09-2020 12:18pm

van_beano wrote: »

Do you not find that this is a bit of PR blunder by Smyths? Could this not be seen as being slightly opportunistic in a pandemic?

How is asking people to pay the same price in November as it is in April opportunistic?

I genuinely can’t believe the level of entitlement on show in this thread.

SteM · 23-09-2020 12:21pm

van_beano wrote: »

I'm obsessing with Nintendo as that's the current market that I am purchasing in so that's my point of reference for a factual discussion.

I don't know the pricing of the other items other than Lego which is also overpriced in Smyth compared to online.

Do you not find that this is a bit of PR blunder by Smyths? Could this not be seen as being slightly opportunistic in a pandemic?

But during the lockdown Switch prices went up everywhere, not just in Smyths - there was an issue of supply and demand. The price either went up or you couldn't get stock on a lot of places.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 12:32pm

SteM wrote: »

But during the pandemic Switch prices went up everywhere, not just in Smyths - there was an issue of supply and demand.

Negative, the price of new Switches did not rise officially with Nintendo. The 2nd hand switch market did rise though with those wishing to cash in on the supply and demand issues.

In fact, Smyths raised their prices by €10 a couple of days before restocking occurred early last month after being out of stock for so long, the official Nintendo store prices stayed the same. Smyths knew there was a pent up demand for the console and cashed in, fair enough it's a business and it needs to make profits but I don't believe they require any sympathy from people that they lost money during the lockdown as they were still functioning online and I'm sure they had the staff on PUP.

On the flip side and as a good example of good PR, IKEA lost money during the lockdown, when they opened back up business was thriving and they returned the Governments pandemic payments as they felt it wouldn't be fair to take it. That's good PR by IKEA.

Doodah7 · 23-09-2020 12:53pm

van_beano wrote: »

I'm obsessing with Nintendo as that's the current market that I am purchasing in so that's my point of reference for a factual discussion.

I don't know the pricing of the other items other than Lego which is also overpriced in Smyth compared to online.

Do you not find that this is a bit of PR blunder by Smyths? Could this not be seen as being slightly opportunistic in a pandemic?

So one product out of literally thousands and you are doing them down. How do you know that their supplier didn't increase their supply price outside of Nintendo? Correct!! You don't!

If only there were other stores that sold Nintendo products. Oh wait...

van_beano · 23-09-2020 1:03pm

Doodah7 wrote: »

So one product out of literally thousands and you are doing them down. How do you know that their supplier didn't increase their supply price outside of Nintendo? Correct!! You don't!

If only there were other stores that sold Nintendo products. Oh wait...

Nintendo wouldn't allow suppliers to artificially increase the prices, I'm sure Nintendo, like Apple, have strict code of practices in place when pricing their products. May be slight leeway on pricing with the permission from these companies hence the increase that Smyths did.

Smyths also give the information of their suppliers of the Switch as Nintendo on their website so I would presume they buy their stock directly from Nintendo.

There are plenty of stores selling Nintendo products, didn't say there wasn't but this is a Smyths thread so no point talking about Argos, Littlewoods, Harvey Norman and the likes.

As I said, I know about 2 lines of products in Smyths that are in my current purchasing categories and both of which they are price gouging. If I was a betting man I would suggest that the many other lines of products available are similarly overpriced. They are hardly just targeting me.

uli84 · 23-09-2020 1:16pm

If they are using Covid as excuse i will happily shop elsewhere

JDxtra · 23-09-2020 2:16pm

The sense of entitlement here is unreal. Most retailers are struggling to stay afloat. There is no obligation on any retailer to offer a discount or promotion that was offered in previous years.

In fact, it makes complete sense for Smyths to not run any €10 off promotion.

In store, there would be carnage - hoards of parents filling trolleys or queuing outside. Online, their delivery teams would not be able to cope with a huge increase in orders over a short period.

Fair play to Smyths for being sensible. Hopefully they can survive and our kids (and future kids) will still have a toy shop to visit.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 2:27pm

No sense of entitlement here, people are trying to be smart with their funds.

People don't like being ripped off for no good reason and blaming Covid is not a good enough reason for a store that has been functioning in some capacity during the last 6 months. Within this thread someone remarked how packed Smyths were the other day they went in, I mentioned the queues they had during their click and collect time.

From what I can see, with the amount of Government grants afforded to businesses including Smyths during the lockdown and the visible footfall in the shops, it is clear to see they aren't struggling. They are just getting greedy.

But... all will be forgiven when they give thousands of euros of toys to the Late Late Toy Show / Childrens hospitals in Nov/Dec. Some craic if they stopped that.

JDxtra · 23-09-2020 2:34pm

Looks to me like Smyths Ireland are in line with the Irish RRP for the Nintendo Switch. Don't see any pricing issue here to be honest, pricing probably set by Nintendo.

€329.99 @ Smyths Ireland
€329.99 @ Game Stop
€334.46 @ Argos Ireland

£279.99 @ Amazon (was also £299.99 recently)
£279.99 @ Argos UK
£279.99 @ Nintendo UK
£279.99 @ Smyths UK

Ush1 · 23-09-2020 2:37pm

JDxtra wrote: »

Looks to me like Smyths Ireland are in line with the Irish RRP for the Nintendo Switch. Don't see any pricing issue here to be honest, pricing probably set by Nintendo.

€329.99 @ Smyths Ireland
€329.99 @ Game Stop
€334.46 @ Argos Ireland

£279.99 @ Amazon (was also £299.99 recently)
£279.99 @ Argos UK
£279.99 @ Nintendo UK
£279.99 @ Smyths UK

Smyths is 340 with a game which seems the best deal to me.

van_beano · 23-09-2020 2:40pm

I was on about the Switch Lite as opposed to the normal Switch and how I saved €26 getting in on Amazon last week as opposed to getting it in Smyths.

Grey Switch Lite
€239.99 on Smyths (was €229.99 at the start of August)
£194.59 in Amazon on the 17/09/19 which worked out as approx. €214 on Revolut at an exchange rate of 91p

A substantial saving considering it was shipped from the UK to my front door for free delivery.

The £279.99 works out at €305 on Revolut, still a saving to be made shopping online.

Pacifico · 23-09-2020 2:42pm

van_beano wrote: »

No sense of entitlement here, people are trying to be smart with their funds.

People don't like being ripped off for no good reason and blaming Covid is not a good enough reason for a store that has been functioning in some capacity during the last 6 months. Within this thread someone remarked how packed Smyths were the other day they went in, I mentioned the queues they had during their click and collect time.

From what I can see, with the amount of Government grants afforded to businesses including Smyths during the lockdown and the visible footfall in the shops, it is clear to see they aren't struggling. They are just getting greedy.

But... all will be forgiven when they give thousands of euros of toys to the Late Late Toy Show / Childrens hospitals in Nov/Dec. Some craic if they stopped that.

How are people being ripped off? They are not running a promotion...

JDxtra · 23-09-2020 3:51pm

van_beano wrote: »

I was on about the Switch Lite as opposed to the normal Switch and how I saved €26 getting in on Amazon last week as opposed to getting it in Smyths.

Yes, regarding Switch Lite I agree this is overpriced in Smyths Ireland by €10. Probably should be closer to €210 really. It's €245.93 in Argos, whatever planet those guys are on. #boycottargos anyone?

bigpink · 23-09-2020 3:52pm

OmegaGene wrote: »

so this is not a bargain alert but bargain related and more of a heads up for parents like me that rely on smyths vouchers every year for Christmas, they have decided to scrap the €10 0ff €50 spend 2020 to reduce footfall in store, they are promising discounts but i think that is nonsense.
this offer has proved very good over the years for me and others i know and keeps customers returning throughout the year, i think it is a big mistake to cencel it and surely they could have done it online, with the current exchange rate Amazon wlll work out cheaper.

Mods feels free to move if this is out of line

You rely on Symths vouchers?

fdevine · 23-09-2020 4:11pm

People will generally buy from wherever is cheaspest or most convenient. I really don't see why people are losing their sh1t so much over this

My reading of it must be different to some but has anyone noticed the pertinent points?

......to reduce footfall in store - this should be applauded not condemned. Smyths during this promotion is generally a f'king warzone

.....they are promising discounts - judge them on what discounts materialise, not on the perceived injustice of a pseudo 20% off €50

Most people, me included, tend to buy more than required/intended in order to get the discount. Sure, we feel great getting a discount but alot of the time it's false economy

If people are really hard up and relying on a €10 off €50 maybe buy 20% less and spend wherever is cheapest

Argos clearance and Mr. Bezos have me sorted but I'd have been avoiding Smyths like the plague regardless

rob316 · 23-09-2020 4:12pm

van_beano wrote: »

I was on about the Switch Lite as opposed to the normal Switch and how I saved €26 getting in on Amazon last week as opposed to getting it in Smyths.

Grey Switch Lite
€239.99 on Smyths (was €229.99 at the start of August)
£194.59 in Amazon on the 17/09/19 which worked out as approx. €214 on Revolut at an exchange rate of 91p

A substantial saving considering it was shipped from the UK to my front door for free delivery.

The £279.99 works out at €305 on Revolut, still a saving to be made shopping online.

Ya but your talking about the saving from the exchange rate. A retailer isn't going to keep changing the prices to reflect a rapidly changing exchange rate. When the RRP was set by Nintendo it was set against the exchange rate then.

The new PS5 pricing reflects this £450/€500

GBX · 23-09-2020 4:13pm

Still waiting on the bargain ..

rob316 · 23-09-2020 4:18pm

van_beano wrote: »

No sense of entitlement here, people are trying to be smart with their funds.

People don't like being ripped off for no good reason and blaming Covid is not a good enough reason for a store that has been functioning in some capacity during the last 6 months. Within this thread someone remarked how packed Smyths were the other day they went in, I mentioned the queues they had during their click and collect time.

From what I can see, with the amount of Government grants afforded to businesses including Smyths during the lockdown and the visible footfall in the shops, it is clear to see they aren't struggling. They are just getting greedy.

But... all will be forgiven when they give thousands of euros of toys to the Late Late Toy Show / Childrens hospitals in Nov/Dec. Some craic if they stopped that.

Are you for real? Smyths for one wouldn't have qualified for any government grants, at best the wage subsidy scheme.
Shops are 100% struggling, many are holding on hoping Christmas will take them out of the red. My retail shop got a whopping €4k in grants after been closed for 3 months, while business is down 30% now on last year. Ya we're really greedy.

RGARDINR · 23-09-2020 4:20pm

Just wondering in regards the 2% Vat rate reduced I see argos did implement it but smyths didn't. Argos had prices reduced on lots of their toys even lego website did for Ireland. Could Smyths of as well? I think should of been done online only this year 10 off 50. Probably one of the few places doing great in this covid era. When kids were not goi g out parents were ordering a lot for kids at home from their site. Made a killing they have. Fair enough they say that their delivery wouldn't keep up, just say delivery times instead of 1 to 3 days are 10 to 15 days until they clear their online orders.

utyh2ikcq9z76b · 23-09-2020 6:21pm

rob316 wrote: »

Are you for real? Smyths for one wouldn't have qualified for any government grants, at best the wage subsidy scheme.
Shops are 100% struggling, many are holding on hoping Christmas will take them out of the red. My retail shop got a whopping €4k in grants after been closed for 3 months, while business is down 30% now on last year. Ya we're really greedy.

I actually think Smyth's had a bit of a boom, all the skateboards, bike, garden games etc sold really well during lockdown. Loads of kids out of school needing stuff to do

Gru · 23-09-2020 7:29pm

i am conflicted on this topic because i love Smyths, but as has repeatedly been pointed out, Smyths did great business during covid, everything we were looking to buy during lockdown was sold out or out of stock, we had to buy elsewhere.

i understand they don't want hoards of people rushing their stores but they could have ran it safely via a voucher system (like it was in the original years of the offer) where each household registered online gets 4 €10 off €50 spend vouchers, make them valid for 2 months and you avoid the queues.

every year people complain they raise their prices before the promotion, and while certain promotions end (5-10% off board games for example) Lego generally stayed the same so the 20% off that was a godsend to parents (and lego lovers)

they also have a tendency to mess up a lot too though, e.g right now they advertise "20% off selected Lego sets" on their main page, not "upto 20%" as we so often see...yet when you click on the link, no 20% off lego comes up there are various percentages but not one i could see meets the 20% advertised, so i see how people get annoyed with that.

Smyths Lego offer

23-09-2020 7:35pm

Gru wrote: »

i am conflicted on this topic because i love Smyths, but as has repeatedly been pointed out, Smyths did great business during covid, everything we were looking to buy during lockdown was sold out or out of stock, we had to buy elsewhere.

That doesn't mean they did great business, it just means they didn't get more stock when they ran out of their current stock like they usually would. Argos currently has most of their items out of stock but Argos are certainly not doing as well as they were pre-covid.

smyths toys â‚¬10 0ff â‚¬50 spend cancelled for 2020

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