Ireland/Consumers/Choice... (again)

Static

Can't decide which of the forums this belongs on, so meh... I'm currently buying a hdd for my computer. I have a choice, pay 125 euro for the thing here (Dublin), pick it up myself and have it today. Or, I can buy the exact same drive from Jes in Germany for 82 euro, and be charged 22 euro for delivery. Problem is, that it's with a very unreliable delivery service (GLS, see any thread on the komplett interaction board for stories)..

I'm kinda thinking, feck it, I'll pay the 20 quid more it'll cost me and get it here, because I'll have it now and avoid the hassle if GLS screw up (again). But another side of me thinks that I'm succumbing to the ripoff culture.

What to people here tend to do? Pay the extra to avoid the hassle, or stick to their guns/wallets?

[I don't think this counts as a pointless poll...]

Lump

I'm a tight ass, so I go for the cheap option all the time.


John

Stephen

Cheap option. This country is full of rip off retailers, so **** them.

Sleepy

Cheap if it's something I can wait for e.g. CD's, DVD's etc. Tend to buy my books in second hand stores anyway (G'wan Charlie Byrnes!), clothes aren't really the most suitable thing to buy on-line and so far, any supermarket shopping on-line tends to be more expensive (though I have been known to go to Tesco.ie occasionally).

Don't tend to buy much else that you can buy on-line tbh.

Static

Okay, I get that, but I'm wondering, in my case, electronics components - it's not as if there are as many choices of outlet as say, books. If people don't shop there, there's the theory that they'll drop their prices... but in the case of electronics, let's say peats, if people start going elsewhere, they'd be as likely to drop that end of their business, than drop prices. I feel like I could be phrasing this wrong, and I'm no business head - but if we all were to order abroad for certain categories of products, isn't there the risk that we could be shooting ourselves in the foot than if we 'shopped local', as the ads promote? ...

sceptre

Sleepy wrote:

(G'wan Charlie Byrnes!),

It's a great little shop. Staff tend to be nice people as well.

I don't often require that tactile experience to I tend to buy stuff the cheap way, whether that's online or in a real shop. Certainly if the price difference is significant.

Tom Dunne

Cheapo option, always!

I haven't bought a CD, DVD or book in Ireland in the last 4-5 years. Clothes and shoes I always buy when I'm in the US (I seem to end up there every year either on holidays or through work).

Electronics and software, I always but online (just bought me a lovely laptop). It may stop the likes of Peats from selling online, but who cares? If you can get it cheaper elsewhere, that's where my money goes.

byte

Cheaper option nearly all the time, unless the item is urgent

gobby

byte wrote:

Cheaper option nearly all the time, unless the item is urgent

Same here...

ixoy

DVDs - cheaper option. Even when HMV have say a "sale" on I'd only buy something if, after checking, I found it was cheaper than the 3 online retailers I always use.

Books - Mixture of both. Amazon.co.uk bulk up the prices with shipping costs, negating the basic saving made often. However, most of the books that I do buy tend to be in Chapter's bargains section which is far cheaper than online. Haven't bought a book full price, no reductions, in Ireland in years.

Clothes - Rarely buy full price. Haven't yet bought online but I always wait for the sales to shop. Giving the thieving whores as little of my cash as I can.

Groceries - Here I sometimes fall prey to laziness. Too often use the local Spar for convenience. When I'm motivated I head for the nearby Iceland and stock up there, paying particular eye for any 2 for 1 offers to cut down costs.

Pubs - Why. Why do I still frequent them. My one neglectful area. Oh welll shan't be doing it this weekend. Additionally, I tend to have a smaller selection of pubs to choose from than the average punter so I'm more likely to get cheated.

General bills - Not like I've much choice for ESB. If I can get NTL Broadband (I don't know, I rang up NTL and they don't know either. Twits.) then I can kick Eircom to the curb. But the lack of choice here is annoying anyway. Pity we can't get this sort of stuff from abroad.