Are Currys ripping us off?

denismac

I priced a camcorder in my local Currys store and was quoted €699 for the model I wanted. I checked out the UK site and their online ordering will sell it to me for the exchange equilavent of €506 if I lived in the UK only.Now I know there is a VAT differential and there might be other factors increasing the price of the item in Ireland but €193 worth. I don't think so.

byte

Yup, always good to shop around first. It might even be cheaper to go to Curry's in Northern Ireland, and get it at the Sterling rate.

MrPudding

Given that it is more expensive to live here I think it is reasonable to assume it is more expensive to operate here as a business.

I would imagine overheads here are much higer than the majority of stores in the UK. Added to that, the website is cheaper even than the UK stores. If you were able to check one of the shops you will probably find that whilst it is cheaper than the shops here it will be more expensive than the website.

I don't thin it is fair to compare the prices between a shop here and a website in another country.

MrP

scubaman

We all now live in a free-market Europe, and if you bought the item from currys website, and paid the UK VAT it is legal to ship here to you! so why should it be much more expensive? Land is as expensive, if not more so in the UK - especially on the out-of-town shopping centres all over the place, where many big retailers go - so it should be MORE EXPENSIVE in the UK....the big difference is they know you dont have much choice! I have been using my local electrical store as much as possible in Ireland! if you want something and know what to expect, approach them for a deal - bet you they will try their best to match it! If they cant, then get it off the internet - however there is a down side:

What about when it goes wrong? I havent had to return many things in the past 5 years or so, but know that my local retailer would give me much more personal assistance than the market giants every would!.

Use your choice, look for the better service and price....they will soon get the idea!

And...why is it not fair to compare prices here to the UK - or further afield even......take a look at french and spanish sites! they are even cheaper!!!
One thing the government are responsible for is corporation tax, so the likes of Curry's and Argos do have to pay more tax on profits! and staffing costs are higher too......but thats the choice we all gave away when we let our governments agree to the euro and the common market, but still let our government run the books........so much for a central european bank and fair competition!!!

dingding

Might be worth going to Enniskillen or Belfast to purchase it in the store and save 200 euro

MarkK

scubaman wrote:

but thats the choice we all gave away when we let our governments agree to the euro and the common market

You mean the decision WE made when 68.7% voted in favour of the Maastricht treaty and us joining the single currency.

dingding

Nothing to do with the eurozone, noticed a lot of things cheaper in the euro countries. i.e. stuff in Lidl in france and spain is about 2/3 irish price. :mad:

More to do with the cost of doing business in Ireland. And what they can get away with.

byte

Yep, I agree. The euro isn't the problem.

Conar

Personally I would never buy any audio/viual/IT products from an Irish store.
You will ALWAYS find it cheaper on websites such as pixmania.com or komplett.ie.

I would also stay away from Curry's/Dixons/PCWorld as their low (compared to some Irish stores) prices are normally due to the fact that they bulk buy "end of line" kit from manufacturers AFAIK.

rondjon

With Currys, I've found that you can find stuff cheaper in Liffey Valley than in Blanchardstown.

Went to buy tv with a mate once. He'd found the tv he wanted in Blanch and was about to buy, so I said we'd just check Liffey Valley in case there were different shops etc, with better value.

Ended up going back to Currys there because there was nothing different available.

That Currys had the same tv which was €75 cheaper, and had a free dvd player with it.

And that's what, 5 miles difference???

Gurgle

Conar wrote:

Curry's/Dixons/PCWorld

They're all the same company.
And their marketing / sales strategy is so bloody complicated and convoluted that you can never tell if you're being ripped off or not.
e.g. same product in all 3 shops - massivly over-priced in 2, a little over-priced in the third - you 'shop around' and think you're picking up a bargain. :rolleyes:

KdjaCL

Generally Currys are a decent shop for a couple of reasons

They have a huge selection fo Tvs at okish prices, they have faces to bring **** back to. The one thing they really suck at is camcorders and cameras, i swear some of the prices have never changed from the moment the camera is on display.

For house crap they are also fairly good with prices. Decent shop for large things but the smaller items seem to suffer for it price wise.


kdjac

dts

Shop around and then go back armed with prices from other places, you will be suprised at what deals they can make. In the UK the retail outlets have three or four shops selling much the same stuff. You can start in on and work your way round saying but nextdoor will do it me for X less. Buy the time you get back to the first store you will probably be getting money off and free things thrown in to get the sale.
Problem here is choice, not so many retailers and they are limited to shop size so not much stock. This all equates to higher prices.

MysterFixIt

denismac wrote:

I priced a camcorder in my local Currys store and was quoted €699 for the model I wanted. I checked out the UK site and their online ordering will sell it to me for the exchange equilavent of €506 if I lived in the UK only.Now I know there is a VAT differential and there might be other factors increasing the price of the item in Ireland but €193 worth. I don't think so.

God bless old Rip-Off Ireland we never lost it. I have give up buying most electronic in Ireland because I am fed up to the teeth with the rip=off and lame excuses for the rip-offs. I buy mostly in Germany on the internet.

Try this company for your camcorder: https://www.technikdirekt.de/main/Page.html?SESSIONID=E

I have dealth with them for about 4 years and they are excellent for service. I had a faulty Canon printer - they arranged collection had it sorted and returned - no charge - no hassle.

Pocari Sweat

When factoring in the back up service issue, take note that currys are a complete schiessen hausen at answering their phones. They simply will not answer a telephone, full stop.

Try calling them if you have a small problem and you will definitely I can guarantee not answer the phone. So you have to go back into town to sort out something simple you could do ove the phone.

Their explanation why they cannot get to the phone, pathetic.

Year by year, they have not addressed the lack of phone answering issue.

I would seriously question any business that cannot answer its telephone or have an answer system to log your messgae and call you back.

Total shysters, don't touch them with a barge pole, dodgey, dodgey, dodgey.

double black

Conar wrote: »

Personally I would never buy any audio/viual/IT products from an Irish store.
You will ALWAYS find it cheaper on websites such as pixmania.com or komplett.ie.

I would also stay away from Curry's/Dixons/PCWorld as their low (compared to some Irish stores) prices are normally due to the fact that they bulk buy "end of line" kit from manufacturers AFAIK.

Don't forget that Pixmania and Currys/Dixons/PCWorld are all the same company DSG.

KdjaCL wrote: »

Generally Currys are a decent shop for a couple of reasons

They have a huge selection fo Tvs at okish prices, they have faces to bring **** back to.

If you buy something simple that can't go wrong and can't be fixed (i.e. just replaced) then fine. But never large electrical items. Have you ever tried phoning then? Dial a central 1890 number and wait, and wait, and wait. You do not want to have a problem with goods from Currys.

eth0_

er....why have you replied to a thread that's not been posted on since 2006?

double black

eth0_ wrote: »

er....why have you replied to a thread that's not been posted on since 2006?

Oops. Not sure how I got into the thread, but I'll check the date before replying next time.