Since when does 99p equal €1.79?

CuppaCocoa

Since Marks & Spencer decided it does! Bought a pack of biscuits today and when I peeled off the €1.79 price tag I saw 99p underneath. According to XE.Com £1 = €1.48. That's an extra 31c to them for 1 item :eek:

mike65

Reminds me of UK magazines and the huge mark ups.

Mike.

mwrf

welcome to Ireland 2007 tbh.

We are even ripped of buying biscuits

aidan_walsh

They added the 21% VAT to the translated price, by the looks of it.

mikemac

I understand everything in M&S is imported.
If the UK price is 99p and they want to add 21% Irish Vat, then surely they should knock off the UK Vat which I think is 17.5%.

It's like being charged on the double

Nevyn

the 99p was most likely sterling and not euros

KTRIC

Thaedydal wrote:

the 99p was most likely sterling and not euros

ya think :rolleyes:

mikemac

Thaedydal wrote:

the 99p was most likely sterling and not euros

Noone said otherwise, did you even read the whole thread?
The OP and other posters would have written 99c if they meant a euro price

Zaph

mike65 wrote:

Reminds me of UK magazines and the huge mark ups.

Magazines have VAT of 13.5% applied here but are VAT exempt in the UK, which accounts for most of the difference after conversion. There's still always a little extra added though.

micmclo wrote:

If the UK price is 99p and they want to add 21% Irish Vat, then surely they should knock off the UK Vat which I think is 17.5%.

If they weren't chocolate biscuits they should only have added 13.5% Irish VAT and there would have been no UK VAT. If they were chocolate biscuits the 21% and 17.5% rates apply.

Colonel Sanders

You often see prices displayed in several currencies in shops and the rate for euro/sterling is usully approx. 1 pound = €1.50

dudara

zaph wrote:

If they weren't chocolate biscuits they should only have added 13.5% Irish VAT and there would have been no UK VAT. If they were chocolate biscuits the 21% and 17.5% rates apply.

Why do both rates apply if they're chocolate-covered? I thought that you couldn't have double taxation?

snubbleste

zaph wrote:

If they weren't chocolate biscuits they should only have added 13.5% Irish VAT and there would have been no UK VAT. If they were chocolate biscuits the 21% and 17.5% rates apply.

Zaph means that chocolate biscuits attract 21% VAT in Ireland and 17.5% VAT in the UK

faceman

stop paying for it and complain. if enough people did we wouldnt have a rip off culture

smashey

On the flip side here. I can buy Irish newspapers in the North cheaper than in Donegal paying in euros.

Heathen

faceman wrote:

stop paying for it and complain. if enough people did we wouldnt have a rip off culture

well according to bertie we should shut up complaining and just put up with it, cos its for the best of the future of the country for us to be ripped off now...?
our other option (according to him) is to just commit suicide

you gotta love this country.. i personally dont

mcaul

I find that M&S are one of the few UK retailers that charge a simple 1.5 comversion rate from UK to Euro - some such as Coast & Monsoon seem to ahve an exchange rate of 1.65.

In terms of biscuits and magazines.

Some biscuits are 0% vat, some are 13.5% and some are 21%.

In the UK most biscuits are charged at the food rate of 0% unless they are fully coated. - Therefore the M&S price is 99p x 1.5 x 1.21 = €1.79

Magazines are similar - UK = 0% VAT, Ireland = 21% VAT. Again the main distributors set the exchange rate every 6 months & apply the VAT. So UK £3.95 magazine will retail here at approx. €7.25.


At least we aren't paying €1.55 / litre for petrol & Diesel like our neighbours!!!!

rediguana

lilybarlean wrote:

Since Marks & Spencer decided it does! Bought a pack of biscuits today and when I peeled off the €1.79 price tag I saw 99p underneath. According to XE.Com £1 = €1.48. That's an extra 31c to them for 1 item :eek:

Costs are higher in Ireland than in the UK, I'd imagine that accounts for the price differential. There's no law that says goods need to be sold at the same price in different markets.

Costs notwithstanding, perhaps M&S's market research people discovered that Irish people are less price sensitive than our English friends and that's why we are charged more. It's M&S's affair to set a price and shoppers' to decide if that price is worth paying.

You need to start peeling off stickers BEFORE you make your purchases so that you can make an informed decision.

mickoneill30

Macker Eire wrote:

well according to bertie we should shut up complaining and just put up with it, cos its for the best of the future of the country for us to be ripped off now...?
our other option (according to him) is to just commit suicide

you gotta love this country.. i personally dont

He was talking about whinging. There's a difference between whinging and complaining. I don't think there are many complainers in Ireland.

mickoneill30

rediguana wrote:

You need to start peeling off stickers BEFORE you make your purchases so that you can make an informed decision.

Or go to places like Aldi / Lidl. Very, very similar biscuits generally and a fraction of the price. Trouble is I buy too much then and it's affecting the waistline.

angeldelight

In general, on their clothes anyway M&S are quite good for their conversion rates. Sometimes it even works out a bit cheaper to buy it down her, hence M&S in Liffey Valley being full of Northern women!

shayser

Went to the Giant's Causeway last summer. Car park entry free: £5 or €10!

Spyral

give them a £50 note and ask them for E90 in change