E-Mails sent to - M&S,Topman,Subway,Burton,etc

rubadub

Lplated wrote: »

My take on all this though is that I'm not prepared to bear it anymore. I'm quite happy to drive to the North and stock up on groceries etc... Also happy to include America in a holiday once a year and buy clothes etc over there.

Perfectly understandable. I buy the majority of high cost, or specialist items online, and have done for over 10 years now.

Because I think I have been ripped off over the years.

That is what I am not so sure about. I kept making a point about retailers not moving here, I think a guy running a similar shop up north and here would enjoy about the same standard of living. I just think they cannot compete, but are not making huge amounts, even though they have to charge huge amounts to have a similar standard of living (note I do not mention wage!).

Off on a slight tangent but I remember hearing it was crazy to be growing sugar beet here, since we simply cannot compete on a cost basis with imported sugar from cane (which is also said to be better quality). But the farmers would lose out, so they were heavily subsidised.

It would be like me growing pineapples under special lighting in my shed, the pineapples cost me €19 each to grow and I make €1 profit on them. Tesco import them and make a €1 profit too. In this case I am making a reasonable profit, but I do not consider it a true ripoff since it cost me a fortune to grow it in the first place, I have to pass this onto the customer. He has the choice to buy mine or tescos.

A more genuine ripoff is when the government step in and stop or heavily tax the importation of cheaper sugar to save the farmers, who enjoy and easy ride when really they should be just growing another crop that is competitive with imports.

I do not think retailers can compete so have to simply change what they do. The company I work in is not selling new machines, our service dept has sky-rocketed, people repairing rather than buying new. They will have to switch more to second hand stores, which I did not see much of when I was a kid. Now respectable games shops have "preowned" games etc which was never around in the 80's.

ch750536 wrote: »

Once you accept that the high prices are not the fault of the UK companies, then whose fault is it?
Fault lies with the consumer

Exactly. High prices do not really bother me too much TBH, maybe since I just don't pay them, and think fair f**ks to them if they can get away with charging that. I never go to the supermarket with a list, I buy what is on offer, I get own brand stuff unless I think the cost differential is worth it.

I sort of think of all shops here like convenience stores, and the big boys abroad as the true supermarkets. I expect to pay more here, and realise why.

Lplated

rubadub wrote: »

That is what I am not so sure about. I kept making a point about retailers not moving here, I think a guy running a similar shop up north and here would enjoy about the same standard of living.

I'm not sure whether he/she would or not, tbh, but one guy with one shop is not the issue, its the larger stores that trade in numerous locations on both sides of the border.

rubadub wrote: »

It would be like me growing pineapples under special lighting in my shed, the pineapples cost me €19 each to grow and I make €1 profit on them. Tesco import them and make a €1 profit too. In this case I am making a reasonable profit, but I do not consider it a true ripoff since it cost me a fortune to grow it in the first place, I have to pass this onto the customer. He has the choice to buy mine or tescos..

Ok, but I don't think the vast majority of goods purchased here are being produced by small scale producers such as Pineapple in a Shed Ltd - with certain exceptions (in particular locally sourced food), most product would be produced by larger manufacturers - think computers and peripherals, think clothes, think alcohol, think unilever etc....

While there may be slightly different delivery charges on a product that Unilever (for eg) sells to Dunnes for sale in the Republic than in the North - do you think that Unilever (or any other large manufacturer) would get away with saying to Dunnes (again, for e.g.), well you're going to sell that washing powder in Kerry, so we'll charge you double for it because they'll pay more down there? (ok, example fails cos they'd never pay more in Kerry, but substitute Dublin for credibility sake).

Its within that category of goods that i feel we have been ripped off, inter alia, when those retailers show you dual pricing on the product (and yes i hear and get the current exchange rate issue), when you see a price that would not be warranted based on the most extreme range of exchange rate graph, you have to wonder.

rubadub wrote: »

I do not think retailers can compete so have to simply change what they do. The company I work in is not selling new machines, our service dept has sky-rocketed, people repairing rather than buying new. They will have to switch more to second hand stores, which I did not see much of when I was a kid. Now respectable games shops have "preowned" games etc which was never around in the 80's.

I think its going to be compete or die, and at the present a number have died (or at least gone into examinership, the legal equivalent of a hospice for corporate patients).

A business model that was based on charging people prices that were uncompetitive (regardless of the reasons), was never going to be sustainable in the medium or long term. Some will change their model, perhaps by cutting costs, perhaps by squeezing suppliers, perhaps by settling for lower margins.

At present, the ball is in the consumers court. Happily (in my view), the current situation is forcing us as consumers to seek value. The end result is bound to be some 'pain', but will hopefully be more sustainable economics.

eth0_

Some people are just too dim to understand currency fluctuations.

Here's an example. I have to pay £610 for a college course this month. I've been waiting for a day when the euro/sterling exchange rate is good.

Here's how the value has varied in the last couple of DAYS - now please tell me how you can expect shops to keep up with this constant fluctuation?

14/01 £610 = EUR676
15/01 £610.00 GBP= 675.732 EUR
15/01 5pm = 610.00 GBP = 680.205 EUR
16/01 9.30am 610.00 GBP = 688.320 EUR

talkingclock

eth0_ wrote: »

Here's an example. I have to pay £610 for a college course this month. I've been waiting for a day when the euro/sterling exchange rate is good.

irish shops would charge you €915 for £610...

rubadub

Lplated wrote: »

I'm not sure whether he/she would or not, tbh, but one guy with one shop is not the issue, its the larger stores that trade in numerous locations on both sides of the border.

The small shops still exist and compete with the big boys. The point I keep trying to make is I do not believe the shops are getting away with murder like some people think. If it was the case you would have high paid lawyers packing in their jobs and opening convenience stores.

Lplated wrote: »

do you think that Unilever (or any other large manufacturer) would get away with saying to Dunnes (again, for e.g.), well you're going to sell that washing powder in Kerry, so we'll charge you double for it because they'll pay more down there?

Acutally yes, this seems like common practise. Look at "flashed price" products, e.g. in tesco I see Irish made coke, and it has 3 for €4.50 on the mulitpack label. I expect in the north they have similar ones at a much lower price. Now I expect they have it sold to the retailer at a certain price that would give both a similar margin. Same goes for fixed price stuff like ipods, consoles. Look at levis too I think they took legal action when tesco attempted to buy wholesale in the US and sell in the UK & here.

The likes of coke would not supply tesco if they started selling UK coke here, it is small €2 shops and takeaways that get away with it.

Lplated wrote: »

when those retailers show you dual pricing on the product (and yes i hear and get the current exchange rate issue), when you see a price that would not be warranted based on the most extreme range of exchange rate graph, you have to wonder.

Yes, it makes me wonder why in a free market some Irish retailer does not offer a similar product at a much lower price. I simply do not think they can, I do not believe there is a price fixing cartel going on.

Lplated wrote: »

I think its going to be compete or die, and at the present a number have died

Exactly, if they could afford to drop the prices they could compete and would not have died. If they really did have extreme overcharging going on they would have dropped prices to survive. It would be like a tout paying €50 for a ticket and trying to get €500 for it, close to the gig he could sell for €50 just to break even. I think retailers here are paying more for products wholesale than they can be bought from a shop in the UK, so they cannot even break even if they match the price. They have to die, just like my pineapple business

If everybody went up north to buy the Wii/coke, then nintendo/coke would see a drop in profits themselves, and so would lower the price accordingly, at present they just charge whatever they can to maximise profits, like any business would.

talkingclock wrote: »

irish shops would charge you €915 for £610...

I would recommend going to a bank if you are looking to buy sterling!

If you are going to go comparing prices of goods then mcdonalds are really ripping you off, their "exchange rate" for chinese RMB is appalling...

eth0_

talkingclock wrote: »

irish shops would charge you €915 for £610...

And you are yet another person missing the point :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: