Stopping the Flow of Irish Money to the North

stepbar

I took this picture in HMV in the Dundrum Shopping Centre 2 Saturdays ago.

Correct me if I am wrong but it shows the exact same console in STG and EUR.

Retailers such as HMV etc have a lot to answer for.

As for shopping in the North I went to the bother of opening an account for that very purpose. Any spare money I have is converted and sent up to spend at a later date. Border town shopping is crazy at the moment. I was in Asda Enniskillen last Saturday. People would nearly kill you with trollies. I can see the fun wearing off after a while. One old man commented "It's good to get out for a bit of fresh air"....

Compare Asda to Tesco in Dundrum. Was out there this evening - for example I didn't see one DVD on sale for less than 8 eur. In Asda you could pick up 3 decent DVD's for less than 10 eur. Even when the EUR to STG rates were in and around 80p products were still cheaper compaired to the South. The suitation can't continue. Something has to give and very soon.

K-9

hairyprincess wrote: »

only for the north i would hardly be able to feed and clothe my family. and the sad fact of the matter is lots more people will be heading to the north after what Lenihan and co. did to our children today.
A certain uk chain (childrens shop) which was in bother a few months ago is now charging the sterling price, in the republic
People who are unemployed or on reduced hours now have the time to make the journey and shop around for the bargains.
Maybe we should just go back to the mainland seeing as we are paying the queens taxes :eek:

CamperMan wrote: »

I was amazed, I was in both Sligo and Eniskillen today, Sligo was deserted, Eniskillen was like a Christmas eve rush hour, packed out, the shopping centre was very busy, it took over 30 mins just to get over the bridge and park up at Tesco!!

Plenty of bargains here if you look about. Penneys, Lidl and Aldi are cheap, Super Value and others are doing some great deals. Things could still be cheaper, but there is competition.

They will not see a decrease. What they'll do is call another mini budget and higher the levy. This is what cross border shopping does. I suppose people don't remember the 80's.

Meanwhile I'm sure dozens of shops will be closed in Sligo meaning more unemployment and more tax increases.

Eventually you'll be taxed so highly and SW cut so much you will not be able to drive around Enniskillen looking for bargains!

hellboy99 wrote: »

That's just it, take money from the people now for a so called "quick fix" but in the long term you will see a big decrease in revenue.

VAT needed to come down badly, why they didn't is beyond me. There is nothing in this budget to stimulate the economy, instead they have made things worse and we will now see more people going north, tightening their belts and more unemployment.

This government don't have a clue and are completely out of touch with reality.

The irony is YOU are causing unemployment by shopping up there too!

dizzywizlw wrote: »

I dare not anger the Invisible Hand of the market by being irrational and opposed to competition, I'm very serious about this, we can't try to mess with market conditions otherwise it won't correct itself and we'll be fecked,
In order to help Ireland we must shop up north so as to force producers to change their price to match what the cosumers are willing to pay. This is no longer an oligopoly (producers control price) its an oligopsony (WE influence price), that how the market works and to HMV, Woodies and others who charged almost double the sterling price, paybacks a bitch!.
:cool:



Example:
iphone in dublin €569
iphone in Banbridge €434

Oh, the price of essential these days.

YEP, they'll end up closing up, meaning less competition and more fleecing!

eoinbn wrote: »

More evidence that this country is screwed.

There is a VERY simple reason why prices in this country are 20-25% higher than north. The average wage in NI last year was €25,000, it's €37,000 south of the border. We are over paid gits which drive up the cost of goods as everyone is ripping each other off.

YEP add in rents, rates, higher electricity etc. etc. Retailers get fleeced too!

Goose81

stepbar wrote: »

I took this picture in HMV in the Dundrum Shopping Centre 2 Saturdays ago.

Correct me if I am wrong but it shows the exact same console in STG and EUR.

Retailers such as HMV etc have a lot to answer for.

There are a few explanations.
Higher VAT rate and the major one being higher rent and staff costs.Still shouldnt be anywhere near that price.No doubt HMV were tied into a 10 year lease which cost a bundle and in turn we get ripped off.

stepbar

Goose81 wrote: »

There are a few explanations.
Higher VAT rate and the major one being higher rent and staff costs.Still shouldnt be anywhere near that price.No doubt HMV were tied into a 10 year lease which cost a bundle and in turn we get ripped off.

I fully understand that there are differences but a difference of over 60 eur and 1 less game. It's crazy!

K-9

stepbar wrote: »

I took this picture in HMV in the Dundrum Shopping Centre 2 Saturdays ago.

Correct me if I am wrong but it shows the exact same console in STG and EUR.

Retailers such as HMV etc have a lot to answer for.

As for shopping in the North I went to the bother of opening an account for that very purpose. Any spare money I have is converted and sent up to spend at a later date. Border town shopping is crazy at the moment. I was in Asda Enniskillen last Saturday. People would nearly kill you with trollies. I can see the fun wearing off after a while. One old man commented "It's good to get out for a bit of fresh air"....

Compare Asda to Tesco in Dundrum. Was out there this evening - for example I didn't see one DVD on sale for less than 8 eur. In Asda you could pick up 3 decent DVD's for less than 10 eur. Even when the EUR to STG rates were in and around 80p products were still cheaper compaired to the South. The suitation can't continue. Something has to give and very soon.

Not defending HMV, but is that a standard price by Sony?

I did notice the new Nintendo DSi is very keenly priced here. £150 as to €170/180.

hellboy99

K-9 wrote: »

The irony is YOU are causing unemployment by shopping up there too!

I'm sorry, I can't afford to shop here in the south now that there is under €400 per week coming in due to the fact that I'm unemployed and my wife has had her hours cut. We have a child, rent, bills, loans etc.. and you want me to be patriotic and shop here :rolleyes:

The only people that is causing unemployment here is our government and all the robbing shops here in the south.

Pinarello

handsomecake wrote: »

am i to apologise for studying hard and getting a good well payed job. ill be happy if i want to be. for the record im 24 and dont own a house. i rent. its the clowns who got mortgages in the states and defaulted etc who caused this.why should i pay 2000 for a tv here if i can get it for 1400 in the north. i owe lenihan nothing. he taxes my income handsomely and has increased that today also.
your comment is nothing other then begrudgery.
as i said i SAVED up for this trip. am i not allowed furnish myself with lavish goods

Fair play to you.Could'nt agree with you more mate..;)

lukasbasic

just checked the net loss for myself
170euro/m, single, 60k
now have to make sure to make the savings in the rent and shopping in northern ireland!!!

jeawan

Rented Mule wrote: »

The other issue that no one seems to be speaking about is the fact that all of this money being taken out in increases taxes/levies is also being directly taken out of the economy. This is money that people cannot spend.

How is this supposed to stimulate the economy ?

FF has has shot themselves in both feet again.

FF don't care about it , we tender alot for Government work and the Majority of it goes out of the country ever year just to save some money and not to pay vat .

They don't realize they are losing massive tax and people spending this money if the tenders were placed in Ireland they also don't care that is shuts down irish industry due to the loss of this work .

Spending in your Own economy helps your Economy , the Government don't think this though they are quite happy to send it out of the country , so people shopping up north are not the major problem , the government should lead be example and spend in there own country not outside it .

itsallaboutme!!

handsomecake wrote: »

am i to apologise for studying hard and getting a good well payed job. ill be happy if i want to be. for the record im 24 and dont own a house. i rent. its the clowns who got mortgages in the states and defaulted etc who caused this.why should i pay 2000 for a tv here if i can get it for 1400 in the north. i owe lenihan nothing. he taxes my income handsomely and has increased that today also.
your comment is nothing other then begrudgery.
as i said i SAVED up for this trip. am i not allowed furnish myself with lavish goods

I totally agree with you!!!I work hard for my wages why should I pay more when I can take a 45minute trip up north and save myself at least 100e on the same stuff I would get here?If government want people to shop in the republic they need to do something about the prices what do they expect when incomes are getting smaller its common sense when things get tighter you look for the cheaper option!!

oppiuy

Im heading to belfast for the easter weekend. Havent done any shopping up there as of yet so im eager to see how much cheaper everything is.
3 nights at the Radassion for 217 euro isn't bad for a start.

I do have to say thou to all those moaning about the government not having a clue.. Well folks this is nothing new, its been going on for 12 odd years ands its highly likely you were the guys responsible for re-electing them every election.

Fingleberries

jeawan wrote: »

FF don't care about it , we tender alot for Government work and the Majority of it goes out of the country ever year just to save some money and not to pay vat .

They don't realize they are losing massive tax and people spending this money if the tenders were placed in Ireland they also don't care that is shuts down irish industry due to the loss of this work .

Spending in your Own economy helps your Economy , the Government don't think this though they are quite happy to send it out of the country , so people shopping up north are not the major problem , the government should lead be example and spend in there own country not outside it .

Unfortunately this is then considered 'protectionism' and is the very thing that the EU and everyone moaned about when the US proposed similar measures in their stimulus package.

PaulHardwick

K4t wrote: »

Many, lots of retailers are still ripping consumers off. I have no sympathy for them. I applaude people who are going North to shop.

You know nothing.

Wages costs are at least double the north, as are rents and insurance.

oppiuy

PaulHardwick wrote: »

You know nothing.

Wages costs are at least double the north, as are rents and insurance.

We know its cheaper!! my pocket doesnt care about over heads

Alcatel

It's easy to say "Don't shop north, it's unpatriotic", assuming you don't have 3 kids, a mortgage and an ever slimming budget. It's no good shopping patriotically if you have to collect your free Metro in the morning to shred up later to bulk up your kids dinner.

ShooterSF

PaulHardwick wrote: »

You know nothing.

Wages costs are at least double the north

You might want to re-read those sentences unless I'm vastly mistaken UK minimum wage is £5.73 which is about €6.35. Didn't know minimum wage here was "at least" €12.70.

PaulHardwick

ShooterSF wrote: »

You might want to re-read those sentences unless I'm vastly mistaken UK minimum wage is £5.73 which is about €6.35. Didn't know minimum wage here was "at least" €12.70.

Did I mention the minimum wage???

I mention the wages that were paid to employees, the rent and the insurance.

The average salary is £19,000 in the north €31,000 in the south.

Rent rates are well over double.

I shop in the north, but I am saying you need to recognise why a price difference exists.

K-9

hellboy99 wrote: »

I'm sorry, I can't afford to shop here in the south now that there is under €400 per week coming in due to the fact that I'm unemployed and my wife has had her hours cut. We have a child, rent, bills, loans etc.. and you want me to be patriotic and shop here :rolleyes:

The only people that is causing unemployment here is our government and all the robbing shops here in the south.

Maybe I can vividly remember the 80's and the affect of cross border shopping on the border areas.

oppiuy

PaulHardwick wrote: »

Did I mention the minimum wage???

I mention the wages that were paid to employees, the rent and the insurance.

The average salary is £19,000 in the north €31,000 in the south.

Rent rates are well over double.

I shop in the north, but I am saying you need to recognise why a price difference exists.

I doubt shop workers here get 31,000k, also, avg wage is poppycock. most of the population work for less than 25k

K-9

oppiuy wrote: »

I doubt shop workers here get 31,000k, also, avg wage is poppycock. most of the population work for less than 25k

So most of the North works for less than £15k. They also pay higher tax and NIC. Part of the reason things are cheaper there is wages are lower.

jimmmy

PaulHardwick wrote: »

Did I mention the minimum wage???

I mention the wages that were paid to employees, the rent and the insurance.

The average salary is £19,000 in the north €31,000 in the south.

The average public sector weekly wage here in the Republic is 966 per week, according to George Lee on RTE. Perks are in addition to the 966 p.w. That is what the economy south of the border has to carry ...where the taxes of those of us on 600 p.w. ( 31,000 per year ) go.

Fat_Fingers

K-9 wrote: »

Plenty of bargains here if you look about. Penneys, Lidl and Aldi are cheap, Super Value and others are doing some great deals. Things could still be cheaper, but there is competition.

They will not see a decrease. What they'll do is call another mini budget and higher the levy. This is what cross border shopping does. I suppose people don't remember the 80's.

Meanwhile I'm sure dozens of shops will be closed in Sligo meaning more unemployment and more tax increases.

Eventually you'll be taxed so highly and SW cut so much you will not be able to drive around Enniskillen looking for bargains!




The irony is YOU are causing unemployment by shopping up there too!




Oh, the price of essential these days.

YEP, they'll end up closing up, meaning less competition and more fleecing!



YEP add in rents, rates, higher electricity etc. etc. Retailers get fleeced too!

Oi! is that you Turlough O'Sullivan ????

jimmmy

Why is the Dublin based media not concerned about what is happening especially in border counties ? Is it because journalists + RTE people on big salaries are so out of touch ?

oppiuy

jimmmy wrote: »

The average public sector weekly wage here in the Republic is 966 per week, according to George Lee on RTE. Perks are in addition to the 966 p.w. That is what the economy south of the border has to carry ...where the taxes of those of us on 600 p.w. ( 31,000 per year ) go.

Can i get some of that 966 a week.

K-9

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

Oi! is that you Turlough O'Sullivan ????

You can't handle the truth! :pac:

Shop away in the North. If you think you will not pay extra by way of extra taxes and higher unemployment figures, you've the head buried in the sand.

Seems the Me Fein culture still rules.

Dummy

I never thought that my post would blossom into six pages of replies. I am still very annoyed about this inequity between northern & southern prices. Indeed I read a huge post in the Bargains Forum detailing what people are saving.

Yesterday was the occasion for the Minister to address this huge issue. Yes we will have another budget in December next, but countless millions will be lost by then. People are leaving the state to travel north to spend their money up there - this is fact. And they travel to the north in greater numbers now.

But this loss of money to the north will mean more job losses here in the south and in turn apply even more pressure to our exchequer and bring with it even more increases in levies / tax.

It is so important for the Government to address this massive inequity between the two economies on this small island. Yesterday was the time to start.

Yes we are an overpriced marketplace as Paul said - our insurance, rent etc are overpriced. Elements of this overhead will drop naturally with the market, but once they fall to realistic levels, they have to be policed and maintained at a "realistic" level.

I asked the question in my original post if retailers are mature enough to pass on any reductions in VAT / VRT to the consumer and not accept these reductions as an opportunistic increase in margins as we saw a few years ago. If this is to work, retailers have to be seen to be rowing in the same direction as the consumer.

Ireland could become the Shopping Centre of Europe - This is very achievable if everyone chips in - the consumer, the retailer and the Minister of Finance. Ireland has already done this, and attracted the big financials to Ireland with the building and designation of the IFSC.

This will have a positive knock on result with other aspects of our economy, addressing the bigger issue of changing our high cost economy to a lower one. Low cost economies attract the foreign investment we badly need.

To achieve this, we need good effective leadership. That leadership was not in the Dáil yesterday - only a lot of knee-jerk reactions to big issues.

We are capable of bigger & better things.

Fat_Fingers

K-9 wrote: »

You can't handle the truth! :pac:

Shop away in the North. If you think you will not pay extra by way of extra taxes and higher unemployment figures, you've the head buried in the sand.

Seems the Me Fein culture still rules.

My duty is to my family. In order to feed them and pay all the bills i have to shop where is cheaper. You don't know my situation and yet you are assuming you are qualified to lecture me on how i provide for my family.

Isn't this same Government also moving jobs and money out of this economy?
Ask anyone who tendered Government project. Ah , yes there is also famous" eflow". NRA awarded the contract to a French company called BetEire Flow. BEF then outsourced the call centre to a company in Newry.

bauderline

lionela wrote: »

A few traffic disruptions on the road north ie. 3 and 4 hour delays would soon put a damper on motorists travelling up north to shop.

How about vehicle checks ,ins,tax ,tyres ,nct, no. of passengers carried
drivers licence etc

Spoilsport:D

They tried for over 30 years to secure that border... didn't succeed then... wont succeed now.... nothing to worry about...

omahaid

bauderline wrote: »

They tried for over 30 years to secure that border... didn't succeed then... wont succeed now.... nothing to worry about...

I wouldnt be so sure, there is tax money at stake now, Customs and the Gardai will have an extra incentive to check cars for too much booze!

K-9

Fat_Fingers wrote: »

My duty is to my family. In order to feed them and pay all the bills i have to shop where is cheaper. You don't know my situation and yet you are assuming you are qualified to lecture me on how i provide for my family.

Isn't this same Government also moving jobs and money out of this economy?
Ask anyone who tendered Government project. Ah , yes there is also famous" eflow". NRA awarded the contract to a French company called BetEire Flow. BEF then outsourced the call centre to a company in Newry.

Not lecturing at all. I get paid too, have taken a wage and hour cut, have a son etc. and live a few miles from the border.

The savings you are making are short term savings which will result in higher taxes, unemployment and spending cuts and border areas being ghost towns. I remember towns like Ballyshannon in the 80's.

Prices are coming down here and they will come down more. We can point out wage differences etc. but the big one is sterling near at parity. The South just cannot compete with that.