SICK OF THE SOUTH

carla30

:mad::mad: How many people are gonna shop here in the south this Christmas? I have been shopping up north for the last 5 years and the difference is sickening! Only the other weekend i bought a pair of boots in Next in Enniskillen,they were 60 pounds sterling,i paid in euros and that was 65.66c. They were 80 euro in the Next stores down here.Where is the sense in that?:rolleyes: I would like to spend my money here in the south but the difference is immense and thats only 1 item.!Has anyone else any opinions on this?!;)

viv2

The SOUTH????

Anybody else get fed up of all these threads......:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

the_syco

Go back 15 years, and go up the north. VERY cheap back then.

viv2

Actually as you did ask ill give a proper answer

Im going to shop in The South as you call it and ill give a couple of simple reasons why.....
1, I work here in retail so it helps pay my wages.
2, If people dont contribute and pay taxes in the country there wont be any money for the government to use so if im unlucky enough to lose my job because everybody is ''gone north'' i wont feel so bad claiming sw.

Oh and if you had bought those boots a yr ago they would have cost you €90 so they are €10 cheaper now :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

marinbike

viv2 wrote: »

Actually as you did ask ill give a proper answer

Im going to shop in The South as you call it and ill give a couple of simple reasons why.....
1, I work here in retail so it helps pay my wages.
2, If people dont contribute and pay taxes in the country there wont be any money for the government to use so if im unlucky enough to lose my job because everybody is ''gone north'' i wont feel so bad claiming sw.

Oh and if you had bought those boots a yr ago they would have cost you €90 so they are €10 cheaper now :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Can't see why the idea of supporting local jobs should mean we get ripped off by the expensive prices down here. The local retailers have been cashing-in on big profits for too long now. I will be doing ALL my shopping in the north this christmas because I am SICK of being robbed of my hard earned cash by cowboys. Prices have barely come down in most local retail shops here.

tommy21

That isn't a huge price difference, I'd pay it if it were a fiver of the difference say, but no more than that. Its a tough situation. When I see companies like Argos selling say a TV for 2000€ here and half that up the North, then the choice is easy (if I lived near the border). On the other hand if product x is 200€ here and the equivalent of €190 in Northern Ireland, then I'll stick with the South. I am fully aware of the higher costs in Ireland and will pay slightly more, but only slightly.

Carla30 I think your perfectly entitled to have your rant and I think along similar lines.

Viv while you are right in a way to be pissed off, its a fact that rip-offs were endemic in many shops and businesses (retail and beyond) in the Republic during the good years. Now people simply won't pay rip-off prices or what they may perceive as rip-off prices. Just because as you say the boots are cheaper now doesn't mean they are the right price. Particularly because its Northern Ireland (the same island in terms of shipping) as oppossed to the UK, you would think price of the boots would be closer. That said there is the issue of subsidies given to the North by the UK, without which they would likely collapse, or so I've been told. Perhaps this may explain partially the price differences, I just don't know enough about the subject. You have to remember that this is also about people saying "To hell with this, I paid through the nose in years gone by, I'm hard up now." So while you of course rightly want to save your job, many folks want to save money.

In short, 'South' versus 'North' is a bugger of a situation that will continue to cause massive arguments. The solution? Tune in tomorrow:P

Davidth88

OP , thats a very odd title to the thread , rather dramatic , also to be honest the example you give isn't that dramatic

What hacks me off is the price difference on 0 VAT rated things ( food etc )

Also things like loo roll etc where the price differences are unreal.

We will visit the north as we did last year to buy quite a lot of our Christmas shopping , and stock up on things like loo roll / tooth paste / toiletries where the price difference is vast.

I expect this thread to have the usual visitors telling us the prices are cheaper in China why don't we visit there , that they are fed up hearing about this blah blah blah.

Gringo180

Davidth88 wrote: »

I expect this thread to have the usual visitors telling us the prices are cheaper in China why don't we visit there , that they are fed up hearing about this blah blah blah.

Exactly im just waiting for someone to say the cost of shipping theses boots to ireland is where the added cost comes from:rolleyes::rolleyes:the north and south of this country are on the same island, so dont give me crap about shipping costs for the inflated price down here:rolleyes::mad:

getz

i buy irish butter at 80p irish spuds at 30p and irish bacon two packets for £1.37p ,irish cheese at £1 per 400g,now as those items have been made and shipped over from ireland,the manufacturer,shipper and retailer,all have to make a profit,so why is food in ireland so expensive ? i think its because they can get away with it.

rubadub

Davidth88 wrote: »

We will visit the north as we did last year to buy quite a lot of our Christmas shopping , and stock up on things like loo roll / tooth paste / toiletries where the price difference is vast.

I expect this thread to have the usual visitors telling us the prices are cheaper in China why don't we visit there

Travelling to china is expensive, and so is travelling to the north. I am not sure if I would save money stocking up on toilet roll. I could be working overtime instead of making the trip, I would save on fuel and related depreciation, wear & tear on the car -this may be a slight cost, but often the alleged savings are too. Many come back from the north with amazing grass is greener stories on how much they saved, they conciously or unconciously ignore to mention the real costs to exagerrate their savings to prove how clever they are. Just do the math and tot up the real costs before going, do not go fooling yourself. -of course there are real savings to be had, but I have heard plenty of twisted misnomer "savings"

Gringo180 wrote: »

Exactly im just waiting for someone to say the cost of shipping theses boots to ireland is where the added cost comes from:rolleyes::rolleyes:the north and south of this country are on the same island, so dont give me crap about shipping costs for the inflated price down here:rolleyes::mad:

I will be that person so! You are just showing your ignorance, but in this case it is fairly understandable ignorance, but you obviously have just made an assumption without checking facts and fly of on yet another ignorant rant. (The other real ignorance about basic economics in these threads is utterly appalling)

Where I work we export to the UK, we also import finished from China and hold it in the UK and Ireland. It is usually cheaper to send finished goods from a warehouse in the UK to the north, than from the republic to the north. This is not just a case of very cheap transport in the UK, it is the fact that many companies treat the North equally as the rest of the UK in terms of shipping costs, this is why it is cheaper, it is NOT classed as "the same island".

People moan about play.com having charges to here. These idiots might believe there are volunteer postmen in Jersey who allow this "free postage", but I can let you in on a secret -they pay them. And it costs more to send a package from Jersey to the republic than northern Ireland, even though we are closer.

http://www.jerseypost.com/upload/rates2009.pdf

Same goes for royal mail, and many other couriers

getz wrote: »

i think its because they can get away with it.

Gold star for the boy at the back of the class. You'd think this ain't that hard to understand, but seemingly it is...

bcirl03

Screw the Irish retailers and all associates - they have held us over a barrel for too long and now they are feeling pain. Suffer away I say and shop up North.

Anyone who is foolish to think the difference in vat, insurance, rates etc etc etc is the reason why things are more expensive down here needs there head examined…..and yes I do understand economics.

mack81

Where exactly is the south. South of where?
If im shopping in Dundalk im south of newry but Im north of most other places in ireland, so does that mean the if im from dublin and shopping in dundalk am I still shopping in the south even though its north so I would be shopping up the north but still not getting all these bargains.
If im from caher and i go to cork city to shop im going north but I cant really go south because there isnt anywhere to go unless they open a shop in the atlantic and if im in portrush I dont have much choice to shop in the south.

It hurts my head.

cmpunk

I find the nouth not very cheap there is deals there but some things eg games cost more

KindOfIrish

The only way to force big retailers and the government to do something about prices here, is to go all of us for Xmas shopping to NI. Otherwise we are going to be cheated forever.

schween

When I read the title I thought the thread was going to be about people in the North sick of southerners coming up and flooding their shopping centres or something!

Dey tuk urr shops!

Yes the north is cheaper, yes it is sickening.

Gringo180

rubadub wrote: »

I will be that person so! You are just showing your ignorance, but in this case it is fairly understandable ignorance, but you obviously have just made an assumption without checking facts and fly of on yet another ignorant rant. (The other real ignorance about basic economics in these threads is utterly appalling)

Where I work we export to the UK, we also import finished from China and hold it in the UK and Ireland. It is usually cheaper to send finished goods from a warehouse in the UK to the north, than from the republic to the north. This is not just a case of very cheap transport in the UK, it is the fact that many companies treat the North equally as the rest of the UK in terms of shipping costs, this is why it is cheaper, it is NOT classed as "the same island".

People moan about play.com having charges to here. These idiots might believe there are volunteer postmen in Jersey who allow this "free postage", but I can let you in on a secret -they pay them. And it costs more to send a package from Jersey to the republic than northern Ireland, even though we are closer.

http://www.jerseypost.com/upload/rates2009.pdf

Same goes for royal mail, and many other couriers


...

I see where your coming from but can you see where people are coming from in going shopping for clothes/food in the north, on ONE item the op has saved 15 euro's, now lets say you want to get all your clothes for xmas up north say 15 items,(E15x15=E225,now in not saying every item of clothing there will be a 15 euro difference, some items will be less difference and some more) your gonna save an absolute bomb for the sake of 20 euro's petrol

c4cat

carla30 wrote: »

:mad::mad: How many people are gonna shop here in the south this Christmas? I have been shopping up north for the last 5 years and the difference is sickening! Only the other weekend i bought a pair of boots in Next in Enniskillen,they were 60 pounds sterling,i paid in euros and that was 65.66c. They were 80 euro in the Next stores down here.Where is the sense in that?:rolleyes: I would like to spend my money here in the south but the difference is immense and thats only 1 item.!Has anyone else any opinions on this?!;)

Well would yer accept the northern wages in the south thats paid in the north? ie min wage is equiv to less then E6.50 an hour. On min wage to buy those boots you would have had to work about 8hrs in the ROI, whilst if you live in the north working on min wage you would have had to work more the 10 hrs for the same boots. so which is really better? I am lucky I live on the border so get to earn euro to spend in the north

carla30

Theres no need 4 certain people to be getting annoyed about what i posted,it was just a general question,and to be honest i was just stating the very obvious!! I just wanted to know how others felt about this and thats why i posted this,as i said in my op,i would shop down here if the prices were reduced but right now i cant afford it and i know im not the only one. the boots thing was jus one example of course there are plenty more another being that I recently paid almost 60 euros to have my eyes tested,up the north it is free..!?.

Terrontress

mack81 wrote: »

Where exactly is the south. South of where?
If im shopping in Dundalk im south of newry but Im north of most other places in ireland, so does that mean the if im from dublin and shopping in dundalk am I still shopping in the south even though its north so I would be shopping up the north but still not getting all these bargains.
If im from caher and i go to cork city to shop im going north but I cant really go south because there isnt anywhere to go unless they open a shop in the atlantic and if im in portrush I dont have much choice to shop in the south.

It hurts my head.

Well, it comes from people south of the border in what can be described as "The Republic of Ireland" not liking the term "Northern Ireland", given that they don't recognise it as a country so they use the term "The North" or "Da Nart", depending on where you are, for the six counties. This is although the most northerly part of the island, Malin Head, is in the Republic of Ireland. If you were to say to someone from Malin Head that they live in "The North" they would most likely correct you.

This term has become so popular that people use "The South" as an expression to describe somewhere in the island that is not in "The North". Neither are geographically accurate but most people, with the exception of pedants, would understand them.

carla30

:rolleyes:I dont understand why some people are choosing to make a point over the north/south thing?!That is completely irrelevant to my question.Most people in this country understand the difference between the north and the south and the east and west!Lets not get overly PC here.My question is in relation to shopping over the border,it is not a political discussion.

carla30

viv2 wrote: »

Actually as you did ask ill give a proper answer

Im going to shop in The South as you call it and ill give a couple of simple reasons why.....
1, I work here in retail so it helps pay my wages.
2, If people dont contribute and pay taxes in the country there wont be any money for the government to use so if im unlucky enough to lose my job because everybody is ''gone north'' i wont feel so bad claiming sw.

Oh and if you had bought those boots a yr ago they would have cost you €90 so they are €10 cheaper now :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

If you're sick of these threads why are you even bothering to read them and reply.??:P

carla30

marinbike wrote: »

Can't see why the idea of supporting local jobs should mean we get ripped off by the expensive prices down here. The local retailers have been cashing-in on big profits for too long now. I will be doing ALL my shopping in the north this christmas because I am SICK of being robbed of my hard earned cash by cowboys. Prices have barely come down in most local retail shops here.

well said!! wouldn't threads like that 1 make ya wonder whats wrong with some people!!

DanGlee

Sometimes its not that easy. As some people have mentioned, its not just a simple trip over the border for some. I live in Waterford, so its €50+ in petrol for a return trip (I drive a 1.8 petrol and its not very fuel efficient )

But I do agree people here are being ripped big time.

Fortunately (for me, most Irish people wouldn't agree though ) but I'm from the UK and heading home for Christmas and I for one will be doing all my Christmas shopping over there, (and since I'm going in the car, I do some food shopping too!) it is defo cheaper for everything!

Another point I have aswell, is I as made redundant 6 months ago with a child on the way (no violins please!) and I'm now down to €204 a week and I'll tell ya, with nappies, wipes, food, clothing.... and then attending to our own food, heating etc, €204 don't go very far! It basically last pissin time! You would notice the difference in what you can get in the UK compared to here, having been home and having to get my mammy to take me shopping I been that skint (I'm 31yo by the way! - a grown man!)

But on another flip side, in circumstances like mine, you learn to live by your means, so although its mostly a rip off, the auld Lidl and Aldi and tesco's 2 for 1's come in mighty handy... Its like being in uni all over all... but with responsibilities !

People learn (and need) to live by there means! Don't pay the big extortionate prices if you don't to, but if you have no other choice, shop around a little, you'd be amazed!

OK... I'll stop ranting and drink my €4.99 bottle of red wine on my Friday night in....... (OK, you can get the violins out for that one now!) LOL

ballsymchugh

bcirl03 wrote: »

Screw the Irish retailers and all associates - they have held us over a barrel for too long and now they are feeling pain. Suffer away I say and shop up North.

Anyone who is foolish to think the difference in vat, insurance, rates etc etc etc is the reason why things are more expensive down here needs there head examined…..and yes I do understand economics.

the thing is though, most of the shops are not irish stores. the op mentioned next. a very english company indeed. most of the big retailers in this country are english owned. it's fair enough that local places have to price themselves to stay in business, and i'll support them, but i do have issues with shops that have price tags with serious differences in sterling and euro, so tend to avoid them completely.

carla30

DanGlee wrote: »

Sometimes its not that easy. As some people have mentioned, its not just a simple trip over the border for some. I live in Waterford, so its €50+ in petrol for a return trip (I drive a 1.8 petrol and its not very fuel efficient )

But I do agree people here are being ripped big time.

Fortunately (for me, most Irish people wouldn't agree though ) but I'm from the UK and heading home for Christmas and I for one will be doing all my Christmas shopping over there, (and since I'm going in the car, I do some food shopping too!) it is defo cheaper for everything!

Another point I have aswell, is I as made redundant 6 months ago with a child on the way (no violins please!) and I'm now down to €204 a week and I'll tell ya, with nappies, wipes, food, clothing.... and then attending to our own food, heating etc, €204 don't go very far! It basically last pissin time! You would notice the difference in what you can get in the UK compared to here, having been home and having to get my mammy to take me shopping I been that skint (I'm 31yo by the way! - a grown man!)

But on another flip side, in circumstances like mine, you learn to live by your means, so although its mostly a rip off, the auld Lidl and Aldi and tesco's 2 for 1's come in mighty handy... Its like being in uni all over all... but with responsibilities !

People learn (and need) to live by there means! Don't pay the big extortionate prices if you don't to, but if you have no other choice, shop around a little, you'd be amazed!

OK... I'll stop ranting and drink my €4.99 bottle of red wine on my Friday night in....... (OK, you can get the violins out for that one now!) LOL

Hey DanGlee,its good to hear 4m someone who knows what im saying and doesnt put the whole political viewpoint on it!! Enjoy ur wine!!!:D:D:D

irishultra

DanGlee wrote: »

Sometimes its not that easy. As some people have mentioned, its not just a simple trip over the border for some. I live in Waterford, so its €50+ in petrol for a return trip (I drive a 1.8 petrol and its not very fuel efficient )

But I do agree people here are being ripped big time.

Fortunately (for me, most Irish people wouldn't agree though ) but I'm from the UK and heading home for Christmas and I for one will be doing all my Christmas shopping over there, (and since I'm going in the car, I do some food shopping too!) it is defo cheaper for everything!

Another point I have aswell, is I as made redundant 6 months ago with a child on the way (no violins please!) and I'm now down to €204 a week and I'll tell ya, with nappies, wipes, food, clothing.... and then attending to our own food, heating etc, €204 don't go very far! It basically last pissin time! You would notice the difference in what you can get in the UK compared to here, having been home and having to get my mammy to take me shopping I been that skint (I'm 31yo by the way! - a grown man!)

But on another flip side, in circumstances like mine, you learn to live by your means, so although its mostly a rip off, the auld Lidl and Aldi and tesco's 2 for 1's come in mighty handy... Its like being in uni all over all... but with responsibilities !

People learn (and need) to live by there means! Don't pay the big extortionate prices if you don't to, but if you have no other choice, shop around a little, you'd be amazed!

OK... I'll stop ranting and drink my €4.99 bottle of red wine on my Friday night in....... (OK, you can get the violins out for that one now!) LOL

how about you go back to whatever place in the uk your from and live on 60 pound dole. see how hard it is gettin by then

DanGlee

Its £84 get ya facts right!

And erm I have a life here with a family, so "NO"!!!

I've contributed to this country for over 10 years now, paying over the top taxes and vat, I've contributed to this irish society and given nearly every penny I earned back into its economy (apart from my car... defo wasn't getting ripped for that, got that in the UK!!! ) So, NO, I wont go back and get my dole over there!

I didn't ask to be made redundant with a woman and child to support! Until you have 2 degree's and a Masters and 10 years I.T. experience and on the dole, then come back to me bitchin about the foreigners in this country sponging on the dole!!!!!

irishultra

im kind of a 'foreigner' myself, im belgian and i dont have problem cause your 'foreign' or anything like that just sayin u have it better here in terms of unemployment benefit.

DanGlee

irishultra wrote: »

im kind of a 'foreigner' myself, im belgian and i dont have problem cause your 'foreign' or anything like that just sayin u have it better here in terms of unemployment benefit.

Oh right. Sorry! I thought you were getting on to me for being a foreigner I get plenty of abuse for being English... just used to standing my ground!

I having a bad day !

I'm going to go back to me wine and then to bed!

Anyway, its Off Topic (I better say it before a moderator does!)

Rip off Ireland... yeeeah!! down with the South (OK, we back on topic now!) LOL

carla30

irishultra wrote: »

how about you go back to whatever place in the uk your from and live on 60 pound dole. see how hard it is gettin by then

This is out of order and unnecessary irishultra. If youre gonna post comments like that then go somewhere else and do it.:mad:

reverandkenjami

Jeez, another one :rolleyes: