So let's do something about it

Arpa

I have been browsing through the posts in this forum for a while and it is good to see people voicing their opinion. I have quite a few foreign friends who are living here and they all ask me the same thing. Why is it so expensive. Apart from the obvious products like fuel, tobacco and alcohol, I have no answer for them. There does seem to be a general attitude in Ireland to just get on with it and not moan about the prices. "5.50 for a bottle of Bulmers? That's outrageous! Gimme two please." I'm guilty of it myself.

Sometimes it seems like too much effort to make a complaint, or question a price. It is time we made a collective effort to force change, after all we as consumer have the power. I don't particularly care if we drive a business into the ground, it's a tough world out there and maybe the recession can be a good form of spring cleaning. We should only accept companies who are competitive. Prices should reflect those of our European neighbours. Does that sound impossible? No. I understand we are an island and for import goods, there may be some charges, but I can't imagine why it should be extortionate.
Before all the trawling forum geeks come along and start spouting numbers and tax rates at me let me firstly say, I am not an economist, far from it. In fact I have a fear of numbers, but I prefer the little numbers on the little bits of paper to be in my pocket than thrown wildly at some arse in a suit who decides, "Uhmm sure stick an extra .50c on that, sure they don't have a clue, in fact make it .59c, sounds the same."

So what am I saying? I have seen many times on this forum already absolute toss-pots who cut off good honest rants by saying something like "Well it's not a rip-off, because they didn't force you to buy it". Before I get even one of those smart arse replies let me say that I understand people do not have to shop in a particular place but there are two sides to that.
Firstly, why should we have to go elsewhere? Why should we have to walk ten metres down the road to get that loaf of bread at a lower price, when our European neighbours don't have that inconvenience?
Secondly, if we are going to vote with our feet to make a change...then let's bloody well do it, and not in an apathetic, dismissive manner. Ten people crossing the street to Lidl is not going to affect Dunnes if we still have people sauntering into Dunnes flapping their money about stupidly. We have to do it on a larger scale.

Here before us all we have the tool we need to effect that change, the interweb and this forum. Collectively we could all pool our information, in a useful manner. Let's say, "So and so is €1.57 cheaper than so and so". Perfect, nobody shop at so and so for this item. If people really do put a boycott into practice, we would invariably see a more competitive market come into being. So stop moaning about rip off Ireland and tell us all what you see in your day to day consumerism so that we may avoid that place and teach them a lesson. If some pub is charging a ridiculous amount for a dash of mi-wadi, then nobody bloody go there!!! There's loads of pubs to choose from. When the manager sees nobody showing up, he'll be sure to drop his prices.

I know that not everone knows about this forum and to put this into practice may be tricky, but we all have mouths and could share it with our friends. If even 5 percent of the people in the country started doing it we would see change rapidly.
We need to take control of the market again. No better time than now in a recession I say, when we can influence what the prices will be when we get out of the recession.

I again say I am not an economist and there may be naysayers who will come back at me with figures and percentages and bla bla bla. To those, little internet geeks who will no doubt try to put a downer on this I couldn't give two heaps of steaming turd to know what you think. However to those of you who know what I am getting at, please make yourself known and perhaps we can do something about rip off Ireland. We used to be a nation that did not take things lying down. We are being screwed financially however and we need to take action.
All suggestions and plans of attack welcome. Collectively we could stop people screwing us over.

davo10

Arpa you are right it is time to do something, but there is only one sure way of doing it. If we want the same prices as elsewhere then we should have the same conditions as elsewhere. Starting with wages and benefits, all including yours should be brought in to line with the North at the very least and possibly eastern europe. Including yours, pay should drop by a further 30-50%.Remember your friends probably came here to work because of the higher wages we earn here. If people have the same amount of pay as other countries then prices will have to drop as the consumer will not be able to afford them. Benefits should drop by an equal amount to come in to line with eastern europe, free education etc should go, working conditions should fall to equal with those in eastern europe. Now with this, a lot of people will not be able to afford their mortgages unless they can persuade the vendor to give them back part of the price they paid for a house so it comes in to line with the cost of a house in eastern europe or maybe the bank will knock 60% off your mortgage, i doubt either will happen so defaults will rise, with profits down all but the mass sellers will survive so shops in small towns will "be driven into the ground" but that doesnt matter to you.
Before you get all righteous, get on a wage comparison site, check your pay against those workers in Poland, Lithuania etc doing a similar job, ask yourself are you willing to take a wage cut to their level so you can get consumer items at the same price as there. To get a little we all have to give a little so don't be hypocritical and think that you should keep what you have but every retailer/ service provider should accept a cut.

keithclancy

Arpa wrote: »

Sometimes it seems like too much effort to make a complaint, or question a price. It is time we made a collective effort to force change, after all we as consumer have the power. I don't particularly care if we drive a business into the ground, it's a tough world out there and maybe the recession can be a good form of spring cleaning. We should only accept companies who are competitive. Prices should reflect those of our European neighbours. Does that sound impossible? No. I understand we are an island and for import goods, there may be some charges, but I can't imagine why it should be extortionate.

Perfectly fine, then just take on your European neighbours tax system first.

Ireland has one of the lowest in Europe, more money in the bank to spend, prices are higher as a result.

IMO, Ireland is alot cheaper for a wide variety of items such as Cars, food, fuel, road tax etc.

About the only thing i can think of thats more expensive in Ireland is Booze and Cigarettes.

Guy:Incognito

Arpa wrote: »

I have quite a few foreign friends who are living here and they all ask me the same thing. Why is it so expensive. .

Do they ask why they are being paid so well in their jobs?

If prices should reflect those in other European countres, then so should wages, taxes etc.

End result is the ratio of wages : costs is probably the same. If a can of coke cost 10c but the minimum wages was 86c would we be better off than we are now (coke roughly €1 and min wage €8.65)

RoadKillTs

Do they ask why they are being paid so well in their jobs?

Exactly. Have you ever considered OP that our wages are very high compared to most other EU countries?

Map here to illustrate.

Wages are very good in Ireland hence why your friends are over here.

irelandrover

Arpa wrote: »

So what am I saying? I have seen many times on this forum already absolute toss-pots who cut off good honest rants by saying something like "Well it's not a rip-off, because they didn't force you to buy it". Before I get even one of those smart arse replies let me say that I understand people do not have to shop in a particular place but there are two sides to that.
Firstly, why should we have to go elsewhere? Why should we have to walk ten metres down the road to get that loaf of bread at a lower price, when our European neighbours don't have that inconvenience?

Is this serious? are you saying that every shop in europe has the same price on items?
i can understand you saying prices are too high and that we should pull together to try get prices down put saying that every shop should have the exact same price so you don't have to walk 10 metres down the road is one of the worst things i've read on boards and i don't think you put that much thought into what you were actually typing.

Caught

OP, I getcha.

Only I get everyone else too...

If wages are high, prices are high.

If wages are low, prices are low.

In Ireland, you were able to get a bar of chocolate for one pence supposedly. Look at what the wages were then.

Cost was low - wages were low.

Arpa

The first of the downers. Look, if I have to explain everything we could be here all year and not make any progress. Common sense would tell you that one cannot expect everything to be the same price as in Europe, but what I am talking about is the ridiculous over-pricing. The large shops dream up prices at will. A fair price system is what I am after. Let's take pharmacies for example. I use to work in one so I know the system. When a prescription drug came in we would go to the computer, tap in the product and it would give us a mark up for that item. In the case of prescription drugs that was a 66% mark up from the price we bought the drug in at. Do you think this is a reasonable mark up for medication? When a non-prescription item came in, let's say a bottle of Head & Shoulders, that was a 33% mark up. On a shampoo?! I didn't want to get in to percentages, but I want to make it clear to people that shops put whatever price they want on items, and as long as you keep buying, they are rolling in it. I understand that prices are higher because of wages, but they are not reflective of the wage. They are over-priced still. There is no cap. If prices were consistently reflective of the wages people earn then I would have no issue.
Is this not what we call a rip off? What irks me is that the two replies on this thread so far have been two people who are posting on a forum called "rip-off Ireland", yet who are defending the blatant over-pricing of items. Look around you. You are not being asked to pay a fair price reflective of wages, you are being asked to pay that and more. What is the more? Whatever the retailer feels they want to charge. In order to stop this we have to collectively cease buying goods that are ridiculously over-priced. You cannot tell me that €1.00 for a bag of Hunky Dorys is not a rip off. There are thousands of examples. My point is that people seem unwilling or just not bothered to raise the issue, so the retailers are loving it. Cinemas, bus fares, mars bars, bread, car parking prices, pay parking in hospitals, hair cuts, a cappuccino, books, a chicken and stuffing sandwich.... it's across the board. Maybe it is more expensive in Dublin than elsewhere in the country, I don't know, but it has to stop. The only cheap thing I notice is air-fares out of Ireland, perhaps not a bad idea. In Barcelona you pay €1.00 for a bus journey anywhere in the city, no matter how distant or how close. Is that impossible to envision in Dublin? The Luas...another ridiculously over-priced system. A friend of mine who takes the Luas everyday never pays the fare, because it is cheaper for him to pay the fine if he get's caught.
I could go on all day about ridiculous prices, but to sum it up. I understand what keithclancy and davo are saying, however we are not talking about that. To pay a fair price would be fine. We are talking about random concocting of prices by retailers and services and this has to stop.
Now please, don't start arguing with me about the services I have mentioned, or even the items I have mentioned, because I am only one man and cannot reply to everything that everyone says. It would be more useful if people could point out what item is over-priced and where, in a clear concise fashion. A list of items perhaps, so that anybody who is with me can stop buying that item from that place. Perhaps this way we can effect change.

Arpa

irelandrover wrote: »

Is this serious? are you saying that every shop in europe has the same price on items?
i can understand you saying prices are too high and that we should pull together to try get prices down put saying that every shop should have the exact same price so you don't have to walk 10 metres down the road is one of the worst things i've read on boards and i don't think you put that much thought into what you were actually typing.

Nope, you missed the point, perhaps I wasn't clear enough, mea culpa. Of course it is silly to have every place selling an item at the same price, then there would be no competition, but a more in line system of pricing would be better. Now don't get me wrong, many things are priced fairly, but there are loads of examples of things that are not.
Please don't be obtuse by telling me I didn' think about what I was typing, it's a silly comment. I wrote what I wrote because something needs to change, now I don't have all the solutions, in fact I have very few. What I have put forward is a question, a problem and a possible solution. I think most people would admit there is an issue at hand, so why not be constructive and offer your thoughts on a solution instead of putting down people for raising a point. It is exactly this mentality that permeates Irish society. There is a problem, nothings happening, somebody suggests something, everybody just sneers and offers no alternative. Come on, lets be progressive, instead of nagging at each other.

borderlinemeath

Arpa wrote: »

Let's take pharmacies for example. I use to work in one so I know the system. When a prescription drug came in we would go to the computer, tap in the product and it would give us a mark up for that item. In the case of prescription drugs that was a 66% mark up from the price we bought the drug in at. Do you think this is a reasonable mark up for medication?
We are talking about random concocting of prices by retailers and services and this has to stop.
QUOTE]

I'm unsure about what a reasonable mark up on medication should be as I have never worked in a pharmacy or any other medical field.
However, I'm pretty sure that a pharmacist after 4yrs studying and one years on the job training gets paid a hell of a lot more than your average shop worker.
I would imagine the mark up on prescription drugs is to cover overheads - including payroll. And 33% mark up on shampoo is actually only 12% when you add VAT onto your cost price.

Having worked in retail for over 18yrs I don't think that all retailers are guilty of "random concocting" of prices. Sure they will try and get the highest margin that they can, but that's called running a business and making a profit. (if that's possible these days)

Caught

Arpa wrote: »

The first of the downers. Look, if I have to explain everything we could be here all year and not make any progress. Common sense would tell you that one cannot expect everything to be the same price as in Europe, but what I am talking about is the ridiculous over-pricing. The large shops dream up prices at will. A fair price system is what I am after. Let's take pharmacies for example. I use to work in one so I know the system. When a prescription drug came in we would go to the computer, tap in the product and it would give us a mark up for that item. In the case of prescription drugs that was a 66% mark up from the price we bought the drug in at. Do you think this is a reasonable mark up for medication? When a non-prescription item came in, let's say a bottle of Head & Shoulders, that was a 33% mark up. On a shampoo?! I didn't want to get in to percentages, but I want to make it clear to people that shops put whatever price they want on items, and as long as you keep buying, they are rolling in it. I understand that prices are higher because of wages, but they are not reflective of the wage. They are over-priced still. There is no cap. If prices were consistently reflective of the wages people earn then I would have no issue.
Is this not what we call a rip off? What irks me is that the two replies on this thread so far have been two people who are posting on a forum called "rip-off Ireland", yet who are defending the blatant over-pricing of items. Look around you. You are not being asked to pay a fair price reflective of wages, you are being asked to pay that and more. What is the more? Whatever the retailer feels they want to charge. In order to stop this we have to collectively cease buying goods that are ridiculously over-priced. You cannot tell me that €1.00 for a bag of Hunky Dorys is not a rip off. There are thousands of examples. My point is that people seem unwilling or just not bothered to raise the issue, so the retailers are loving it. Cinemas, bus fares, mars bars, bread, car parking prices, pay parking in hospitals, hair cuts, a cappuccino, books, a chicken and stuffing sandwich.... it's across the board. Maybe it is more expensive in Dublin than elsewhere in the country, I don't know, but it has to stop. The only cheap thing I notice is air-fares out of Ireland, perhaps not a bad idea. In Barcelona you pay €1.00 for a bus journey anywhere in the city, no matter how distant or how close. Is that impossible to envision in Dublin? The Luas...another ridiculously over-priced system. A friend of mine who takes the Luas everyday never pays the fare, because it is cheaper for him to pay the fine if he get's caught.
I could go on all day about ridiculous prices, but to sum it up. I understand what keithclancy and davo are saying, however we are not talking about that. To pay a fair price would be fine. We are talking about random concocting of prices by retailers and services and this has to stop.
Now please, don't start arguing with me about the services I have mentioned, or even the items I have mentioned, because I am only one man and cannot reply to everything that everyone says. It would be more useful if people could point out what item is over-priced and where, in a clear concise fashion. A list of items perhaps, so that anybody who is with me can stop buying that item from that place. Perhaps this way we can effect change.

My Nanas on a few prescription drugs - they're all really dear. No wonder - 66%? Thats gotta change imo...

Shampoo - in America a bottle of shampoo that lasts for half a year [big Redken bottles] are like $20. Half a year. You can't go wrong. My Mam and I could go through a bottle of shampoo for like E4 every two or three weeks.

The Hunky Dorys are a rip off. A multipack of like 10 or 12 is like a fiver or something in Tescos like.

Cinemas - EVERYBODY knows that this is a rip off. I haven't been there in at least a year I'd say [except for when my friends brother works in the cinema and got her free tickets to Cemetary Junction].
Last movie I saw was prolly HSM 3 and paid for a ticket like. I wanna see Toy Story 3 on July 16th, as I love Toy Story. I'm never gonna get to see it though.

Bus fares - yeah, its a bit bad. It was 55c for bus fare home from school two years ago, now its 65c. Like, thats a euro extra every two weeks since that markup.

Mars bars - not a personal fan, but 80c or a euro in some cases is ridiculous. Once again, a multipack would be around 2 euro...

Parking - no comment. I'm fifteen.

Haircuts - I went to a hairdresser before. It was 70 or 80 euro for a wash, cut and blowdry. It was a lovely haircut I must say. But Peter Marks have given my nicer ones for 30 or 40.

Cappacino - I don't drink them, but I've heard they're dear. And O'Briens charges you to use their table. I haven't gone there ever before, because when I was around eight they wanted to charge us more for sitting there. Off to Burger King it was. :L

Books - use a library. :L Really though, school books are very dear. Its 25 euro for my Maths book for 4th year. Thats for ordinary level and I did higher this year. I'm good at maths like, so I might do HL for the Leaving, which means the books a waste prolly.

Sandwiches - now the prices ARE phenomenal... I agree. :L Make your own at home.

Now I'm on the side of getting something done about it. 66% mark up isnt right, even if wages are high. A lot of my Mams wages are taken from wages, levis etc. I'm not sure about other countries and how much of their wages are taken, but it doesn't leave you with a huge ammount to pay for the 66% mark up.

66%? Thats just called greediness.

davo10

66% may reflect cost of dispencing, insurance etc. I do not work in the pharmacy industry and don't claim to know anything about it but if a medication costs the pharmacist €60 and he/she is charging €100 to the patient then the 66% markup is excessive. if the medication costs €6 and the patient is charged €10 then that is another thing, the profit on this transaction is 10% of the first. I would suspect that the vast majority of prescriptions are in the second category but I do not know. Also it is my understanding that private sales in pharmacies offset actual losses on med card prescriptions where the phamacist gets paid less by HSE then is costs for him/her to dispence the medication. In this case you may actually be paying for the HSE's misunderstanding of the pharmacists business but again I'm no expert on this.
OP your frustration about certain issues is understandable and we have all been pissed off at times with the cost of things but as virtually all the other posters have pointed out, we live in a high cost economy that includes high wages relative to other regions of the world. If we want everything to come down in price, then we should not object to reductions in wages/benefits/living conditions/free education etc.
Did you get an oppurtunity to compare your wages to someone working in the North or eastern Europe?, it's pretty sobering and shows you why so many foreign nationals came here to work. It also should make us appreciate what we have, not many of us could even pay our mortgage alone if we earned their wages, never mind worrying about the price of a bag of crisps.

rubadub

Arpa wrote: »

I have quite a few foreign friends who are living here and they all ask me the same thing. Why is it so expensive.

In the past year I have heard of 2 business acquaintances coming over and remarking how cheap drink was here, a Norwegian and an Italian, I was in Norway with the same guy, a pint was €9 there, in Italy the lad said he was paying up to €8, I was shocked at the Italian guy.

There does seem to be a general attitude in Ireland to just get on with it and not moan about the prices.

SOme fools might do this, my attitude is to not moan about prices THAT I CHOOSE NOT TO PAY. There is NO rape going on it is all consensual. I do not see the point in moaning about high prices when there are so many LOW prices around, that is why I would post about them in bargain alerts, who the fuck wants to know about a bar priced at €1.50 when you could be telling them about a 5 pack for €1.50? Many foodstuffs cost less than they did 20 years ago. Beer in off licences is now much cheaper than it was when I started drinking ~17 years ago back then a standard cheap can was £1/€1.27, the price of pints has just risen accordingly with inflation/wages, it is the drop in off licence prices which make it appear to have skyrocketted.

It seems to me some people do not give a damn what they pay, like the €1 crisps mentioned, or bars. A 5 pack of bars is €2 average now, 5 full size bounties were 74cent in tesco recently.

Haircuts? I have had the same wahl razor for the past 18 years, most guys have short hair these days some idiots are still going to the barber for a blade 2 all over though, if they want to squander their time & money so be it.

g32

borderlinemeath wrote: »

Having worked in retail for over 18yrs I don't think that all retailers are guilty of "random concocting" of prices. Sure they will try and get the highest margin that they can, but that's called running a business and making a profit. (if that's possible these days)

LOL.

borderlinemeath

g32 wrote: »

LOL.

You would want to start stocking up on your beer before the VAT in the UK goes up!!

Brian Capture

If you don't want to pay 5.50 for a bottle of Bulmers then just do the following:

Brian Capture: Hello, may I have a bottle of Bulmers please

Barman: Yes, here you go.

Brian Capture: Thanks. Hand him what you think the drink is worth

Barman: Hey, you need to give me another €xxx.

Brian Capture: That's all I'm prepared to pay. If you don't like it then tough.

You should walk away from the bar and drink the bottle in a corner somewhere.

If confronted by barman or security staff tell them to shove their Bulmers up their hole.

racso1975

Good post there brian cant wait to see you on next boards beers night

Caught

So are we going to do something about it then mate? :L

Being a teenager means I'm broke almost constantly. Most teens are, cause school books cost so much [and my school uniform is really not durable so it needs to be rebought every two years or year] so our parents cant afford it well. Sure nuff, theres child allowance and all that stuff, and I'm not sure how much that is, but getting no maintenance whatsoever makes it a bit annoying.

looksee

Caught wrote: »

So are we going to do something about it then mate? :L

Being a teenager means I'm broke almost constantly. Most teens are, cause school books cost so much [and my school uniform is really not durable so it needs to be rebought every two years or year] so our parents cant afford it well. Sure nuff, theres child allowance and all that stuff, and I'm not sure how much that is, but getting no maintenance whatsoever makes it a bit annoying.

You're a teenager, you're broke. Its in the nature of teenagers to be broke. There hasn't been a window cleaner round here in over 2 years. And ill health means that the lawn isn't getting cut as often as it should. Its not easy to build up a round and get people to trust you and want to employ you, but being broke isn't easy either.

A new school uniform every 2 years! How long do you think your casual clothes would last if you wore them all day, every day.

keithclancy

looksee wrote: »

You're a teenager, you're broke. Its in the nature of teenagers to be broke. There hasn't been a window cleaner round here in over 2 years. And ill health means that the lawn isn't getting cut as often as it should. Its not easy to build up a round and get people to trust you and want to employ you, but being broke isn't easy either.

A new school uniform every 2 years! How long do you think your casual clothes would last if you wore them all day, every day.

Yup,

School Uniform is cheaper and handier for kids as you'd need to buy casual clothes for school as well.

jahalpin

66% mark-up on prescription drugs sounds about right as all the costs of running the pharmacy have to be paid out of the margin that is made on the sale of the drugs (professional salary for pharmasist, wages for shop staff, insurance, rates, electricity, water, rent, repairs etc.)

Schoolchild bus-fares are heavily subsidised and are actually still very cheap.

Multi-pack bars are usually smaller than retail bars and the wholesale price of these are usually a lot less than the normal bars

jahalpin

Caught wrote: »

Cappacino - I don't drink them, but I've heard they're dear. And O'Briens charges you to use their table. I haven't gone there ever before, because when I was around eight they wanted to charge us more for sitting there. Off to Burger King it was. :L

Books - use a library. :L Really though, school books are very dear. Its 25 euro for my Maths book for 4th year. Thats for ordinary level and I did higher this year. I'm good at maths like, so I might do HL for the Leaving, which means the books a waste prolly.

Sandwiches - now the prices ARE phenomenal... I agree. :L Make your own at home.

Now I'm on the side of getting something done about it. 66% mark up isnt right, even if wages are high. A lot of my Mams wages are taken from wages, levis etc. I'm not sure about other countries and how much of their wages are taken, but it doesn't leave you with a huge ammount to pay for the 66% mark up.

66%? Thats just called greediness.

Income tax (inc. Levies and PRSI) are actually a lot lower here than in most countries, the Tax Free Allowances are also quite high here so people have a much higher take-home pay here.

The extra charge in O'Briens is mainly down to VAT differences between take away and eat-in food.

Cappucinos are expensive as they use a lot of hot milk.

There is also a cap on the amount that someone has to pay for prescription drugs per month, I think that this is somewhere around 80euro

danbohan

davo10 wrote: »

Arpa you are right it is time to do something, but there is only one sure way of doing it. If we want the same prices as elsewhere then we should have the same conditions as elsewhere. Starting with wages and benefits, all including yours should be brought in to line with the North at the very least and possibly eastern europe. Including yours, pay should drop by a further 30-50%.Remember your friends probably came here to work because of the higher wages we earn here. If people have the same amount of pay as other countries then prices will have to drop as the consumer will not be able to afford them. Benefits should drop by an equal amount to come in to line with eastern europe, free education etc should go, working conditions should fall to equal with those in eastern europe. Now with this, a lot of people will not be able to afford their mortgages unless they can persuade the vendor to give them back part of the price they paid for a house so it comes in to line with the cost of a house in eastern europe or maybe the bank will knock 60% off your mortgage, i doubt either will happen so defaults will rise, with profits down all but the mass sellers will survive so shops in small towns will "be driven into the ground" but that doesnt matter to you.
Before you get all righteous, get on a wage comparison site, check your pay against those workers in Poland, Lithuania etc doing a similar job, ask yourself are you willing to take a wage cut to their level so you can get consumer items at the same price as there. To get a little we all have to give a little so don't be hypocritical and think that you should keep what you have but every retailer/ service provider should accept a cut.

salarys are higher in US , most items are much cheaper there ,so your basic argument does not stand up . you are been selective in your argument re eastern europe etc , compare like with like ,
ireland is still a rip off,but lots in buisness and their employess seem to be in denial of it

davo10

danbohan, regarding US salaries, post your proof please. I can prove the minimum wage in US is more than a third lower than here and most workers in US are on minimum wage or just above.
I will gladly compare like with like, post the general sector you work in such as industrial, tradesman, civil servant etc and I will post comparative wages for you, an American, a Pole and Lithuanian.

StereoLove

It's a total rip-off! I was in the shop close to my house yesterday and I picked up a Mars Bar when I brought it to the counter the woman scanned it and charger me €1.20!:eek: Usually I wouldn't have paied that much for it but I was starving!:p

pleasant Co.

StereoLove wrote: »

It's a total rip-off! I was in the shop close to my house yesterday and I picked up a Mars Bar when I brought it to the counter the woman scanned it and charger me €1.20!:eek: Usually I wouldn't have paied that much for it but I was starving!:p

..and so are the rip off merchants, you just fed them...for shaaame

Brian Capture

StereoLove wrote: »

It's a total rip-off! I was in the shop close to my house yesterday and I picked up a Mars Bar when I brought it to the counter the woman scanned it and charger me €1.20!:eek: Usually I wouldn't have paied that much for it but I was starving!:p

you should have followed my instructions as per the post #16 and given them 70 cent.

davo10

Brian I assume you are joking, if you are not then what you are advising is theft. If the price is advertised or quoted before you pay then you have the choice to purchase or not, if you consume it without paying for it, it is theft and you can be prosecuted. I have read court reports in newspapers where people were arrested for stealing single items in shops. Put simply its dumbass advice.

g32

danbohan wrote: »

salarys are higher in US , most items are much cheaper there ,so your basic argument does not stand up . you are been selective in your argument re eastern europe etc , compare like with like ,
ireland is still a rip off,but lots in buisness and their employess seem to be in denial of it

The Irish retailers are just plain greedy for more money because they have the false illusion that just because every other retailer charges a high price, they can charge the same or higher (depending on the level of greed).



I previously pointed out to a retailer on this forum that 'operating costs' have come down including:

Rent reductions

VAT reductions

Commercial rate reductions

Electricity reductions (switching from ESB to Bord Gais)

whippet

Brian Capture wrote: »

If you don't want to pay 5.50 for a bottle of Bulmers then just do the following:

Brian Capture: Hello, may I have a bottle of Bulmers please

Barman: Yes, here you go.

Brian Capture: Thanks. Hand him what you think the drink is worth

Barman: Hey, you need to give me another €xxx.

Brian Capture: That's all I'm prepared to pay. If you don't like it then tough.

You should walk away from the bar and drink the bottle in a corner somewhere.

If confronted by barman or security staff tell them to shove their Bulmers up their hole.

nonsense and clap trap .... premises selling alcohol for consumption must have a visible price list at the entrance .. therefore you know what they are charging before you enter the bar .... the bar man 99% of the time have no authority to 'haggle' and therefore actions described as above would render that type of customer a total arsehole and shouldn't be served at all.

StereoLove

Brian Capture wrote: »

you should have followed my instructions as per the post #16 and given them 70 cent.

Sorry!:( Next time I will!