We are 29% dearer than the EU Average

goat2

eddie hobbs was on radio today, saying we are paying the highest prices in europe
also he says the offers the shops get, they do not always pass on to customers, so we are being screwed right left and centre
firstly our biggest payout in this country is tax, we are heavily taxed on everything we buy, also there is a huge tax cut on our wages, it is the government all the way who should be coming down, and also bringing down the price of everything, our wages have taken a huge slash lately, we still have the same bills, electric, gas, petrol, tax is gone up on the cars, they are bringing in water charges, tv licence is astronomical, bin charges are way too high
it is a never ending struggle.
i do dread what this end of year will bring

Ghandee

I Too heard Eddie Hobbs clearly say shops do NOT always pass on their offers to the Irish consumers, Eddie Hobbs, a real man of the people and consumer, and when Eddie says it, It more than likely is true, as he is a real genius about retail and consumer law.

It seems to me that the same select few folk to attack the same select few (mostly us who point out the rip offs)
Unsurprisingly these select few 'just happen' to be retailers (ahem....) or involved in retail. So defending the rip offs is obviously in their best interest.

Reading through some previous posts you may actually see (in my eyes anyway) a slight bit of bullying/ganging up on an individual(s), even more surprising to me is one of the perpetrators is a moderator????

They are so bloody arrogant, their actually refusing to acknowledge the latest reports published in yesterdays news, and their usual stupid excuses are actually boring now!

The noose is firmly around the rip off retailers necks folks! Your a dying breed. Get used to it!

davo10

As someone you knows Eddie Hobbs quite well, I can honestly say he will always look for the sound bite rather than the reality of the situation. Someone as intelligent as him would see right through this report. Its a spoilt report as it does not reflect current market conditions (more than 6 months old), it may reflect offers in some stores and is regional (they compare prices in the capital of one country with the country regions of another), economic conditions have changed in all countries most notably in Ireland where prices have dropped, it does not break down the Government tariffs placed on items etc. The next time Eddie is lecturing on the cost of things and the way people are ripped off, I think someone should ask him about his investment vehicle, Brendan Investments.

Gucky I can assure you I am not a retailer but I do know a little bit about business economics.

Pacing Mule

Gucky wrote: »

The noose is firmly around the rip off retailers necks folks! Your a dying breed. Get used to it!

And why are retailers a dying breed if the profit levels are so high across the board ? Surely if the profits as a result of your perceived ripping off are as high as you think they are why are countless shops and businesses going bust and shutting down ?

Ghandee

Pageant Messiah wrote: »

And why are retailers a dying breed if the profit levels are so high across the board ? Surely if the profits as a result of your perceived ripping off are as high as you think they are why are countless shops and businesses going bust and shutting down ?

Look, I'm not getting into another slanging match, but perhaps loads of them are shutting down because of (and thanks to) threads like these! Were refusing to shop where we are being fleeced..... Simple!

Their all at it, whether it be general stores (groceries etc) DIY stores, Argos, Next, and don't even get me started on Halfords and O2 Ireland not to mention the other mobile operators in this country!

Just today I got a leaflet from Wimax through the door exclaiming we pay the highest landline rental charges in the WORLD!

Petrol stations charging 3€ and up for a cup of coffee.... 6€ for a sandwich in a pub? Feckin chippers charging 3€ for onion rings???? (you get THREE in the bag) makes an onion worth about 30€ at that rate haha!
Get real folks, the boom is as dead as a dodo! The days of us lads buying and not questioning prices is over!

I myself am in the retail game, I sell commercial parts, and during the recession I have stepped up to the Mark!
I have REDUCED my prices across the board, and as a result the recession is one of the best things to happen my business! Where folk use to just trade in a wagon, due to lack of finance they are now repairing and my sales doubled in 2008, and doubled again in 2009! The reason I get angry though is watching other businesses around me, that (in my eyes) are refusing to reduce prices! Yet they moan whinge and cry that sales are down!
Get the 40-50% Mark ups out of your heads lads! Get your margins down, stay in business! No one wants to see you go out of business, but in this day and age no one wants to see you rob us blind either!

davo10

Gucky, if a commercial parts shop in the North or Poland or Hungary sells the same parts as you at a lower price, will you accept that you are in fact ripping off your customers?. Post the prices of a couple of parts so we can see if we can buy them cheaper elsewhere.

g32

Pageant Messiah wrote: »

How has he made a fool of himself ? It's a special multi buy offer which also exists down here too.

If you go into ASDA today and want to buy one 2Ltr bottle of Coke you will pay £1.66

Read the asda receipt again.

When an item on offer gets scanned, it appears on the receipt as the normal price. Then at end, you see the actual add-ups subtracting the offer price differences.

It is also clearly mentioned at the bottom of the receipt: 'Snacks/Drinks 3F £3'

Savings made at Asda Enniskillen.

Pacing Mule

Gucky wrote: »

Look, I'm not getting into another slanging match, but perhaps loads of them are shutting down because of (and thanks to) threads like these! Were refusing to shop where we are being fleeced..... Simple!

Their all at it, whether it be general stores (groceries etc) DIY stores, Argos, Next, and don't even get me started on Halfords and O2 Ireland not to mention the other mobile operators in this country!

Just today I got a leaflet from Wimax through the door exclaiming we pay the highest landline rental charges in the WORLD!

Petrol stations charging 3€ and up for a cup of coffee.... 6€ for a sandwich in a pub? Feckin chippers charging 3€ for onion rings???? (you get THREE in the bag) makes an onion worth about 30€ at that rate haha!
Get real folks, the boom is as dead as a dodo! The days of us lads buying and not questioning prices is over!

I myself am in the retail game, I sell commercial parts, and during the recession I have stepped up to the Mark!
I have REDUCED my prices across the board, and as a result the recession is one of the best things to happen my business! Where folk use to just trade in a wagon, due to lack of finance they are now repairing and my sales doubled in 2008, and doubled again in 2009! The reason I get angry though is watching other businesses around me, that (in my eyes) are refusing to reduce prices! Yet they moan whinge and cry that sales are down!
Get the 40-50% Mark ups out of your heads lads! Get your margins down, stay in business! No one wants to see you go out of business, but in this day and age no one wants to see you rob us blind either!

Do you honestly believe a retailer would be as naieve / stubborn or stupid as to prefer to lose sales, lose money and lose their business rather than cut prices and make smaller margin but maintain profitabillity ????

You're in a business that is benefiting from the recession because of the shift towards repairing rather than replacing. Granted you say you have cut your prices a bit in line with getting your overheads down etc and that's prudent business tactics and genuine congratulations for a successful business.

But you have to accept that there are certain retailers particularily the smaller independent retailers who have cut prices to the bone, are trying to compete with bigger players who are in effect loss leading, and can't cut those prices any more or else they will be selling at a loss which they can't afford to. There are many businesses out there going belly up and it's not because they have blindly held out for higher margins.

Pacing Mule

g32 wrote: »

Read the asda receipt again.

When an item on offer gets scanned, it appears on the receipt as the normal price. Then at end, you see the actual add-ups subtracting the offer price differences.

It is also clearly mentioned at the bottom of the receipt: 'Snacks/Drinks 3F £3'

Savings made at Asda Enniskillen.

Read my post again.

Ghandee

davo10 wrote: »

Gucky, if a commercial parts shop in the North or Poland or Hungary sells the same parts as you at a lower price, will you accept that you are in fact ripping off your customers?. Post the prices of a couple of parts so we can see if we can buy them cheaper elsewhere.

Lol!

I actually export parts to Poland!!!!!
Don't believe me, if you wish but I'm 100% telling the truth!

O could give you a few parts (real fast moving items) but you'd prob never be able to A find them or B come close to the prices I sell at!
We buy our stuff at OE prices (manufacturers rates) and as a result I we are one of the keenest I. Europe.

Here is a little challenge for you if you like, call a few motor factors tomorrow and get a price on two fast moving items.

Load sensing valve p/no 602005001 from me 135€ (most competitors in Dublin 200 +)
Scania genuine brake pads (must be genuine!) 70€ from me, again competitors 90+
jost landing legs model 0201 my price 258€, competitors all in the 320+ range.

I have provided you with part numbers that ANY motor factor in the hgv section will recognise!

I doubt you will post your prices here as I'm 99% confident I won't be beaten.

Of course you could come back and tell me I'm spoofing, but I can assure you I ain't! And if you wish to pm me a fax no or email address I'd gladly provide you with a recent flier we had made up.

g32

davo10 wrote: »

g32, you really are a clutz, you said VAT would not go up in Uk, it did, a number of posters pointed out the changes in exchange rate which have increased prices in the North, but you seem unable to comprehend this, you seem not to understand the concept of Government tarrifs on alcohol, cigarettes and fuel and the difference between it and VAT, you will not back up your posts even when prompted to do so and we might as well be talking in a foreign language when we try to inform you of the difference in operating costs/pay rates between countries. Again, just to prove my point and try to show you the difference, would you please post the sector you work in, be it industrial, civil servant, trades man etc, it doesn't matter, make one up if you like. I will do some research and post the rates of pay in various countries, I gaurantee you there will be more than 29% difference in most cases and hundreds of percentage points differences in some cases.

Two words: gs

davo10

Gucky, I'll take your word you are the cheapest in this country, but if I can find them cheaper in other countries will you admit that you are in fact ripping your customers off?, after all this is the crux of the discussion, the price of goods here relative to other countries.

Incidently, if I cannot find references to these parts on the internet, then what conclusion should I draw?

Come on g32, have the courage of your conviction, if you say the world is flat and refuse to back it up with evidence then you should expect to be pilloried, post the proof of your statements about rates/rent/costs/ etc in the particular stores you put up as examples.

Ghandee

Pageant Messiah wrote: »

Do you honestly believe a retailer would be as naieve / stubborn or stupid as to prefer to lose sales, lose money and lose their business rather than cut prices and make smaller margin but maintain profitabillity ????

You're in a business that is benefiting from the recession because of the shift towards repairing rather than replacing. Granted you say you have cut your prices a bit in line with getting your overheads down etc and that's prudent business tactics and genuine congratulations for a successful business.

But you have to accept that there are certain retailers particularily the smaller independent retailers who have cut prices to the bone, are trying to compete with bigger players who are in effect loss leading, and can't cut those prices any more or else they will be selling at a loss which they can't afford to. There are many businesses out there going belly up and it's not because they have blindly held out for higher margins.

I understand that, and I'm sorry if my anger seems to be directed at the small retailers!
Tbh imhave posted in an earlier thread that I'd actually PREFER to give my money to theocal Eurospar or Centra than the robbing feckers in Tescos etc!

I don't single out the small retailers far from it actually!

I named a few examples like o2, Argos here v Argos the North.
Chippers here (vs Europe!)
B and Q and Woodies RIP OFF
coffee in petrol stations
Pubs here.........

The list is endless!

Ghandee

davo10 wrote: »

Gucky, I'll take your word you are the cheapest in this country, but if I can find them cheaper in other countries will you admit that you are in fact ripping your customers off?, after all this is the crux of the discussion, the price of goods here relative to other countries.

Incidently, if I cannot find references to these parts on the internet, then what conclusion should I draw?

Come on g32, have the courage of your conviction, if you say the world is flat and refuse to back it up with evidence then you should expect to be pilloried, post the proof of your statements about rates/rent/costs/ etc in the particular stores you put up as examples.

The valve is manufactured by Haldex should be easily found via google.
Scania pads, genuine only manufacturers are Knorr Bremse or Textar (any other make is spurious!)
The 0201 legs are manufactured by Jost (the Market leader in the world)

They should all be easily found on the net!

Pacing Mule

Gucky wrote: »

I understand that, and I'm sorry if my anger seems to be directed at the small retailers!
Tbh imhave posted in an earlier thread that I'd actually PREFER to give my money to theocal Eurospar or Centra than the robbing feckers in Tescos etc!

I don't single out the small retailers far from it actually!

I named a few examples like o2, Argos here v Argos the North.
Chippers here (vs Europe!)
B and Q and Woodies RIP OFF
coffee in petrol stations
Pubs here.........

The list is endless!

I don't necessarily disagree with you there it's just that the majority of people here spouting on about rip off ireland etc tarnish all retail with the same brush. I'm sick to death of being told to cut prices I can't afford to or being told that item X is cheaper elsewhere when it is cheaper for the most part because of different cost structures or tax systems.

davo10

They are Gucky, you are an export business with sales to Poland which means it would be inconcievable that you would not have a website, now I can find no results for "Heldex load sensing valve 602005001 Ireland €135", why is that?. Is the €135 the bulk buy cost or the single item cost?, Do you have a warehouse with employees or is it an internet based business?.

Gucky you may be offerring great value here but the issue is the price here relative to abroad and you have been adament about being ripped off here, again if your parts can be bought cheaper elsewhere will you admit to being a ripoff merchant?

Ghandee

davo10 wrote: »

They are Gucky, you are an export business with sales to Poland which means it would be inconcievable that you would not have a website, now I can find no results for "Heldex load sensing valve 602005001 Ireland €135", why is that?. Is the €135 the bulk buy cost or the single item cost?, Do you have a warehouse with employees or is it an internet based business?

It should be Haldex, not heldex.
I operate from a warehouse with two other lads on the road, one picks/packs orders.

I actually worked in one of my competitors for a few years and KNOW their costs vs mine! Nothing in it only the end selling result/profit margin

Pacing Mule

@ Gucky,

Just as an aside from this debate how come the poles don't source the items from the same distributors you do ? I'm assuming you're not manufacturing them so why can't the poles source these cheaper elsewhere ?

Ghandee

davo10 wrote: »

They are Gucky, you are an export business with sales to Poland which means it would be inconcievable that you would not have a website, now I can find no results for "Heldex load sensing valve 602005001 Ireland €135", why is that?. Is the €135 the bulk buy cost or the single item cost?, Do you have a warehouse with employees or is it an internet based business?.

Gucky you may be offerring great value here but the issue is the price here relative to abroad and you have been adament about being ripped off here, again if your parts can be bought cheaper elsewhere will you admit to being a ripoff merchant?

My prices wouldn't be on the Internet (NONE OF OUR PRICES ARE)
simply because we have pricing structures in place, and so customer A wouldn't be sold something at the same price as customer B (due purely to bought and discount applicable to account)

Were slightly going off track here anyway guys! This isn't about spare parts for heavy good vehicles lol!

Danno

What about the beef lads? We make the stuff here... why is it so dear?

borderlinemeath

Gucky wrote: »

I Too heard Eddie Hobbs clearly say shops do NOT always pass on their offers to the Irish consumers, Eddie Hobbs, a real man of the people and consumer, and when Eddie says it, It more than likely is true, as he is a real genius about retail and consumer law.

It seems to me that the same select few folk to attack the same select few (mostly us who point out the rip offs)
Unsurprisingly these select few 'just happen' to be retailers (ahem....) or involved in retail. So defending the rip offs is obviously in their best interest.

Reading through some previous posts you may actually see (in my eyes anyway) a slight bit of bullying/ganging up on an individual(s), even more surprising to me is one of the perpetrators is a moderator????

They are so bloody arrogant, their actually refusing to acknowledge the latest reports published in yesterdays news, and their usual stupid excuses are actually boring now!

The noose is firmly around the rip off retailers necks folks! Your a dying breed. Get used to it!

What about his pushing of Cape Verde properties, built by one of his cronies?
I took no heed in his opinions after that. He's no better than the polititians.

Ghandee

Pageant Messiah wrote: »

@ Gucky,

Just as an aside from this debate how come the poles don't source the items from the same distributors you do ? I'm assuming you're not manufacturing them so why can't the poles source these cheaper elsewhere ?

Prices in Poland in the Transport industry seem to be pretty high for some unexplained reason.
There are all manner of non genuine parts available to the poles, but the general rule of buy cheap buy twice applies in Poland as much as anywhere else.

The reason we purchase/sell so cheap is pury down to qtys and numbers.

Were pretty specialised towards a certain sector in our game (abs and suspension equipment) and as such, get calls from all over Ireland and England for technical advice etc, and as such some of the Market leaders in these products are offering us accounts to buy from them on a near monthly basis.

davo10

Gucky are you telling the readers of this thread that you sell the same article to two different people at different prices?, surely not, are you ripping off the one who has to pay more?, why can't you sell at the same price to both as they are buying the same thing and you are buying in bulk from the manufacturer?, why don't you advertise your prices so the consumer can compare them with your competitors?, what "pricing structures" have you in place that explains the differential in costs?

Gucky , I still cannot find a website for an independent supplier ofthe equipment you listed in Ireland even though you are a market leader, what gives?

Ghandee

Danno wrote: »

What about the beef lads? We make the stuff here... why is it so dear?

Cows!!!

Vennison comes from the other lads!

Ghandee

davo10 wrote: »

Gucky are you telling the readers of this thread that you sell the same article to two different people at different prices?, surely not, are you ripping off the one who has to pay more?, why can't you sell at the same price to both as they are buying the same thing and you are buying in bulk from the manufacturer?, why don't you advertise your prices so the consumer can compare them with your competitors?, what "pricing structures" have you in place that explains the differential in costs?

Absolutely not!

Think of the kind of offers you see everyday in a shop. Something like kitkats 5 for a euro etc.

In laymans terms, johnny could buy a wheel from me for 110€
Paddy might buy 10, but I'd prob reduce the price to 100-105 absolutely no hidden agenda, and not most, ALL our customers understand this.

It's called qty breakage!

Ghandee

borderlinemeath wrote: »

What about his pushing of Cape Verde properties, built by one of his cronies?
I took no heed in his opinions after that. He's no better than the polititians.

I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with this story?

davo10

My point being that you buy in bulk from the manufacturer and sell different amounts to different people at different prices, so technically you are making more profit per item off one than the other/ripping off the consumers who pay the higher price.

I know exactly what you mean and what you are doing makes excellent business sence, my point is that depending on market factors you sell the same product at different prices, exactly what every other business person does in this country. If the manufacturer increases costs for supplying you or if your operating costs increase, then you will have to pass that on to the customer will you not?

Ghandee

davo10 wrote: »

My point being that you buy in bulk from the manufacturer and sell different amounts to different people at different prices, so technically you are making more profit per item off one than the other/ripping off the consumers who pay the higher price.

I know exactly what you mean and what you are doing makes excellent business sence, my point is that depending on market factors you sell the same product at different prices, exactly what every other business person does in this country. If the manufacturer increases costs for supplying you or if your operating costs increase, then you will have to pass that on to the customer will you not?

Well that's obvious, of course I will/would.

However, my point is that I get qty breakages from my suppliers, then I pass on this discount to customer a who has bought one particular item. All the time customer A is absolutely aware if he ups his order he would get a sma discount.

Customer B on the other hand knows he needs more than 6 of said item and knows how much it is to buy one, so he SEES his discount and Appreciates the discount.

This deal Applies to around 95% to the stock I sell, EVERY customer knows it exists and their is no sneaky underhand deals place.

The way I deal with price increasing is simple (and tends to work in my favour)
I will write to all customers in advance of any increase that we are aware off, I usually provide them with a copy of the suppliers proposed price increase (obviously only the percentages shown and not the actual buying prices)
Our customers know then that by (for arguments sake( sept first, this yoke is going to start costing me 106 bought as one unit, they tend to bulk buy in the month or two running up to the increase.
This gets them 2 discounts essentially, discount a, qty discount.
And discount B, they buy now before the new increase prices take place.

Also as I include some form of letter/extract from suppliers, they can see I'm being genuine and only increasing price by the EXACT same percentage as has been passed on to me, and at least 'tipping them off'

Seems to work, honesty the best policy etc etc!

K-9

goat2 wrote: »

firstly our biggest payout in this country is tax, we are heavily taxed on everything we buy, also there is a huge tax cut on our wages, it is the government all the way who should be coming down, and also bringing down the price of everything, our wages have taken a huge slash lately, we still have the same bills, electric, gas, petrol, tax is gone up on the cars, they are bringing in water charges, tv licence is astronomical, bin charges are way too high

Seeing as we are comparing the ROI and NI here, yes VAT rates are higher here but no, Income tax and Insurance contributions are LOWER here.

Eg. Single lad here earning €30,000 per week pays €5,076 in taxes, levies and PRSI, Net Pat €24,924.
Irish PRSI PAYE Tax Calculator for Ireland Budget 2008 budget 2009 budget 2007 budget 2010 mini budget by karl grabe

Single lad in NI earning £24,300 pays £5,609.35 in tax and NIC giving a Net Pay of £18,690.65 or, €23,075.

So, on the same wage you are €1,849 better of in the ROI. We pay higher VAT here but then again, we pay less tax and PRSI. Obviously, the difference would have been more again pre Income and increased Health levies.

A married man on €50,000 pays taxes, levies and PRSI of €9,312, giving Net Pay of €40,688.

Married man in NI on £40,500 pays a whopping £10,631.35p, giving Net Pay of £29,868.65p or €36,875. A difference of €3,813.

There have been big reductions in tax and PRSI here over the last 15/20 years. Indeed it became one of the main philosophies of the Social Partnership model here, more take home pay to compensate for the higher cost of living here, mad as that was Ted.

In summary goat2, the Govt. does compensate you for the higher cost of living here. You pay at least 30% less tax than NI.

davo10

Gucky, the market conditions that apply to your customers also apply to you as a consumer, that's my point. Most items we purchase in Ireland are single or in low multiples, we do not buy 20 bottles of vodka or 50 Birds eye cod each time we shop so we do not recieve multipack discounts in most cases like you provide, I do not know if you have ever been to Newry but you would see people buying huge volumns of alcohol so it stands to reason using your very own business model that Asda which is part of the huge Walmart would be able to buy from a supplier at a discount thus they can charge the consumer less. How come you can apply this logic to your business and not apply it to single items you buy in other retail sectors. Given the fact that you have a warehouse/employees/rates/postage/electricity/phone/insurance etc, do you not agree that you could charge less if your provided the same service in a low cost economy like Bulgaria, you said you export and are a market leader. If a company sets up in Bulgaria and offers the same parts as you at a lower price, would you than accept being called a ripoff merchant by your current customers who can now get the same brand parts at lower prices from a provider with lower operating costs?