What do you think of the Christmas stalls on Henry Street in Dublin?

cgcsb

As long as they declare their income and are tax compliant I'm fine with it. Regarding rip off brands, who actually is bothered by that. The buyer knows its fake and buys it anyway. The money goes to the retailer and whoever made it instead of georgio Armani or Calvin Klien or some other massive corporation that abuses child labourers in Bangladesh.

jimmii

cgcsb wrote: »

As long as they declare their income and are tax compliant I'm fine with it. Regarding rip off brands, who actually is bothered by that. The buyer knows its fake and buys it anyway. The money goes to the retailer and whoever made it instead of georgio Armani or Calvin Klien or some other massive corporation that abuses child labourers in Bangladesh.

I am guessing that the manufacturers producing knock offs probably don't have the best working standards either in fairness.

Arbiter of Good Taste

cgcsb wrote: »

As long as they declare their income and are tax compliant I'm fine with it. Regarding rip off brands, who actually is bothered by that. The buyer knows its fake and buys it anyway. The money goes to the retailer and whoever made it instead of georgio Armani or Calvin Klien or some other massive corporation that abuses child labourers in Bangladesh.

You're right. Why give you hard earned money to big corporations when you can fund organised crime instead?

Muahahaha

Does anyone know how long the traders have been set up the way they are at Xmas? I can't remember them being there in the 1990s but maybe they were?

Agree with others that it is tacky, DCC really shouldn't be issuing permits for stalls that are going to sell tat and knock offs.

johnsheridan

I think they add a lot of atmosphere, although the street can get very crowded. I was only saying to myself the other day anyway: do they all have permits?!

ProudDUB

cgcsb wrote: »

As long as they declare their income and are tax compliant I'm fine with it. Regarding rip off brands, who actually is bothered by that. The buyer knows its fake and buys it anyway. The money goes to the retailer and whoever made it instead of georgio Armani or Calvin Klien or some other massive corporation that abuses child labourers in Bangladesh.

What? :eek:

Who on earth do you think makes the knock off handbags? People who work 4 hour days, earning €100 per hour, sitting in beautifully air conditioned premises, with handmaidens near by to administer back rubs & massages, if they feel the slightest twinge of tiredness? Where do I sign up for that gig? :rolleyes:

At least the large corporations pay taxes & rates & usually have unions to keep an eye on working practices. So do the retailers that sell their products. It is far from being a perfect working environment, especially if you work for the likes of Dunnes. But it's a damm sight less shady than the world of black market counterfeits & knock offs.

Greenmachine

One of the days during the week there was 3 guards walking up Henry street towards the spire. I saw them move from one stall to the next, as I was walking towards them. One of the stall holders between myself and them took his permit roll it up his sleeve and walk off leaving the stall as was, so what ever guards were out that day must have been doing more than checking permits. By the stall holder taking the permit and scarpering I am guessing the stock could not be tied to him.

Ol' Donie

fleet_admiral wrote: »

I think they should shift them to Grafton street next year, and see the proverbial really hit the fan:D

That would be hilarious!

OleRodrigo

Sweatshops in Bangladesh (or wherever they happen to be), do offer better opportunities to workers than they would have ordinarily once the company signs up to codes of practice regarding local labour laws. 77% of Bangladeshis earn less than $2 per day, which is the international poverty standard. 43% earn less than $1.25, while sweatshop workers, who number about 4 million, earn on average more than $2. Not a lot from an Irish perspective, but better than they might do otherwise (source: here)

I agree there should be more collaboration with crafts people to provide quality goods but that would probably jack up prices unless it was subsidized. It tends to be mentioned at this time each year, our city administrators would do well to take a trip to Germany and see how they do their xmas markets. Some of their practices could be easily integrated with our own ' traditional ' versions to the benefit of everyone. However, that sounds too much like a good idea for it to happen. Somebody would take issue, stick a spanner in the works or have a whinge to Joe.

SMJSF

I hate them, they should either be done away with, or moved to Moore street with the regular stalls and dodgy shops.

They shouldn't be up on Henry street. It causes more "person congestion" and take up too much room. And the bloody shouting shouldn't be allowed either! The "staawwburys taw eura"(strawberries two Euro) is bad enough!!

They are an utter nuisance!!

ProudDUB

Greenmachine wrote: »

One of the days during the week there was 3 guards walking up Henry street towards the spire. I saw them move from one stall to the next, as I was walking towards them. One of the stall holders between myself and them took his permit roll it up his sleeve and walk off leaving the stall as was, so what ever guards were out that day must have been doing more than checking permits. By the stall holder taking the permit and scarpering I am guessing the stock could not be tied to him.

With the amount of serious stuff that the boys in blue should be focusing on, its a bit of a waste of policing resources isn't it? How 'bout letting them handle the drug dealers and the skangers that make life so unpleasant for the rest of us. Let some of the Corpo desk jockeys in their nice warm offices, get their hands dirty for a change. Regular patrols & inspections by the street trader licensing authorities. If you can't prove that your merchandise is legit and was acquired by legitimate means, it is confiscated on the spot. So is your trading license. Leave the Guards alone to do the more serious stuff.

Hootanany

SMJSF wrote: »

I hate them, they should either be done away with, or moved to Moore street with the regular stalls and dodgy shops.

They shouldn't be up on Henry street. It causes more "person congestion" and take up too much room. And the bloody shouting shouldn't be allowed either! The "staawwburys taw eura"(strawberries two Euro) is bad enough!!

They are an utter nuisance!!

Arrrrr heeeeer

andekwarhola

Lowering the tone of Henry street. Who'd have thought it.

Greenmachine

ProudDUB wrote: »

With the amount of serious stuff that the boys in blue should be focusing on, its a bit of a waste of policing resources isn't it? How 'bout letting them handle the drug dealers and the skangers that make life so unpleasant for the rest of us. Let some of the Corpo desk jockeys in their nice warm offices, get their hands dirty for a change. Regular patrols & inspections by the street trader licensing authorities. If you can't prove that your merchandise is legit and was acquired by legitimate means, it is confiscated on the spot. So is your trading license. Leave the Guards alone to do the more serious stuff.

I am sure even what I saw was token enforcement at best, but the fella on this stall might have been on probation or something or have priors etc. You could say the same thing about parking violations etc, pretty soon the only things people would be done for would be rape, murder and armed robberies.
If we have laws they should be enforced else why have them.

Fukuyama

ProudDUB wrote: »

With the amount of serious stuff that the boys in blue should be focusing on, its a bit of a waste of policing resources isn't it? How 'bout letting them handle the drug dealers and the skangers that make life so unpleasant for the rest of us. Let some of the Corpo desk jockeys in their nice warm offices, get their hands dirty for a change. Regular patrols & inspections by the street trader licensing authorities. If you can't prove that your merchandise is legit and was acquired by legitimate means, it is confiscated on the spot. So is your trading license. Leave the Guards alone to do the more serious stuff.

You'd need the guards anyways. You can't install a water meter without gardaí to protect workers... imagine trying to confiscate a traders stock!!:eek:

Agree with other posters. An application window should open up in Sept/Oct for Dublin-based merchants, crafts people etc...Jewelry, wallets, art, stocking fillers etc...Maybe even approach some other groups/religions to get them involved as, lets be honest, a falafel stand is probably more Christmassy than a knock off pair of CK boxers anyways.

This might even help solve some of the other issues in the area. In my opinion the tacky shops and stalls attract an element into the area which can make the place a bit intimidating to tourists who might not be familiar with some of the locals' erm... customs.

I do feel for legit traders in the area too like jimmi. Pay rent, rates, tax etc... only to have a stand set up around the corner selling tat and, if anything, make regular customers want to leave the area.

asteroids over berlin

Was stupid enough to buy some Mach 3 blades off them back in the day, the next day I proudly displayed a beautiful mixture of bog roll and blood on my face and neck. Good move - not!

harry Bailey esq

I like them, great for buyin decorations,never buy cosmetics from them though, red faces all round.

jippo nolan

newacc2015 wrote: »

I personally think they need to go. They seriously lower the tone of the street. I know they are traditionally etc. But since when is selling knock off aftershave and cheap one direction posters part of our heritage?

I would keep them if they were similar to the German style of stalls with decent food products and regional christmas ornaments. But they are selling anything you could find in a supermarket or a cheap car boot sale.

I wouldnt ban them, as it will only give support to the anti-everything crowd eg anti-water charges. Just have Revenue and Customs hounding them. Although they do a horrific job at stopping black market cigarettes being sold on Moore Street

But, where would you get the last of the "Cheeky Charly's" ?

super_furry

People will whinge about anything.

Lux23

If they stuck to selling calendars and wrapping paper they wouldn't bother but some of the stuff they sell are unsafe. The little yapping dogs have parts that fall off easily and could choke a small child.

dmcg90

The queues they were causing yesterday made Henry St a nightmare to navigate. Would be glad to see them gone.

Jawgap

Unadulterated tat....

.....I don't know how / why the City Council think they add anything to Henry Street.

dmcg90

Jawgap wrote: »

Unadulterated tat....

.....I don't know how / why the City Council think they add anything to Henry Street.

Why can't they at least move them up to the Christmas Markets on Stephens Green, or out to the Lighthouse...

Cienciano

Do they still sell Toblerones? Toblerones and tubs of sweets like celebrations/heros is all I can remember them selling, and toys you'd see in a pound shop.

ongarboy

They do still sell the Toblerones and all the other crap you can easily get in the countless shops only a 100 meters away in Moore Street, Talbot Street etc (Dealz, Eurogiant, Euro2 etc). Agreed - they take up a third of the street during the busiest month of the year creating really unappealing congestion. I'd tolerate that if they were markets selling interesting and unique products, food and gifts like you see in Christmas markets abroad. I don't understand the City Council's logic in allowing permits to be granted for this type of pound shop tat business in the run up to Christmas when such products are widely available in the area in so many regular shops that sell identical tat. It's not like they are filling a gap in the market.

As others said, if I was a bricks and mortar retailer paying expensive rates and was tax compliant, Id be fuming if my business was basically being made invisible by these stalls outside them. Why not locate them at least in the open area behind the Church bar off Mary Street instead of placing them on an already congested thoroughfare?

ProudDUB

I imagine moving the traders, or banning them altogether would be a bit of a PR disaster for Dublin City Council. They (and the Moore St traders and flower sellers) are an institution & have been for years. They'd be on to Joe Duffy sooner than you can say "last of the Cheeky Charlies." Sound man of de peepul that he is, he'd eat all that malarkey up with a spoon ! :rolleyes:

Ciarafoto_ops

I personally am not a fan but I know a lot of people like them! Each to their own!!

fleet_admiral

One of the lads near the GPO arcade offered me bluey dvd's this morning. So its not only decorations that they sell:eek::o

bigpink

They are awful i hope they get rid of them asap

ollaetta

ProudDUB wrote: »

I imagine moving the traders, or banning them altogether would be a bit of a PR disaster for Dublin City Council. They (and the Moore St traders and flower sellers) are an institution & have been for years. They'd be on to Joe Duffy sooner than you can say "last of the Cheeky Charlies." Sound man of de peepul that he is, he'd eat all that malarkey up with a spoon ! :rolleyes:

DCC can't get rid of it unless the elected Councillors vote to do so. Two chances of that happening.