Chain reaction sterling price on GB site v Euro price on Ireland site

irishrover99

I bought items from PlanetX today. Order was 71 GBP and had it shipped to PM in the north. But when i was entering my payment card address which is Ireland it was automatically selecting the currency to Euro's and the price increased to 91 Euro on the payment page.
So i paid by Paypal and got it for the up to date exchange rate which totalled 85 Euro and it seems to have worked fine. Maybe this could work on Chain reaction too.

Weepsie

It does work. Worked with my credit card last month delivered to parcel motel. Delivery took about 4 days longer though

uck51js9zml2yt

I bought from planetx but used my revolut card and PW.
Had to send them proof of the transaction, ID and PW screenshots of address to verify my identity as it hadn't used verify by visa.

brianomc

Weepsie wrote: »

It does work. Worked with my credit card last month delivered to parcel motel. Delivery took about 4 days longer though

Same for me, but I ordered a helmet so had to use parcel motel to save the vat. I've done it since paying in sterling and shipping to my dublin address. Although last week my order was cheaper to pay in euro than sterling by a few cents.

Alanbt

I have used Revolut to save money buying from all the UK based sites.

Example :
Last month was buying a few bits. Totalled €179 shipped to Ireland.

Changing shipping destination to UK (Parcel Motel) the item in the basket were revised down to €168.

Then I changed the currency to GBP and it worked out as the equivalent of €160. Paying in GBP via Revolut.

The FX rates used by all websites is never the same as the official rate. Revolut is very very close to the official FX rate.

Obviously need to pay the Parcel Motel fee, but there are savings to be had out there.

Carli

I read recently that, since most cycling products are not UK manufactured ( a lot are manufactured in Euro zone countries), the recent fall in Sterling will make these products more expensive in the UK. People purchasing such items through a UK website in future are likely to see price increases whereas if you can find the items on a Euro zone website you are likely to get better value. However you might need to consider whether potentially higher delivery charges from a Euro zone site might wipe out the differential.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I check around 9 or 10 different uk and European websites before buying anything expensive.

In the last month I've spent a small fortune.

€1000 wheels from UK (over €100 cheaper than the usual German bike sites)

Gabba2 from Germany, approx €20-30 cheaper than anywhere else.

Helmet from Uk (over €50 cheaper than anywhere else in Europe)

Beasty

On the specific of helmets the VAT zero-rating in the UK is going to make that option cheaper with pretty much any retailer who is not registered for VAT in Ireland.

Beasty

Carli wrote: »

I read recently that, since most cycling products are not UK manufactured ( a lot are manufactured in Euro zone countries), the recent fall in Sterling will make these products more expensive in the UK. People purchasing such items through a UK website in future are likely to see price increases whereas if you can find the items on a Euro zone website you are likely to get better value. However you might need to consider whether potentially higher delivery charges from a Euro zone site might wipe out the differential.

You are missing the fact that for most people based in Ireland they ultimately pay a price in Euros. Currently UK prices have not caught up with the devaluation and hence there are without doubt some bargains. Yes once prices catch back up again the UK pricing benefit will pretty much disappear. However there will still be opportunities to buy some products cheaper from the UK (with my prior post concerning helmets highlighting the sort of benefit that can be available), and others may be cheaper elsewhere (with traditionally German online retailers having some of the best prices, but as you note that may be at least partially cancelled out by delivery costs)

bren_mc

Beasty wrote: »

It looks like they are applying a 5% markup on their prices to Ireland. Part of that (around 3%) is due to VAT. It would be interesting to hear their explanation of the other 2% though.

The "other 2%" now seems to have increased to between 10 and 15% !

For example, a bike I was looking at is £1599 when the delivery address is UK but £1879 when changed to Ireland. That's an additional 17.5% and that's before they they take another 4-5% over the going exchange rate.

Just wondering if anyone else has got clarification from them on this. I'm going to email them today regarding the bike as I'm interested in purchasing but it will be through the bike to work scheme so won't have the option of UK delivery.

Beasty

Are you sure you didn't switch over to euros when changing location?

EDIT - actually just tried it myself - you are right. That's crazy! (and probably contravening EU law)

bren_mc

Just tried it on wiggle and the very first bike i clicked on had an even more bizarre example (so not sure if this applies across the board)

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/eastway-emitter-r2-ultegra-2016/?curr=GBP&dest=1

This is £1280 compared to £1787:eek:

bren_mc

well, here is the response that I got from CRC in relation to their pricing policy:

Hi Brendan,
At Chain Reaction Cycles our cost to serve differs from market to market. When setting the price of items we must take in all the factors that govern the cost.
These are examples of a few factors that are taken into consideration when determining the price of an item:
• Current cost of the items that are sold in that market by both domestic and foreign retailers
• Shipping costs
• Discounts and promotions
• Seasonal demand
Due to the extensive list of these factors, this can sometimes lead to certain categories or indeed individual products having different prices in different markets at the same time. Also the difference in VAT rate has some effect on the cost of this bike (23% in RoI compared to 20% in the UK).
We always strive to provide the items at the best possible price to the customer, in which ever market they purchase.
Please Note:
Our pricing strategies adhere to EU pricing Law.
VAT is not added to the price of the item if the country is classified as VAT free.
VAT is not added to the item, if the item is not applicable for VAT.

Thanks,
Deirdre

Seems to me that the only bullet point that might have any bearing on this discrepancy is the first one. In other words, we can charge you more because we know you won't get a better deal where you live. Seems totally at odds with EU law

Beasty

I also think "shipping costs" are relevant here. they claim to offer free shipping to UK and Ireland, and therefore cannot differentiate on this (if they actually "charged" for shipping it would be different)

Once the UK leaves the EU mind ....

smacl

Seems to be just CRC and Wiggle taking the píss. Tried Evans and Ribble and price differences between Stg£ and € are as you'd expect regardless of delivery location.

philten

Think using Parcel Motel is the way to go here (even with 4 euro charge). I spent enough on CRC over the past few weeks using IRE/EUR, I would have saved a decent few bob if I had ordered using UK/GBP to Parcel Motel

Kaisr Sose

That reply from CRC is nonsense and is just a long winded way of saying we will charge you what we like. It's also a recent development that corresponded with the weakening £.

VAT and shipping are irrelevant to what is going on here. I fail to understand how say £150 for a sale to Euro land (via normal € money market rates) is any less than £150 for exact same sale in GB delivery.

It also goes to show that their shipping was never free (something I stated before). You just don't see it as an extra but it's factored into everything they sell.

Sinbad_NI

Drive up to the warehouse at Doagh and buy in cash?

robyntmorton

Sinbad_NI wrote: »

Drive up to the warehouse at Doagh and buy in cash?

If you give them notice enough, especially for bikes, they tend to be good about having it out of storage and in a showroom for you.

This is how I got my Vitus earlier in the year (customer service were reluctant to get a 2015 to the store for me, but had no choice as the store said they would do it). Even with the journey up, I saved more than €100, and extra after I stocked up with other bits and pieces in the likes of Asda.

If you're not against the drive to either Belfast or Doagh, do try a number of currency/country options to see what is available. Of course, for smaller items, you can always Parcel (Motel/Wizard) it.

asteroids over berlin

Just saved 65 euro on a set of wheels using parcel motel, the difference is just nuts!

harringtonp

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

It also goes to show that their shipping was never free (something I stated before). You just don't see it as an extra but it's factored into everything they sell.

Yes its quite obvious when you compare with German sites where prices are more often than not just a little lower but you have 8e postage.

Having said that I have availed of CRCs no quibble returns service and its great to have when you make a mistake with an order

bren_mc

I'll say it again - it's got nothing to do with postage. Unless you believe that it's cheaper to post to Botswana than it is to Ireland. They're charging us more because they can.

Kaisr Sose

bren_mc wrote: »

They're charging us more because they can.

Absolutely! It is shocking that they say it's legal to charge different prices for the same goods within the EU. That's totally against the whole spirit of the EU! When Brexit hits big time, CRC will really struggle to maintain their EU market share if they carry on with that approach and logic. If they don't base themselves in the EU, all hithertoo sales within the EU, if above $22 (cn22 exemption) will be reckonable for duty (intracountry VAT already applied at POS) and customs clearance fees on top.

Gouge me once shame on them, gouge me twice...no way!

Beasty

From the EU website

As an EU national
In this case, the 28 EU member states + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway

you can't be charged a higher price when buying products or services because of your nationality or country of residence.

Some price differences can however be justified, if they are based on objective criteria other than nationality.

They can obviously charge the higher VAT and arguably more for delivery. But as they claim to offer free delivery that does not apply here. Hence it's clear to me that discriminatory pricing contravenes EU law.

irishrover99

The thing that's annoying me is that the Brits are up in arms about being charged 5 cent extra for a jar of Marmite. Obviously they don't know that we are already being ripped off by a far higher degree.

smacl

Beasty wrote: »

From the EU website

They can obviously charge the higher VAT and arguably more for delivery. But as they claim to offer free delivery that does not apply here. Hence it's clear to me that discriminatory pricing contravenes EU law.

It is an odd law insofar as consumer prices typically vary hugely for the same products across the EU as can be seen here. Not really related to CRC or Wiggle, who are clearly pricing based on what they feel the local market will bear, but you also have an issue of whether you base your prices in the local currency and how often you reconcile them between different currency zones. For example, as the owner of a small company selling into the UK with local competitors I've had to take the hit on Sterling collapsing as I'd simply lose my customers if I increased the local price. At the same time, just because of this issue with the UK, I'm not about to drop my prices here in Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.

Bottom line, shop around and compare the delivered prices from a range of suppliers.

Beasty

smacl wrote: »

It is an odd law insofar as consumer prices typically vary hugely for the same products across the EU as can be seen here. Not really related to CRC or Wiggle, who are clearly pricing based on what they feel the local market will bear, but you also have an issue of whether you base your prices in the local currency and how often you reconcile them between different currency zones. For example, as the owner of a small company selling into the UK with local competitors I've had to take the hit on Sterling collapsing as I'd simply lose my customers if I increased the local price. At the same time, just because of this issue with the UK, I'm not about to drop my prices here in Ireland or elsewhere in the EU.

Bottom line, shop around and compare the delivered prices from a range of suppliers.

The point is the retailer is being discriminatory by reference to country of residence, which contravenes EU law. This mainly has a direct relevance to online retailers who sell their goods via the same website in different countries.

The link you provided simply states prices differ across the community, which is to be expected. However retailers cannot via the same outlet (in this case an online "shop") price things differently by virtue of residence other than in connection with applying the correct VAT treatment and perhaps recognising higher delivery charges - but as I've already said that falls down when you claim to offer free delivery

Weepsie

Beasty wrote: »

From the EU website

They can obviously charge the higher VAT and arguably more for delivery. But as they claim to offer free delivery that does not apply here. Hence it's clear to me that discriminatory pricing contravenes EU law.

I thought that they could argue that the local market rate could also let them establish a price per region. CRC is still cheaper than many of the local places, that's what they'd argue.

Don't CRC also have some set up in Ireland, registered in Cork? Could be technically selling through a different company?

Could they argue that at the time of purchase from supplier, it was X amount in Euro and they are covering that cost?

Just don't buy if you're that bothered at the end of the day.

ted1

Weepsie wrote: »

I thought that they could argue that the local market rate could also let them establish a price per region. CRC is still cheaper than many of the local places, that's what they'd argue.

Don't CRC also have some set up in Ireland, registered in Cork? Could be technically selling through a different company?

The local market is the EU as for a different company it's the one site.


Here is a similar incident.
https://www.ft.com/content/e472eec2-031b-11e6-af1d-c47326021344

Has anyone reported CRC?

smacl

Beasty wrote: »

This mainly has a direct relevance to online retailers who sell their goods via the same website in different countries.

It begs the question where does the online retailer do business from, and are multiple sites based in different countries effectively local outlets? While Wiggle and CRC haven't done this yet, the logical solution if you want to set different prices for different countries is just to set up different 'local' online shop fronts for each country. Amazon do this already, so if you try and buy off amazon.com for example, you get redirected to amazon.co.uk with UK rather than US prices.