# Why wont/don't Irish Websites Show Prices?



## Bluebells (26 Nov 2009)

While sourcing materials, furniture, lighting, flooring etc. for my new house, I have noticed that very few Irish websites will show prices.

  For example there is a shop called Duggans, which advertises itself as " Ireland's largest online lighting shop", and yet if you like the look of an item, you have to contact them to find out how much it is. _For every single item._ I didn't bother, just found the same stuff on a UK website, and bought it there.

I've noticed this over the past two years, and yet every UK or US website I visit have prices on everything. Is there a reason for this?


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## suemoo1 (26 Nov 2009)

*Re: Why Won't Irish Websites Show Prices?*

They probably dont want you to see how high they are towards the uk prices!!


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## mathepac (26 Nov 2009)

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As well as suemoo1's explanation above (LOL ) IME the other main reasons are :


 Site owners unwilling to pay for ecommerce functionality
 Site developers (traditionally graphic designers) ill-equipped to build anything other than static sites
Site owners unwilling / unable to invest the time and effort into keeping prices and product availability current
 The belief that a web-site can be a DIY job (some of the ugliest sites in the world are Irish).
  I blame Mick O'Leary for bragging that the original Ryanair site cost IR£5k and was built by two students. I'm not saying the statement was untruthful but it didn't paint a full picture. The original site (an excellent design of its type) was a user-interface to a back-end commercial airline reservations system that had all the hooks for a variety of interfaces built into it and did all the heavy data-base work.


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## roker (26 Nov 2009)

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This seems to be in the Irish culture. A lot of adverts in newspapers etc. do not have prices, meaning that you must phone them up.


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## TarfHead (26 Nov 2009)

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mathepac said:


> I blame Mick O'Leary for bragging that the original Ryanair site cost IR£5k and was built by two students. I'm not saying the statement was untruthful but it didn't paint a full picture.


 
I know the families of both of those guys. The cost I heard was 10K, but the next lowest quote was over 100K ! One of them is still active in the IT industry while the other is now a dentist.


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## Vanilla (26 Nov 2009)

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Depending on the goods/service, it might also be an attempt to stop competitors undercutting easily.


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## runner (26 Nov 2009)

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I think the basic reason for not showing prices, is the ease at which one can compare on the web, particularly prices in NI and abroad generally.
Another ploy they seem to use with electrical appliances such as TV's where they do show prices  locally on the website(ie DID, Powecity etc) is cause confusion by using different model numbers so it makes it more difficult to compare!


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## mcaul (26 Nov 2009)

*Re: Why Won't Irish Websites Show Prices?*



runner said:


> I think the basic reason for not showing prices, is the ease at which one can compare on the web, particularly prices in NI and abroad generally.
> Another ploy they seem to use with electrical appliances such as TV's where they do show prices locally on the website(ie DID, Powecity etc) is cause confusion by using different model numbers so it makes it more difficult to compare!


 
On TV's, the models sold in Ireland are slightly different as they also have UHF capability (or is it VHF?) - hence a different code.

You won't receive RTE1 or RTE2 in most parts of the country on a UK tv unless through sky or chorus.

That's also why TV's in lidl are usually about €30 dearer than the same model in Lidl NI.


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## Towger (26 Nov 2009)

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mcaul said:


> On TV's, the models sold in Ireland are slightly different as they also have UHF capability (or is it VHF?) - hence a different code.



VHF was stopped being used in the UK years ago, however it was (and still is) being used by out cable systems, Phoenix/RTE Relays/Cablelink/NTL/UPC etc,

However, most of the TV current models seem to have wideband tuners capable of the various PAL and SECAM standards and frequencies, as well as MPEG2 and MPEG4 on some of the better models.


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## Bluebells (27 Nov 2009)

*Re: Why Won't Irish Websites Show Prices?*

Thanks, all, for the answers.

It is the most maddening thing, how can these retailers be so shortsighted, or naive ? Some people just aren't cut out for business. The hotel in our town is a good example.

Built a few years ago - lovely building, great location, reasonably priced and no competition - but struggling, and has been from the beginning.

 It has had one and only one, wedding, and nobody goes there to eat. 
They served up a dreadful meal at that wedding, and the food in the restaurant was generally very poor.

 The reason? The owner would not offer a proper wage to a qualified chef, so he ended up with unqualified  chefs, who would work for less money. He saved a few euro on wages, but he destroyed his business. He now has a proper chef, but he has actually put up his prices, presumably to pay for the new chef, but his customers no longer have money to spend on eating out. He still has an empty hotel, and he hasn't a clue how to fill it.


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## ChristieA (30 Dec 2009)

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Bluebells, fair play to you for buying elsewhere. With the internet there's always a choice. If enough people do this you'll have prices up soon enough. As for the local hotelier. Serves him right.


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## shesells (3 Jan 2010)

*Re: Why Won't Irish Websites Show Prices?*



Vanilla said:


> Depending on the goods/service, it might also be an attempt to stop competitors undercutting easily.



Precisely!! My dad has a business and they don't list prices on certain goods as the local shops are all busy trying to undercut each other.


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## Bluebells (3 Jan 2010)

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shesells said:


> Precisely!! My dad has a business and they don't list prices on certain goods as the local shops are all busy trying to undercut each other.



So what is the point of having a website ? When I go looking for something I need to know how much it is going to cost me.


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## shesells (4 Jan 2010)

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shows selection and stock...?


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## PaddyBloggit (4 Jan 2010)

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If I'm shopping via website and the site isn't displaying prices I just move onto a site that does.

The best thing about the internet is that there are plenty sites out there with similar stock that do display prices so it's easy to compare.

Any site that doesn't show prices conjures up questions in my head ... have they something to hide, aren't they interested enough to keep their website competitive by standing over prices they can display publically.


Websites are great ... they allow for consumer choice and they allow for businesses to show the world how great or bad they are.

Any business worth their salt will invest in a good website. 

Businesses that choose not to display prices may be hiding company secrets but they also need to be aware of the impression this creates for potential customers.

Businesses/companies don't seem to realise the power of the internet ... a website creates a lasting impression. There's nothing worse than seeing businesses with bad websites.

Why won't Irish websites show prices?  ..... ignorance of the power of the internet.


I'd love to buy Irish ... but it's easier to source (up-to-date) information and prices from foreign sites .... easy to find, easy to order, easy to pay and often it can arrive faster than if the same item was ordered in Ireland.


One instance of my Irish shopping versus foreign website shopping:

I needed a specific pc cable. Sourced a PC shop in Cork to make and supply cable. They didn't have a website. I sourced info by phone. Cost of cable .... €120 .... blah blah special order etc.

I ordered it. Three weeks went by. No cable. I rang them up. They had done nothing about it so I cancelled the order.

I went online, sourced the cable in Florida (prices displayed), ordered and paid for it on a Wednesday evening. It cost $22 which worked out at about €15 at the time. 

The cable arrived the following Monday. 


What's this got to do with OP's question .... not much really except that Irish businesses need to realise the reality of what they are up against on the net. 

Not displaying prices only adds to that disadvantage.


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## Bluebells (5 Jan 2010)

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shesells said:


> shows selection and stock...?



I know, but visiting a website like that  is the equivalent of walking into a shop that is an Aladdin's Cave, but has no prices on display. Then I have to ask Aladdin the price of everything that takes my fancy. Why would I bother, when there is an identical cave just beside it, and all the prices are plain to see ?


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## Locke (12 Jan 2010)

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PaddyBloggit said:


> If I'm shopping via website and the site isn't displaying prices I just move onto a site that does.


 
+1

Looking for sheds at the moment and trying to find an Irish Site that can give me a price there and then is annoying.


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## themetunegal (28 Jan 2010)

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Locke,

Bought a shed from this crowd www.candssheds.ie  a few years and found them great. They have prices on their website.

No connection to the company, just a happy customer.

HTH


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## theresa1 (28 Jan 2010)

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roker said:


> This seems to be in the Irish culture. A lot of adverts in newspapers etc. do not have prices, meaning that you must phone them up.


 

- Totally agree - the Celtic Tiger fooled us into thinking we had changed fudamentally - we have not.


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