# Any good bargains in the sales?



## MB05 (28 Dec 2006)

Did anyone get a good bargain in the sales yet?  

There was a thread before Christmas re LCD's and waiting for the sales etc so I was just wondering if it was worth the wait or was it all hype.   

I wasn't looking for a LCD but I did get a Dyson vacuum cleaner in Powercity for €130, down from €210.  My hoover packed it in just before Christmas so I decided to wait until the sales to buy a new one.  I didn't plan on buying a Dyson but for €130 I couldn't turn it down.  It has a 5 years parts and labour guarantee.  If it lasts that long I'll be happy.


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## newhousey (28 Dec 2006)

Be wary of "Bargains" was in Harvey Normans yesterday a dvd player that I had been looking at was on "sale" at €169 which is actually the price it has been for the last few months. Also it had retailed for €149 during one of their other specials, be sure you're actually getting a bargain....


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## wirelessdude (28 Dec 2006)

my mrs has said the same thing about zara


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## RainyDay (28 Dec 2006)

newhousey said:


> Be wary of "Bargains" was in Harvey Normans yesterday a dvd player that I had been looking at was on "sale" at €169 which is actually the price it has been for the last few months. ..


Were they quoting any higher price, e.g. reduced from €xxx?


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## DonKing (28 Dec 2006)

I see that D.I.D have SALE written across all their products again this year but they do not say what the original price was. I find this very annoying!!

I presume SALE can mean that the goods are "for sale" rather than "on sale" at a reduced price.


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## DonKing (28 Dec 2006)

newhousey said:


> Be wary of "Bargains" was in Harvey Normans yesterday a dvd player that I had been looking at was on "sale" at €169 which is actually the price it has been for the last few months. Also it had retailed for €149 during one of their other specials, be sure you're actually getting a bargain....



Harvey Normans are notorious for this. They advertise key products at very good prices but only stock a very limited number. When you arrive in the shop to find the the item advertised is sold out, your shown other items which are "On Sale", which in fact are not priced very compeditively.


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## Ancutza (28 Dec 2006)

Isn't Harvey Norman then breaking the law?  AFAIK a product listed as being at the 'sale' price has to have been on offer for a specified period at a higher price previous to said sale.

I am pretty sure this is the case in the UK. Is it not so in Ireland?   If it is then surely this is a case for Trading Standards...


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## half scot (28 Dec 2006)

Had been eying up a set of 'Circulon 2' pots and pans in Brown Thomas that on the 8/12/06 were €150 apparently down from their RRP of €300.being so close to Christmas I decided I'd wait til the sales and try get a bit more off as they weren't a necessity.

Went in yesterday during my lunch break to find them on a pretty big display with a sign 50% off RRP €300 now €150....

Albeit a tad confused and disappointed,I have been told since that to advertise something on sale the product must have been sold at a higher price for 28days previous to the sale??

Could anyone qualify this by any chance??


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## MB05 (28 Dec 2006)

I think its 28 consecutive days but I don't know if it has to be the 28 Days prior to the sale if you know what I mean.   I think shops have ways around it.  I think as long as it was that price in any of their shops for 28 consecutive days they can claim it was €x.


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## doberden (28 Dec 2006)

I bought stuff in Next the other day and their tags for their goods on sale said that they were advertised for at least 28 days in the last 6 months at the original price in some of their other stores.


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## RainyDay (28 Dec 2006)

half scot said:


> Albeit a tad confused and disappointed,I have been told since that to advertise something on sale the product must have been sold at a higher price for 28days previous to the sale??
> 
> Could anyone qualify this by any chance??



That's why I asked the question as to whether the product had been advertised as having previously had a higher price (e.g. reduced from €xxx). AFAIK, it must have been on sale at the higher price for 28 out of the previous 90 days in such cases.


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## Murt10 (28 Dec 2006)

I noticed Tescos do this all the time with their wine which is on Special Offer. 

You see some relatively ordinary wine on the shelf for say E14. Its not a bad wine.  It stays there a few weeks without being promoted. Lo and behold it's then on sale for 50% off - E7, bargain of the week. Naturally if you are going to buy a bottle of wine this is the one you will be very tempted to choose. Everyone loved a bargain, the feeling that they are paying under the going price, saving money etc. 

However, if you had paid E14 for it in the first place you would have been bitterly disappointed. It is an okay bottle of wine but not near the standard you would have expected for E14. (You might even feel that you had been ripped off! ) 

Next time you buy one of these bottles on special offer, think about it when you are drinking it. Would you be happy with the wine if you had paid twice the price that you did. 



Murt


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## june (29 Dec 2006)

Last year a friend was watching a jeep that was for sale for a few months.  to cut a long story short , when the price tag changed in january it actually went up!


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## Marion (29 Dec 2006)

This is the relevant section under the Consumer Information Act 1978



> (2) For the purposes of this section—
> 
> ( a ) an indication that goods, services or accommodation were or was previously offered at a different price or charge or at a particular price or charge shall be treated, unless the contrary is expressed, as an indication that they were so offered openly at the same place within the preceding 3 months for not less than 28 successive days;



Marion


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## podgerodge (29 Dec 2006)

The bargain of the year had to be yesterday in Tesco's - 32" HD Ready LCD for €399 !!


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## DrMoriarty (29 Dec 2006)

Guess who got one of those...  

Mind you, I had to drive from Limerick to Thurles for it. Nice day for a drive, though!


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## podgerodge (29 Dec 2006)

Me too Dr Moriarty!  Got it picked up in Waterford.

Did you get the Technosonic or the Cello LCD?


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## DrMoriarty (29 Dec 2006)

The Technosonic. There's links to reviews and all sorts of techy-talk going on over on Boards.ie, if it's of interest?

I haven't even opened mine up yet; waiting for a loan of a ladder to go up and run a new feed down from the satellite dish...


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## Slash (30 Dec 2006)

Ancutza said:


> I am pretty sure this is the case in the UK. Is it not so in Ireland?   If it is then surely this is a case for Trading Standards...




There's no Trading Standards Agency in Ireland, and the UK Trading Standards Agency has no authority in Ireland. Isn't that surprising?

It's all very fine to talk about legislation and 28 days, etc., etc., but that is very hard to implement and police. Tesco would be quite diligent about applying laws like that, but old Harvey Norman wouldn't worry too much about trivia like local legislation.


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## RainyDay (30 Dec 2006)

Slash said:


> There's no Trading Standards Agency in Ireland, and the UK Trading Standards Agency has no authority in Ireland. Isn't that surprising?
> 
> It's all very fine to talk about legislation and 28 days, etc., etc., but that is very hard to implement and police. Tesco would be quite diligent about applying laws like that, but old Harvey Norman wouldn't worry too much about trivia like local legislation.



If you are confident that Harvey's have broken the law, you should report them to the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs.


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## Con (31 Dec 2006)

This must be widespread, I am furnishing a house for the last couple of months and I had taken pictures of stuff in shops on my phone and saved them on my phone with the price. I went to a shop in Toughers Business Park yesterday to buy a kitchen table that I had seen back in October and taken a picture of. At the time it was 1540 euro and yesterday it was on "Sale" for 1500 euro after being reduced from around 1650 or something. When I asked the saleperson they told me that the supplier had increased their prices significantly in October. I accepted her explanation. I went upstairs to look at a bed I had taken a picture of and it was also on "sale" for the same amount as it had been when I was there last.


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