# Shopping in the North a Problem???



## phester (15 Oct 2008)

The Minister for Finance does not want us to shop in the North as it is lost revenue for our government.

Is the north not part of the EU open market. Is it not tough that the Irish market is pushing itself to get even more expensive and so making the foreign market even more attractive.

Buying from england will save you lots even if you allow for the tax difference. (soon to be even greater). Buying from another EU state may even save you more

Surely this is counter productive in terms of business retention


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## gaius (15 Oct 2008)

phester said:


> The Minister for Finance does not want us to shop in the North as it is lost revenue for our government.


 Buy Irish. Waste your money! We're not that stupid.


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## theoneill (15 Oct 2008)

You are perfectly entitled to shop in the north. Personally I’ll be getting all my Christmas shopping up there as well as a large crate of wine. Depending on how the budget cuts are felt in my home we may just do a monthly trip up there for groceries too, unless there are some dramatic price reductions down south.


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## z103 (15 Oct 2008)

The government should put checkpoints along the border and apply tax to any goods being imported.
The full17.5% VAT should be imposed as well as a 10% charge.


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## Butter (15 Oct 2008)

I do it regularly and save a bundle.  I'm heading up for a weekend in November (free accomodation with the in-laws) and will do all my Christmas shopping there.  I do sometimes feel a little bit guilty about taking money away from the exchequer here but I manage to get over that when I think about the savings.


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## theoneill (15 Oct 2008)

leghorn said:


> The government should put checkpoints along the border and apply tax to any goods being imported.
> The full17.5% VAT should be imposed as well as a 10% charge.




Why not? It will be like some kind of 1980’s nostalgia trip. Seriously though I don’t think there is anything they can do.
I also hope to buy a motorcycle up there (coupling with a trip to IKEA) I'll be saving around e700 and they deliver for free


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## ubiquitous (15 Oct 2008)

leghorn said:


> The government should put checkpoints along the border and apply tax to any goods being imported.
> The full17.5% VAT should be imposed as well as a 10% charge.



They should also charge the €10 travel tax on exit and on entry.

They should charge VRT on all cars crossing the border as well.


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## z104 (15 Oct 2008)

Well we were told to shop around and that it was our own fault that we have high prices in Ireland.

Maybe they thought we wouldn't take them seriously


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## bond-007 (15 Oct 2008)

I for one shall continue to shop in NI. Screw the government.


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## Purple (15 Oct 2008)

theoneill said:


> Why not? It will be like some kind of 1980’s nostalgia trip. Seriously though I don’t think there is anything they can do.
> I also hope to buy a motorcycle up there (coupling with a trip to IKEA) I'll be saving around e700 and they deliver for free


You must be planning to buy bugger all in IKEA...


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## musicfan (15 Oct 2008)

Maybe if prices weren't such a rip off down here then so many people wouldn't drive up the north looking for a bargain.

A friend of mine was making some major purchasers recently, and bought a sofa in Newry, delivered for the same to a town in Louth as it was costing to get it delivered from the shop half a mile away from her house.  The cost of the sofa was approx €800 cheaper.  

And then the government wonder why people travel over the border to shop???


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## rmelly (15 Oct 2008)

ubiquitous said:


> They should also charge the €10 travel tax on exit and on entry.


 
Very good - but should it not be €2 as it'll be under the 300k (?) limit.


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## Joe1234 (16 Oct 2008)

rmelly said:


> Very good - but should it not be €2 as it'll be under the 300k (?) limit.



With the price difference on some items, even if €2 (or €10) is charged then it would still be cheaper to go north. 

I know people in north county Monaghan who do their shopping in Aughnacloy, because it is closer to them, than driving to Monaghan town.


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## Smashbox (16 Oct 2008)

musicfan said:


> Maybe if prices weren't such a rip off down here then so many people wouldn't drive up the north looking for a bargain.


 
I couldnt agree more. If they want people to stay in the Republic, they should do something about the prices.

I go up as often as I can to do large shops : I buy electricals, medicines, clothes, food and gifts and the savings are massive.

AND I won't be stopping.


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## bond-007 (16 Oct 2008)

> AND I won't be stopping.


Nor shall I.


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## Madangan (17 Oct 2008)

Call me old fashioned but we have to support our own economy...

I will continue to shop down south and buy irish when I can


I have never understood the concept of Dying or killing for ireland but buying Irish is my type of patriotism..


And yeah I assume I may be ridiculed for this so go for it


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## Guest128 (17 Oct 2008)

Madangan said:


> Call me old fashioned but we have to support our own economy...
> 
> I will continue to shop down south and buy irish when I can
> 
> ...



You *are *old fashioned!!

I'm starting to do it now, for Gods sake the Irish Star is only 70p (90c) in the North, its €1.35 here!


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## Purple (17 Oct 2008)

Smashbox said:


> If they want people to stay in the Republic, they should do something about the prices.


Who are "they"?

People get paid less in Northern Ireland, if we all got paid the same as them then prices would be lower. Is that what you mean?


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## Purple (17 Oct 2008)

Madangan said:


> Call me old fashioned but we have to support our own economy...
> 
> I will continue to shop down south and buy irish when I can
> 
> ...



I think it’s admirable that some people still have a sense of patriotism and place some value on what’s good for the country.


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## Betsy Og (17 Oct 2008)

Isnt there a case to be made that people shopping in the North actually help the ROI in terms of giving us a wake-up call, showing us how uncompetitive we are.

All this blather from the government about getting back to competitiveness, shoppers going North is just a visible example of what is surely happening internationally - i.e. a multi-national looks at us, sees that our cost base is too high notwithstanding our low corporation tax rate, and chooses to go elsewhere.

Protectionist policies only add another layer to the bubble & wont stop those inside it perishing (... not to overdramatise like ....).


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## Purple (17 Oct 2008)

Betsy Og said:


> Isnt there a case to be made that people shopping in the North actually help the ROI in terms of giving us a wake-up call, showing us how uncompetitive we are.
> 
> All this blather from the government about getting back to competitiveness, shoppers going North is just a visible example of what is surely happening internationally - i.e. a multi-national looks at us, sees that our cost base is too high notwithstanding our low corporation tax rate, and chooses to go elsewhere.
> 
> Protectionist policies only add another layer to the bubble & wont stop those inside it perishing (... not to overdramatise like ....).



Good point but retailing is a very competitive sector. Our cost base has more to do with property costs (and all that goes with it) and Benchmarking etc.


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## Caveat (17 Oct 2008)

Madangan said:


> I will continue to shop down south and buy irish when I can


 
And I will continue to shop in NI  - and buy Irish when I can.


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## Purple (17 Oct 2008)

Caveat said:


> And I will continue to shop in NI  - and buy Irish when I can.



Traitor!


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## z103 (17 Oct 2008)

I'll continue to shop in the republic, where most of the shops are foreign.


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## Mpsox (17 Oct 2008)

Madangan said:


> Call me old fashioned but we have to support our own economy...
> 
> I will continue to shop down south and buy irish when I can
> 
> ...


 
Are we not all Irish regardless of what side of the border we are on?

You can shop in British owed stores in the South who probably export most of their profits, shop in ROI owned shops in NI(eg, Easons, O'Neills etc) 

And how do you know what is actually Irish?, for example foreign meat can be brought in and as long as it is packaged in Ireland it can be badged as Irish.

As a consumer, if I can get better value for money and better customer service on average in NI, off I go


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## Purple (17 Oct 2008)

Mpsox said:


> Are we not all Irish regardless of what side of the border we are on?


 In this context the answer is 100% no. Taxes ets go to HRM's government.


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## Caveat (17 Oct 2008)

Mpsox said:


> You can shop in British owed stores in the South who probably export most of their profits, shop in ROI owned shops in NI(eg, Easons, O'Neills etc)
> 
> And how do you know what is actually Irish?, for example foreign meat can be brought in and as long as it is packaged in Ireland it can be badged as Irish.


 
Also, as I alluded to above, NI supermarkets for example supply plenty of goods sourced in ROI - it's still possible to 'buy Irish' - but at a cheaper price.

Another thing is ALDI/LIDL - surely the vast majority of their products are not Irish?

As regards the HR side, smaller franchises (SPAR etc) are always a bit more vulnerable and always have been but are the likes of Tesco/Dunnes having to make redundancies? News to me if they are.


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## mell61 (17 Oct 2008)

I'm hearing that Tesco will be making people redundant, as they have moved most of their Irish buying from Irish based companies to the UK based versions of the same companies, only about 15-20% of their buying (mainly meat / veg, farmers stuff that the government highlighted to them as needing to stay here) will remain in ireland, word is about 250 jobs are going.   So for example if they bough toiletries from XXX Irl Ltd, they are now buying from XXX UK ltd and shipping to Ireland.
As a knock on, a lot of people involved in the logistics of supplying to tesco from irish based companies are losing their jobs.
Of course Tesco have advised the government that they are doing this to save us the consumer money (absolutely nothing to do with them making more money on the currency differential).

So in terms of shopping up North, looks like Tesco will be sourcing their stuff there anyway!


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## cork (17 Oct 2008)

Tesco's prices down here are well above those in the North.

I noticed that Tesco Own Brand Apple Shampoo is €1.59.

This used be €.99

It is even cheaper in the UK and NI.

Complete lack if competition down here.


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## car (17 Oct 2008)

look at it this way, if you shop up north, then you save more money to spend in the republic.  everyone wins.

Something I was looking for recently, a rangemaster excel oven.  
Irish company. 3194e
Uk company 2186e

maybe 100e on the uk for delivery.    I eventually ordered from a shop in newry for very close to that online uk price after getting a recommendation from someone on here.


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## Smashbox (17 Oct 2008)

Purple said:


> Who are "they"?
> 
> People get paid less in Northern Ireland, if we all got paid the same as them then prices would be lower. Is that what you mean?


 
I mean the Government. 'They' want us to shop in the Republic, however they allow inflated prices higher than our neighbours over the border.

They may get paid a little less, however their cost of living is lower. I lived in the UK, got paid less than I do here, and yet was better off financially when I was over there.


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## cole (17 Oct 2008)

Purple said:


> I think it’s admirable that some people still have a sense of patriotism and place some value on what’s good for the country.


 
I disagree. I've stated on an older related thread that my family did this in the 80's. We bought Irish as much as possible to support the economy. Our reward was rip off Ireland. I'm voting with my pocket this time around.


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## Berlin (20 Oct 2008)

FLANDERS` said:


> I'm starting to do it now, for Gods sake the *Irish Star* is only 70p (90c) in the North, its €1.35 here!


 

Ordinary toilet paper is much cheaper.


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## Purple (20 Oct 2008)

Smashbox said:


> They may get paid a little less, however their cost of living is lower. I lived in the UK, got paid less than I do here, and yet was better off financially when I was over there.


When everyone in the country gets a 25% pay rise the cost of living goes up 25% and noone is better off in real terms. That's what the Celtic Tiger has given us.


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## TarfHead (20 Oct 2008)

phester said:


> The Minister for Finance does not want us to shop in the North as it is lost revenue for our government.


 
Maybe _our Government_ should not have broken the link with sterling, should not have paid for the M1 to get us up there quicker, should not have negotiated for a peace deal that got rid of the border  ?

And was it not a prominent member of _our Government_ that urged us to shop around for value  ?

PS Toy'R'Us in Sprucefield, Lisburn, were offering 81p to the Euro at the weekend.


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## ubiquitous (20 Oct 2008)

Purple said:


> When everyone in the country gets a 25% pay rise the cost of living goes up 25% and noone is better off in real terms. That's what the Celtic Tiger has given us.



Thats it in a nutshell.


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## Purple (20 Oct 2008)

TarfHead said:


> Maybe _our Government_ should not have broken the link with sterling, should not have paid for the M1 to get us up there quicker, should not have negotiated for a peace deal that got rid of the border  ?
> 
> And was it not a prominent member of _our Government_ that urged us to shop around for value  ?
> 
> PS Toy'R'Us in Sprucefield, Lisburn, were offering 81p to the Euro at the weekend.



Maybe we should not have started all that both in 1916 or the early 20's?


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## Raskolnikov (20 Oct 2008)

FLANDERS` said:


> You *are *old fashioned!!
> 
> I'm starting to do it now, for Gods sake the Irish Star is only 70p (90c) in the North, its €1.35 here!


The Irish Times is €2 here and £1 up there.


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## ubiquitous (20 Oct 2008)

Purple said:


> Maybe we should not have started all that both in 1916 or the early 20's?



As Gaybo used to say "you wanted your independence, now you have to pay for it"


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## Purple (20 Oct 2008)

ubiquitous said:


> As Gaybo used to say "you wanted your independence, now you have to pay for it"



and he was right.


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