# River Island



## CC (28 Feb 2004)

Why are they able to charge STG£16 for a top in the UK and the same item is €35 in Ireland??!!  Most items are over double the cost when compared with STG prices.  Something needs to be done about this RIP-OFF.  I haven't & my firends haven't bought in there in ages and won't until they stop robbing us.


----------



## postagepaid (28 Feb 2004)

They're not the only ones. Iceland is another shop that often doubles the sterling price when converting to euro, i.e £1 = €2. It's only when enough people cop on to themselves and stop buying in shops that do this that they'll get the message


----------



## Jeff (29 Feb 2004)

*.*

AFAIK average wages are higher in Ireland than the UK, this is possibly one reason i.e. higher costs


----------



## rainyday (29 Feb 2004)

*Pricing*

The Sterling price is irrelevant. If the item is worth €35 to you, then buy it. If it's not, then don't buy it. Simple.


----------



## davido (1 Mar 2004)

*Pricing*

Is that your barometer for making your grocery purchases rainyday?  Should we make all purchase decisions based on what the product/service is worth to us or should we try to strike a balance between how much we need the item and what we feel is a fair price for that item.  Certainly doubling the sterling price to arrive at the euro price does not seem particularly scientific.  I think prices are so high in this country because not enough people stop and ask themselves are they getting value for money from their purchases.  If we don't question the prices, or push for greater competition, we deserve to get screwed.


----------



## rainyday (1 Mar 2004)

*Re: Pricing*

Hi David - I absolutely agree that we should question prices, push for greater competition and stop and ask themselves are they getting value for money. I don't see an either/or choice between "what the product/service is worth to us or should we try to strike a balance between how much we need the item and what we feel is a fair price for that item" - both sides are relevant.

I just don't see the relevance of the Sterling/Euro conversion rate in all this. It is as if people are more concerned about getting a good story to explain the price, rather than the price itself. If they come up with a good spin about cross-channel transport charges and currency hedging costs, does that make the 35 euro price OK? Either it is worth 35 euro to you and you should buy it, or it is not worth that amount and you should leave it on the shelf.


----------



## car (2 Mar 2004)

*price*

for the first time. Im with rainy on this one. I too am sick of people giving out about prices. 
Asides from the ripoff percentage that they put on imports, you can be sure that delivery, higher staff wages, higher rental figures and insurance  have raised the price to more then the currency difference.  
If you dont want the product for no other reason then you feel its too expensive.  Then dont buy it.
 Shop around and get it cheaper.  You will find it!


----------



## <A HREF=http://pub145.ezboard.com/baskaboutmoney.s (2 Mar 2004)

*Re: price*

Can't argue with the last two posts either. And I'm NOT Rainyday in case True Blue is still listening... :|


----------



## daltonr (2 Mar 2004)

*Re: price*

The Irish are so crap at complaining to the people they should be complaining to, i.e. the businesses in question.  But we're great at complaining to each other about these businesses.

I'm as bad as anyone else.  There are pleanty of shops, restaurants that I just won't go into any more, but only in a few rare exceptions have I actually explained to the business in question the problem.  i.e. if they really mess up then I complain, but if it's just high proces then I don't say anything I just don't go back.

So... I have an idea.  A pack of cards,  52 in a pack, on the back of each card it says...

I am not returning to your business because....
You are too expensive
or
I am not returning to your business because....
You're service was awful
or
I am not returning to your business because....
__________________________
(fill in the blank)

Then when you're pissed off you can just leave a card on
the counter, and walk out.

Anyone interested in a pack?

-Rd


----------



## Ham Slicer (2 Mar 2004)

*Re: price*

You'd want to glue the card to the forehead of the manager in each store.  I think we'll make River island the Ace of Clubs.


----------



## curious (4 Mar 2004)

*stg v euro*

if you went into one of these stores with stg, could you in that case just pay for the goods in stg as such?? I am supposing that this would be too easy!!! It does seem to specify UK and ROI price but surely if its labeled as being say 20 stg and 30 euro then if you give them 20stg that should be happy days!!!


----------



## bluebean (4 Mar 2004)

*re: cards*

there is now something like the card idea mentioned above available free on the www.valueireland.ie website.  

I'm interested aswell on the question posed in the last post - can you pay for goods in Ireland in sterling if there is a sterling price on the item?  Do shops have to accept sterling as legal tender?


----------



## Tommy (4 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*

Sterling is not legal tender here. 

As has been explained countless times before on AAM, there are plenty of good reasons why high prices are charged for certain goods or services or why some prices are higher than in the UK or Europe. 

(The opposite is sometimes also true - look at  for starters)

Whenever this is explained on these pages, people don't ever seem interested in hearing the reasons and regularly question the bona fides of the person giving the explanation.

If you don't like the stuff in River Island or its too expensive shop somewhere else.

Our litter and waste problems are bad enough without adding mounds of pointless cards to our landfills. Is someone going to print them for free for you?


----------



## daltonr (4 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*



> Our litter and waste problems are bad enough without adding mounds of pointless cards to our landfills. Is someone going to print them for free for you?



Who said anything about giving away the cards?

And the cards are only pointless if the businesses ignore them.  If you run a shop and 50 people leave a card saying your prices are too high and they're not coming back, you  might start to think about it.  Apparently the Irish are unable to do this face to face.

Anyway, it was just a thought.  I'm not actually doing this.  

-Rd


----------



## Tommy (4 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*

Hi daltonr

I have never shopped in Brown Thomas because it is too expensive.
I have never eaten in Patrick Guilbaud's because it is too expensive.
I have never bought a Lexus because it is too expensive.

Presumably enough people do, and each business is viable as a result. 

Should I drop cards to BT/PG/Toyota in protest?


----------



## daltonr (5 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*

Tommy,  you're taking this all too bloody seriously.
Relax.  You'll end up needing some of those online prescription drugs.   

I was commenting on the fact that our original poster has vowed along with her friends not to shop in River Island until they lower their proces.  She's not alone, I here this all the time.  But has she told River Island?  How are River Island or any other shop supposed to know?

People regularly post complaints on this site and others about prices, in Pubs, Shops, Restaurants, Coffe Shops, Clothes Shops, Garages, Hotels, you name it, we've heard it.

But is anyone telling these businesses?

I just suggested a solution whereby the public could get their message accross easily, but without a face to face confrontation.

If you don't feel like bringing the prices to the attention of BT/PG/Toyota, then don't!!!!!   

-Rd


----------



## Tommy (5 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*

Hi Rd

Point taken.

Odd at it may seem, I don't think any business owner likes to increase prices. Unfortunately inflation is a fact of life in almost every economy in the world. When people complain about high prices, I think they often forget this. Nor do they remember that their own earnings will also normally increase each year. 

Its very easy to blithely label everything as a "ripoff" just because its price goes up, but history shows that businesses that don't make profits end up going bust. There is only so much costcutting that one can do without affecting service quality so ultimately prices must inexorably creep upwards. In the past few years many businesses have struggled to cope, with the result that prices have increased and service quality has deteriorated. This was always the case in Ireland - even more so in the 80s when we had the likes of 10% inflation each year at some stages.

I don't really have a problem with others disagreeing with me on this but I do often get tired of hearing people going on and on about rising prices especially when they can afford the luxuries that their counterparts 15 or 20 years ago could only dream about...


----------



## daltonr (5 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*



> Its very easy to blithely label everything as a "ripoff" just because its price goes up



I agree with you.  I only call things a ripoff if I can get it in a similar store much cheaper.  It's often possible to find the same thing for half the price E.g. HMV vs Golden Disks vs Virgin vs Tower.

What's more frustrating is where prices fluctuate by as much as 100% IN THE SAME STORE up this week, down the next, up again the next.

It's actually is possible to find many items as cheaply in a store as online, but you have to look.  I bought a new motherboard for a PC in PC World (not known for good value) but it was slightly cheaper than Komplett.ie.

The reason I've almost given up on the high street is not because I think everything is a ripoff, I'm just sick of going into HMV to find out if this is an expensive week or a cheap one.

Inflation doesn't explain those kind of practices away.
At least online the prices are fairly constant.

There are one or two exceptions to this rule that it's only a ripoff if it's cheaper somewhere else.  Soft Drinks In Pubs is one.   And certain captive market environments which I wouldn't dare buy anything from such as the shops inside Croke Park.

And then there's cases like  which no matter how you look at it, is a ripoff.

-Rd


----------



## Tommy (5 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*

I agree. As I've said elsewhere, I gave up shopping in HMV a decade ago because of their 'slobbery' pricing.

Incidentally, the prices of sandwiches, tea/coffee and soft drinks in Croke Park (at least during last year's championship season) is no higher than in O'Connell Street. On one occasion last year I noticed that standard ham 'n cheese sambos in Centra O'Connell St were priced at €3.40 while in Croker the same packed sambos were €3.00.


----------



## rainyday (5 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*



> I agree with you. I only call things a ripoff if I can get it in a similar store much cheaper.....What's more frustrating is where prices fluctuate by as much as 100% IN THE SAME STORE up this week, down the next, up again the next..



Price variances are not an indication of a rip-off. They are an indication of normal market forces applying. In fact, price consistency is more likely to be an indication of a rip-off (e.g. cartels, lack of competition) than price variance.


----------



## daltonr (5 Mar 2004)

*Re: re: cards*

Rainyday,

I'm sorry but if the price of a DVD goes up by 100% in a week, and then down by 100% a few weeks later and then back up again,  it's a ripoff.

If they can afford to make a profit selling a DVD for 12.99,
and it jumps a week later to 27.99 that's not being driven by inflation, insurance, wages, or other overheads.  

If by market forces you mean that they are exploiting the fact that a significant number of people are too stupid to see through this, then yes, it's market forces.

But it strikes me as odd that we intervene in the market to ensure that Milk and Bread are not sold below a minimum level, but we let this sort of sharp practice go untouched.

-Rd


----------



## yozzer (5 Mar 2004)

*rip offs*

Funny no-one has mentioned the difference in VAT rates between here and the UK as one reason for higher prices.

While I'm on the subject of VAT heres a thought. People who provide services in this country regularly tell their customers that if they pay cash, no VAT will apply. In this case both parties are evading tax. 

In the US this does'nt happen and I would hazard a guess that there is more tax compliance there than here. Why impose a tax that encorourages tax evasion? Why not drop VAT on services and get these people to actually pay income tax hance possibly increasing total tax take.

In the US taxes and fines are not as severe as here but they ARE enforced. The smoking ban is an excellent example of this. Get caught smoking in a Californian bar and you get your (circa) $200 fine no questions asked. Here the fine is going to be €3000. Can you see that getting enforced, ya right LOL. Incidentally VAT on goods in Cali is 7%, Vat on services is 0%.

A bit of realism and common sense would go a long way in this country!


----------

