# Why Such A Vast Chasm Between UK & Irish Prices For TVs (& Other Stuff)?



## Phaedrus (17 Sep 2008)

Hi,

Please bear with this - it's not a rant. I actually would like to know what the real honest answer is. The dealers I'm mentioning are examples - I'm not singling them out as bad guys. 

In fact my dad, who is a professional wedding photographer & videographer, swears that Alliance Electric are easily one of the best shops he's dealt with in his many years as an electronics professional. 

Panasonic TH-50PZ80 50" 1080p HD plasma TV from 1staudiovisual.co.uk: £1145 + £130 shipping to ROI = £1275 = €1600 (today).

[broken link removed]


Panasonic TH-50PY80 50" 1080p HD plasma TV from panasonicshop.ie: €2200.

http://panasonicshop.ie/product.php?PID=1&ID=1


Panasonic TH-50PY80 50" 1080p HD plasma TV from allianceelectric.ie: €2500.

[broken link removed]


The TH-50PY80 is apparently identical to the TH-50PZ80 in every respect except the tuner. 

The PY model has a tuner that recieves only Ireland's soon-to-be-defunct analog terrestrial broadcasts. 

The PZ model has a tuner that receives only the UK's digital terrestrial broadcasts ("Freeview").

It seems that the 4 Irish channels are broadcast in Dublin on analog UHF, and the tuner in the UK TH-50PZ80 is able to receive them. I haven't connect to my aerial yet, so can't personally confirm this, but am reliably informed that this is the case. 

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58867697&postcount=4


Neither PY nor PZ model has a tuner that will receive Ireland's looming digital terrestrial broadcasts ("DTT") - a newer Ireland-specific model (with a tuner for the new DTT broadcasts) may in the future come onto the market - I wonder what price that'll be?

I think it's fair to say that anyone in the market for a 50" 1080p HD plasma TV will have little or no interest in analog terrestrial broadcasts - these TVs will almost definitely be paired with some sort of external digital tuner or receiver: Sky+ or Sky HD, Freesat or free satellite (with free HD content). 

These are not TVs that will be bunged in the kitchen with rabbit's ears on top for watching Fair City while making a sandwich.

So in terms of their suitability for the Irish DTT-era market, both the TH-50PZ80 and TH-50PY80 are effectively the same TV - the tuner in each will be equally useless once analog terrestrial broadcasting is completely replaced by DTT (within two years, IIUC).

Another brief example is the Panasonic DMR-EX88 400GB HDD DVD recorder.

It's in exactly the same boat as the TV above in terms of its tuner. 

That actually makes it a far less attractive product than it is in the UK. In the UK, the exact same machine (no difference at all - the same batch from the factory can be split for shipment to UK or Ireland), can be connected to the aerial and it's the TV tuner and PVR - pause-RW-FF live TV, series record, fancy EPG, etc.. 

There's no DVD recorder available from the UK or domestically in Ireland that has the ability to perform as a DTT tuner and PVR in Ireland (they do exist for analog broadcast, AFAIK, but as I said, and as is becoming common knowledge, DTT will be replacing analog broadcasts soon, rendering these units obsolete in terms of their tuners), yet those models that are on sale here cost more than they do in the UK.

The Panasonic DMR-EX88 costs £450 (€565), including shipping, from 1staudiovisual.co.uk.

It costs €700 from both allianceelectric.ie and panasonicshop.ie, but has less of the functionality here than it has in the UK... for €135 more. 

So to my point at last...

Why does a TV supposedly for the Irish market (that Irish retailers _know_ is effectively the same, with the same tuner limitations, as the UK model), cost between €600 and €900 more here than if bought from the UK?

Why does a DVD recorder with _less_ functionality here cost €135 more if bought over here than if bought from the UK?

Why?


Mark


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## TarfHead (17 Sep 2008)

Phaedrus said:


> Why does a <i_nsert product name here_> cost <_insert price difference here_> more here than if bought from the UK?


 
With respect, this question has been posed and debated many times on AAM.


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## Phaedrus (17 Sep 2008)

I apologise if my post is out of place, but I did searches for "uk prices", "england prices", "uk price difference", "uk - irish price difference", "uk electronics prices", "uk tv prices" and a few others, and found nothing to answer the question.

I'd be grateful for any links that might yield me an answer, though I'm sure they'll be what I suspect - unregulated and unrestricted profiteering.

Thanks,

Mark


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## Jock04 (17 Sep 2008)

Phaedrus said:


> I apologise if my post is out of place, *but I did searches for "uk prices", "england prices", "uk price difference", "uk - irish price difference", "uk electronics prices", "uk tv prices*" and a few others, and found nothing to answer the question.
> 
> I'd be grateful for any links that might yield me an answer, though I'm sure they'll be what I suspect - unregulated and unrestricted profiteering.
> 
> ...


 
If you'd searched "rip-off Ireland" you might have found a few posts!

Since I'm posting this anyway, my own thoughts are:
a)Stuff (mostly) has to get here from the UK, and it doesn't travel for free.
b) People or businesses selling goods will charge what the market is willing to pay.
c) to some extent, different VAT rules make a difference
d) shops here *might *have higher overheads than some parts of the UK

Not a complete answer I'm sure, but it's enough  for me to sleep at night.


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## Phaedrus (17 Sep 2008)

Jock04 said:


> b) People or businesses selling goods will charge what the market is willing to pay.


 
I think that's the biggest one. That and profiteering / greed.

Pricing seems to be based on "what will these mugs pay?", rather than "what price covers my overheads, the cost of the goods to me, and gives me a reasonable profit?"

Call me naiive, but I reckon that's bad.

I'm sure overheads are higher here than in the UK, but to the tune of up to €900 per TV? I don't believe that.


Mark


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## RMCF (17 Sep 2008)

Rip Off Ireland does play a very big part in my opinion.

You often hear of people making trips to NI as it still pays them when maybe €100 of petrol is taken into account.


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## ubiquitous (18 Sep 2008)

Why isn't this in Letting off Steam?

There is a current thread on this subject http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=91237


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## Phaedrus (18 Sep 2008)

ubiquitous said:


> Why isn't this in Letting off Steam?
> 
> There is a current thread on this subject http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=91237


 
I posted it in this forum because I'm trying to get an answer about why TVs are dearer in Ireland than in the UK. I'm not letting off steam - I'm seeking an answer.

With respect, the thread you've linked to is hardly "on this subject". The subjects of that thread seem to start with a TV, but they meander off onto groceries, beverages, phone credit, politics, cinema, concert tickets, wedding dresses, sarcasm, faulty thread links, tiles, accountancy costs in UK & IRL . . .

I quote my OP:

"_Why does a TV supposedly for the Irish market (that Irish retailers know is effectively the same, with the same tuner limitations, as the UK model), cost between €600 and €900 more here than if bought from the UK?_"

That's a question - not a line of rhetoric. I actually genuinely want to know what the €600 - €900 extra over the UK price is buying me - either that or where's it going?

It's a specific question about a specific type of product. I'm not interested in pointless venting and ranting - what does that gain me?

So, does my €900 pay for the TV's transport from the UK to here?

Does it pay for the higher staff costs, insurance costs, rent costs for the shop I'm buying it from?

Is it supposed to buy me the qualified expertise of the salesman? 

Does it buy me the "luxury" (compared with buying online from the UK) of actually viewing and comparing this TV with a competitor? That's of limited value anyway, as all TVs are set-up to appear a certain way in the shop (if they're even set up at all).

I'd rather trust the reviews of reputed magazines & sites, and the advice and opinions of members of dedicated forums. And these all come free.

Or does my €900 line the pockets of the proprietors more deeply than the pockets of the proprietors of the UK online sellers?

€900 is a BIG difference. It's not like an onion costing 2c more in Lidl than in Supervalu. This is a 36% difference over the UK price.

This stuff gets people ranting for sure, but ranting usually achieves little. 

I'm not letting off steam - I'm asking questions.

What do I get for my €900 that I don't get from the UK online seller? 


Mark


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## teachai (18 Sep 2008)

There are lots of reasons and Jock04 has given valid answers. Theres also higher staff costs/overheads to consider. 

I recently bought a book form amazon.com for $29.99 + expedited international shipping which came to a total of €35

The same book in the uk is £29.99 which is at least €40 and thats before any shipping added. 

Now the book was not available yet in the UK despite the main author residing in the UK.  

We know that this cannot be based on cost because this is the same for all books on amazon.   If they can get away with it they will. 

Basically ,you are paying for convenience.  
In general the smaller markets pay higher prices as there is not the same economy of scale.


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## TarfHead (18 Sep 2008)

Phaedrus said:


> What do I get for my €900 that I don't get from the UK online seller?


 
Who knows ? Seriously.


Suppose you go ahead and buy your TV from the Irish retailer. Do you believe that he is making a profit of €900 over and above that which the UK retailer wouild get for selling the 'same' TV ? I doubt that it is that simple.

the TVs aren't made in Ireland, so some additional transport costs are involved
the Irish retailer has premises to rent, showroom to fit out & light, heat & insure, employees to pay & administer (e.g. tax returns, social insurance). The online retailer could be operating out of a bedroom 
Why don't you ask the retailer, e.g. why is this TV €900 more than _supercheapTV.co.uk_ are charging ?


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## Peeete (18 Sep 2008)

I think this is a good question and appropriately placed here.

The main answer relates to what consumers are willing to pay for any given good (or service). Its basic economics. IF consumers are unwilling to pay the price then the price has to fall. If sales are rising the price gets increased, if this has no detrimental effect on sales the price will rise again and again over periods of time, leading to price differentials in different markets.

Its similar to buying own brand goods. For example Tesco can sell identical tins of beans with different labels at different prices. Its the way the market works

In some ways comments such as "Why isn't this in Letting off Steam?" is one of the reasons why these differentials exist. It is felt by many that fundamental questions such as these are only put forward by peopling wanting to have a rant. Hence the reason rip off Ireland has done so well.


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## Jock04 (18 Sep 2008)

ubiquitous said:


> Why isn't this in Letting off Steam?
> 
> There is a current thread on this subject http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=91237


 

In fairness, the OP has 10 posts & isn't permitted to post in LOS.
It's for the Mods to decide whether it should be moved, perhaps they wish his/her enquiry to have an airing, rather than move it to an area where the OP can't participate. Or maybe they've just been busy.
Either way, posting simply to be pedantic about sub-menus isn't helping the OP get an answer, and is hardly likely to encourage the OP & others like him/her to use AAM again. We were all newbies once!


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## ubiquitous (18 Sep 2008)

The profiteering/"people tolerate higher prices here" argument is compelling, but how then are Harvey Norman managing to make heavy trading losses where while trading profitably elsewhere? There may be a "chicken and egg" explanation (ie their costs are too high here so people aren't buying stuff from them) but they seem quite able to trade successfully at lower prices in other countries?

http://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2008/aug/31/harvey-normans-irish-shops-lose-almost-75m/



> Harvey Norman's Irish shops lose almost €7.5m
> 
> Australian electrical goods giant Harvey Norman has felt the brunt of the changed retail climate in Ireland, suffering a €7.46m net loss to its Irish business in the past six m*onths, with the company citing "difficult conditions" in the Irish economy.
> 
> ...


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## Phaedrus (18 Sep 2008)

It's interesting that Harvey has come up.

To put my interest in this in context, I'm being made redundant in the new year, but am confident I'll secure new employment before the big day.

So I recently started looking at finally sorting myself out with decent AV gear. I've been to most of the typical Irish dealers - Peats, Dixons / Currys, DID and Harvey Norman. I've also been browsing review sites and forums.

I realised that some of the products that have taken my interest are available from online sellers at hugely lower prices than here - no surprise there.

But what I've also realised is that the staff in a lot of these Irish retailers actually know vastly less about the products I've been querying. Harveys had a particular Onkyo amp for sale, claiming it to be the latest & greatest in its price range, but that model was actually last years, with this year's all-new, much-improved model available from the UK cheaper (even including shipping) than Harvey's price for the older amp. 

The price difference here is less of an issue than the fact that they're selling an older product and claiming it to be new.



TarfHead said:


> Why don't you ask the retailer, e.g. why is this TV €900 more than _supercheapTV.co.uk_ are charging ?


 
I have. The three that I spoke with gave various "reasons" - overheads (insurance & rent were mentioned), transport from UK and VAT. One actually tried to argue the tuner issue with me - "this TV has a tuner for Irish broadcasts, so that's why it's dearer." €900 dearer? A €900 tuner? 

Even if we weren't moving to DTT from analog (which renders the built-in tuners in current Irish-market TVs obsolete), do these guys really expect me (you?) to believe that the tuner in an Irish-market TV could possibly be so different to the tuner in a UK-market TV as to result in a €900 difference in price?

I'm not offended by that argument - I'm insulted. 

A lot of the staff in these places aren't even familiar with the fundamental terms and technology involved in AV products.

I've been researching this stuff for maybe two or three months and I soon realised that it was pointless asking questions in Irish dealers about some things. Blank faces often greet requests for info. Why doesn't someone working in the AV industry know more than a customer?

Surely the reasons that people are increasingly looking to the www for their purchases are obvious, and I'm no accountant:

We have limited money to spend.

We still need and want stuff.

The money that we do have stretches further if we buy from outside Ireland.

It's easy to buy online.

It's easy to learn about stuff online.

We are learning that we have strong rights when we buy online.

We resent the feeling and the actuality of being ripped off at home.

Irish sellers charge more + it's easy and safe to buy elsewhere = we buy elsewhere.

I may be naiive, or overly principled, but it seems that simple to me.

My band bought our PA from Germany for €9000 or so, saving maybe €3000 on buying in Ireland. Every item was covered by the seller's 3-year warranty, _and_ the manufacturers own warranties.

You may indeed have to pay to ship the product back to the seller in the event of a problem, but I'll bet that you'll be sorted out quicker than if you'd dealt with an Irish seller, and still have saved money - I'm sure it doesn't cost €900 to send a TV back to the UK . . . 

But in the case of the Panasonic products I've mentioned (and, incidentally, the Olympus E-410 camera I bought from komplett.ie, and possibly products from other AV manufacturers), the warranty is Europe-wide.

Here's a quote from an e-mail I got from Panasonic:

"_In response, I would confirm that a product purchased in the UK and used in Ireland will have a Pan-European warranty._"

So that warranty allows you to have it serviced or repaired in Ireland.

Of course, I'm sure an Irish Panasonic agent would treat you real nice if you brought your UK-purchased TV in to him for repair . . .


Mark

NOTE: Some of that was a rant. I don't feel any better, though. And I still want answers.


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## ubiquitous (18 Sep 2008)

Your points about the "expertise" of electrical store staff are interesting, and mirror my own experience after buying a new hard disk DVD recorder last year. I had 2 or 3 fairly basic questions about how to operate it & the staff in the store didn't have a monkeys when I asked them. I had to ring the manufacturers' helpline for answers. One would think that stores would invest in service in order to counter the threat from online competition.


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## NOAH (11 Dec 2008)

Thought it might be interesting to re-surrect this thread with the euro so high TV's are even cheaper now.

NOAH


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## mainasia (12 Dec 2008)

Generally economy of scale and ease of purchase is a big one. For example where I live now makes most of the advanced notebooks for supply worldwide. Recently a colleague came back from the US, said he had two requests from friends to buy notebooks there. Seems notebooks, made here in this country, are cheaper to buy in the US, even after taking into account shipping and tax. So economies of scale do work. The other part is that in the US many companies in different industries sell directly to consumer (online or sales rep to client) rather than using distributors. 

Also you have to compare 'like with like'. You can't compare a bricks 'n mortar operation with a purely online store, the overheads and service are different and there will generally be a price differential to reflect this.

Sometimes small countries like Ireland get hit by an extra middle man i.e. the retailer has to purchase off the retailer/wholesaler in UK rather than direct from supplier. If the retailer purchases directly from the Asian supplier I think that should cut the differential. However, even if the retailer does purchase direct from the supplier they can't negotiate such deep discounts due to less volume.

I think the OP's question is very specific and valid. He want's a breakdown on the costing differential and I for one am very interested in that.

I think it's ridiculous he was told to place it in 'Letting Off Steam', isn't this place called AskAboutMoney or what?


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## z103 (12 Dec 2008)

> Pricing seems to be based on "what will these mugs pay?", rather than "what price covers my overheads, the cost of the goods to me, and gives me a reasonable profit?"
> 
> Call me naiive, but I reckon that's bad.


It's capitalism. Buy low , sell high. The bigger the profit, the better.
What's 'bad' about it?


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## redstar (12 Dec 2008)

Yep, its quite simple - good ol' supply and demand. 

If enough people purchase at the offered price, why would the price be cut ? If few buyers purchase goods at the offer price, then the price will fall - usually dressed up as a "Special Offer Sale - xx% OFF !!"


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## ivannomonet (16 Dec 2008)

I had been looking at this TV and the earlier models over the last 2 years but could not justify the purchase cost here. I had searched online but could not find any dealer who would deliver outside of mainland UK.
Seeing the post above for the UK site, I was hugely interesested and followed up with a call to them. I have bought the TV in question including delivery to ROI for under 1400 Euro from them. Thats 800 euro left in my pocket that I would have spent if I purchased locally. That should be more than enough to cover any repair costs if I have to get the TV seen to locally. Thanks to the OP for the link.


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## NOAH (17 Dec 2008)

I was thinking of doing the same but baulked at the thought of "what if". I did a check just now and the irish shop gives a 5 year guarantee and a free BD player.  If added together it comes to about 800 euro!  

Enjoy your new plasma, perhaps you might post back about pic quality.

Euro is now nearly 93 pence.!!

noah


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## j26 (17 Dec 2008)

Exchange rates are a big issue.  I've my eye on a 40" Samsung which is 1,300 down here.  I began looking at the Dixons website and the tv was €870 (at xe.com exchange rates) but exchange rate movements have meant it's fallen to €778.  That's a difference of over €500.  I would be willing to pay more for the convenience of buying locally, but not €500 more, so it looks like I'll be heading north for it.


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## galleyslave (18 Dec 2008)

I find this thread interesting. I am considering buying AV kit. A few things I've found include
richersounds charging substantially more if you pay in euros than if you pay in sterling - always pay in sterling from their website - example Denon S101 - £679.95 or 1014.99 euro
Also, I can get a Yamaha DSPAX763 AV amp for £587 + £30 delivery from superfi in the uk - same amp is 799 euro from peats
significant savings given the exchange rate.


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## galleyslave (22 Dec 2008)

further to this - onkyo tx SR606 amp in soundstore yesterday - 699 - I'm buying it for 315 sterling plus delivery today.


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## Phaedrus (19 Jan 2009)

Glad to see this come up again. Not because I started it, but because these points need to be being discussed out there.



mainasia said:


> Also you have to compare 'like with like'. You can't compare a bricks 'n mortar operation with a purely online store, the overheads and service are different and there will generally be a price differential to reflect this.


 
Richersounds, bricks & mortar all over UK, with a store in Belfast, and are renowned as much for their great customer service as their prices: same TV I mentioned in my OP - £1100, including 5-year warranty . . . 

[broken link removed]

€1211 today. €20 shipping south for boards.ie members. To keep the discussion current, this TV is now €1900 from panasonicshop.ie, €1800 from Alliance Electric, and (at least up till mid-December) €2200 from Harvey Norman.



leghorn said:


> It's capitalism. Buy low , sell high. The bigger the profit, the better.
> *What's 'bad' about it?*


 
If you're a seller, nothing. 

That is until punters cop on and realise they have alternatives, and their resentment of your greed flourishes as they learn more and more by asking more and more questions, until eventually they happily leave you high and dry because they begin to do their shopping where their limited cash goes a lot further. And all the while their consciences are as clear as yours was back when you were ripping them off . . .



ivannomonet said:


> I had been looking at this TV and the earlier models over the last 2 years but could not justify the purchase cost here. I had searched online but could not find any dealer who would deliver outside of mainland UK.
> Seeing the post above for the UK site, I was hugely interesested and followed up with a call to them. I have bought the TV in question including delivery to ROI for under 1400 Euro from them. Thats 800 euro left in my pocket that I would have spent if I purchased locally. That should be more than enough to cover any repair costs if I have to get the TV seen to locally. Thanks to the OP for the link.


 
Good for you, Ivannomonet. What do you think of the TV? PM me if you don't want to tell all on this thread.



NOAH said:


> I was thinking of doing the same but baulked at the thought of "what if". I did a check just now and the irish shop gives a 5 year guarantee and a free BD player. If added together it comes to about 800 euro!
> 
> Enjoy your new plasma, perhaps you might post back about pic quality.
> 
> ...


 
If you're talking about panasonicshop.ie, IIRC, the BD player included in the offer was either the DMP-BD30 or BD35? The BD30 is disconinued now (AFAIK), but its replacement, the DMP-BD35, is currently £190 (€210 today) from Richersounds. 

That brings your RS spend up to €1441 (at today's rate): TH-50PZ80 TV @ €1211 (including the 5-year pan-European warranty) + DMP-BD35 BD player @ €210 + €20 shipping.

Panasonicshop.ie's price today for this TV is €1900. Even if the BD offer was still on, that's still €469 dearer than RS's €1441.

"Free" BD player, eh?



galleyslave said:


> A few things I've found include richersounds charging substantially more if you pay in euros than if you pay in sterling - always pay in sterling from their website - example Denon S101 - £679.95 or 1014.99 euro.


 
I've been in direct contact with the manager of RS in Belfast, and he posts on boards.ie - there are a number of important things here: 1. their .ie site is rarely updated. 2. The Belfast store can aparrently get you pretty much anything you fancy from the .com site, and even some products not even listed on either the .ie or .com sites. 3. The Belfast store will charge you the .com web price when you tell them that's where you spotted the product/deal. 4. Aparrently they prefer you pay in stg - easier for them, cheaper for you.

I couldn't have ever dreamed that I could own AV gear as good as I'm getting, but by researching on-line and shopping outside ROI, I'll soon be getting a big-brand 50" 1080p HD plasma TV, a very decent Denon AVR, award-winning QAcoustic speakers, an award-winning Panasonic 400GB HDD DVD recorder, a 320GB Freesat PVR, a PS3 and an XBox 360, a heap of peripherals for the PS3 & XBox, _and_ all the cables & brackets to put it all together for just over €4200, including shipping where applicable. I'm resisting the temptation to put that figure in bold, but it deserves to be. How many of you ever thought you could own such gear for that sort of money?

Same products in ROI? Well over €6000, and that's with QAcoustics' older 1000-range speakers (rather than the latest 1000i-range I'm getting), which are actually almost double RS's price.

Whether this is all down to greed, VAT, shipping, insurance, wages, economies of scale, currency rates, the rain, or a combination of all of these, it still amounts to ROI, and I sarcastically applaud all the movers and shakers who so effectively got us seemingly irreversibly to this point . . .


Peace,

Mark


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## ivannomonet (23 Jan 2009)

Just an update...
I bought this as I said above and was showing the link to a brother of mine. He bought the same set from them 2 days later. 
He received his TV as advertised within 3 days from the UK, mine arrived 20 days later and when I opened the box I found the screen was damaged in transit. Obviously mine had been thrown around for a few weeks in the back of a lorry for some reason and was damaged as a result. Outer box showed no damage but the TV had obviously taken a belt to smash the screen.
His was perfect, and picture quality is stunning. I've watched a few films on it with him. I had to arrange the return of my damaged unit (no cost to me) and am awaiting delivery of the replacement which I have been advised will be with me on Monday next.
Bad luck on my part but his experience of the deal was great.
Outside of my disappointment at the delay I have no qualms about shopping in the UK with my money. And I dont buy the argument that the 800 euro price difference is soley to do with costs down here.


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## Phaedrus (23 Jan 2009)

FYI Ivannomonet, aparrently the TH-50PZ80 is currently in poor supply from Panasonic.

Might need to be prepared for replacement not being as speedy as you'd like, though I hope not for you.


Mark


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## ivannomonet (23 Jan 2009)

Phaedrus said:


> FYI Ivannomonet, aparrently the TH-50PZ80 is currently in poor supply from Panasonic.
> 
> Might need to be prepared for replacement not being as speedy as you'd like, though I hope not for you.
> 
> ...


 
I gathered as much from reading various forums so I dropped them a mail to say if there is any delay I will happily accept the PZ81...


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## NOAH (23 Jan 2009)

Pz81 is better as you will get freesat and ITV HD.

noah


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## Phaedrus (24 Jan 2009)

Unless you want to be able to record Freesat. Then you need a Freesat PVR, meaning the Freesat tuner in the TV is superfluous.

Mark


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## Phaedrus (25 Jan 2009)

Progress! Harvey Norman have now got the TV I want reduced to €2000!

Maybe I should've asked if they'd price-match Richersounds' £1100 (€1160 today), including the 5 year warranty?  That's where I ordered mine today - back in stock now.

BTW, I'm not sure which AAM forum would be the best place to ask this question, so I hope it's okay to ask on this thread:

What's the most cost-effective way to pay for goods in Northern Ireland?

Visa over the phone from ROI? 

Visa in-store? 

Pay £STG cash in-store?

Where best to get £STG cash - a ROI bank or a NI bank?


Thanks,

Mark


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## ivannomonet (27 Jan 2009)

Just curious, what make and model did you get for the 1160 with 5 year warranty?


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## Phaedrus (27 Jan 2009)

Panasonic TH-50PZ80.

[broken link removed]

£1100 = €1180 on xe.com today, but was €1160 on 25th, when I posted.


Mark


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## ivannomonet (2 Feb 2009)

Just wanted to update...I've had a few days to check this TV out and the picture quality is stunning... Sky SD & HD and DVD's look superb...ITV looks crap but then it always did....


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## Phaedrus (2 Feb 2009)

FYI, mine arrives on Thursday.

The TV, a suitable wall bracket and delivery came to £1085 with one year warranty (and option to buy 5 year warranty for £100 at any time before end of 1st year).

On day of purchase, xe.com said £1085 = €1237. Today it says €1200. D'oh!

I'm not complaining - €1237 for this TV + a bracket is still great value.

Yay the internet!


Mark


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## ivannomonet (5 Feb 2009)

Are we there yet? 
Are we there yet? 
Are we there yet? 

Welll, let us know if its arrived and what your impressions are..
Since you started the thread its only fair that you get on put on a smiley face!


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## Phaedrus (5 Feb 2009)

Arrived 10:30am. It's up on the kitchen wall for now.

Can't comment on anything yet, other than to say it works. I've not yet connect TV or DVD - I've some other small things to sort before I can do that.

It's big, but in my kitchen (7m x 5m) it doesn't seem so big.

Better update on Monday. Hopefully I'll be posting a whole bunch of smilies . . . 

Actual amount that came up on VISA balance for TV, wall bracket + delivery: €1228. 

My feelings on ROI prices vs www/UK prices are the same. I'm now in a more upbeat frame of mind, looking forward to getting more goodies at great prices. 


Mark


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## Phaedrus (8 Feb 2009)

Connected my cheapo Goodmans DVD player with HDMI today. TV says 720p on Star Wars: A New Hope. Looks great. My Star Wars addict mate called over for a shufty and said he was blown away, even though it was only SD upscaled to 720p. 

I've just used normal and cinema default settings, till it's "run-in". Sound isn't great at all - quite thin. But I always planned to use a 5.1 amp/speakers set-up, so that's not an issue.

I'll be connecting up Irish analog (for now) and free satellite over the next few days, so I'll report back then.


Mark


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## NOAH (10 Feb 2009)

I am keen on plasma.  look here for good setrtings run it in for 200 hours with these, it ensures less likelihood of burn in if you do.  I liked these on mine but after a certain number oh hours it will dim, mine did at 1700, then you reset to your liking.

[broken link removed]

enjoy

noah


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## Phaedrus (13 Feb 2009)

Thanks Noah.

I'm wary of screen burn - I've told wife & kids not to let DVD menus linger, don't stay on channels with fixed logos, and turn off the TV when not watching...

£STG is back at €1.109 now - I'm ordering some more stuff from Belfast tomorrow. 

The amp I want has gone up £100 in 5 days.  Wish I'd had the cash earlier . . . Damn yen & dollar . . . (I think . . . ) 

Mark


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## NOAH (13 Feb 2009)

the hip phrase now is "image retention" it does happen. I cant watch images that are distorted so with 4:3 you get bars either side, you can have a white image either side but that puts me off as well so I use 14:9 and switch to full as quickly as I can.  Here's tip, if you do see a bit of image retention switch to a 16:9 channel with no logo eg BBC and leave it there for a good while it will burn away the image retention.  And by following your own guidelines you will be fine, dont forget pausing tv as well and sky menus, if you have sky et al can be tricky.

hOw's the picture quality?  By the way dont get everything from NI look at uk sites as well.

enjoy

noah


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## sfag (13 Feb 2009)

Dont if this point has been made before but We have always been used to paying more without questioning. 
It begins at Government charges on Houses, Cars, medical, Electricial  goods (duty used to be even higher), Gas, Electricity & the cost of policital representatives. All astronomical charges with a myriad of excuses justifying why each charge is required to be higher in our country than in others.


Retailers take their cue from there and price accordingly. 
Its in out ethos to pay more and mostly we dont even realise the descrepancies. 
Some countrys are like that.


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## Phaedrus (16 Feb 2009)

Thankfully more and more folk are bucking that. Even just discussing it is a good thing.

Mark


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## ivannomonet (24 Feb 2009)

They must be reading this post because Alliance Electric and panasonic.ie have both reduced the TV to 1299 now...900 Euro drop in a few months..


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## JDL (25 Feb 2009)

You should try bestpricewins I bought a tv and washing machine through this site the TV came from Belfast and the washing maching came from a retailer in Tipperary. Looking for a dishwasher now.


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## Phaedrus (4 Mar 2009)

ivannomonet said:


> They must be reading this post because Alliance Electric and panasonic.ie have both reduced the TV to 1299 now...900 Euro drop in a few months..


 
I'd say €1299 could be a resonable price in ROI for that TV. It's plausible that it could at a stretch cost €300 more than from RS due to rent/insurance/wages/VAT/reasonable prifit. 

It's too late for me, as mine is already on my wall. This'll sound cynical (possibly because it is . . .), but I wonder if this price drop has anything to do with the fact that Panasonic has launched its new range of 2009 TVs, and that the PZ80 range is close to end of life?

I post about this stuff on boards.ie too. There's an Alliance guy on there. He's actually pretty sound, so far as I can tell in this virtual world. My problem is not with the decent floor staff of good shops - it's with the business owners who treat Paddy as a mug. 

Imagine you worked on the shop floor for Harvey Norman and I came in to ask you why your TH-50PY80 costs €800 more than the effectively-identical-in-all-but-name TH-50PZ80 that I bought in Belfast.

What range of answers could you offer?

"My wages are so high, they have to pay for them somehow"?

"This TV makes you happier"?

"Rent/insurance for this shop is dearer than the rent/insurance for the shop you bought it from"?

"Harvey likes his Maserati Gran Tourismo S, and he has to pay for it somehow"?

"Look mate, I just work here - I buy all my own hi-fi stuff from Richersounds in Belfast too, cos even with my staff discount, RS is still cheaper than HN"? 

I drove to Belfast on Monday to collect some stuff.

From RS, I got a Pioneer VSX-818 amp (£170) & DV-410 DVD player (£70), and a 5.1 set of Yamaha NSP-110 speakers (£90).

While walking through Castlecourt mall, I nipped into GAME. I've been planning on getting an XBox and wanted to check out their prices. I walked out with an XBox 360 Elite, a 2nd controller, a quick-charge dock for two controller batteries, 2 rechargeable batteries, Kung-Fu Panda & Lego Indiana Jones for the kids and Dead Space, Halo 3 & Mass Effect for me. For £287 (€322 today).

I'll leave it to those of you interested enough to find out what all that would have cost down here, but I'll point you to Argos as one example for the 360 Elite + one controller: €250. No games, no charger, no rechargeable batteries.

Speaking of Argos, again while in Castlecourt, I nipped into Argos and bought speaker brackets for £9 (€10.10 today). In Argos in Dublin, the exact same brackets are €13.49.

Gimme a "G"! Gimme an "R"! Gimme an "E"! Gimme an "E"! . . . . . . .

Well, you know the rest.



sfag said:


> Dont if this point has been made before but We have always been used to paying more without questioning.
> It begins at Government charges on Houses, Cars, medical, Electricial goods (duty used to be even higher), Gas, Electricity & the cost of policital representatives. All astronomical charges with a myriad of excuses justifying why each charge is required to be higher in our country than in others.
> 
> 
> ...


 
Someone, some-ones, make decisions on what to charge Paddy. Paddy has been a mug. Paddy accepts really bad treatment. Paddy is conditioned to believe that there is no alternative. No alternative price to €1999 for a 50" TV. No alternative to Fianna Fail. No alternative to half the money he pays for his car going to the "government". No alternative to the "government" flushing the money they take off Paddy straight down the jax. No alternative to waiting 9 months for the results of a smear test. No alternative to fearing walking the one mile home after a night in the pub. No alternative to corrupt bankers/developers/politicians manipulating Paddy's constitution in the sole interest of self-advancement and self-preservation, in the full conscious knowledge that Paddy the Mug will suffer big-time for a long time as a direct consequence of their actions, while they won't feel the slightest ounce of discomfort because their deliberate actions have secured a recession-proof existence for them and their families and friends, and generations of decendants of same. No alternative to the inept and corrupt policing, judgement and punishment of those corrupt bankers/developers/politicians. No alternative to the "government" flushing more of Paddy's money down the jax. Paddy accepts "that's just how it is".

Okay, so the split isn't as simple as greedy immoral capitalists and mugs, but there are more mugs than there are greedy immoral capitalists.

I'm tired now. I might go and watch Transformers again on my big TV. Then none of this'll matter till I wake up again tomorrow . . .


Mark


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## NOAH (5 Mar 2009)

Look at an aricle in todays indo about a new mercedes, makes me weep.

noah


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## AlbacoreA (5 Mar 2009)

> By Ray Managh
> 
> A NEW Mercedes Benz was fitted with secondhand alloy wheels and used tyres just before it left a leading car sales showroom, a court heard yesterday.


 
This I assume.


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## Phaedrus (5 Mar 2009)

So how much would AW have saved by doing this? A bit less than it's cost them, I'm sure.

At least the customer stood up for himself.

The greedy immoral capitalist mistook that Paddy for a mug. Bravo that man - I hope he got loads out of them.


Mark


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## NOAH (5 Mar 2009)

yes, but look at the price  €66,500 and they saw fit to fit 2nd hand tyres and alloys???  

If mercedes were any good they would close the dealership but....

we have no hope...

noah


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## smartbody (10 Mar 2009)

Good Thread Phaedrus

I gave up on major (to me) av purchases some years ago. I'd wanted projector for over a decade, but couldn't afford the price of the quality to make it worthwhile. I was browsing an av mag and saw very low uk prices on the latest incarnation of the long running Panny projector home cinema line, so I checked out the prices in Dublin. The earlier model was selling for e2.5k. I got the lastest much improved version, in that instance, for about e1430 with 3 year extended guarantee including delivery to Dublin from a well known uk bricks and mortar shop which operated a good online store. I found this from browsing forums. It was my first major online purchase and I now usually look online when getting AV or game related stuff as typically it's better priced, sometimes by a huge margin as is seen in this instance.

I've been looking at the Irish panny TH-50py and as said it's going for e1299. I wanted an extended parts and labour guarentee for fuss free life without recourse to the Sales of Goods Act, during I'd hoped a 5 year period anyway. I could only get quoted for an extension to 3 years at cost of e200, so e1500 for tv with 3 year warrenty. It wasn't what I'd go for as I wanted peace of mind for a good 5 years, so I was going to forget about about till google led me to this thread. 

I see that in Richer Sounds up north, 1100 sterling with 5 year full warrenty from that shop. Works out about e1200 at todays exchange rate. So gets me same set with, as Phraedus helpfully explained, an equally redundant analogue tuner, but a UK one instead of Irish.

Might you tell me if there is issue with being a bord.ie member to get the delivery charge of 20 euro/sterling(?), to dublin, I'd appreciate your advice.

Thanks to you, my interest in this set is renewed. I wasn't inclined to have a plasma shipped via, truck, boat/plane then truck again with a few fork lifting episodes here and there from the UK, but a hopefully straight run from up north is better bet. The 5 year guarentee is main selling point for me with the price. I'm looking at the Dublin shop mentioned, Alliance Electric, as their site says that some of their Pannys come with a 5 year warrenty, so I'd move on that if it was manufacturers warrenty, and if they get back to my email..

I'll go with-out rather then be ripped off. I spent a week fixing a car window regulator which would've cost nearly e300 as a full unit to replace, as the small part I needed wasn't available as a spare, I'm that poor...ha ha.


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## Phaedrus (10 Mar 2009)

I got my 50PZ80 from RS with the regular 1-year warranty, but at the end of that year, I can still but an RS 5-year warranty for £100 (10% of TV price), which I probably will do.

RS do deliver to boards.ie members anywhere in ROI for £20. I'd almost 200 posts on there before I ordered from them.

There's some good stuff on there, so it could be worth registering anyway and asking RS's manager, John, a few questions about what you're interested in.


Mark


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## smartbody (10 Mar 2009)

I signed up, and after doing a search, I found a direct communication option to that shop.

Thanks pal.

pat


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## Phaedrus (10 Mar 2009)




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## Phaedrus (15 Mar 2009)

I just want to amend a part of my OP, but don't seem to be able to edit the post.

"_The TH-50PY80 is apparently identical to the TH-50PZ80 in every respect except the tuner. _

_The PY model has a tuner that recieves only Ireland's soon-to-be-defunct analog terrestrial broadcasts. _

_*The PZ model has a tuner that receives only the UK's digital terrestrial broadcasts* ("Freeview")._"

It seems that the 4 Irish channels are broadcast in Dublin on analog UHF, and the tuner in the UK TH-50PZ80 is able to receive them. I haven't connect to my aerial yet, so can't personally confirm this, but am reliably informed that this is the case. 

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=58867697&postcount=4


Mark


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## GeneralZod (15 Mar 2009)

Phaedrus, I've edited that into your OP.


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## Phaedrus (15 Mar 2009)




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## sfag (16 Mar 2009)

You should check out the costs of Maplins stuff here and their online site. Its less that half the cost in the UK. Their top brass (England based) are aware of the huge descrepancies.


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## Phaedrus (22 Mar 2009)

sfag said:


> You should check out the costs of Maplins stuff here and their online site. Its less that half the cost in the UK. Their top brass (England based) _*are aware of*_ the huge descrepancies.


 
I'd imagine that'd be closer to the truth if "_are aware of_" was replaced by "_dictate_".

Argos' UK catalog (I got mine in the Castlecourt Centre in Belfast) is "interesting" to compare with the ROI version.


Mark


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