Post-Recession Prices

O

onq

Registered User
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This subject came up in discussion the other day, with the inference that they have been lowered.

Lets see now.

- Oil is up.
- Gas is up.
- Petrol is stable.
- Electricity is up.

- Cigarettes went up recently.
- A cup of coffee in Dublin is naughty.

- Fresh fish is a ridiculous price this week.
- Dunnes 50 cent white sliced is now 65 cent.

So whats gone down?

Oh yeah - houses have gone down again.

So we are still being hammered on necessities like food and utilities and addictions like cigarettes and even talking shop conveniences like a cup of coffee.

Post-recession prices? Yep?
Post recession price reductions? Not many.

Happy to be proven wrong.

On the plus side, I saw my first 30,000+ Dublin Reg over the weekend and its only September.

Looks like people are back buying cars again - a Beemer, as it happens.
 
Petrol, since 2008, has risen 50%. Not stable !

Coffee is a discretionary luxury product, not valid to include for any assessment of cost of living.
 
My management fee has gone up this year even though, presumably, the cost of cleaners, gardeners etc has gone down. Really annoys me.
 
I'd be interested in the statistics but my own general impression is that food prices have dropped in the last few years. Maybe I'm buying into the spin but it certainly seems cheaper doing the grocery run these days. For example a few years back I noticed a massive difference between Lidl/Aldi and Dunnes, and again between Dunnes and Super Valu - now I feel the difference is much smaller, and it seems to be because the more expensive shops have become cheaper to me.
But certainly fuel costs, insurance costs, these seem to be rocketing up over the past few years.
 
Insurance has increased generally, so has oil & gas. This is not the reason why the cost to the consumer is increasing. The reason for retail price increases is the high wages paid to employees in these sectors as wages are a larger proportion of the unit cost than raw materials.
Commodity food prices have increased internationally. There’s nothing we can do about that and as a farming nation we should be happy about it.

The cost of state services have gone up massively and will do so at ever increasing rates over the next few years. This is because the state cannot react to market conditions by cutting staff or wages and so as the number of people paying for the services (income tax payers) decreases the amount charged has to increase.

Products and services where commodities and taxes do not constitute a large proportion of the unit cost and which are traded in an open market have gone down in price significantly.
 
liaconn said:
My management fee has gone up this year even though, presumably, the cost of cleaners, gardeners etc has gone down. Really annoys me.
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The reason for this is probably that more people are defaulting on paying their management fee and so the others have to make up the shortfall.

I've noticed the cost of staying in a hotel has changed dramatically downward. And there are signs for 'cheaper' early bird menus all over the place.
 
On the positive side, the price of newspapers and magazines has fallen since the VAT changes were announced. In general I think retailers and anyone in the hospitality sector are offering better value with things like 3 for 2s and early bird menus. Those that have survived are making more of an effort and many are trying to provide better value for money.

Also I've found the cost of local tradesmen has fallen as they have less business and some have lost the "like it or lump it" approach to doing business
 
TarfHead said:
Petrol, since 2008, has risen 50%. Not stable !

Coffee is a discretionary luxury product, not valid to include for any assessment of cost of living.
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Sorry TarfHead,

I try to be current and it seemed to stabilize this week.

I cannot forget the race from €1.26 a litre to €1.52 in the first six months of this year!
 
One freely traded item - oil - was down at €40 dollars a barrel earlier this decade before America's foreign adventures pushed it through the roof - again!

Retail prices have increased in some cases because retail sales have collapsed and retailers have tried to recoup some losses by maintaining prices artificially high instead of cutting them to suit the pockets of the consumer.

Some clever retailers have offered bargains on some goods while hiking others.

A case in point was seen in Tescos recently where coffee was offered at half price, but other were on a par with other outlets.


As for international prices, we can all choose not to buy until process come down to meet the demand curve

State services are being hugely cut back in the next budget - something has to give but T.D.'s salaries and expenses won't be cut.
 
Bronte said:
The reason for this is probably that more people are defaulting on paying their management fee and so the others have to make up the shortfall.

I've noticed the cost of staying in a hotel has changed dramatically downward. And there are signs for 'cheaper' early bird menus all over the place.
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Nowadays "cheap" seems to be ~ €15 for a meal.

A fish lunch in the Berkely Court cost €10 in 2006

Back in 2003 €5 bought you a meat and two veg with a glass of water lunch - a dinner for some people.
 
Mpsox said:
On the positive side, the price of newspapers and magazines has fallen since the VAT changes were announced. In general I think retailers and anyone in the hospitality sector are offering better value with things like 3 for 2s and early bird menus. Those that have survived are making more of an effort and many are trying to provide better value for money.

Also I've found the cost of local tradesmen has fallen as they have less business and some have lost the "like it or lump it" approach to doing business
Click to expand...


I agree with your assessment of local trades, but there are pitfalls to be wary of their too.

Our plumber was called out to a house and charged his "new" €60 call-out rate to an old client of his.

Found out he was repairing workmanship done by another plumber who was away at the time but who charged a €40 rate.

The repair had cost the old client €100 + parts by the time it was complete, so saving €20 on the rate charged by a known and reliable plumber actuall cost €40.

You get what you pay for, apparently.
 
Not sure where you eat lunch onq but must be in the more expensive part of town! Lunch around Camden St/Wexford St/Harcourt St averages at around €7.50 for a decent lunch - you can get a 3 course lunch for €10, so I wouldn't agree with your contention that the average is €15 for lunch!
 
onq said:
One freely traded item - oil - was down at €40 dollars a barrel earlier this decade before America's foreign adventures pushed it through the roof - again!
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It’s not that simple ONQ. Political instability and commodity traders cause peaks and troughs in the short to medium term price graph but in the long term it’s still supply and demand that sets the price.
Read this and the links at the bottom of the page for more information.
 
The Julianstown Inn just outside Bettystown on the Dublin Road.

I had a job there in Inse Bay carrying out remedial work on some of the houses.

I used to meet the Building Control officer on site in the afternoon and sometimes had lunch before hand.

I remember it well, because three years later the price had doubled.
 
Ceist Beag said:
Not sure where you eat lunch onq but must be in the more expensive part of town! Lunch around Camden St/Wexford St/Harcourt St averages at around €7.50 for a decent lunch - you can get a 3 course lunch for €10, so I wouldn't agree with your contention that the average is €15 for lunch!
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I said that was cheap for dinner, not average for lunch, but I'll take your tips thank you.
 
UPC....2 price rises this year alone....the trade off is faster broadband speed each time they raise the price even if your happy with the speed you have
Anyone have info on what UPC/SKY were charging in 2007 when the depression started v's their current prices? Must be up by double digit %?
 
Purple said:
It’s not that simple ONQ. Political instability and commodity traders cause peaks and troughs in the short to medium term price graph but in the long term it’s still supply and demand that sets the price.
Read this and the links at the bottom of the page for more information.
Click to expand...

You're absolutely right Purple, I forgot about the perfidious Wall Street traders and the instability that America likes to promote in certain regions.

Any excuse to put up the price of oil, even when demand is down and supply is up! I know there was more to the article in the link you posted than the piece below, but it encapsulates many of the issues. I think we agree on this Purple.

=====================================
Commodities Trading Drove Up Oil Prices:

Why? Although the EIA pinned part of the blame on volatility in Venezuela and Nigeria, it warned of an influx of investment money into commodities markets. Investors were stampeding out of the falling real estate and stock markets. Instead, they diverted their funds to oil futures. This sudden surge drove up oil prices, creating a speculative bubble. (Source: EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook)
This bubble soon spread to other commodities. Investor funds swamped wheat, gold and other related futures markets. This speculation drove up food prices dramatically around the world. The result? Food riots in less-developed countries by people facing starvation. (Source: BBC News,Commodity Boom Continues to Roll, January 16, 2008; CNN, Riots, Instability Spread as Food Prices Skyrocket, February 18, 2008)
 
Delboy said:
UPC....2 price rises this year alone....the trade off is faster broadband speed each time they raise the price even if your happy with the speed you have
Anyone have info on what UPC/SKY were charging in 2007 when the depression started v's their current prices? Must be up by double digit %?
Click to expand...

"You gotta pay more because we give you more!"

Talk about your captive audience.

I'm supposed to have 8 Gb boadband - I rarely see more than 4.4Gb as tested online.

And as for peak use - forget it.
 
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