Cost of a kids comic - Price displayed in sterling

I bought a kids magazine from a well known supermarket at the weekend.
Next to the barcode, it had the USD, AUD and a Sterling price of £1.99.
No Euro price was displayed.

I did a rough calculation in my head, multiplied it by 1.5, then took off a bit - expected it to cost about €2.60 or so.

When I got home, I looked at the receipt and I was charged €3.26.


At todays exchange rate of 1.25 (according to Yahoo currency converter), the magazine should cost €2.48.

Even at the peak exchange rate last year 1.50 or so, the comic would be €3.00.

The rate used by the shop was 1.64.

I expect to pay slightly more, as it is an imported product, but this seems excessive.

How is does this work?

Should I complain to the supermarket?


I understand that a price is linked to a barcode and that it is not possible for the prices to be updated on their tills on a regular basis, but I would expect the changes to be made.

Would the same comic have cost the same price a year ago?

Or in this case, where the comic was charged at an exchange rate 31% above the current rate, would it have cost more when the rate was 1.50?

Not talking about much money here, but its the principal.

This carry-on has been going on ever since the IEP/GBP currency alignment was abolished in 1979. At the time it was a problem close to my heart as I was regularly buying comics as a child. I think the distributors are at least as much to blame as the shops for this, probably a lot more so as the Euro prices appear to be set centrally.

The Euro price seems to vary hugely depending on country. A magazine that is priced at £1, normally sells for about €2 here....in Italy, the same mag was priced at €3.50!

The change in sterling doesn't seem to be passed on at on range of items - in Tesco last night and noticed that there own brand "finest" yogurt has gone from 65c to 92c in the last few weeks.

sam h said:

in Tesco last night and noticed that there own brand "finest" yogurt has gone from 65c to 92c in the last few weeks.

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iirc The Tesco finest yogurts have been about 90 cent or "4 for €3" for ages, in my local store.

I haven't bought them in ages, only noticed last night (fancy abit of lemon curd).

Point remains that sterling exchange rates mean that the prices should be going down rather than up by 41.5%!!

There's a VAT difference as well; my recollection is this wouldn't be payable in the UK but would be another 21% to consider in the Irish price.

Does a VAT rate of 17.5% not apply on magazines in the UK.

As I say, open to correction but I think UK magazines and books are VAT exempt.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/Taxes/BeginnersGuideToTax/DG_4015895

Zero rate

There are some goods on which you don't pay any VAT, like:

* food
* books, newspapers and magazines
* children's clothes
* special exempt items - for example equipment for disabled people

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That explains it! Thanks!

Sorry to go a little off topic, but it does relate to different currency quotes.

I was interested in purchasing an item of garden furniture from a company in Co Tyrone whom I had seen at a show last year and remembered the name when I needed it. I contacted them two weeks ago and they sent me both a quote of £1875 stg and a €2499 euro. Naturally enough, before I parted with that sort of funds I wanted to see what I was purchasing and they told me that they were doing a show last weekend, which we went to.

I had left my quote in the car and of course did'nt really take much notice of the £stg price. At the show the same guy with whom I had been dealing with was there and we purchased at the €2499 as agree. Everything was going grand and the order was written up and I had signed the cr card slip at the bottom of the page for 2499. Then he proceeded to write €2499 up beside the order and change the bottom amount to 2000 (cr card part) and said that he would be charging in stg and that was aprox €2499 euro's. He also told us that by attending the show that we had received a better deal. We left and when I got back to the car I looked at my quote and more importantly looked at the stg price which was £1875.

I rang him immediately and naturally while working a show its impossible to answer a mobile, so I sent him a text with regard to the stg quote and the stg price that he was charging us, and a note reminding him that it is the euro purchaser and not the £stg seller that should be gaining on the currency transaction, and that we had not got a better deal by attending the show which was over 2hrs drive away from our home.

He text me back about an hour later to saw that he would honnour his quote and he knocked another £25.00 off it bill. I thanksed him and naturally rang the cr card company first thing mon morn. He had put the transaction through at 8.30 am and thankfully it was for the £1850 as the text has said.

It just shows us that we can't be half carefull enough. Thankfully he was honest when pulled up on it, but if I had not bothered to double check, I would still be paying my €2499 as I had been quoted but he would be getting more for his item than he had quoted me for.

This anecdote relates to a price difference of 1.3% which, while significant in terms of a large purchase, is absolutely meaningless in terms of the price of a magazine. The VAT difference on the magazine is 15 times higher in proportionate terms than the case you mention.

It is a disgrace that VAT on magazine is charged here at 21% while the rate is zero in the UK.

NHG said:

...a note reminding him that it is the euro purchaser and not the £stg seller that should be gaining on the currency transaction,....

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I don't see your point. You agreed a euro price with the seller. They could hardly be blamed had they insisted that you honour the original deal to pay €2499 euro. Had the STG/EUR conversion gone the other way, they would have been totally out of order had they tried to increase your Euro price.

I was expecting to be paying in euro's but got really worried when this guy started to change figures after I had signed the page.