More examples of good value in NI, poor value in RoI

To see if there truly is good value in the North, you should compare like with like, i.e. look at the prices for the same products in the same stores North & South of the border.

For example

MP3 player is €179.99 in Argos in The Republic. The same is £99.99 (€125) in Argos up north. It has been reduced from £119.99 (€150)

In NEXT, look at the Grey Linen Suit on the Irish website compared to the [broken link removed] website. €166 in Ireland and £110 in the UK (€137.50)

These are just two examples, but there are 1'000's more.
 
That's not comparing like with like since it does not take into account the cost of living and of doing business in the respective regions/jurisdictions.
 
I've lived in NI, England, and I'm now living in Ireland. I think the best place for value was in England, North London, because of the sheer size of the market - you could find a huge range of stores to investigate with tremendous competition between them. However I find the Tax burden here to be much less than in the UK, so frankly my wife and I are much better off here.

In the UK, we had a tiny apartment whilst living off two salaries, whilst here we are living off one salary, my wife is in college and we can afford a nice three bedroom home, so we feel much wealthier. The tax breaks and reliefs here are wonderful, and the lack of the burdensome council tax is a huge relief to our budget.
 
ClubMan said:
That's not comparing like with like since it does not take into account the cost of living and of doing business in the respective regions/jurisdictions.
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So are you saying that there is no way to compare the cost of goods between different countries?

I don't think the cost of living and of doing business has any relevance in my post. The price of the MP3 player in Argos for example is the same no matter where you live in Ireland, as it is in the UK. i.e London certainly has a higher cost of living and cost of doing business than say Enniskillen, yet the prices are the same.
 
boaber said:
So are you saying that there is no way to compare the cost of goods between different countries?
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http://www.economist.com/markets/bigmac/about.cfm

 
IKEA Belfast - £1.80 for a kids meal of fish finger, peas, chips + jelly + soft drink (I wasn't that hungry!) = €2.30
If they ever open down here I bet it won't be anywhere near that price.

Large Hotdog (I felt hungry later on) - 80p = €1.

Maplin Electronics Belfast - everything cheaper as their republic stores are basing prices on exchange rates of roundabout .66 instead of .79. Hence an item for £100 is about €150 down here versus the equivalent of €125 up in Belfast. Happy days.
 
Irish Times (Sat) = £1 = 1.25-1.30 euro, whereas it's 2 euro in the RoI.

NB: 12.5% VAT on newspapers in the Republic.
 
In the recent past I have purchased the following items.

A watch, one alloy wheel, fitted car mats and a pair of sunglasses. In all cases I purchased the goods in the North/UK.

The watch was €495 here, I paid £280 for it.

The alloy wheel was €465+vat here, quoted price up north £274 but paid £260. Irish guy wouldn't entertain a haggle.

Fitted car mats were €135 here and purchased for £55 up north.

Finally the sunnies were €270 here and I paid £165 + £4.95 delivery from the UK.
 
Small cartons of Milupa Aptamil 2 (baby food) 50p last week in Sainsbury's, and €1.19 in Tesco.
 
ClubMan said:
That's not comparing like with like since it does not take into account the cost of living and of doing business in the respective regions/jurisdictions.
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I agree, and I have argued something similar in other threads; however, how do we calculate / investigate if this difference is just the different cost base of different jurisdictions or is increased profit margin for southern retailers? Is there any way to baseline the different cost bases to allow a true comparison for consumers?
 
Untimely if the Irish consumer is less price sensitive than the UK consumer the retailer will see it and charge more for the same goods. Anyone who thinks this is wrong should ask themselves if they would, when selling a house or car, sell for the highest amount possible or cap their price at what they thought was fair a market price.
 

It's true that to do a real price comparison, you would have to take into account numberous factors (rent, insurance, wages, rate of exchange, etc). But that is not feasible for most people - it generally come down to whether it is worth the hassle & cost of a drive up north. As sterling changes and retailers not passing on the savings - I reckon more will be doing their own analysis and getting into their car for a wee drive !!
 
Purple said:
Untimely if the Irish consumer is less price sensitive than the UK consumer the retailer will see it and charge more for the same goods.
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I agree 100% and I am happy to live in a market economy where this is possible. However, I think that part of that price insensitivity is down to consumers not knowing the difference, in real terms, between the cost base in Ireland and the cost base in the UK.

I accept that there are higher transport, labour, excise (where applicable) and VAT costs in Ireland than in the UK. Is it possible, or has anyone done it, to come up with an average of the price differential that these different costs add to a consumer good?

To take Joe1234's example of Aptamil baby food, the cost in euro is €0.63 in the UK versus €1.19 in Ireland - if we take a cost base differential of 25% (I'm just guessing) then the equivelant price in Ireland should be €0.79 - does this mean that the €0.50 extra is the profit margin for the retailer in Ireland?

Is it possible to come up with a matrix of cost base differentials for different goods? eg for non perishable groceries the cost base differential is 27% - so if a price in Ireland is more than 27% higher than the one in the UK then Irish consumers are not getting a good deal.

If this information was available it would allow consumers make informed decisions about their purchases and willingness to accept a retailers price.

As I write this I am thinking there must be some EU wide central CPI or other index which measures this - or should I just put the tinfoil hat back on?
 

Perhaps. However I suspect that at least some of the extra profit margin is being pocketed by manufacturers and distributors - especially as I understand it is illegal in this country for a retailer to offer price discounts on artificial baby food.
 

I can't see how such a price index could operate meaningfully. Even within a single economy, every product and every retailer has a different cost base. When one compares different economies using different currencies, it would be very difficult to objectively measure the effect of legislative requirements on comparative prices. To take one example, how does one determine whether the Irish plastic bag levy increases or decreases retailers costs?
 
Yes, costs are higher in the RoI:

- Wage rates
- Rents very high, I'd say
- Overheads (utilities, insurances, waste, etc.)

Also, indirect taxes are higher:

- 21% VAT vs. 17.5% in UK
- 13.5% VAT vs I'm not sure of the lower rate in the UK
- Higher excise duties on alcohol

However, taking all that into account, I still feel we get bad value in RoI.

This is due to:

- higher gross and net wholesale and retail margins here
- higher willingness-to-pay, so we are charged more because we are willing to pay more
- a general lack of competition

So I suppose some of it is our own fault
 
A good example is Sky. If anyone gets the fliers in UK magazines or whatever, compare the cost. I think the Basic package is £16/month. This also includes broadband and phone calls.

I have the basic package here for €30/month. And the only extras I get are junk mails through the letterbox!

You can't explain this one away with higher wage costs etc. Their main technical base is in the UK. They don't require any service centres here. It's all done privately and paid for directly by the consumer in most cases. Most of their staff are in the UK.

Quite simply....RIP OFF REPUBLIC.

Take the diesel price hike. I reckon it's purely down to the fact that the VRT and tax changes in July mean that most will be looking towards diesel cars. The oil companies here know this and hike up the prices. They know people will buy it so they don't care.

I do all my shopping in NI for the simple reason that it's cheaper. Recently had to buy a packet of pampers baby wipes in Super Valu. €4.65 for one pack of 72. In Sainsburys in NI. £5.99 for 4 packs of 72.
I usually see that for €100 euro in NI you could fill a shopping trolley. In the republic you could maybe cover the bottom of it.
 
colin79ie said:
A good example is Sky. If anyone gets the fliers in UK magazines or whatever, compare the cost. I think the Basic package is £16/month. This also includes broadband and phone calls.

Quite simply....RIP OFF REPUBLIC.
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Surely this should be "RIP OFF SKY" ?
But how then do you explain the fact that diesel prices in the UK and elsewhere have risen in tandem with the prices here - even though VRT only exists in Ireland and there are no corresponding motor tax changes in the UK this July?
 
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