Shopping Northern Ireland

Sorry butting in on behalf of Emma - yes, she did say Newry and I'm guessing maybe she goes to Jolleyes on the Dublin Rd (on the way into Newry on the left) petfood/pet accessories warehouse type place - good value.
 
I'm not disputing that the traffic into Newry can be horendous at times but we went up saturday morning at around 10 and it was clear all the way in apart from maybe 10 mins going down the hill towards the town. Then flew out without any hasstle.

We're in the north east though so a quick turn around is an option if traffic is that bad.
 
Preparation is the key to surviving shopping whether it be Dublin or N.Irl.We left Balbriggan on Monday last at 8.00 a.m. and arrived in Lisburn at 9.15 to the Sprucefield centre,total distance was 76 miles,Lisburn is 26 miles further on from Newry.It has a massive Sainsbury's,Next home store,Curry's,B&Q and toysrus on the left hand side and a big M&S,JJB Sports and Boots across the road. We came across no delays on the roads and sainsburys was empty and the shelves full,well worth traveliing the extra few miles.My own personal opinion unless your stocking up on drink,dog food,tins of biscuits/sweets it is not worth the drive up just to buy groceries but the difference in price is unreal on these specific itiems.Baileys 1 litre bottles £10,tins of Roses 2 for £10,Tesco price €9.99 for 1 in the South,Foxs biscuits £4.99,Tesco price €12.45,De longhi coffee maker £74.99 in Curry's the cheapest in Dublin €119.99.Research what you want to buy check Sainsbury's website for specials before you travel and stick to your list.I would avoid Newry at all costs on the run up to X-mas unless you are sitting in the the quays car park at 8.00 a.m.
 
spidermonkey said:
but the difference in price is unreal on these specific itiems.Baileys 1 litre bottles £10,tins of Roses 2 for £10,Tesco price €9.99 for 1 in the South,Foxs biscuits £4.99,Tesco price €12.45, .
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These items will always have a price difference due to different VAT applications & duty.

Biscuits & cakes have a 21.5% vat in Ireland whereas in UK it is 0% for most and 15% for the luxury chocolate ones.

Duty is €11 + Vat (€13.20) on all spirits in Ireland
Duty in UK is £5.94 + vat (£6.83)

Or put is simply a bottle of whisky at £4.50 / €5.30 + duty & vat is £11.95 in UK & €19.95 here based on identical ex tax retail pricing.

As for chocolates - many offers around here - Topaz garage in Athy sells large tins Roses & Celebrations for €5.99
 
mystry4all said:
hi seantheman,

may be you are right...but it will save you something because alot people goes to north for the shopping

where is the nearest argos based in north irerland from swords? I am in need of some new furniture and appliances.

How far is banbridge from swords, m1?
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newry
 
Just scanned through this thread.....and would like to make some comments as producer of Irish Food for the Irish market.....we (the company) pay our taxes etc, all on time, we have 15 staff all receiving above the min wage who have not had pay cuts nor hours reduced.

When you (the shopper)take money out ROI and shop in NI, you are jeopardising these jobs - which is fine, you do what you have to do, but.......


When the current govt. increase levies/taxes and reduce social welfare/child benefit etc, don't expect much sympathy from Irish business owners..... It is a complete circle
 
foxylady said:
Would I be right in assuming this is during the week?
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No, i go on Saturday mornings as i work during the week.

Sorry butting in on behalf of Emma - yes, she did say Newry and I'm guessing maybe she goes to Jolleyes on the Dublin Rd (on the way into Newry on the left) petfood/pet accessories warehouse type place - good value.

Nope, i go to Sainsburys in the Quays shopping centre. And yes it's Newry i go to!

Just scanned through this thread.....and would like to make some comments as producer of Irish Food for the Irish market.....we (the company) pay our taxes etc, all on time, we have 15 staff all receiving above the min wage who have not had pay cuts nor hours reduced.

When you (the shopper)take money out ROI and shop in NI, you are jeopardising these jobs - which is fine, you do what you have to do, but.......


When the current govt. increase levies/taxes and reduce social welfare/child benefit etc, don't expect much sympathy from Irish business owners..... It is a complete circle

I completely understand this but when money is tight due to the government trying to get blood from a stone it leaves people with not much option! An hour and a half up the road and i can save a fortune! I drink red wkd which is £2.99/700ml bottle, in dublin the same bottle costs €6.25 in dunnes, tesco etc.... That alone is a huge saving!!
 
Hi Claire 1956,

That we are looking for alternatives is no your ''fault'' because you guys have to pay the taxes, wages of the employers, rents, electricity bills and many more things. The government should have a look at this. Why are so much many people looking for such ways and what we can do them to prevent this, keep the money in our own country.

You yourself shall also go for the cheapest, if you have the option.

(sorry for the ''english language/grammer/spelling mistakes which i do make. I am not a irish. I am from the Netherlands, but living from the last 4 years in Ireland)
 
mystry4all said:
Hi Claire 1956,

That we are looking for alternatives is no your ''fault'' because you guys have to pay the taxes, wages of the employers, rents, electricity bills and many more things. The government should have a look at this. Why are so much many people looking for such ways and what we can do them to prevent this, keep the money in our own country.

You yourself shall also go for the cheapest, if you have the option.

(sorry for the ''english language/grammer/spelling mistakes which i do make. I am not a irish. I am from the Netherlands, but living from the last 4 years in Ireland)
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here, here, i fully agree, well said!! and don't worry, your english/grammer is more than fine!!
 
Claire1956 said:
When you (the shopper)take money out ROI and shop in NI, you are jeopardising these jobs - which is fine, you do what you have to do, but.......
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Why don't retailers lobby the government for a reduction in VAT and Duty prior to the next budget?

Maybe you have already, but I haven't seen anything in the papers.

It's unfortunate that the UK government had the foresight to reduce the VAT rate last year to stimulate sales and our idiots decided to increase the rate while trying to tax their way out of a very bad situation.

There's also the issue of VAT on luxury food items in the ROI that are zero rated in the UK:-
mcaul said:
Biscuits & cakes have a 21.5% vat in Ireland whereas in UK it is 0% for most and 15% for the luxury chocolate ones.

Duty is €11 + Vat (€13.20) on all spirits in Ireland
Duty in UK is £5.94 + vat (£6.83)
Click to expand...
The Shopper from ROI who shops in NI is not responsible for the job losses and wage cuts in the South, it's the idiots who are running the country and the exchange rate.
 
delgirl said:
Why don't retailers lobby the government for a reduction in VAT and Duty prior to the next budget?

Maybe you have already, but I haven't seen anything in the papers.

It's unfortunate that the UK government had the foresight to reduce the VAT rate last year to stimulate sales and our idiots decided to increase the rate while trying to tax their way out of a very bad situation.

There's also the issue of VAT on luxury food items in the ROI that are zero rated in the UK:-

The Shopper from ROI who shops in NI is not responsible for the job losses and wage cuts in the South, it's the idiots who are running the country and the exchange rate.
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I've no problem with anyone who shops in the north - all I'm saying is the saving are not as goods as many make them out to be - most seem to report the saving with rose tinted glasses and compare special offers in NI with standard pricing in ROI. - If someone went up on that basis, the chances the offer would be over. On certain items the savings are there and I will take advantage of 2 1ltr bottles of brandy for £35 in Birmingham airport as much as the next person.

As for lobbying to change things - the whole tax system would need to be changed to one similar to the UK system and if that happened there would be mutiny on the streets. Do you wish to pay a non tax deductable £2500 avaerage per household in council tax? Do you wish for a 40% reduction on child benefit?, a 30% reduction in pension, a 60% reduction in jobseekers allowance, a 20% increase in paye?, £400 a year in water charges?

If we accept these changes, retail rates (€16,000 per year on tiny 500sq ft store on college green) can be reduced by 50%, vat can be reduced to 15%, duty can be reduced by 50% and we can all compare like with like.

But it won't happen. :) - But i can assure you there is no Irish retailer making a profit at the moment and every possible cost is being monitored. No more than essential staff are being employed. It will change back, maybe next year or the year after and maybe the northerners will flock to Dundalk & Drogheda like they did just a few years back. Swings & roundabouts.
 
Northern Ireland is a land of surprisingly few people. Wonderful new venues have been built along the river Lagan in Belfast, such as the Waterfront Hall and the Odyssey Centre a multifunction entertainment and educational centre which is a landmark for this developing city.
 
hi

my local centra is doing large tins of roses, quality streets and cadburys heros for €6.00....not bad eh !
 
I needed insulation for my attic. On B&Q's UK website they have decent insulation costing £6 for a pack of 3, and you get a pack pack of 3 free! So after using an online converter to euro's the cost was €7.15 per roll.

I needed 10 rolls, so If I paid for 5 rolls I would get 5 rolls free. So the total cost to do my attic should have been €35.75, which I tought was amasing.

When I went to get the insulation in B&Q Swords, the price they were charging was €23.90 for a pack of 3 and get a free pack! I asked one of the guys who worked there what was the story with the pricing!! as there was a big difference in their conversions from sterling to euro..

He told me it was a UK site that I was looking at, and that I couldnt get that offer in Ireland. So I whipped out my phone and rang B&Q Newry, to see what they were charging for this product, I even read out the bar code reference to them just incase I was making a mistake somewhere... The guy on the other end told me that the insulation was £6 per pack and get one free!!

So I thought this was outrageous, and asked to see the manager of the store to querie how they could charge €23.90 for a product that I could pay €7.15 for up the north. If I was to buy the insulation i needed up the north, the total cost would be €35.75, If I was to buy it in this store It would cost me €119.50, so by going up the north I would be saving €83.75, I could insulate 3 houses for the price they were charging!!

He looked at me like i had two heads!! and he told me that the prices they were charging were a real bargain, and that I was mistaken If thought I could get the same product cheaper. But when I pulled out the piece of paper with the barcode reference number, the price in sterling, the contact phone number for B&Q newry and the name of the guy I was just talking to 10 minutes before hand, His attitude quickly changed.

After he got over the shock, his responce to me was " that the B&Q in the republic has nothing to do with B&Q either up the north or in the UK". And he couldnt do any better on the price, and even said "that if it was him, he'd go up the north himself to get the stuff cheaper"!!!

Is it any wonder that people are going up the north to purchase items, when stores in the republic are over charging - and in my case by nearly 300%..... Its sickening!!!
 
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