Yes - but there are still significant national/regional variations such as different tax regimes, different interest rate regions (e.g. eurozone and others), different cost bases (e.g. transport etc.), different supply/demand environments and so on that mean that prices still vary widely.For one thing, we are all in the the same market now - the common market.
So you think that rents are the same in rural Poland as they are in Dublin? What about insurance and labour rates? What about the tax on the wine, is that the same all over the EU? (hint: No it's not) What about the cost base of every supplier they have, are they the same in Dublin and every other place in Europe?For one thing, we are all in the the same market now - the common market. Paying 50 euro for a bottle of wine ( and from a surly waiter in Ireland ) that is 10 euro in France does not make it good value in Ireland ...unless you have lost the run of yourself. The little bit of recession that will surely come will do no harm to those who think the world owes them a living.
We are talking about rip off Ireland, where often food which costs 20 or 30 euro elsewhere costs double that here. Dine abroad, and you will see what I mean. Not only that, but you generally get much better service in places like the States.
For one thing, we are all in the the same market now - the common market.
Be careful what you wish for. The last time we had a recession in Ireland the people who suffered most were the people who could not afford to eat in any sort of restaurant.The little bit of recession that will surely come will do no harm to those who think the world owes them a living.
Regardless of external factors like tax, insurance etc, we are all guilty of adopting a cherry picking attitude to perceived 'value'.
Allowing for labour, materials, profit...whatever:
Should e.g. a Merc SL really cost up to 300K?
It's arguably a better car in most respects than a Hyundai Coupé - but is it over 15 times better? Probably not.
Used to be an Indian on Sth Georges St called the East end or the West End - can't remember. It was a great shop - very nice food and very reasonable and the staff were just great. I think its gone now though. Dunno why.
Exactly, I consider a lot of this kind of stuff as essentially price discrimination. It's not so much that the Merc is 15 times better than the Hyundai, as someone is willing to pay 15 times more to have it.
Think of economy and first class on a British Airways flight. There's no way BA would justify the massive price differential on the basis of a few free drinks, extra legroom and more attention from the staff. So is it worth it? Is it good value? Obviously some people think so. As with the expensive Merc, a large factor of this is probably the exclusivity set by the price (can't imagine first class seats would command the same price if they were distributed randomly around the plane).
Although it is said to have a lot of societal benefits (i.e. costs are weighted according to those who can afford to pay more), people usually balk at outright price discrimination (exact same good, different price depending who is buying). Hence the rise of premium branding!
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?