I'm just curious as to how P.ie users are taking steps in these times to avoid being ripped off - maybe post up examples here?

To start - I have a Sharp Photocopier/Printer/Scanner.
Irish Office Stationery Company charges €140 for a replacement Sharp Toner Cartridge
Local Office Supplies Company would take the Cartridge, refill it, send it back and still charge €100 for the pleasure.

I got two bottles of Toner from the US on ebay, with a funnel, wipes, etc, postage included all for $90 (less than €75 maybe?). Just simply opened the cartridge with a screwdriver, put in one bottle of toner, put it back together, slot it in and it works perfectly with clean copies good for 6000 more. The other bottle of Toner will allow 6000 more copies. This is the equivalent of having two new Toner Cartridges.

To summarise;

Office Stationary Co - 2 Toner Cartridges = €280
Local Supplies crowd refilling = €200
US Operation on eBay (which looks like it's done from a HOme Address) = €90 all in incl postage

How could you realistically go for either Irish operation in these times

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"I will submit that the economic and political crises that face this country will never be dealt with unless the culture and values of the political and administrative classes undergo profound change" (Emily O'Reilly, Ombudsman/Info Commissioner)

Shop in the North, but not along the border.
Buy what you can online, preferably in a currency that has slumped against the euro in recent times.
Don't buy what you don't need right now.
Sell depreciating assets and stock up on precious metals and collectibles (fine art, etc).

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Too far South for the 1st option for me unfortunately

Online buying is massive these days .... courier vans round here every day of the week - cheaper from anywhere besides this Country it seems

Absolutely don't buy anything without thinking twice

The last option isn't really open to me at the mo methinks!

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"I will submit that the economic and political crises that face this country will never be dealt with unless the culture and values of the political and administrative classes undergo profound change" (Emily O'Reilly, Ombudsman/Info Commissioner)

I bought myself a coffee maker for my office so I don't have to pay €2.80 for a cup of coffee.

It paid for itself in 4 weeks.

Another example;

Family Member bought on ebay from the UK a few weeks back a brand new reasonably high spec Dell Laptop ... this came from an authorised Dell Reseller .... apparently it was simply returned because of not being to the exact specs the original buyer wanted .... It arrived here in a Dell Box with all the usual Dell packaging. It certainly was never used as the Screen still had the film over it, everything had the Dell packaging etc.

It cost €700 including postage. The same laptop here from Dell costs around €1000 ordering it on their Website and putting in the same required specs.

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"I will submit that the economic and political crises that face this country will never be dealt with unless the culture and values of the political and administrative classes undergo profound change" (Emily O'Reilly, Ombudsman/Info Commissioner)

I installed a Night Saver meter from the ESB, and now do all my heavy energy stuff after 11pm. Saved €35 on my last bill. I intend to switch to Airtricity now too, which will give me another €20 saving.

I also switched from eircom to BT for my residential telephone recently, and try to use my landline rather than my mobile for all calls. This has saved me about €30 per month.

Both of these were relatively painless measures, but they add up to €60+ per month, which goes a long way to paying my health insurance.

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"Lose" the wife's purse including all credit/debit cards.
Pass the income levy on to your kids in their pocket money.
If you are a Public service worker, pass the pension levy on to your Kid's education fund.
Shoot all the pets that cost more than €3 per week in food.
Wear your clothes twice, except jocks and socks - cuts down on washing.
Sell anything in your house that is not nailed down on ebay, possibly clearing out the "spare" bedroom so that it can be let....

With online spending - ask friends and family if they are in the market for stuff and pool the order to save on shipping costs.


.....oh yeah, turn off all lights in the house and issue family with one of these....

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Thomann Cyberstore for your music gear, much better choice and prices than local stores and excellent delivery.

I've called for the closing down of the National Consumer Agency. Among the biggest rip-offs of all...

....also good..... The Music Store, Inc. - Musical Instrument Online Superstore!

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