When will prices, for UK imports fall in the Shops ?

[forest]

A useful new site for establishing the actual price differences after separating out the VAT differences and so on.

Dual Pricing in Ireland

Please use only real data where you have it.

Of there is list of stores Adams is going out of business and I have never heard of jack jones

Its not just British stores its allow
I have seen similar in H&M

[west'sawake]

the government needs to do something about pricing of goods particularly clothes and shoes
I feel there is 4 ways it can do this if it has the balls

1. set up an inquiry to see if Ireland really has high costs for business and if so see of ways of cutting them

2. Remove ourselves from the UK/Ireland trading block

3. Introduce new labelling laws either forcing the Euro/metric clothes size to be 1st and bigger than the UK clothes size or make dual pricing illegal
(this may force retailers to bring in the clothes and labels from the German French markets

4. Forces retails to cut prices (in relation to the sterling/euro rate) and if they refuse remove them from the Irish market


You may need a mixture of all 4

I agree with you on 2,3,4 but God spare us another time wasting enquiry. We know enough already. Import agents, distributors and retailers are ripping us off but the exodus northwards will stop it and by the end of 2009 prices will have shot up in the North due to a weak sterling.

[myksav]

Two weeks after hell freezes over.

[constitutionus]

Of there is list of stores Adams is going out of business and I have never heard of jack jones

Its not just British stores its allow
I have seen similar in H&M

jack and jones is a clothing shop. more along the lines of urban wear than anyting else. middle market stuff, not cheap but not BT designer maddness stuff either.

they usually have em in the major shopping centers. caters to the mid 20s crowd.

[euroboy]

When will people realise that the UK and Ireland are different markets and retailers can charge different prices if they like. Yes it is infuriating to see such price differences for the same product in euro and sterling where it seems we are being ripped off but please bear in mind that each market has different characteristics:

1. Wages and Income levels of Consumers which is an important determinant.
2. Consumer sales tax (VAT, excise duties etc)
3. Cost bases of retailers (wages, rates, energy...though this aspect is often overemphasised by retailers when really it isnt that significant, I wish retailers wouldnt use this arguement to fight its cause)

It is also the case that in the UK prices of their imports should rise eventually to counter the weakness of the pound. At the moment, due partly to the recession and weak consumer demand, it seems that British retailers are taking a lost on their UK imports and having it cross subsided by Irish shoppers and the profits they earn from favourable currency exchanges. No-one seems to give that point any thought within the media. It is likely that these profits are helping to kept British retailers in business which is benefial to consumers both here and in the UK in the long run since it helps maintain competition. This recession could see our retail landscape greatly changed and not for benefit of consumers and consumer choice. Give that some thought.

Something I noticed today was the Newsweek mag and its pricing policy throughout the eurozone. You will notice that its 6.5Euro in all eurozone countries. That might seem perfectly fine to some but if you dig deeper, it will become clear that we are being ripped off, slightly. We dont pay VAT on mags but in some countries there are subject to a small VAT rate, usually 3-5% for serious content. So what you all make of that, though on the other hand, base prices for cars are cheaper here to make the selling price comparable to other countries after tax. So it works both ways and we sometimes win, sometimes lose.

My advice, stop talking about the price differences between the UK and Ireland.It really isnt a well thought out idea in the media. It would be better to think in terms of your own currency and make decisions based on price relative to your standard of living.

If you want TRAVEL to the UK and avail of the advantage of the weak pound but dont demand that because something is priced £10 in the UK it should be on 11 Euro or whatever here. Things are more complicated than that and not for the weak reasons put forward by the retailers either.