Rip-off rant

Gerry offers his 2c:

85c for a litre of milk! I was in the North last week and bought a litre for the equivalent of 83c. What a f**king rip-off this country has become...

Comments

[Gerry O'Sullivan]

That tongue-in-cheek comment about the milk was just to highlight the sometimes irrational nature of the great "Rip-Off Ireland" debate. If you ever read the Pricewatch column in Friday's Irish Times for example, you'll see that people get all worked up because there is a small price difference between two shops for the same item, yet ignore the bigger rip-offs going on all round them.

[Frank McGahon]

Oh I agree. I'm quite ambivalent on the whole Eddie Hobbs/Ripoff phenomenon. It is a good thing that people become a bit more savvy about prices and taxes but (apart from the fact that you just want to slap* Hobbs' smug visage) there is a danger that the whole debate just descends into a typically Irish passive aggressive whinge. It would be nice if a bit more thought went into what generates high prices. The default assumption seems to be that we are all blameless "marks" getting ripped off by "greedy" businesses/professionals or incompetent government bodies. The latter part might well be right but the first isn't. I don't think people realise the extent to which a) their own purchasing decisions impact on high prices - even for "essentials" all purchasing decisions in a free country like ours are voluntary: nobody's forcing you to drink that pint in Landsdowne road on match day- on the demand side and b) how various government regulations which typically get welcomed by consumers - for example mandatory disposal of household white goods, or registration/regulation of professionals which often results in a quasi-cartel - impact on prices on the supply side.

* Which reminds me of the time Duncan Stewart was pushed into the pond at Stephen's Green. As Wilde might have put it, "you'd have to have a heart of stone...". Amusement was compounded by Mr Stewart's later outrage at the thought that some old granny could have been pushed into the pond. The thought that this wasn't a random act of oafishness after all but one specifically targeted at a certain irritating tv personality apparently eluded him.

[Hugh Green]

Slightly off-topic, but I once got pushed into the pond at St Stephen's Green on a school day-trip to Dublin. I bought a pair of fluorescent pink bermuda shorts (it was 1989) and a t-shirt in Dunnes at the shopping centre to do me for the rest of the day, for the princely sum of £5.99. Ah, dem were the days. Dunnes Stores - Better Value beats 'em all.

[Frank McGahon]

I bought a pair of fluorescent pink bermuda shorts...

You weren't looking to get pushed in again then?

[Hugh Green]

Like I said, it was 1989.

The latter part might well be right but the first isn't.

Yes, complaining about suppliers' 'greed' is a bit like the seller complaining about the fact that their customers are always trying to buy things at the lowest price possible.

However, I think that the decisions about "essentials" are limited by time, transportation and availability of information.

Granted, all such decisions are, but in the case of the weekly groceries, as opposed to a good like a mobile phone, your ability to purchase somewhere else is rather constrained by where you live i.e. there may be only one location where it makes economic sense for you to shop, because if you were to go elsewhere you'd be spending x amount extra on fuel, x amount extra time of your free time in traffic etc. In this case the decision to shop somewhere else can become a gamble, rather than an informed decision.

Then for "essential" services that you might only use very occasionally (I'm thinking of a GP here), it might not be worth your while visiting all the different GPs in the area to see who offers the best service at the best price if there's only a fiver of difference between the lot of them. Again, there is little info (other than word of mouth) to make an informed decision.

I have my doubts, however, as to whether people here can actually be bothered to make informed decisions anyway.

[Frank McGahon]

but in the case of the weekly groceries, as opposed to a good like a mobile phone, your ability to purchase somewhere else is rather constrained by where you live i.e. there may be only one location where it makes economic sense for you to shop, because if you were to go elsewhere you'd be spending x amount extra on fuel, x amount extra time of your free time in traffic etc. In this case the decision to shop somewhere else can become a gamble, rather than an informed decision.

Sure, but the type of thing I have in mind is people whingeing about the corner shop being more expensive than Dunnes for the exact same thing. If you are on a budget, it doesn't take too much effort to plan ahead and stock up from Dunnes or Aldi. If you can't be bothered and want the convenience of getting it at the last minute, you shouldn't complain if you have to pay more for this convenience. Leaving aside all sorts of bizarre price discriminations (packaged fruit versus loose in Superquinn, "fat" bounty versus slim in Tesco) grocery shopping is still generally good value in supermarkets.

I have my doubts, however, as to whether people here can actually be bothered to make informed decisions anyway.

Which would be fine if they didn't complain about it afterwards. The fact is that for a lot of these "ripoffs", it "seemed like a good idea at the time" to pay that money.

[Edmund Burke]

Since we have no local taxes in Ireland, all the money that would be paid by householders is now paid by businesses, who then have to charge the self same householders extra in order to cover their rates bill.
Also the argument about rip off Ireland seems to be that I am entitled to a relatively high salary, but shop assistants aren't.

[Gavin]

My local shop only charges €1.10 per litre..

[Patrick]

I think Ireland is a stingy, mean and greedy little country.
The miserable country is oppressive to the poor and the average working class citizens.
The greedy government are over taxing us massively in every department compared to any other country.
It is the most over taxed country in Europe and probably the world and on top of that there is no law or enforcement of any kind to protect consumers from greedy Rip Off merchants.
Since 2002, the Rip Off culture in this country was born shortly after the launch of the euro and from there on the prices of everything skyrocketed at a ludicrous rate.
Irish consumers are not getting their value for money in any department.
The poor and average working class, (which are the majority in the country), are finding it a living nightmare, battling against the oppressive Rip Off Ireland regimen engineered by the stupid government that should have been booted out years ago.
Average working class and poor people's wages absolutely do not go in line with this Rip Off county's numerous living expenses.
That government have been in power for two terms and have done nothing for the country but make things harder and miserable for the majority of people. Irish people must be the most gullible and tolerable in the world for putting up with S**t because in any other country a stupid government like that would be kicked out of parlaiment.
The Irish People should wake up and come to their senses, VOTE NO for the clowns of Fianna Fail.