price of film

Bought a roll of APS film 2 times this week. First price in a photo shop in Clonmel was 6.50 E next time for the same item 5.00 E in a phone shop in Cashel!
Welcome to rip-off Ireland

ouch

I get my 35mm for 1 yoyo a roll (from japan through a company in the US no less!)

asrdg

24 exp. kodacolor gold 400 too, not junk

35mm film supplier

Pater, reveal all.
Dont keep it to yourself.
Tell us where exactly you get your quality 35mm film so reasonably priced?

Re: 35mm film supplier

I'm a bit tired of the 'rip off Ireland' mantra being wheeled out every time a significant price difference is noticed. Price differences are a sign of a healthy competitive market operation. The real worry is when all the prices are the same, which indicates a cartel operation.

Re: 35mm film supplier

I'm a bit tired of the 'rip off Ireland' mantra being wheeled out every time a significant price difference is noticed.

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I'm a bit tired of the "Huge variations in price means everything is healthy" argument. Cartels are not the only reason why prices can come together. If there is true competition then you should find all compeditors in and around the same low price.

When a huge price difference is found it is acceptable to point out that it's a ripoff. If I can sell something for €10 and you sell it for €30, then unless you have a serious overheads you are ripping people off. You can bet I'm not selling at a loss.

You have alluded to the real problem with Rip-Off Ireland though. It is partly consumer driven. If people are stupid enough to pay these prices then the business are right to rip them off. A fool and his money are soon parted.

A shop in Jervis St yesterday tried to sell me a 2 seater couch for over €1700. (20% off brought it down to almost €1400). You've gotta laugh.

On the film issue, if you're paying €6.50 a roll. Buy a digital camera (online).

-Rd

Re: 35mm film supplier

How do you set prices for your own product/service? The rip-off always seems to be in the eyes of the beholder.

price variations

Rainyday, you have raised an interesting point.

Say most retailers of a product or service were selling at the same price. Is this:

(a) the effects of strong competition between them forcing them to sell at the lowest price

OR

(B) them acting as a cartel, and fixing the price higher to suit their own profits

Sometimes, it's difficult to know.

Also, as you say, price variation is a feature of a perfectly healthy, dynamic economy.

Late night convenience stores charge more, German deep-discounters charge less. The main thing is that people have plenty of choice.

Re: price variations

Hi daltonr

If there is true competition then you should find all compeditors in and around the same low price.

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Not necessarily. Different operators offer different service levels. Its stands to reason that Arnotts can charge more for furniture than (fictional) Joe or Mick in Listowel or Lifford as by basing themselves in a prime city centre location they are making it easier for customers to visit them there. In return for the good location, they must pay higher rents than Joe or Mick would face. Hence they actually need to charge more, if the economies of scale are insufficient to otherwise cover the rent cost differential.

When a huge price difference is found it is acceptable to point out that it's a ripoff.

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I'm not sure that this applies in all scenarios. Retailers undercut others by a variety of methods, sometimes in ways that most people would deem unacceptable.

If butcher or shopkeeper Joe charges less than his competitor Pat, he may be making ends meet by fiddling payroll taxes or VAT, by ignoring health & safety regulations or by sourcing inferior produce and passing it off as top-quality. It doesnt necessarily follow that Pat (who dutifully pays his taxes, adheres to required standards, and stands over the quality of his merchandise) is necessarily ripping people off if he charges more than Joe. In fact the opposite may be the case.

If I can sell something for €10 and you sell it for €30, then unless you have a serious overheads you are ripping people off.

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Most businesses do have serious overheads. Large markups (sometimes up to several hundred percent) are a necessary fact of life in many sectors. Anyone who is ever involved in running a business in their own account will quickly see this. For example the raw material cost of making a cup of coffee is only a few cent. However you dont see too many bars, hotels or cafes selling coffee for 20 cent a cup. Not because there is no competition in the coffee business, but because all overheads have to be factored into the price, otherwise the venture is uneconomic.

Re: price variations

How do you set prices for your own product/service? The rip-off always seems to be in the eyes of the beholder.

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I'm happy to give you a list of my clients and if you can find one who tells you that I've ripped them off I'll give you a day's worth of fees.

Its stands to reason that Arnotts can charge more for furniture than (fictional) Joe or Mick in Listowel

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Yes but they are not in direct competition. My €10, €30 example was based on the same product in two stored next door to each other on Henry Street.

Also the €10, €30 price example was reversed the following week. Prices are like lotto numbers in some Dublin shops. Now I know overheads don't fluctuate on a daily basis requiring constant re-pricing of goods. So something else is going on.

-Rd

Re: price variations

A work colleague buys a small packet of crunchy nut corn flakes every morning from the local shop on his way into work. For 40g he pays about 50c I think he said.
This morning, when he went looking for them they'd gone...only to be replaced by a smaller packet. 30g of flakes inside. Price 1 euro.

A 400g box of breakfast cereal from Aldi, Lidl or possibly Tesco Value range would cost about €1. Does this bloke moan about "rip-off Ireland" too by any chance... :\

A 400g box of breakfast cereal from Aldi, Lidl or possibly Tesco Value range would cost about €1. Does this bloke moan about "rip-off Ireland" too by any chance...

First of all...I'm not he. However we're not near any Aldi or Lidl.
Secondly, I think it's fair to say that there is a huge difference in flavour and quality in *some* of these types of products.

The point would seem to be there is no justification in re-branding something by making it 25% smaller and doubling the price.

> I think it's fair to say that there is a huge difference in flavour and quality in *some* of these types of products.

Not in my general experience. Don't forget that own/generic branded foodstuffs are often manufactured in the same place as branded ones and the only difference is the packaging. For what it's worth I can't tell the difference between Aldi cereals and the major brand equivalents.

For what it's worth I can't tell the difference between Aldi cereals and the major brand equivalents

That's a fair point I guess. I might say the same myself if I tried some alternative brands.
Do the other manufacturers make 40g boxes of cereal though? I doubt it.

He was buying that particular size for convenience.

The point would seem to be there is no justification in re-branding something by making it 25% smaller and doubling the price.

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Absolutely. The larger box being better value is a red herring. You could buy all your household goods in bulk if you wanted to and it'd be cheaper.

But just because you choose to buy a couple of rolls of toilet paper instead of a crate load does not mean you forgoe you're right to point out that 25% less product for 100% more cost IS A Rip-Off.

That said convenient or not those variety packs are not a good idea. Even at 50c it was silly. Leave a box in work, or bring a portion from home in a sealed lunchbox.

-Rd

Since when did 400g of cornflakes become a bulk purchase? :rolleyes

Some people will pay almost any price for what they consider to be convenience or for things that the think are NEEDS as opposed to discretionary WANTS. This is fair enough and is their prerogative. What is not fair enough is when they do so but then start moaning about it and blaming it on "rip-off Ireland". If you don't like the price then go elsewhere or, better still, decide whether or not you really NEED the product in the first place. It's hardly rocket science...

re

I would say rainyday that a difference of 30% for the same item smacks of a rip-off!

Re: re

The point would seem to be there is no justification in re-branding something by making it 25% smaller and doubling the price.

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How can you say this with certainty?

Have you considered any of the following possibilities...

(a) the lower-priced product maybe was a temporary promotion that is no longer available.

(b) it was possibly uneconomic for Kelloggs to produce and sell at the lower price.

(c) that Kelloggs might have decided unilaterally to stop making the product in the 40g box, and upped the price. It is highly unlikely that individual retailers or even domestic retail chains would have sufficient bargaining power with a transnational corporation such as Kelloggs to block such a move.
(d) the shop needed to increase its trading margins to make ends meet, and changed their stocking and pricing strategy accordingly.

Anyway, I thought it would be blindingly obvious that buying individual portion packs of corn flakes every day would not only be environmentally questionable but ridiculously expensive compared to the cost of buying in larger volumes. Your friend is only ripping himself off.

Re: re

Bearing in mind that it wasn't me...


(a) the lower-priced product maybe was a temporary promotion that is no longer available.

(b) it was possibly uneconomic for Kelloggs to produce and sell at the lower price.

(c) that Kelloggs might have decided unilaterally to stop making the product in the 40g box, and upped the price. It is highly unlikely that individual retailers or even domestic retail chains would have sufficient bargaining power with a transnational corporation such as Kelloggs to block such a move.
(d) the shop needed to increase its trading margins to make ends meet, and changed their stocking and pricing strategy accordingly.

a) It wasn't a temporary promotion
b) I would doubt that considering how long theyve been selling that size of product.
c) That's a possibility.
d) I used to work in retail. It's completely unjustifiable to double your prices while giving less product. It's not on at all.
While I don't go hell for leather for the whole "rip off Ireland" routine, I do see sometimes that people have a point.

or e) The retailer was greedy and decided that he'd make more money by upping the price, hoping that no one would notice seeing as this was sort of a new product.

Your friend is only ripping himself off.

Like I said before he was buying that size out of convenience. Perhaps he only buys a breakfast once every month and doesn't want a big box sitting on his desk going stale.