[ILUG] Re: Compustore dont do linux hardware!

[Thomas Ribbrock]

On Wed, Jun 21, 2000 at 03:21:24PM +0100, Niall O Broin wrote:
 
> I was interested to read  this, Thomas. I've been living in Germany for the
> last 5 years and I found hardware prices there to be very competitive - much
> cheaper than Ireland, cheaper than the U.K. and often very close to
> advertised prices in the U.S. Do you have any shops in Germany which will do
> mail order with Irish customers ?

The ones I came across so far (I haven't checked delivery to Ireland,
though) were more expensive than the one I usually shop in - I'll check
again and should I find anything interesting I'll be more than happy to
supply info to the list.
I myself have always postponed all bigger purchases to the times I go over
to Germany myself - lucky enough, the city of my main interest in Germany
(Aachen) seems to be among the cheapest in Germany in this regard. Maybe I
should take orders next time round... ;-)


> > No. Irish customers are getting screwed, simple as that. I can't wait for
> > the Euro. >:-(
> 
> I don't know how much difference that will make. The Euro is here now, just
> not in hard currency form. Why do you expect it to make a difference ?

The main reason I expect it to make a difference is that it will finally be
there out in the open plain to see for everybody that there are significant
price differences, possibly making it more attractive to shop abroad (maybe
during a holiday?) Heck, with the existing differences and the cheap flights
you get these days, in some cases you could probably *fly* over to Germany
to buy stuff and still save money...
Also, when actually going over, I won't have to pay as much money to banks
for changing - at the moment I still have to change from Punts into DM and
the banks charge - as usually - too much. From 2002 on, I can take my cash,
walk into the next shop and pay - no banks involved.

> Irish prices are higher because the market is small, the shops don't buy
> in huge quantities, and they have to pay carriage too.

To a certain extent this might even be true, but the "carriage" argument
really doesn't hold water in my opinion: I'm not aware of Intel chips being
cheaper in Ireland - or Dell PCs or Gateway PCs or Apple computers. The
amount of items with "Made in Ireland" I've bought so far is simply
stunning...
However, I'm still wondering whether the price difference isn't down to what
IKEA UK said... They were asked why their prices in UK are the highest in
Europe for the same items and the answer basically boiled down to "because
the market is willing to pay these prices"... 

Ok, I better stop ranting now... :-}

Cheerio,

Thomas
-- 
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      Thomas Ribbrock    http://www.bigfoot.com/~kaytan    ICQ#: 15839919
   "You have to live on the edge of reality - to make your dreams come true!"