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Jaw dropping prices but where else to go?


Chancer
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I normally go for Dulux paint.But found B and Qs own make ,fantastic.I had to put a bit of white spirit in it to water it down a bit because it was so thick.How much would that be in France? Some people I speak to bang on about the "quality" of the french goods that are so pricey.But in my opinion they are often overpriced shoddy objects!
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[quote user="PaulT"]

But compare Screwfix and B&Q. Same parent company but vastly different prices.

The only problem with visiting a screwfix branch is that it does seem that some of their staff had been sacked by Argos for being too slow!

Paul

[/quote]

Use next day delivery service, no hassle then

 

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[quote user="powerdesal"][quote user="PaulT"]

But compare Screwfix and B&Q. Same parent company but vastly different prices.

The only problem with visiting a screwfix branch is that it does seem that some of their staff had been sacked by Argos for being too slow!

Paul

[/quote]

Use next day delivery service, no hassle then

 

[/quote]

Yes, but you do not learn any Polish that way :)

The only problem with deliveries is that someone has to be there to take it.

 

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I am in the Loire area at the moment, I was hunting around for a proffesional expanded foam gun, the one that takes the cartridges.

At a builders merchants I found the exact same one, same box etc that I bought recently in the UK to replace my old one, UK price £16 IIRC here it was €92.

What was crazy was the cartridges were reasonably priced and it is on those that the manufacturer and retailer make their margin, yes they were initially more expensive in the UK, I think my first one was £25 but at €92 they really are shooting theirselves in the foot.
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  • 4 months later...

A new one to add to the growing list.

A farmer friend has asked me if I could help him find a part for his Manitou, it turns out that it is a JCB and the part, a reel for retracting the hydraulic lines, a Tecreel is made by Tecalemit UK.

Here in France the dealer wants €700 for the spring alone and €1500 for the whole reel, neither in stock, pay now delivery some time after the rentrée if you are lucky, this is a fairly simple spring loaded steel reel that weighs 6.5kg.

A couple of calls to the UK later and the part is winging its way to us for £145 and that is with 2 intermediaries in the supply chain, Tecalamit only sell parts through their main hydraulic distributor, the distributor wouldnt sell to me as I am not on account and no longer have a UK company so they put me on to one of their dealers who in turn offered me 20% off the Tecalemit list price.

Even if the Â£ was at €1.48 this part would still be less than a third of the French price, I cant believe that people other European countries like Turkey, Spain etc get stiffed in the same way as in France

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Please can I join in and have a little grumble. It has been so hot the past few days and uncomfortable to sit on patio that we have bought a parasol - cannot believe the prices - cheapest we have seen was 35 euros but anything decent was about 70 euros. Am I being mean?

Also, is it me but has meat in general become very expensive?

Will get off soapbox now.

Rowland
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We bought a parasol for about 40 euros and it snapped off its "stem" as we opened it.  It was from one of those cut-price, cheapo shops.  We took it back and no money back of course but we easily bought "stuff" for the amount.

Then we went to Leclerc and bought one for a similar amount or just a bit more and it's lovely.  Yes, all the ones that open at an angle were around 70 euros or more.

Meat?  Don't know about that as I only buy it when we have visitors.  OH doesn't eat meat anyway and I have more or less given it up on account of the cost and kerfuffle of cooking 2 meals in this heat.

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Rowland the sales have been on since late June, couldn't you manage to find a bargain parasol in the sales.

I'm a gazebo fan instead of parasols, especially with removable sides on them, found them much more use than a parasol.

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Over the counter medicines are generally much cheaper in the UK. In the main due to the fact that in France the Pharmacies are protected from competition and that is why you cannot pick up a packet of paracetamol from your French supermarket, unlike the UK.
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[quote user="Chancer"]These:

 http://www.socamont.com/boutique/fiche_produit.cfm?ref=54153&type=626&code_lg=lg_fr&num=0

must be the biggest rip off I have ever seen in France and I have seen a few in my time...

Here in France €230HT per hundred = €275 ttc = €2.75 each

[/quote]

Seemed incredible, so I looked at your link.  The unit price is shown as 23 cents.  I think you need a new decimal point key on your calculator.

Agreed, it's still a lot more than the UK price, but not quite so sensational.

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A lot of water has passed under the bridge since 2009, they have updated their price and removed the error it was definitely €230 for one box of 100 back then.

They still are not very good at mathematics though as if you click on the purchase page it says that you are getting 10 boxes of 100 for €24 which equates to a unit price of 0.24 cts which is more like what they should cost but I dont believe for one second that is what you will get, one box of 100 more likely

Still maybe in a couple of years more they may finally get it right [:P]

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[quote user="Chancer"]A lot of water has passed under the bridge since 2009, they have updated their price and removed the error it was definitely €230 for one box of 100 back then.[/quote]

Sorry.  If I'd known I would have said they need a new decimal point key.

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Got a price for two 1600x420x4mm pieces of glass today.  £70!  I was gob smacked.  It seems there are very few places that sell glass round our way.  Are these prices the going rate round here or was the man that quoted me trying it on?

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The old old story ofr anything charged for by the metre carré.

You used a £ sign, the last time I bought glass in the UK my old glaziers had become a sex shop, gave me a start when I walked in with my list!!! The other ones were a lot pricier, I bought some sealed units recently really cheap so I might go to them in future offering cash for cut glass.

Editted. that works out at £52 per M2 which is a rip off, i pay less than that per M2 for sealed units with obscure patterned glass and bronze spacer bars.

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[quote user="crossy67"]Sorry, I meant €.

I bet you didn't quite expect what you got when you asked for a 12" pain lol. 

I used to work in the glass industry until recently and could buy a 1.2x2.4 sheet of flat laminated for £38+vat.
[/quote]

Well, wheat prices HAVE gone up.....[:D][blink]

Next time try asking for it in metric?

(Hi, Crossy, don't worry, at least you are nothing like as clueless as OH and I were when we came...)

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A little while ago whilst travelling in my camper my GPS failed to start when I wanted to set off to my next destination. No problem I thought, just take off the head assembly turn it upside down and stick something sharp in the hole marked [reset]. Search camper for something sharp to stick in the hole. A fork is no good as the other tines get in the way, and they are too big anyway, don't be silly...cocktail sticks in a camper, I don't think so. What can I take apart that has something small and sharp in it? I had not got any magazines so no staples to prise apart.

After a 20 minute search found nothing suitable I thought the solution was to drive out of town to find a supermarket. Found supermarket. Where to find pins, any pins, safety pins perhaps, do they still make them, does France know about safety pins? The last time I saw a safety pin was the one time I tried changing a nappy on middle child (45 years ago) and was more nervous then about jabbing myself than the child (couldn't pluck up the nerve to change a nappy for the first child). Incidentally I refused to have a go at the third child, I mean have you seen that stuff in there?[+o(]

Finally found a wrapped pack of safety pins on a stand marked "odds and s ods" at least I reckon it did. Blimey oh riley!!! 8 euros for a pack of about 6 safety pins!! That's the problem with France, where are all the tatooed people with piercings when you want them? In my neck of the woods in the UK there's hundreds of them, one of them would have loaned me something I bet.  

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