TOP TIPS FOR IRISH ONLINE SHOPPERS

Here are some tips to avoid getting fleeced:

1. Beware of excessive shipping charges. Check the shipping costs to Ireland. Anywhere between £4 and £10 is typical, depending on the weight or number of goods purchased. Some websites display a relatively low initial shipping price … but the weight allowances are very low.

2. Buy in bulk to avoid excessive delivery charges. Obvious but sometimes overlooked.

3. Don’t buy overinflated EURO prices. There is no reason why we are charged more for products from the UK with the exception of the shipping charge. Yet dozens of large and small online UK retailers switch Sterling prices to EURO prices at exorbitant exchange rates. To check, compare the EURO price to the Sterling price with that shown on a currency converter like the Yahoo Currency Converter; while you should expect to pay a little more for bank margins and credit card fees that the Yahoo conversion price shows, there should no be a huge discrepancy between them.

4. Be careful buying at websites which make you pay in EUROS. Generally speaking, if a website display its prices in both Sterling and EURO – but will only let you buy at the EURO price because your postal address is in Ireland – it is likely you are about to be ripped off.

The exception to the rule is some forward thinking retailers who display their prices in Sterling and EURO but charge a fair exchange rate and allow you to pay at the Sterling price, with the exchange rate being calculated by credit card company. This generally the best rate you are going to get.

5. Read the Returns and the Refunds policy. How long do you have? Using the Irish postal service, could you return goods within the specified time? Is Ireland treated any differently to other jurisdictions?

6. Know your consumer rights.

7. Make sure you have an International Customer Service telephone number. It’s amazing the number of sites which only provide 1800 numbers that can only be dialled from within the UK. The “ex-UK” telephone numbers are often well hidden deep in the website; once found, make a note of them, because it is often very difficult to find that right number again.