[Special Offer] Acer laptop €399, Cork

If you're currently residing in the peoples republic, a little birdie tells me that Flor Griffin are doing a limited time deal on Acer laptops. They do good special offers from time to time, so why not have a look if you are currently in the market for a new one. For reference, Acers normally start at these prices. If you're getting a non-celeron model, it's likely a good deal.

And if anyone happens to pick one up, write a comment and let us know how you got on!

Are you local?

While the internet is great at yielding bargains from around the world, it can also be used to sniff them out closer to home. If you don't fancy taking a walk down to your local supermarket to check the notice board, you may want to check out buy and sell or adverts.ie. These can be used as a simplified type of ebay shop: you pick what you want, ring the seller to arrange payment and delivery and boom! you're in business. Great for people who are still wary of dealing with a faceless online seller.

Pros:

• If the seller is nearby you can arrange a pickup, therefore no shipping
• Items can be picked up quite cheaply
• No auction, no suspense, just ring to see if it is available

Cons:

• If you can't arrange a pickup, shipping inside Ireland is quite expensive
• Not sold by professionals, so quality can be hit and miss
• Sometimes the seller can make the sale and forget to take down the ad

Making payments online

Over the last 9 days I've meandered about from site to site, letting you sample some of the plethora of delights the internet offers. From the cheap and cheerful dealextreme*, to sober dabs and the ever useful but downright dull revenue commissioner. In my first post, I promised to cover the basics. To my mind there is a part of online purchases that I haven't gone into enough detail on: purchasing. So, here is a list of ways you can make purchases online, with comments where appropriate.

1. Paypal

THE online payments processor. Owned by and promoted heavily by Ebay. Acts as a proxy between you and a seller, allows you to pay by bank account or credit card. Big. Well known.

The good: It's pretty safe. The seller never sees your credit card details, so they can't draw all your money and leave you to pick up the pieces. Free to use for consumers.

The bad: Their customer service has left a trail of destruction. Don't make purchases over €500 with Paypal or you could be very sorry if things don't go smoothly. Also, they have a convoluted verification process which is a nuisance, but necessary for some sellers.

2. CCNow, WorldPay, RealEx etc.

The other online payments processors. Independently owned. Do pretty much the same thing as paypal and quite often better. Small. Frequently bullied by Paypal in the yard.

The good: Very little difference to Paypal. Don't ask too many questions.

The bad: Again, like Paypal. Lack of verification may give people the impression that they are less secure than Paypal (not true).

3. Credit Card

The standard in international payments. There isn't a business man alive who doesn't understand visa. Accepted by medium to big stores. Most common and easiest method of online payment. Costs €30 in tax to hold one for a year or part thereof.

The good: Reasonably safe to use. Unlikely to lose money if you are a victim of fraud. Easy to acquire.

The bad: If you do get into a dispute, you could be without a working credit card for a while.

4. Virtual Credit Card

Ooh, virtual! Nothing to do with virtual reality. Acts as a pay-as-you-go rechargeable credit card. Not taxed. Suitable for 16+ years.

The good: Same as a credit card. Can only be emptied of the credit that is on it.

The bad: Joining fees and administration charges. Cannot be used on certain websites.

5. Debit Card

Direct access to your current account. Payment is transferred (almost) immediately. Usually specific to a certain country or area.

The good: Convenient. Easy to acquire.

The bad: Not accepted in a lot of places. Not particularly safe.

6. Cheque

Limited access to your current account. Payment is transferred within 5 working days upon receipt.

The good: Easy to acquire.

The bad: Not accepted in a lot of places. Not particularly safe. Slow.

7. Bank transfer

Don't even think about it.

8. Cash

What did I just say?


That about covers it for today. If you have any questions, comments or just want to hang out and talk rubbish, feel free to leave a comment (see below). Comments can be anonymous so if you want to ask a question without giving away your email, go for it!

Importing: Duty & Tax

Before you see horrendously good deals online and splash out on a monster home cinema from America, bear the following in mind:

• Shipments sent from outside the EU may be liable for Customs Duty, Excise Duty and VAT
• VAT on goods is calculated using the rate the same goods sold in Ireland would use (21% for electronics)
  
• VAT is calculated on the total of the price of the goods, shipping, insurance, duty and other taxes
• Gifts from one private individual to another up to the value of €45 are exempt from Duty and VAT
• Commercial shipments up to €22 are exempt from VAT and Duty (note: this is set to rise to €150 on December 1st)
  
• Cigarettes, perfume and alcohol are never exempt, but we're not interested in them right now.
• For one off shipments where the value of the goods is less than €250 and the Import Duty due is less than €10 then an exemption from VAT and Duty may also be granted to customers who are VAT registered

Of course not every shipment is stopped and held by customs. All I can say is if you do decide to import, be VAT registered if it's less than €250 total. And if it's greater, start praying.

Note: I in NO WAY condone avoiding tax. But if you are not legally obliged to pay it, don't.

Sources
dhl.ie
revenue.ie

Camera Memory

A quick one today. The most common question I get asked is why memory for cameras is so expensive. Well, it is if you buy from a retail chain or local electronics store. These are the places you buy cookers and fridges, basic workhorse stuff that can be serviced by a technician. If you want good quality memory at affordable prices I'm going to recommend a couple of places further afield:

• LED Shoppe
• Dealextreme (affiliate link*)

Compare their prices with Argos or even Amazon. An [Integral] 1GB SD micro card (compatible with many cameras and Nokia phones) costs €39.99 in the latest Argos catalogue. The same type of card will cost $7.83 on DX for a Kingston* or $5.99 on ledshoppe for an unbranded model. So for a tenth of the price you can get the equivalent capacity! Despite their hideous countenances, these places are kosher and use tried and tested online transaction systems such as PayPal which gives a strong measure of security. The downside is you have to wait about 2 to 4 weeks for delivery (which is FREE) but then again it's not like there is any rush, right?

They sell other types of memory too, so take a look before you blow your cash at the checkout. Go forth and snap happily!

* Affiliate link. This means if you click on this link and buy an item within a certain amount of time, I get a small reward. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but if enough people do it it means I can save on some of the cost of maintaining this site. Which is nice.

Local Knowledge

The first rule of buying any commodity item from a television to a toaster is define your needs first, choose the source later. So many people get this backwards, it's not even funny. They see an item in a shop window and start rationalising why they should buy it right there and then. "Well, it has a great extended warranty option if something goes wrong." "I couldn't do better elsewhere." "Well, I wouldn't want to buy something like this off the internet, imagine the hassle of sending it back if there's a problem."

Oh dear. The shop window display is winning. The surge of adrenalin that comes from opening the wallet is flooding into the hapless punters brain and drowning out the voice of common sense.

Now that's to say that a high street shop can't be the right choice, the shop window could just as easily be a online shop. Cards on the table, I am a firm advocate of supporting local businesses and encouraging your local economy. But only when they deserve your business. And I will touch on this topic again in future posts.

To understand your needs better you need to consider the type of purchase you want to make. If you are buying something like a PC or television and a once-in-a-lifetime 5 year warranty is being offered for the low, low price of whatever you have to stop and think. These things depreciate. A standard PC now is going to be less powerful than a kids game console in 5 years time. A TV is going to be half the price with twice the features in 5 years time. Is it really worth spending that much more for peace of mind? The answer is usually no.

Another factor to be aware of is your perception of the seller. This could be from experience or brand reputation. If you get a good deal from a seller once, you may be tempted to think that other items they sell are also good deals. But quite often sellers use what are call loss leaders. These are items they sell at near cost to give the appearance of being good value, and indeed they are - for that item alone.

Returning faulty goods to online retailers? Yeah, I'll give you that one. I once sent a tv to france for repair and it cost €80 in shipping AND I had no tv for a month. But you know what? I'm not addicted to Eastenders, so I survived somehow. And I had €120 in savings to console myself with.

So if you're wondering where I'm going with this, or if this particular tale has a moral of some kind it's this: be prepared. Before you work yourself up into a wallet-busting frenzy, take a step back and have a look around. A good source of local information I use is the Bargain Alerts forum on boards.ie. You can see current alerts that others have posted, post requests in the sub-forum or chat and discuss experiences with sellers.

So, first post done :) More tomorrow