I Spy…Ireland vs America : Cost of Tools
As some of you may know I am an American but I am living in Ireland for the moment. My wife is from here and so we decided to move back here for a few years.
After being here for over 3 years there are a few things that really annoy me. The cost of things here compared to the states is just staggering. I will give you one such example today but this sort of thing happens to me all the time.
I have taken two similar power tools and feature them both here in this post. I just tried to pick two types of tools that are similar on most ways. One sold here in Ireland and another sold in the USA.
Here we have a run of the mill cordless jigsaw that will cost you $18 at www.StockBlowout.com
Here we have an Irish offer that will cost me $63 at Atlantic Homecare.
Now granted the Irish model is a Black and Decker and it could be argued it’s a better brand but it is the only available model at Atlantic Homecare which means your pretty much stuck with it.
Now that’s a difference of a whopping $45! Now don’t get me wrong I like Black and Decker but I really don’t think it’s really worth paying an extra $45, do you? At this rate I could purchase 3 of the Campbell Hausfeld models and have loads of change left over.
This is just one item I have decided to directly compare. Don’t even get me started on the Televisions. Just remember this the next time you go to the hardware store or any other store for that matter. America truly is a wonderful place and I will never take all that we have as Americans for granted ever again. God bless the USA.
This post was sponsored by http://www.stockblowout.com if your looking for any Discount Bathroom deals or Cheap Lights I suggest you give them a visit.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
So, why didn’t you buy the American one on-line and have it shipped to you? I have an Irish friend now living in Italy who does this all the time since the dollar is so weak.
January 15th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Thanks Patricia for your comment.
Good point. I failed to mention that at all.
I do this sometimes buy online and use my father for shipping but he lives on the west coast. Anything heavy becomes really expensive to ship and it takes like 2-3 weeks just to get from my dad’s house to my house. When you add the shipping it can still work out to less than the product would be here but not by much.
I suppose if it was something I really wanted, I would buy online and have someone ship it but for things like tools you kinda need it ASAP to finish a job or start a job.
I did order a Roomba for Christmas (via dad) since you can’t buy them here yet and of course I am still waiting for it to arrive. The Fex Ex website said it was going to cost $140 to send it as well. I sure hope that’s wrong.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:12 am
i was in shanghai at christmas and got a region free dvd very good price, and i bring home to ireland a lot of stuff, more now with the 240/115 working power tools. USA tools very cool
March 11th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Buying American is cheaper on nearly anything you want.
I have a way to get most things shipped to myself from America. I am from the west coast, it can take up to 4-6 weeks normally to get things from the west coast, but I have a good connection (legally of course) to get things fairly quickly.
Note: don’t use Fed Ex for shipping things from the west coast of America, as you may know the cost can be very expensive.
If anyone would like more info, reply back to this.