If you're thinking of buying someone a fancy corkscrew for Christmas you might want to shop around, if the experience of one PriceWatch reader is anything to go by.
Just before the euro changeover, in 2001, Deirdre Keane bought a basic Screwpull corkscrew for £12 (€15.24). "The following Christmas I bought one for a friend, and this time the cost was €20" - an increase of a third in 12 months. She recently purchased a third Screwpull, again as a present, and was dismayed to see that the price had climbed to €31.80, or more than double what it had been three years ago.
"I got in touch with the distributor of the product, Le Creuset UK, who informed me that the recommended price is €23."
Two shops in Cork city are currently charging between €29.99 and €31.80 for the corkscrew, "a long way off the recommended price", says Keane. "When my Screwpull is finished I will be forced to ask passing strangers to open my bottle of wine again, all due to greed on the part of retailers."
Alternatively, Keane can save her wrists with a visit to www.amazon.co.uk, where she can pay about €23.50, including delivery, for a new Screwpull.
Hubert Laird writes to alert readers to a potential money-saving measure when replacing car parts. Both rear shock absorbers went on his Subaru Forester. He replaced one at an authorised dealer at a cost of €550.71 plus VAT.
"Having seen the cost of the part the first time around, I searched the Web and found a US supplier of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts and spares for Subaru cars."
He found a site selling the part he needed for just €58.69 plus VAT. "Even paying shipment and customs, it was less than 30 per cent of the price of the genuine part in Ireland. I ordered the part from the US and it was fitted. I have since ordered other parts and have had an excellent service," he says.
What's more...
Tickets please The Jack and Jill Children's Foundation says it has repeatedly contacted Dublin Bus with suggestions for "ways of allowing people donate their refund tickets - to no avail". With Temple Street Children's University Hospital, the charity is now asking people to send in unclaimed refund tickets. You can send yours to The Jack and Jill Children's Foundation, Johnstown Manor, Johnstown, Freepost, Naas, Co Kildare or Temple Street Children's University Hospital, Fundraising Office, Temple Street, Dublin 1.
If you notice a significant price increase or discrepancy, let us know by e-mailing pricewatch@irish-times.ie
