Cheap PC Memory

Previously, I'd used eBay for this sort of thing, but there seems to be less advertised on there right now and the prices are no cheaper than mainstream suppliers. well, my Dell C521 needed some new memory (Windows Vista eats it up)

Step forward www.orca.co.uk. They sold me 2 separate 1GB memory boards for £43, when the same items in Denmark were a cheapest price I could find of 599 krone each.

And that was delivered post free from the Uk within 3 days!

Pound in freefall, but the dollar hides it

I must admit that I have been worried about the Pound for some time, what with the trade deficit, budget deficit and now the Northern Rock crisis.

Actually, the trade deficit bothers me least of the problems, as Britain has a large reputation for investing abroad. The others are not so good. especially the Northern Rock crisis, since the implication is the government have magically created the necessary backup reserves out of thin air (is there any other method?)

Now, I notice that in the past couple of months, the Pound has dropped about 6% against the Euro and Danish Krone. This has hardly got a mention, as all the media are going on about the weakening Dollar and the bargains available for those taking a shopping trip to the USA.

So please, Germany and Holland, don't give in to whingeing France and Italy about needing a weaker Euro, and the usual rubbish about generating exports. A devalued currency helps no-one long term.

If it carries on like this, the Euro could become the world's new reserve currency, especially for pricing oil, at least until China is ready to claim its spot.

Just a thought.

As for me, I'm off to browse the internet for some bargains from Britain...

Shopping Abroad for Shoppings sake

Just in case anyone thinks I'm obsessive about not spending money in Denmark, well, it's almost true, but hey, even I give in sometimes. Still on the lookout for a new big washing machine for the expanding family, we spotted El-Giganten doing a 7kilo Bosch Washing machine for 3333 krone. Even cheaper than you could get it in Germany, surprisingly enough. It wasn't available at any of their stores, but I've ordered from their website. Arrival is promised next week.

Normally I'm not a fan of el-giganten, as I believe it's owned by Dixons, hardly the most trusted UK organisation for buying from. But we'll see....

At last, a Real Danish Bargain

Having lived in this country for almost 3 years now, the only thing I'd discovered that is cheaper than the UK is wood. Yep, plain old wood, whether it's for your fire, garden fence or the finished product for building some shelves in your house, invariably it's a lot cheaper. But probably not a total surprise, for a country that is, apparently,25% wooded, has a population of 5 million and is right next to Sweden.

Anyhow, the big news is that I have discovered a commodity that is FREE in Denmark, but costs over £100 in the UK for the identical commodity. What could this commodity be, you ask? Well, I'm not saying...if I do, they will doubtless introduce some kind of tax on it!

Get your Computer Software on Amazon

Paint Shop Pro is a cheap photo editing package I've been fancying for some time, and as a law-abiding citizen I wanted to get a legal copy after trying their trial. You'd be amazed how Denmark, hotbed of socialism is also a major hotbed of DVD, CD and software piracy. Anyhow, by the by, cheapest price I could find in Denmark was 799 krone on Kelkoo.

Amazon third party sellers revealed several third party sellers willing to ship to Denmark for £3.99. End result is that I ended up buying a totally legit copy for £47 all in. with none of that going to the Danish taxman. Ah great.

Remember to try third party sellers on Amazon for anything you're looking for.

A half-decent Danish shopping site

Before anyone accuses me of excessive bias against expensive Danish retailers and high prices the MOMs differential goes nowhere near explaining, the last post reminded me of a highly recomended Danish shopping site I have used in the past.

Electrical spares here are very expensive in the DIY shops, and even the national newspapers had an article on it. Their advice was to try El Salg. I did, and even for a few simple things I needed that would have cost about 350kr in the shops, they did the identical, same brand goods for 179kr, including the postage.

So there you go, and since they charge the same MOMs, what more proof do you need of the high street rip-off taking place here?

and now the washing machine has had it too

Following on from the Tumble Dryer disaster, our washing machine has broken down too. Hardly worth fixing, since the local repair bloke will want something like 1000kr just to look at it, before he even starts with repairs.

Unlike the Tumble Dryer, we happen to have one in reserve (long story), although it has hot and cold fill, so we need some new plumbing accessories.

and now to the shopping bit...spares are a ridiculous price here. A washing machine fill hose is 165 krone (£15), and I can't even find one of those self-tapping washing machine plumbing units you can screw onto the pipe, even though I've measured it up and it's the same 15mm copper as back in the UK! Bottom line - expensive.

A browse around on Ebay solved our problem. There are many UK sellers willing to ship to Denmark for little more than the UK price. So I bought a washing machine hose for £3.85 including postage, and an adapter for £9.53, including postage. So less than one hose at Hjem n Fix. (and it arrived from the UK in 2 days!)

The moral of the story is that there is no need to pay the high Danish prices for anything any more. So please don't do it.