Is it getting expensive ?

[apollo]

Quotes that we have heard in Fethiye which do not help the situation on prices.

"That's cheap it would cost at least double that back home"

" Is that all you get paid, I wouldn't get out of bed for that"

" How much is that in pounds?"

[Harley]

Maybe we should all learn to say the following..

"How much...!!!  You must be having a laugh"
"Blimey it's cheaper in the UK..."
"No i only asked for the price of one..."

[sunny]

Hi everyone.

My own opinion of the reason for rising prices is that english people do not complain enough directly to the people who are charging these prices. If we pay them they will charge them.  I am english and make a point of telling sellers that their price is too high and i am not going to pay it,if we all do this the prices will come down.  The turkish way of doing business is that the price is whatever someone will pay. If we all start saying we will not pay prices that are too high and they start losing business, they will soon change the prices.

I hate to say it especially being english myself but we are all too quick to pay. Turkish people barter and this is what we must all realise and learn to do, When in Rome etc.

So come on start bartering dont be afraid to tell them the price is too high.    If we all do this the prices will change

[smudge]

As an example to the value of shopping around we needed a new cot for our baby last week so for a bit of fun thought we would try different shops to our usuals, we found the SAME cot in four shops,
shop 1= 376 POUNDS plus 110 Pounds for mattress and no discount.
shop 2= 400 lira plus 100 lira for mattress 10% for cash.
shop 3= 375 lira plus 85  lira for mattress 10% for cash
shop 4 our usual store= 230 lira and with a gentle haggle brought for 200lira with a custom made mattress for 10 lira.
We did send a Turkish friend back to the first shop and he was quoted 280 lira plus 60 for mattress.
In the three years we have been here cant say that inflation has pushed prices up very much (except housing) but we have built up a network of stores we can trust and we do haggle hard, but you do have to be very carefull or you will be charged silly prices our best one was 96 lira for a t shirt, you can imagine the answer we gave.
BTW we found a cot much like ours online in UK at 179 pounds.

[teresa321]

I have already started correcting some of the stallholders with their "ASDA Price" and telling them it is cheaper in the UK.  I remember having a conversation a few years ago with a young man in Dalyan who we know fairly well as we have spent many a holiday at the family apartments.

He told us that many Turkish people thought we lived all year the way we do on holiday and didn't realise that we flogged at work 11 months to holiday for 1 month (if lucky). I don't know if that is true but I admit to spending more when on holiday for a fortnight. This has changed now and we spend less, except for a house, taxes, water electric ..... hmmm must have gone wrong somewhere.

Teresa

[tony]

The only bargains I can see in Turkey at this moment from my experience are:-
1 Land
2 Cigarettes
3 Dental treatment
4 A meal out
Clothes you can get better and cheaper here in UK
Specs same price in UK
Beer and wine Bargain Booze cheaper
Baked beans etc cheaper here in UK
can anyone else confirm or add to list.

What price sunny days!!!

[Gina]

I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression !! I would rather be living here , the pros far outway the cons ...life is good but the continual feeling that we are being ripped off is a big issue ...yes we now know where to shop most of the time , who is fair and roughly what we should be paying but daily life still consists of battles reegarding prices and trying to fit into a community that sees us as fair game.  I'm sorry but my feeling is that living here in a tourist area has made us that "fair game " as tourists and I was one of them , we give the impression ,as stated in the previous post that we live like this all the time . It's very hard sometimes to get through to the locals that a holiday has sometimes been saved for all year and the ammount of money spent is a fortune to most but worth it to get away for a couple of weeks. We haven't got a mortgage now but fuel bills are not that much cheaper than England ....food bills are much the same if you wish to live to English standards , petrol costs the same , parking and a cup of coffee on the front are the same or dearer if you let them ,clothes ,shoes and handbags etc are sooo much dearer. We have found to be honest that our standard of living is lower in terms of what we can afford but so much more enriched by the country we now live in and the people we now know as friends and of course that we don't have to slog our guts out all week for crappy employers

[Twin Bee]

Turkish delight made in Turkey is cheaper in Marks and Spencers than it is in  Dalaman Airport! That said my view is that I want to feel the price charged is fair and reasonable. Just because something might be cheaper somewhere else doesn't mean its a rip off. I am a bit of a novice really and what I am learning is to ask the price before you decide to buy for everything. That way you can feel more in control.  I use UK prices as a bit of a benchmark - and would expect to pay as much but there are exceptions. One thing is certain buses in Turkey are cheap. Our local bus in England was more per mile than Concorde.

[Cavfan]

Having just returned from a short break in Spain I think in general its cheaper than Turkey for holidaying. I'm not talking abou the cost of living, or house maintenance or utlity bills- but important things people do on holiday like eating and drinking!
House wine in our ( 4 star) hotel E5.70 ( £4.71) best in house E10.30 (7.35) - theres nothing to compare in Turkey , quality wise, for me- but a reasonable bottle in Bella Mamas etc 25ytl (£10)
Leather handbags, tablecoths and towels on the market- much cheaper than Gunlukbasi and again good quality. Dont know whether its the strength of the pound v the euro or the lira but compared to a few years ago it seems much cheaper in Spain.

[teresa321]

Now then Stuart everywhere is cheaper than Dalaman Airport! and Gina fuel prices are now terrible in the UK and one month a year is spent just earning the money to pay that.

However, I think generally it is cheaper to run a property in Turkey, everything else is getting expensive and eventually they will learn because people will stop going (hard fact).  I think it is a great place and I cannot wait to get out there.  

For richer for poorer for better for worse X

Teresa