Goods cheaper in Ireland - Help!

Poor_relation

First time I've ever posted, so sorry if I'm in the wrong place.

Need some advice: have been wanting to buy some clothes from an international clothing brand (part of the Max Mara group, so you can imagine, not cheap). Was trawling the brand's various sites and discovered that their Ireland site had the items considerably cheaper than their UK site. For example, on the UK site, one sweater cost £193 (ridiculous I know, but for me, a real investment) but on the Ireland site it was listed as 154 euros (around £116). A particularly luxurious coat is £1,089 in the UK, 868 euros in Ireland (£650).

My parents actually live in Northern Ireland so I could potentially get them to buy the items off the Irish site - although I'm not sure if Co Antrim (which is in the UK) would qualify internationally as Ireland. Alternatively, I could use their holiday home address in Donegal (unequivocally in Ireland). For the items I was hoping to buy, it would actually be cheaper to fly back home to pick them up.

However, would I be breaking any laws by doing that?
Would I need an Irish email address to make the order in the first place?
If the Donegal addess was going to be used, does it matter that the credit card to be used wouldn't be registered there, but in Belfast?
Does anyone know if Co Antrim is ever considered Ireland by a delivery company?

Friends still living at home travel to Dublin all the time to buy clothes and I've never heard of anybody having to pay extra taxes.

Hope somebody can help!

OWT_FOR_NOWT

If I am looking at the same Irish Max Mara site as you then they ship to the UK, so you just use your own email address.

Alter_ego

UK and Eire are both in the EU so no importation problems.

almillar

I'm not sure if Co Antrim (which is in the UK) would qualify internationally as Ireland.

Don't start that!

Free market in the EU, that the big companies take advantage of so feel free, no tax implications, and it looks like they deliver throughout, but I'm not sure what you'll be charged.
Co Antrim will count as UK and is certainly £ like you, not €, so we would be using UK websites for delivery generally. Your family might also have to wait for delivery in the Donegal home if a signature is needed?

Poor_relation

Thanks to both of you who replied. Sadly not quite as simple as that: once I put in my own address in the UK, I 'm immediately redirected to the UK site at the higher prices. Also, just got an email back from Marina Rinaldi themselves to say that they wouldn't consider Belfast a Ireland delivery. Looks like the only way to do this is to get the stuff sent to Donegal! Oh well, looks like a road trip is on the cards...

2gorgeousgirls

Trying to log in from Northern Ireland will automatically go to the UK site as NI is in the UK.

To access the site in Ireland you would need to be accessing from Ireland and using Irish delivery address. Don't think it would matter about the credit card being registered in UK as it would just take the transaction in Euros and convert

Suggesting that firms may consider an NI address as an delivery to Ireland will open a whole can of worms - I wouldn't go there .

ETA: If you can afford those prices and be the "poor relation" then I would really like to join your family:rotfl: