beyond any sense. We have all had the experience of finding prices in Bermuda which made no sense when compared to the price of the same item overseas.

However, basic pricing in Bermuda is well within acceptable levels given the costs of shipping and given import duties.

We think Bermuda's stores often get a bum rap. They are competitive and have had to stay competitive to stay in business. A careful comparison of like with like often demonstrates that Bermuda's prices are remarkably good, especially given import duties. The fact is that in some areas Bermuda's prices are better than can be found overseas. This is especially true of such things as perfume and jewellery which often interest visitors.

It is politically fashionable to complain that "Front Street'' has a history of gouging Bermudians. In any society people too often search for a "whipping boy'' and in the context of Bermuda, right or wrong, it is "Front Street''.

That fashion too often extends to complaining unjustly about local prices.

This is not to say that there are none to complain about because there are but the general pricing structure is not a bad one. The problem arises because the idea is spread that Bermuda is more expensive than it really is. Eventually people begin to believe what they hear and not what they see on price tags.

Shoppers spent more than $25 million abroad in 1993. Some of that was spent on goods not available in Bermuda because one of the advantages of shopping abroad is a greater variety of merchandise. But some of it was spent on goods available in Bermuda and was no cheaper when import duty was factored in. Much of the saving people think they get comes about because they do not compare like with like. They compare an unnamed or supermarket brand to a top name product and of course the "no name'' product is cheaper.

The truth is that major Bermudian retailers did their part for Bermuda during the recession by concentrating on keeping Bermudians employed and received virtually no credit for that fact. It would have been much easier for employers to cut staff to their realistic needs. Retailers have suffered during the recession and there is little doubt that they have not made money.

Bermuda has a long history of top quality merchandising by stores with high standards. Those stores are an asset to Bermudians and they are also an attraction for visitors. It would be a shame to see them fail because Bermudians shop abroad. The problem, of course, is not shopping abroad if you happen to be abroad. The problem arises from going abroad to shop.

We constantly hear that Bermuda is a quality resort looking for quality visitors. Having quality stores is all a part of the image of a quality resort. Aiming for quality is part of Bermuda's problem. Quality is expensive.

Since many of the quality goods Bermuda sells come from Europe they seem even more pricey to locals and visitors because Europe today is much more expensive than the United States.

Bermudians tend to forget that local businesses pay duty on goods and those duties are our taxes. Much of that tax is passed on from locals to visitors because duty is included in everything a visitor buys or uses. Taxes are going to be collected one way or the other. Right now goods bought abroad and not declared at Customs deprive Bermuda of taxes and only mean that someone is going to pay that tax in the end.