buy online or support local

ck,
I have nailed my opinions to the mast with regard to this subject, but what I would suggest is that you have a quiet word with the Sponsor and tell him your findings. He probably will be unable to match the price but might be able to make a concession in that direction.
However...
At the end of the day the manufacturer/supplier must be held largely to blame here. How can an item be able to be sold from Germany to Ireland at such a price difference that the online sellers can make such a huge cost-cut?
It really IS scandalous.
Goods are sold to retailers here at prices SO MUCH higher than they are supplied to other European countries, although England suffers much the same fate.
A bona fide shop here has to pay much more for the same item and then is forced to pay out much much higher overheads than his continental counterparts have to. This ends up with the Online seller being able to offer goods at lower prices a] because the iten physically costs him less in the first place and b] because he doesn't have the overheads a retailer here in Ireland has to pay to keep his business running at all.
But...
If the item goes wrong, things take on a different perspective - that bought in the LFS can be brought back for service/repair/replacement - the one bought from an online source has to be returned - often then, following a lengthy spell they will (if you're lucky) repair it or even replace it - but don't hold your breath while you wait!
Horses for courses, I fear. My views are plain but not everyone can afford to pay the extra to buy from the LFS - but the concern here is that we are losing shops almost weekly here in Ireland, as well as in the UK, to online sellers - where will we buy our fish from? - certainly not from those same online concerns whose actions are creating the loss of the shops!
John