Canadian Retailers WHINE! The Gouging Bassturds

[wildernessvoice]

Whine you suckers, whine!
You are the guys that have put the screws to us year after year. It was always the low Canadian dollar crap.
Look at gas you bassturds. AT PAR MONEY AND THE PRICE DIFFERENCE HAS NEVER BEEN GREATER!
My first purchase on June 1, 2012? A garden tractor.
So, from a Canadian that has been gouged I give you bassturds my middle finger!


OTTAWA - Cross-border shopping is costing the Canadian economy much more than believed and new rules raising duty-free limits will only make matters worse, says a new report by the Bank of Montreal.

The assessment of costs comes from the bank's deputy chief economist, Doug Porter, in his latest price gap comparison between consumer goods in Canada and the United States.

Porter said Thursday that although the price gap has narrowed to 14 per cent on average from the 20 per cent he found in last spring's survey, the cross-border shopping phenomenon appears to be intensifying.

"A culmination of factors is likely to unleash a wave of Canadians cross-border shopping this summer in numbers not seen in two decades," he said.

"There are already more than 50 million visits to the U.S. by Canadian residents annually ... (and) those numbers are poised to swell when Ottawa increases the duty- and tax-free limits on June 1."

As part of March's budget, next month will see the duty-free limit on stays longer than 24 hours rise to $200 from $50, while the limit on stays longer than 48 hours rises to $800 from the current two-tiered levels of $400 and $750, depending on the length of stay.

A spokesman for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty pointed out that the duty-free limits had not been adjusted for inflation for decades and that the changes would ease congestion at borders and allow agents to focus on security issues. The office added that the new limits match those applied to U.S. travellers returning from Canada.

Porter takes issue with the Bank of Canada's recent testimony before the Senate banking committee that estimated cross-border shopping at less than two per cent of total consumer spending.

He says that doesn't taken into consideration that Canadians don't always report everything they buy in the U.S. when they return. He says a better estimate is up to 10 per cent of spending for items that can be transported.

"Even at a conservative estimate of five per cent, we are talking over $20 billion a year," he said.

"If correct, that represents a real drain on domestic retail sales, employment and government revenues — a drain that looks (likely) to deepen."

The Senate banking committee is expected to report later this year on the causes of the persistent price gap between the two countries, despite near parity in the value of the U.S. and Canadian dollars in most years since 2007.

In recent testimony, the Retail Council of Canada blamed multinational distributors that charge Canadian retailers more than those in the U.S. for brand items as the main reason for the gap. Other factors that have been cited include federal duties, less competition in Canada and higher transportation costs.

The new survey of consumer goods by the Bank of Montreal suggests the gap has narrowed, in part because this week the Canadian dollar has been trading slightly below par, while during last spring's survey the loonie was worth $1.02 US.

But Porter said with few exceptions, prices have become more competitive in Canada over the past year.

Among the items sampled this time:

— Magazines were on average 17 per cent more expensive in Canada and running shoes as much as 37 per cent more.

— The survey also found significant discrepancies with a Toro lawn mower, 32 per cent more; a Pottery Barn backpack for kids, 26 per cent; a sample of seven cars, 11 per cent, and a Gap Kids T-shirt, 19 per cent more.

— At the lower end of the scale, a sample of four books were only seven per cent more costly in Canada, a Canon Rebel T3 camera, five per cent; Blu-Ray movies, eight per cent, and Barbecues (four sampled) were on average priced slightly lower in Canada than in the U.S.

"There hasn't been a big change, but the gap has narrowed somewhat," he said.

Porter cautioned that with only 18 items sampled, his findings are not necessarily representative of the average price difference between the two countries.

But the dramatic appreciation of the Canadian dollar toward parity since 2007 has had a drastic impact on shopping patterns, tourism and trips from residents on both sides of the border, he points out.

Porter said there are now 2.7 Canadian visits to the U.S. for every visit the other way, whereas in the 1995-2005 period, the ratio was one-to-one.

"There has never been more Canadians heading south than now. On the flip side ... overall visits by Americans (to Canada) are now running at the lowest level in more than 40 years," he said.

[wildernessvoice]

...and that middle finger goes to WalMart, Home Depot and Loews. These US companies joined right in on the gang rape of the the Canadian shopper!

[Charles J. White]

I had shopped around 3 years ago for a pair of Atomic Nomad Crimson's all over Canada, the best price I could find at that time was $1000 + Tax - I found the same pair of skiis in Maine for $350...

[wildernessvoice]

My buddy is a doctor. He is not cheap.
He went on line to price a plastic garden shed at Home Depot- $500.00.
He printed it off and went to the Kingston Home Depot. They explained that he had accidently ended up on the US site. The Kingston price was $1000.00.
He got in the van, picked up his wife and drove to watertown, New York and bought the shed.
The added bonus was he did not have to pay the HST of 13% on the extra $500.00 - the Canadian price.

[backhoe]

The motto of that furniture store I used to be associated with was

"Why pay more?"

[free_life2]

Home Depot and Rona are the worse. They put every competitor out of business and the prices are criminal now.

[RedDog]

Home Depot and Rona are the worse. They put every competitor out of business and the prices are criminal now.

A lot of people don't have any idea what goes on. After a lifetime in advertising I can tell you that large chains routinely have 12 to 30 price "zones" in a province. Some of it is understandable on heavy shipping items - flour, detergent, etc. You can't expect the Lethbridge price on a 10 kg bag of flour in Whitehorse.

I've seen chains "target" specific neighbourhoods driving the corner store and maybe a Tomboy or similar to bankruptcy in a price war and then return to normal pricing when the mom and pop competition is gone.

Walmart is a different story. Customers create much of the problem. The game is rock bottom price. Period. There is no service and no warranty beyond the manufacturer's. You don't see Walmart service trucks in traffic like you do Sears. You can't expect the Walmart price with the Sears assembly setup and service. You can't have it both ways. Sears will bring your new washer and dryer to you home, set them up and remove the old ones. You don't get that service at the Walmart price point.

[NeoLuddite]

The tenacious idea of profit entitlement held by the Canadian merchant class is dying.
Yes, cross border shopping may harm some Canadian retailers who seek to make all their profit on a few sales, rather than on volume. I learned a long time ago that profit is based on cost - the selling price of any commodity cannot be dictated, it is determined by the buyer. The headline should have read, "Cross-border Shopping a 20 million dollar boon to consumers."

[Edward Kennedy]

I have never in the last two decades taken an extended vacation in Canuckistan...I love the USA and spread money around there staying at hotels for half the price, eating food much cheaper, and buying gasoline half the price.

Canuckistan can piss off, I buy piles of things every trip and will continue to do so.

A comparable hotel at Port Huron USA is half one across the border.

Much of this is the fault of the gubmit and high taxes.

[Brown envelope]

So some Canadians are finally waking up and are tired of getting gouged? Thank God! Across the border in Paybec, a case beer is easily $10 cheaper and cans anywhere from $15-20 cheaper a case.

[tinknee]

The mark up in both the US and Canada are the same. The difference in the Wholesale price.

If I can source items at cheaper prices the mark up remains the same but the savings are passed on to the consumer.

Take Ski Don't Sleds. Made in queerbec. US retail price $7000.oo Canadian Retail price $14,000.oo. If the US dealers sell to Canadians they stand the chance of losing their dealerships from Ski-Don't. And or the Warranty is not transferable to the Canadian purchaser from a US dealership. Canadian Manufacturer no less on the Government teat both sides.

No my friends it is most certainly not the average Canukistani retailer who is the problem.
The fix is in far up the banana tree.

It is nice to earn a decent living in canukistan "not retail though" and spend it abroad

We are all suckholing on the hairy edge of disaster one tax payment from oblivion in spite of our rip of mark up rates.

40 points just don't pay the bills anymore. Not with the US competing with their 40 or more % at half the price.
But if it makes you feel better. Sure its all my greedy fault.

Now how much do you want me to contribute to your particular cause be it little league hockey, soccer or your old ladies golf tournament, No? Baseball, police association,school lunch program? What? No no I'd be happy to, after all I've never seen you in my place of business before your charity request.

What US retailers too far to tap for your charity of the day.
I only wished I could give more. And I seriously mean that.
Have a good day now!

I am a customer too. I pay a fella to climb my trees to have him safely cut them down. It needs doing its dangerous work and as such is expensive.
I'm too crippled to climb the tree myself so I pays the fee and thank him for his good work.
I hope he shops at my place of business completing the circle of life. As it were.
I also buy sleds, trucks, boats, and hate paying the double fees.

I also wonder why that is.

I'm just saying is all.

[Edward Kennedy]

I was at a Walmart in the mid west last year and saw tires there, Good Year Wranglers for $70. that cost over $200. here at CTC...

Over 3 times the cost...

I patronize local suppliers here for forestry equipment and tools but still vacation in the USA because I enjoy that nation, and can go twice as far and spend twice as long on the same dime...easily.

[RedDog]

Land Rover LR4. Made in the UK and shipped to either Halifax or Baltimore.

USA - $49,750
http://www.landrover.com/us/en/lr/

CDN - $59,990
http://www.landrover.com/ca/en/lr/

Only difference I'm aware of is daytime running lights. Call that a $50. hit. Think of it. The unit sold in say San Francisco is ten grand cheaper than in Halifax and it's been shipped nearly twice as far from Southhampton, England with the currency around par.

[backhoe]

Land Rover LR4. Made in the UK and shipped to either Halifax or Baltimore.

USA - $49,750
http://www.landrover.com/us/en/lr/

CDN - $59,990
http://www.landrover.com/ca/en/lr/

Only difference I'm aware of is daytime running lights. Call that a $50. hit. Think of it. The unit sold in say San Francisco is ten grand cheaper than in Halifax and it's been shipped nearly twice as far from Southhampton, England with the currency around par.

( Yer American Barbarian sticks his hand up... )

Down here we call that "ripping you off."

[Edward Kennedy]

I think there is a dealer clearance importation problem. I know that Harley Davidson motorcyles, when I bought mine, were subject to the fees imposed by an import dealer so that may account for the huge difference here in Canada as opposed to USA when it comes to items imported from USA here.