Cross Border Price Differences

[tboy]

I said B & D because I didn't want to make a quantum leap to something like Hilti or Milwaukee...no B & D isn't high end at all lol.

As for Factory Direct memory cards. Well, as with all things you have to compare apples to apples. You can buy 1 gb of memory for $40.00 or you can buy 1 gb memory for $300.00. There IS a big difference in the memory cards. F/D and F/S sell crap.....

Again, (small town) compare apples to apples. If you had said they were from Pittsburgh or Boston, or Detroit or any other semi large US city, then ok. But check out the prices in Peterborough, not as competitive as here. (although they do have a CTC).

BUT, with all that being said: I have shopped in DFW at a homo depot and when the US dollar was 1.4, their dewalt tools were overpriced compared to here. (they were cheaper but considering the exchange rate, they weren't that much cheaper...)

 

[RTRD]

This is..

....essentially what i said in the thread about cars.

The prices won't drop because the market place won't demand it...at least not for a LONG time...which goes back to a thread of some number of weeks ago where I explained to someone that it is more expensive to live in Toronto than any other city in the U.S....save for New York. EVERYTHING here (Toronto)...save for housing...is more expensive than anyplace in the U.S....and housing here is more expensive than anyplace save for New York.

Shit...I'm amazed at how much cheaper many things are in Quebec vs. Toronto...

 

[tboy]

....essentially what i said in the thread about cars.

The prices won't drop because the market place won't demand it...at least not for a LONG time...which goes back to a thread of some number of weeks ago where I explained to someone that it is more expensive to live in Toronto than any other city in the U.S....save for New York. EVERYTHING here (Toronto)...save for housing...is more expensive than anyplace in the U.S....and housing here is more expensive than anyplace save for New York.

Shit...I'm amazed at how much cheaper many things are in Quebec vs. Toronto...

OH, I agree but have you seen what they pay for hydro? Last time I was there at an ex gf's house, they were paying about 4 times what we were...don't know how it is now, but I thought that was crazy.

 

[RTRD]

Actually...

OH, I agree but have you seen what they pay for hydro? Last time I was there at an ex gf's house, they were paying about 4 times what we were...don't know how it is now, but I thought that was crazy.

...you are right. I was surprised at how much cheaper electricity was here first time I saw a hydro bill. Gotta grant you that...

 

[tboy]

Husky: you're correct about the purchasing of items "months ago" but that method of distribution is being phased out. Many retailers now operate on an on demand basis and don't carry large inventories in stock. Which is probably why many have empty shelves or they don't have your size or anything.

As for large ticket items (over $300.00) when there's a 30% savings to be had online, I go online...to do otherwise is just silly.

 

[oldjones]

Don't you think that the fact we have 1/10 the population has an effect on prices? Wholesalers and distributors in Canada purchase much smaller volumes than the US wdistributors. That is a factor in pricing for sure.…

This factoid appears in many contexts to 'explain' why we're not getting/can't do the same as other americans—the ones south of the Big Waters.

It's poppycock.

Tell The Governator his state's population is too small to force higher emission standards on carmakers, or get petroleum solvents out of paints or, or ….

Canada and California have very similar populations, and never do I hear anyone saying what a small market California is. Quite the opposite.

Suckers.

 

[RTRD]

Actually....

This topic is a real trap for part time critics; but here goes;

Comparing housing is bogus and can't be done right. We have to build to different standards and use better materials to withstand the greater weather extremes. Not many houses have basements in the states. you're not comparing apples to apples.

...you are wrong.

Most houses in the midwest and east do have basements in the US. Never saw one in either Chicago or New York that did not. Basements become more rare when the water tables get closer to the surface...or in the south or west...but every house I ever lived in had a basement.

The cost of the materials for a home are a relatively small percentage of the cost in most higher cost cities...it is the cost of the real estate that is the biggest factor. THIS is why essentially the same house can vary by 150K depending on the suburb you chose.

The weather in Chicago is FAR more extreme than Toronto...think Montreal or Buffalo...and houses I'd say are 10 to 20 percent cheaper...and BTW...they might be 50% cheaper in Buffalo easily...

 

[oldjones]

Anywhere there's significant possibility of ground freezing, you're likely to find basements. When you gotta dig three or four feet to get below the frost line to set footings for a foundation that won't heave and tilt, you might as well go down another foot or so and get cheap useful space.

 

[RTRD]

Thank you...

Anywhere there's significant possibility of ground freezing, you're likely to find basements. When you gotta dig three or four feet to get below the frost line to set footings for a foundation that won't heave and tilt, you might as well go down another foot or so and get cheap useful space.

...I've always wondered how / why that was...basements in the north, not so much in the south and west...except, now that you mention it...the northwest, where my buddy in fact has had a basement in each of his homes...

 

[Potang4U]

It was on the CTV news that Snow mobiles were made in Winnipeg with Canadian parts and sold in both US and Canada.Yet,there's like a $3000 difference less for being sold in US.

WTF?!

So were damned if we have a high currency or a low currency.We just want to shop to the US.

 

[antaeus]

I think there are two main reasons for higher retail prices between Us and Canada. One is taxes, second is the Canadian phenomena of the stocking distributor; prices on retail goods and some industrial goods would plummet if our economy got rid of the stocking distributors. They're less present in the US, and in many cases I've heard when present there are less of them in any supply chain.

Contract supply chain management, importers, warehousers and shippers to order, they add no value to you, me, or the product, just relieve the OEM and the end retailer of some logistics and risk, adding their margin every time they get involved in the supply chain.

Most electronics go through about 4 logistics and stocking distributors before getting to the final retailer. Take the case of a fancy HP printer I bought my company. HP had a contract importer bring it into Canada. At that time Merisel managed HP distribution in Canada, stocking HPprinters at a contract warehouse. They dealt it out to the printer company I bought it from. Four companies in Canada handled that printer, adding their markup, by the time I unwrapped it.

 

[bananaman]

This factoid appears in many contexts to 'explain' why we're not getting/can't do the same as other americans—the ones south of the Big Waters.

It's poppycock.

Tell The Governator his state's population is too small to force higher emission standards on carmakers, or get petroleum solvents out of paints or, or ….

Canada and California have very similar populations, and never do I hear anyone saying what a small market California is. Quite the opposite.

Suckers.

That's a bullshit argument too. California and Canada have similar populations, but you may have noticed that Canada has more land mass, fewer large urban centers.

When a company imports to the US it buys for a population of 330 million or so, versus our 33 million. Individual states have no bearing on this equation.

 

[basketcase]

Individual states might not have an impact but considering that there are a number of companies that operate in both the US and Canada (eg. Best Buy) offering the same goods in both countries, bought from the same suppliers at the same prices, the only rational reason for higher prices in Canada is tax/duty. The size of the market is irrelevant as the market the company is buying for is all of North America. Auto manufacturers (and bombardier snowmobiles) have even less excuse for differentiated pricing since they are selling the same cars, made in the same plant (often in Canada at that) at the same cost. Do the Canadian dealerships really spend that much on marketing that the price difference would be what we see?

The argument of shipping costs as an explanation is a red herring. The transport costs to a major hub like Toronto would be less expensive than shipping to some small town rural US.

The reason for us paying more is because of tax to a small extent but mainly because we are willing to.

 

[21pro]

I have ordered books from Chapters on line. If you have one of their $15 a year memberships, you get the books at a discount price. I am finding that I am actually paying less than the US cover price. Sweet deal!

and if you get a membership from barnes & noble or borders, you get even a greater price than chapters/indigo discounts!

 

[Meister]

The reason for us paying more is because of tax to a small extent but mainly because we are willing to.

I think you have a point. The Americans are just obsessed with the lowest price and do everything to get it. It is the most open market out there. Another example: German made cars for the most part are more expensive in Germany than in the US, even after shipping, duty etc...

 

[FirstCaveman]

California

[partial QUOTE=oldjones]
Canada and California have very similar populations, and never do I hear anyone saying what a small market California is. Quite the opposite.[/QUOTE]

oldjones - California is not 3000 miles wide, 200 miles high and cold. Comparisons require much more than population. Canada's logistics suck and retail expenses including employee costs are high. Also, the cost of infrastructure (paid through taxes) here is out-of-site.