Prices so different in Canada and States

Why are the prices so different in Canada and the States? I can understand the exchange of the dollar but I still feel we are being ripped off in Canada.

For example, after much research we decided to buy the E3 stroller. In Canada it would have cost me $630. I ordered it in the states and with the exchange it is only costing me $370 Canadian. They didn't charge me tax, shipping or duty - I have a family member picking it up since they will be in the states for a week and can claim $500.

This is not the only time I have seen this but it is frustrating especially since most of the research on the internet and in books is based on American prices.

[hipmaman]

Mostly we have to account for duty and taxes when importing into a country. You were able to avoid paying these fees having someone with the allowance to claim it.

I 'imported' a Dreamer Design Ditto in 2001 and with the high exchange at the time, duty, shipping, taxes, brokerage fee, etc., it cost me close to $800 Cad. Now that's stiff -- comparing to the price in the US for the same jogger.

I think Mountain Buggy is very smart to 'protect' their distributors. They don't sell across the border and always refer potential clients to the distributor in the respected country, if you require shipping from them. It's a different story when you are able to pick up things yourself.

The other factor is that we don't have the kind of population (a 10th of the US population) to induce the competition or the kind of deep-cutting sales/discounts seen south of the border.

I personally don't often like the price difference if I can find it elsewhere for less. But I don't feel being ripped off either. I understand businesses and the economy up here gotta be able to survive. But I also understand that it's not easy for us wanting something that can be had for so much less down south. But that's how it is and I accept it.

Just my 2 cents...

[Piglet]

I don't even mind the price difference, it is the shipping, duty and my personal favourite, BROKERAGE that get me mad. I bought a used stroller from the US and without knowing better was levied a charge of $25US for shipping, PLUS $25CDN GST/duty and $25CDN brokerage. I learned the hard way that 1) do not ship UPS unless you have a lot of money to burn and 2) try to buy locally! Most recently I tried to buy a Teutonia Y2K and it was way too big to ship for a reasonable amount( even though I was willing to pay the duty and brokerage). The shipping was coming in at $100US to get from my friend to me, yet within the US the store could offer free shipping. That irked me a whole lot!

Bottom line, I am just happy that we can buy the E3 and MB here. Very recently, those strollers were unavailable and you couldn't even try one out in the store - you had to buy it unseen if you were lucky enough to find a store that would even ship to Canada, pay all the extra charges and then determine if it even fit your needs. If you had to return it, you were out shipping charges both ways. That got to be pretty pricy! If you can buy a stroller locally, you don't have to pay shipping and you can try before you buy - depending on the price difference, it is often well worth it.

On some items the price difference is worth the hassle of buying from the States. If you're careful you can get a deal.

I've posted before about my sister buying a MBUD from the States and shipping it to our dad's work in the States (with free shipping). We then went down and brought it back after going shopping for a few hours. (shh don't tell on us, but it was over 4 months ago and we had 5 people in the car.) I had it all worked out, from what I can remember she saved around $300 Canadian by going this route. The $300 was a lot to my family and she couldn't be happier with the stroller.

For the few purchases we've made through the states, it just made plain sense for us. Not the ideal situation but it's done with. True we had the luck of having MB's locally to test out, we then didn't have a worry about returning the stroller.

Now if Canadian Baby Gap here would get their construction pj's here! I'm not about to buy those on line - just not worth it.

[Piglet]

I have tried so many times to order things from the US, but in the end, I have come to the conclusion that people in Calgary were not meant to have that luxury :). If you live in Vancouver or GTA, you are much closer to the US than we are. The closest town from here is 5 hours away - Great Falls, MT. We went there a few times on mini-US vacations (to check out Target, Victoria's Secret, etc.). It is a teeny town that has no big stores. If I had something shipped there, the cost of feul and the 5 hours each way aren't worth it. I just accept that I have to limit my choices to the items available here and adjust my budget if need be. I just bought a Bebecar Tracker AT for $400 - they aren't even available in the US and the price I paid was amazing, since it was on clearance.

My other issue is that while I support free-market economics, there is something to be said for buying locally when possbile, in order to sustain the industry. I would feel bad about trying out a stroller in a store and then buying it elsewhere. This behaviour would cause the local stores to stop carrying the high end items and we would all be left in a Graco/Evenflo wasteland like it was 3 years ago. I am grateful that I can now make informed decisions right here, since the stores finally woke up and discovered that there are high-end strollers out there.

The one thing I would give anything for is for Gap online to ship to Canada, so that I can get all the nice maternity clothes on their site. I can't believe a company that has stores in every single Canadian mall would not be willing to ship to Canada!

Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a rant...

You all make good points. I look at the difference in money and go what?! and don't think of all the aspects of buying the item. We couldn't afford to buy the E3 if we hadn't bought it the way we had.

I couldn't imagine going back to the times of the graco wasteland ;-) my friends bought a graco back then and they paid over $400 for it because at that time that was a good one on the market. We are lucky to have a much bigger choice now.

>My other issue is that while I support free-market economics,
>there is something to be said for buying locally when
>possbile, in order to sustain the industry.

I do understand and agree. I grew up with a family business in a small community and felt (and heard from my parents) the burn of places like walmart and costco to our business.

> I would feel bad
>about trying out a stroller in a store and then buying it
>elsewhere. This behaviour would cause the local stores to
>stop carrying the high end items and we would all be left in a
>Graco/Evenflo wasteland like it was 3 years ago.

Again I agree, truthfully we only looked once at one store and played with the cousin's (and stranger's!) MB's. And I recall that wasteland, it was tough researching for her first 2 strollers (Zoopers bought locally.)

I'm a very proud Canadian who loves everything here, no doubt about that. Yes the lure of the dollar took us to the south. Seeing as this was our first (and most likely the only) major US purchase, I don't feel guilty.

>The one thing I would give anything for is for Gap online to
>ship to Canada,

And what a shocker, I agree again!

[psophia17]

I just moved to Vancouver from NYC, and I have to agree that the Cdn prices do seem to be a ripoff, and the exchange rate doesn't seem to be the problem.

I was pretty surprised, however, to find that Zooper strollers cost about the same here as they do in the States ($200USD, $200 CDN) which was a huge help, since the stroller was one of the few things we didn't bring with us when we moved here.

I like almost all things about Canada, but not that the cost of all things, whether they're for baby stuff or anything else, appears to be padded by the manufacturer.

-Petra

DS - Nathan 12/29/03

I know it is frustrating. It's just too bad that the Canadian online shopping hasn't taken off AT ALL! It really has to do with population. There just isn't demand up here like there is in the states.

In a way, I find it kind of fun to research and try to track down my purchases. hehe. Call me weird. Also, it gives DH and I a chance to take little trips over the border once in a while. Gives us a little adventure.