Why is it so hard to find strollers up here?!?!?!?!?!?!

[snowangel]

WHERE DO YOU BUY YOUR STROLLERS??????

Sorry, this is just a rant.

I don't understand why it's so hard to find good strollers up here for reasonable prices. I saw the Mac TT yesterday and it was $620 Cdn, with taxes that's $713!!!!!!!!!!! That is just insane.

I am just so frustrated with seeing all the good deals online in the USA. Why don't we have anything like that? URRRRRRRRR!

[pamela mom of 3]

We used to be much worse, you should have seen the choices back in 95 :P

I don't know the exact reasons, population i think plays a role in why we don't get all brands and also i think the costs...i mean even in a good week our dollar still isn't what the USD is.

On the whole though we are getting better, maclaren, inglesina, bebecar, mountain buggy, kiwi, bugaboo etc their are more "upscale" choices but things will always cost more and the sales will never be as good as the USA.

Where to buy? depends really on where you live, some of us are closer to more brands than others. Online from the US is always possible, i;ve done that alot over the years, greatly depends on what your willing to spend and what your after.

Macs have gone up, my 2000 opus duo was about 579$ but i guess that is just the way it goes ;)




~Pamela Mom Of 3

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/...blobflower.gif

[hipmaman]

Dont' have to go back as far as '95 ;) It was just as bad in '99-'00. At least now we have those names Pamela mentioned.

Where are you and what are you trying to buy? There is always the network stroller swappers with gently used strollers that you can buy from.

[snowangel]

Thanks girls. I am in the GTA, so there are choices, but it seems like I have to travel across the city to some little rinky dink shop to look at these things.

Anyway, I think I have pretty much decided on the P3, and they are easy to find. I was just so super curious about the Macs. I found a couple of stores that carry them, but I guess they are just out of my price range. Too bad really!

I guess if I ever want to buy a Mac I will buy it in Buffalo. Much better choices at BRU and better prices!

[hipmaman]

Hmmm, BRU Buffalo might not have the choices that you want either, lol. Sometimes, its selection seemed small since it is a smaller US city, kwim?

The best shopping for us is still probably in the GTA and Vancouver for Canada. Or alternatively shop on-line and have it shipped to an address in Buffalo where you can pick up.

P3 is easy to find so your challenge is to find a place that sells it for the cheapest, lol. Have fun!

[smiliedds]

I had the same problem when I was looking for strollers. There were so many good deals on the internet but shipping costs a fortune to come up here. I end up having my teutonia ship up to a postal service place a block from the border and just drive down to get it. (I am in Vancouver.) If you have the time, you will probably be able to find a very good deal on the internet do the same thing :) . Good luck.

Rebecca

[Piglet]

Well, we only just got Macs in Calgary this year!!! Actually, this has been a very good stroller year in Calgary. In 2000/01 when I was shopping for DS, we only had Peg Perego, with the occasional Bebecar thrown in. Now, we have Mountain Buggy, Bugaboo, Maclaren, Zooper, Bebecar (although they are being phased out and of course just in time for when I started looking for a Tracker here), and Peg Perego. That is a great improvement in 3 years if you ask me! The brand you will never find is Combi for some weird reason (they also won't honour their warranty if you buy them in the US and bring them to Canada).

I live in such a Graco/Evenflo/Cosco sea that my Mac and Bebecar Unibig stick out like a sore thumb. As an aside, I was at Stampede and saw a Chicco Trekking - I wa shocked to say the least. Of course, it turned out it was my old Chicco that I had sold to my friends and their parents were watching the baby that day, LOL!

The only intersting thing on the horizon for us here is that one store is planning to carry Red Castle strollers from France. I don't know if they are any good, but they will be unique! Also, I have seen the P3 Pramette in Cherry Cola here and no store in the US carries either the colour or the style! You win some, you lose some!?

[snowangel]

Rebecca,

I would be SO willing to open a box in Buffalo. What service did you use? Mail Boxes etc? Did you have to sign up for the box in person, or could they do it over the phone? The one I checked said I had to be there in person.

Also, a lot of sites won't ship to PO boxes. Did you come across this problem?

[smiliedds]

Hi Mel,

I did not open a mail box down in the States. I know some people do (for their ebay wins) and the mail box actually has a real address (not a PO Box address). This would only worth your while if you have a lot of things to ship to this address because you need to pay a monthly fee. Now that said, I don't know how much it actually cost. You can definitly find these independent companies by searching through the interent. Also, try asking around: you might have a friend who is addicted to ebaying and already has a mail box set up that you can 'borrow'.

I got my stroller ship up to another type of postal service company. I just had the item ship to the postal service company at the border (again, not a PO Box address). Once it arrived, I drove down to the States to pick up the item. The company I used charged a service fee of less than 2USD. I had to pay duty and tax when I cross the border. So remember to calculate that into your final cost. Unfortunately, it is an independent company. You will again have to do some research to see if there is any of this type of company in Buffalo. Hope this helps.

Rebecca

[darby24]

Back when my sister was expecting #1 there really was only one store that had anything beyond a travel system. She ended up with a Zooper Walk Air over the Bebecar Raider AT+ as it didn't have a adjustable handle. She was back a year later and bought a Zooper Z-Street. The Walk Air in 2002 was over $400 and it's now priced under $200 - she wasn't too happy when trying to resell it!

When baby 2 arrived, she bought a MBUD from Marilyn at arunningstroller mainly because of a good price, free shipping and the previous good customer experience. With exchange it was just over $140 cheaper than a local store - Crocodile. I watched the money market like a hawk for 2 weeks for the Cdn dollar to come up before she purchased her MB.

What helps us out is that our dad works in the States and so we ship our stuff to him. Then we make a trip down and pick it up (he can't bring it across the border because of his work truck.) Works like a charm and his employer doesn't care.

I have heard of people shipping things to UPS stores near the border. I think they charge something like a $10 fee and then you go across the border and pick it up. Something for you to look into.

Depending on the area of Vancouver you can see a variety of strollers. In the trendy more upscale neighbourhoods it's mainly Peg's, Zoopers and Bebecars. Though there are a fair share of Macs, the very odd Inglesia and I've personally seen at least a dozen different Bugaboos and four Kiwi Explorers. Oh and tons and tons of Mountain Buggy's. They're the most popular and are everywhere! But again, if you head out to the far suburbs it's Graco all the way.