Canadian Vendor Prices vs. rising Canadian Dollar

[trilinearmipmap]

Our dollar has gone up by about 1/3, from 63 cents U.S. to 84 cents U.S.

Despite this I have seen no corresponding fall in the prices of aquarium supplies, most of which are imported from the U.S.

This is making it more and more affordable to order from U.S. online stores.

When will our retailers get their act together and decrease their prices to account for the rising Canadian dollar?

[Samw]

But if most of the items are made in other countries (like China), what'll more likely happen is that US prices will go up since the cost for US companies will go up. So we would end up paying the same amount when that happens. Right now, US companies are simply bearing the cost in lost profits. I don't expect them to do that much longer if the US dollar stays weak against global currencies.

[StirCrazy]

When will our retailers get their act together and decrease their prices to account for the rising Canadian dollar?

never, it is very rare that the cost of something will reflect the value of the Canadian buck.. for instance when our buck was 0.62US and you paid 10cdn for a fish, is it costing you anymore now that our buck is 0.83 and that fish is still 10.00 cdn? nope not a cent. the only way our buck means something is in interest rates and over boarder business so unless you are financing that 10.00 buck fish it still isn't costing you more and if you buy that 7.00US fish from across the boarder don't forget the shipping and the other countless bucks for permits ect.. and heck if fish stores do it then I want the price of houses to drop accordingly so I can buy another :mrgreen:

Steve

[bluetang]

Talking with the boys at JL's. I brought up the pricing issue in regards to ordering tunze streams and they told me that when it comes to mail order they would probably match Marine depots pricing converted to canadian. I thought that was a good jesture, as I'm sure it hurts there pocket book as some items could have been purchased back a while ago.

[Bryan]

Off topic somewhat, but I have also noticed no decrease in consumer goods and food. Guess when everyone starts flocking to Blaine and Bellingham to shop, only then will retailers start to wake up.

[Murminator]

The way I see it if your going to pay $100 for a pump today your going to pay $100 tomorrow even though the retailers price MAY have gone down, ONLY until one retailer passes the savings on to the consumer and it takes a dent out of another retailers business then he will match in prices.....not that we are seeing that now :lol:

But until then the richer get richer ........and the rest set up saltwater :mrgreen:

[UnderWorldAquatics]

Ill try a stab at this....



ever think that the market in canada has been bearing all it can for the last decade that our dollar has been eating poo, now is like a weight off the shoulders allowing some retailers to pay off some bills.

I know exchange is crazy, if I was paid now for my last aquarium job I would have made $7000 more in profit alone...6-8 month time difference

when I was selling alot of live stock 5-6 years ago I made pretty decent money at it, enough to pay the bills, last year, it wasnt really even worth it, now its kinda worth it again.


no real point to my running on, just think people should look at it from an angle other than "how can I save a buck"

support your local stores, cuz when you need something in a pinch, they will be there for you, unless you dont support them

the markup to overhead in this hobby/business is pathetic

and most of the members on this board have west coast prices, so really folks, quit crying :mrgreen:

[trilinearmipmap]

Yeah, OK.

But for big ticket items (I may be getting a Ca reactor) if I can save $250 bucks going with a U.S. vendor I will.

For smaller items no problem buying Canadian. And if Canadian prices are 15-20% higher no problem with that either.

It's when Canadian prices are 1/3 higher or more that I say enough is enough.

[Samw]

Not sure if I got my point through the first time. Its been 10 years since I took International Trade and I've forgotten 99% of it. :mad:

But it seems to me that World Currencies are all connected. Just because the exchange rate between US and Canada has increased in favor of Canada, it doesn't mean that the cost of Canadian goods that are purchased from the US must go down. For stuff like produce that are grown in the US, then yes, we can buy more oranges and stuff like that. But most aquarium related stuff like lamps, heaters, pumps, even livestock aren't produced in the US. Most of them are produced in places like Malaysia, Philippines, China, various European countries, Mexico, S. America, etc, etc. The Canadian dollar has not increased against those currencies. Meanwhile, the US dollar has decreased against those currencies. This means that US prices have no choice but to go up or risk losing profits.

Let's take an easy example. Consider a light bulb that is made in Germany. Check out the exchange in the last 2 years.

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=USD&to=EUR&amt=1&t=2y

Let's assume that a single 250W AB 10K bulb costs $50 Euros to buy from manufacturer in Germany in Dec 2002. It costs the US wholesaler $50 US to buy that bulb based on the exchange rate in Dec 2002. The wholesaler marks it up 50% and sells it at $75US for a gross profit of $25 (50%).

Today, the exchange rate between US/Euro is 0.76. Today, the US wholesaler buys the same $50 Euro bulb and pays $65US to buy it based on today's exchange rate. He sells the bulb for $75 for a gross profit of $10US. Now, factor in costs of operation, and he's probably losing money on the bulb. The only way for the US wholesaler to make money is to increase the price to $97.50US in order to maintain a gross profit of 50%.


Here's the exchange rate between Canada and the US for the last 2 years.

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=USD&to=CAD&amt=1&t=2y

2 years ago, that $75US bulb costs a Canadian store $120CAD to buy at the US wholesaler. Today, that same bulb (assuming the US wholesaler raises its price to maintain gross margin %) will soon cost the Canadian store $117CAD.

In conclusion, the Canadian store pays about the same price for the bulb even though the Canadian currency rose 30% over US currency. The assumption of course is that the US wholesaler maintains its pricing using a gross markup percentage based on cost of the good. It wouldn't make sense for them not to. When I worked in retail, we always marked up our products based on the cost of the good. I don't see why the US wholesaler wouldn't do the same.

In the short term, yes, Canadians will get a great deal buying goods from the US, until (and that's a given) the US wholesaler raise their prices, which will raise the prices of the US retail stores as well.

[Aquattro]

Sam, I just love your economics lessons!! :biggrin:

[Doug]

support your local stores, cuz when you need something in a pinch, they will be there for you, unless you dont support them



Well said Kyle

[Doug]

Yeah, OK.

But for big ticket items (I may be getting a Ca reactor) if I can save $250 bucks going with a U.S. vendor I will.

For smaller items no problem buying Canadian. And if Canadian prices are 15-20% higher no problem with that either.

It's when Canadian prices are 1/3 higher or more that I say enough is enough.

Not sure where your looking. {I say that with some caution, as I have not looked at American retailers lately}. But items like beckett skimmers and reactors have always been much cheaper at one of our listed retailers, {SWC}, than any in the US I have seen.

I,m going to check some out though, just to see.

[trilinearmipmap]

OK I see Sam's point, it looks like the bargains from U.S. suppliers are a temporary thing related to the recent rise in our currency.

[titus]

Hello,

Sam is correct. Most aquarium goods are not made in US. Chillers, pumps, air pumps, vinyl hoses, raw material for tanks, cleaning products, media, lamps, etc. When I order acrylic from my supplier, I sometimes get Japanese and sometimes Mexican. Sometimes American also. But American's only accounts for 1/3 of the source.

Titus

[Puff]

i order all my stuff from US online vendors now. and i save 40-60% while doing it.

if the canadian vendors cant buck up and lower their prices to be competitive, then they will continue losing business to US dealers.

Drsfostersmith.com, marineandreef.com, and marinedepot.com are all really good places to deal with, and the prices are brilliant.

i just ordered a 24G aquapod from drsfostersmith. 360$ with the 150W MH...ive seen them up here selling for around 450-500$...why bother paying that much more?

[deep6er]

i order all my stuff from US online vendors now. and i save 40-60% while doing it.

if the canadian vendors cant buck up and lower their prices to be competitive, then they will continue losing business to US dealers.

Drsfostersmith.com, marineandreef.com, and marinedepot.com are all really good places to deal with, and the prices are brilliant.

i just ordered a 24G aquapod from drsfostersmith. 360$ with the 150W MH...ive seen them up here selling for around 450-500$...why bother paying that much more?

how much was the shipping?

[marie]

how much was the shipping?

and the brokerage costs?

[Tom R]

We are very lucky to have retailers such as J&L, OA and Hidden Reef. These retailer have the lowest price in Canada on an ongoing basis. They lower their prices whenever they can. To our benefit they stock inventory of the latest and most desirable item for the hobby. They can not reduce the price of items within their inventory until they sell it and replace it. In some cases that inventory was purchased months before the dollar went to par. Many of the items are made in countries other than the USA. Even though the Canadian Dollar has strengthen against the US, so have many of the other countries currencies. The German Mark, the Japanese Yen and the European Euro have all strengthened against the US dollar.

Tom R

[Pan]

i order all my stuff from US online vendors now. and i save 40-60% while doing it.

if the canadian vendors cant buck up and lower their prices to be competitive, then they will continue losing business to US dealers.

Drsfostersmith.com, marineandreef.com, and marinedepot.com are all really good places to deal with, and the prices are brilliant.

i just ordered a 24G aquapod from drsfostersmith. 360$ with the 150W MH...ive seen them up here selling for around 450-500$...why bother paying that much more?



Heh, not quick enough with a response.....



Please remember that THEY BOUGHT EVERYTHING at prices when the dollar was not equal, I hate narrowmindedness...please realize the markets respond quicker than merchants can often deal with, give them time I'm sure they will come down. Its the same thing with books etc. By all means this does not exonerate Canadian retailers, but it is not often as easy as some poeple think it is. Remember that shipping costs are included in Canadian products as well. You'll notice that for an american made product shipping is higher to canada than to the rest of the u.s.. Canadian prices reflect this.

[Pan]

i order all my stuff from US online vendors now. and i save 40-60% while doing it.

if the canadian vendors cant buck up and lower their prices to be competitive, then they will continue losing business to US dealers.

Drsfostersmith.com, marineandreef.com, and marinedepot.com are all really good places to deal with, and the prices are brilliant.

i just ordered a 24G aquapod from drsfostersmith. 360$ with the 150W MH...ive seen them up here selling for around 450-500$...why bother paying that much more?

If you payed 360 from them I would call them, as they are 329 on sale right now. :)

[Xtasia]

Our local retailers are already in a very competitive market where they make very little mark-up.

So their prices may have not caught up to the fluctuating Canadian Dollar, but it is important to support OUR LOCAL businesses. They are the ones who provide us with information (and deals) on a day to day while maintaining an educated staff. You will not get any of that off a US website.

SUPPORT YOUR LFS!

[marcingo]

I know that in Edmonton at least our good old lfs gouge everyone. When I was buying everything from livestock to equipment it was in some cases half the price to buy it from JL aquatic (and im including shipping here) as compared to any LFS in the city. As to educated staff, I beg to differ. The only educated staff I found in this city were in small lfs where the owners ran them. I say if you want educated answers research it yourself. However in the defence of LFS in edmonton there have been a few smaller ones, those run by their owners that weren't complete rip offs. (I realize the rebuttal to this will be they have lower overhead cost)

Therefore even though this isnt related to the american canadian purchases, I do not at all agree that we should support LFS.

But then again what isnt a rip off in alberta.

[Pan]

I know that in Edmonton at least our good old lfs gouge everyone. When I was buying everything from livestock to equipment it was in some cases half the price to buy it from JL aquatic (and im including shipping here) as compared to any LFS in the city. As to educated staff, I beg to differ. The only educated staff I found in this city were in small lfs where the owners ran them. I say if you want educated answers research it yourself. However in the defence of LFS in edmonton there have been a few smaller ones, those run by their owners that weren't complete rip offs. (I realize the rebuttal to this will be they have lower overhead cost)

Therefore even though this isnt related to the american canadian purchases, I do not at all agree that we should support LFS.

But then again what isnt a rip off in alberta.
I will support Canadian, but not necessarily local, local support depends on how I'm treated...and that always varies with what i am spending so. I do like to see fish i purchase though, and for that reason alone i usually purchase locally. Though I do prefer the experiences Ive had in calgary with those of edmonton, but a few I nvere was able to checkout, being aquarium enthusiasts, reefwerks (which I'ver never heard a bad thing about, congrats) I've bought off howdy and wow is all i can say. And yes Albert is OK... :)

[marcingo]

reefwerkz, marine experience and little oceans were the small vendors who I had mentioned actually had reasonable prices as well as educated staff but these are again all run by their owners. However I havent had the opportunity to shop in calgary but I know edmontons bigger LFS are aweful. Anyway Im going to stop here since this thread is about prices :) Sorry for getting off track. I guess I should find another place to vent lol.