No its more or less canadian companies aren't changing prices of produces due to the dollar change. They know they can buy the product for cheap and sell it for what they have always been selling it for without to many people noticing. For instance, the power modual. A usa company is selling it for almost $200 cheaper, yet even with the dollar change our canadian companies won't budge on their prices.

As much as I prefer supporting our canadian companies, if I can save $100 on something after shipping and duties guess where my business will go

shoes are another thing for me. I can get a set for $50-80 cheaper in the usa

I agree with you that it isn't at all right and that this will cause some orders from the states for sure but it's not the retailers who provide the MSRP.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...threadid=69107

That shows the Canadian MSRP to be $699, retailers really don't have the power to undercut this as at that point they start stepping on other retailers feet which causes problems for Ecotech.

Even if our dollar is worth more companies in the states still have power over us, I would attribute that to the fact that there are 20 million people in Canada and 320 million people in the states.

Actually that shows the msrp to be $799 and was what prompted me to post =)

WOW I didn't read that properly at all, really makes me wonder why it takes an extra $100.00 to get each unit up to us considering they are smaller than a basketball. Perhaps a certain distributor could chime in to explain this to us *cough* Reefwholesale *cough*.

its the those damn french instructions. they have to be printed on with gold ink on platinum laced paper :)


on a side note - I do enjoy living by the US border :). MP10es goes for $265 + tax here... i can get em for $185 US if i drive 45 minutes. 36" t5 bulbs are like $30ish each here... $19 in the states. JL aquatics has some decent prices though. Havent found another retailer that is as competitive though :(. Its there loss in the end - I still get all my parts :)

I wouldn't mind hearing a distributers standpoint either

why are canadian costs such a difference? If the dollar keeps acting like how it has I am just going to be ordering all my equipment online from the states soon. eg. if I can save $200 on powerheads and $150 on other stuff that buys me a nice set of LR

The story I got when purchasing my camera gear was that the prices are set by the distributers and they can't go around them to get cheaper pricing else where other wise they loose their distributership.

Statistically the US has 10x the population of Canada in a smaller area, so they can get better deals since they cover a broader sales base.
I still dont buy it.

See thats what I have been told as well, which is believable

With the change in dollar for instance, the aftermarket car parts (wheels, exhaust...) destroyed a few local companies that weren't willing to comply with the change in currency that ended up destroying the business. People just started ordering stuff online cause they could save like $300 at least once the product got to them.

I'm just saying that once I start collecting for my new build, If I can save money somewhere i'm going to do it

WANT

http://i1040.photobucket.com/albums/...nghy-plane.jpg

You don't have one in your parts pile in the basement?! The HORROR!

I support local when I can but for many things I can't ignore those facts. Trouble is often times the thing I want is only quickly available through an online purchase. Then I just get the other stuff I might otherwise get local (at a higher price but to support the LFS).

Geez
 

I bought my TEK light for price and quality.

I call an LFS looking for a part (legs) and he decides to tell me I should have bought such and such from him.

Who cares what I bought. If he had what I wanted I may have bought it from him. I was very specific in my needs and was NOT going to pay what he wanted for a particular fixture (Ice Cap).

My tank will do fine with what the TEK light. More than fine.

Geeez.... Another store to avoid.

IMO... sell me what I want.... not what you think I need. There is always going to be something "better" but come on.... JUST SELL ME WHAT I ASKED FOR!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.underwatersculpture.com/

Cool link found on RC

How can anyone afford a mortgage in this bloody city? My wife and I are both engineers and we can't even afford anything close to what we want/need. We would have been better off not going to school and buying a house 7 years ago like many of our friends. Life is ridiculous!

I put the vortech up full speed on "Nutrient Export" mode...hello wave.

In the long run you and your wife will win over your friends, but your situation/timing would be a hard pill to swallow...Gone are the days of any thought of "a couple of guys" even going out after high school and renting a house.

Video please?


I hear you. I bought into my current abode just before things got stupid price-wise and both my wife & I were working. Now we're a single income family with two small kids. There's no way we'd qualify to buy the house we're in if it were on the market today, and that's even after it's devalued for a couple years - in 2007 it was worth at least 3 times what it was in 2003-2004, nowadays it's not quite 2 times. I don't how you're supposed to break into the market like this. Good luck man.

true, I just ordered a new skimmer at RC. I go there before anything

Fixer-uper seems to be the answer. When we bought our house in 2008 it was half the price of the houses on either sides because it still sported some 1970s and 1950s decor. In 2009 it went up 50K in value, and in 2010 it went down 70.5k.

Your other options seems to be buying in the boonies and making a commute if you work downtown.


My random thought; UGH ate too much at lunch and now I'm too sleepy to concentrate fully.

Now thats the million dollar question Steve. One I have been asking myself for a few years now. Either I,m getting to old or just totally missed the boat. Or they never even called me when the boat was leaving. :lol:

Aww what a day. maybe gremlins will come out of my closet and steal all my crap to top today

I HATE Inventory Day!

By far the biggest decision I had to make in life at 20 years old do I buy a house? Or do I buy I job? (school) that I have to live with for the rest of my life because of money and time invested. I went for the house found it tough to decided at 20 what I was going to do for the rest of my life. But I always needed a house no matter what I did. Bought a 4 year old bungalow for a mear $80,000 but interest rate back then was 14%:eek: . Have moved couple times and always made money off them. But it also took me 16 yrs to work up the corporate ladder into a 6 figure income not straight outta school like a lot of people

I'm a bit curious. Who are these 'a lot of people' who earn 6 figures straight out of school? Apparently I took the wrong courses...

No wonder America is suffering from obesity....we've had hamburgers for the last 4 nights in a row. Can't really complain when you're living in someone's house...but I even offered to cook today and he said no. i give up

*wonders what my tank would be like if I had a six figure income*:mrgreen:

Me too, if I made 6 figures I'd be a lot better off. Been out of school for 3 years now, not making even close to that.

Measure the footprint of your basement and I'm sure you're close =)

screw the basement, I would put it next to the living room.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/pic...pictureid=3646

Easy you can make $100,000 a year driving truck don't even need high school grade 9 is good enough. I don't drive truck and never will....I just manage them. If your looking for a job I can hook you up :wink: You can make over 100G on the rigs with grade 9, running equip at a mine, running HD equipment, crane operators, some plant operators, forestry crews, some skilled trades working with the right companies...but some school involved....also just these jobs you work harder not smarter

You can take foresty workers off that list. Up to about 5 years ago you could make that much. Due to our government that has allowed Canfor to get too big and destroy the forest industry we hardly work anymore. I just quit that racket. From logs to oil. Ft.Mac here I come.

Seriously, I was just trying to help you out with what I had at the time.

Just because people live in those big houses doesn't mean they can afford them. We have so many friends that live in big brand new houses and drive two brand new cars and make quite a bit less per month then my wife and I do. We can't figure out how they do it.

It must be debt stacked on top of debt, consolidation loan after cosolidation loan. It will catch up with them all in the end. I don't have the nicest house, but I've done some work to it over the years to get it there. I don't have the nicest cars, Focus Wagon and a Corolla but they are paid for.

Too many people try to live outside of their means, no wonder there's an economic crisis these days.

This!

I drive old cars, my newest is 1999 and my oldest is 1980. I only carry a mortgage and usually no debt. I do my own housework, and I shop around for the best prices. Anything I buy, from groceries, to my tank build is done in cash. I save for big purchases, and am mindful of the big costs throughout the year; holidays, insurance, glasses, etc. Still though it blows my mind to see some people spending all the time.

I also have friends like those that are mentioned above; bigger house then ours, new cars, new furniture, top of the line everything, and they're always travelling, shopping, etc. They way their lifestyle works is that they assume they will always carry debt and assume the cost of carrying it is a fact of life.

I also have friends who've worked and worked, and are just thrilled to put away $100 a month into an RSP.

We chose to buy our house because a) we couldn't handle renting anymore b) the house we bought was a bit less then the monthly cost of renting something similar, c) our financials were in the right place, and d) we found a house that fit our needs almost perfectly. In the end I think our mortgage is a money hungry beast, but I love my house and its ultra slow renovations. For us buying works for us, but we bought with the intention to stay in our home for the next 20 some years.

House rich, cash poor. Bit back was looking through Comfree at houses up in Quarry Ridge. There was a million+ house and in the pictures for the living room was a single plaid recliner and about a 20" TV on a milk crate.

dear little sea urchin, that sting you gave me has been ichy for the past 4 days. jerk

I guess this was us to some extent. To be fair to us we had two incomes so the nice house was possible but not a ton of wiggle room if something were to go wrong and it did! Now we're where we belong. Modesty is affordable and we're really happy.

My comments weren't aimed at people who could afford them such as you did with dual incomes. It was directed more towards the people that buy $600,000.00 houses while only earning $42,000 a year. To be fair the banks play a large role in this. When we bought our house and applied for a morgage we asked for XXX,XXX.00 of dollars and the first thing they asked us what "Well, don't you want to know how much total you can borrow" We said "Nope, this is what we want to spend, not what you think I can afford to spend." I think some people get glassy eyed at the thought of buying a much bigger house simply because the bank said they could.

I had a friend that was planning to spend around $300,000.00 and the bank told them they could afford a house double that so they started looking at houses in that range only to have to sell it less then a year later.

Potters, I love you but STOP EATING ALL MY CHALICES!!!

Really wish I didn't have to work for a living that and I wish I liked where I work, 'cause I used to and now not so much :sad: