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our dollar buys more but only if your ask
Local LFS are giving in to ours demands to buy US made stuff they sell at US prices.
If the clerk won't sell you at US prices ask to see the manager and firmly, (kind of loudly so others will hear) but Very Friendy and politely) tell the manager you will only buy the product at the US price. Not one decline yet and if a manager refused I would have left the store. |
You know that there are other issues that make Canadian products cost more...right? Currency exchange only explains part of the difference.
(No, I'm not a retailer...) |
Thats still a tough call on that one. Stores can charge whatever they want for a product. ANd is especially tough fro a store whom bought said item say, 6-8 months ago, or a year ago, when the dollar was alot less. Now, you want to force them to sell at a loss. Ultametly, it's up to the store if they want to take the loss on an item or not.
I'm not a retailer either, but buy/sell products to both sides of the border. |
Like duty, brokerage,shipping ect...Also, if a retailer bought stock say 6 months ago, or a year(assume any big dealer has to buy big volume to get the right price)should they lose money on the sale? I can see them doing their best to keep your business, but don't expect the prices to be the same overnight. Take a look at the dealers on this site, most of their prices are already very competitive.
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Competitive heck ya, I have been checking alot of prices form JL and on Ebay, JL allways coming out cheaper. Go figure HUH. I know who got my buisness.
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There is no duty on US made goods.
I don't think it costs anymore to ship to Vancouver as opposed to say Seattle. Sure, the first thing the manager will tell you that he has to use up his stock first. The reality is that no one, retailer or wholesaler carries six months worth of stock. They can't afford to. The bottom line is the huge increase in our dollar has made huge profits to those who do not pass along the savings. BTW, I was in Restorations Hardware today and I noted that almost everyone was questioning the pricing due to the fact that our dollar is worth a hell of a lot more. We should too, eh! |
Oh yes, examples.
I bought food priced at $12.00 for $7.00 A mag priced at $5.50 for $3.99 Obviously, I can't walk into a Big Al's store in the US so I went online to compare their pricing in Canada and the US on a product that I chose randomly. (I think they are US made) Big Al's US price OSI spirulina pellets 12 oz $7.49 Big Al's Canadian price same product $19.98 J&L Two Little Fishes Green Veggies 30 grams $6.95 Big Al's US online same product 1 oz $3.99 Quite a savings, eh Just ask! |
Just to let you know it does cost more to ship to Vancouver as opposed to seattle. Shipping internationally always costs more, as working for Canada post has taught me.
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The prices ought to be somewhat higher in Canada for the obvious reasons: shipping costs, brokerage fees and fewer economies of scale. A reasonable cost differential might be 10% to 20% above U.S. prices, anything more than that seems like gouging.
As far as retailers selling stock they bought months ago with a cheaper Canadian dollar, I thought most retailers paid their suppliers 60 or 90 days after they received the goods. I am not in retail so if I am wrong here someone correct me. If there are retailers in Vancouver who give in to demands to match U.S. prices please let us know who they are. |
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What annoys me is retailers who don't drop their prices to reflect the change, but when the CDN dollar eventually drops against the US they will quickly raise their prices. Grocery stores are famous for this.
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Alot of times droping prices is not an option. Depends on the profit margin and alot of other factors. but I do agree with you, Bryan, that it's really gouging when they raise them due to dollar increase. like gas stn's raise price imediately when oil goes up, regardless of how much supply is in the tanks, yet complain and use the excuse that they have to use up the higher priced stuff in the tanks when the oil prices drop.
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shipping costs
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No freight (let alone international freight) and no brokerage fees make a huge difference in landed product cost. Jim |
Why is this subject in the lounge as it is a reef related discussion.
Jim I contacted a CTB (Certified Transportation Broker) this morning after I read your post. Here are the facts: Example The cost to ship a truckload of dry goods (45,000 pounds) from Los Angeles to Vancouver versus to cost to ship from Los Angeles to Seattle is only $500.00 more. The trucking company absorbs all border fees in that cost). In other word it adds a penny to the cost of the food that I referenced earlier. With the fact that the dollar is at $1.039, it makes no difference at all. |
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To be quite honest I was totally shocked at the fact that there was only a $500.00 difference in 46,000 lbs of dry goods.
What this means is that we should be paying the same price American hobbyists pay for aquarium products. The fact is we are paying substantially more. I checked out a few other things as well. (quickly and I am no expert) Seattle store lease rates are the same as Greater Vancouver. Electricity is cheaper here. Average US salaries are $12,00 per hour Truck fuel is higher here. There is no justification for paying higher prices here whasoever. |
As a consumer the best thing you can do is spend your money where you think you're getting the best value and service. A loss of buisness will make them adjust their pricing or cease to exist.
I order from the US on a weekly basis and have seen some minimal savings on stuff I buy from there. I had a client come for a tattoo last week and ask me for a discount seeing as I pay less for supplies now than what I paid the last time they were here. I pollitely declined and asked the client to take their money to the US and enjoy the better value that he may get for it now and sent him on his way. He's called me twice since then and I've told him that I'm much too busy. As a consumer he made his choice just as I did as a retailer (of sorts.). I guess what I'm saying is......... If you think you can get it cheaper from the US and it's worth your time and effort to do so, then do it. Just keep in mind that this will all ballance out at some point and if you dammage the relationship with the vendors that you've dealt with for a long time you may not be able to repair that when things are normal again. Try dealing with warranties and such with your US supplier. Just a thought. FWIW, I'm a aquarium supplies consumer and not a vendor of any type. |
I am not suggesting that we abandon purchasing from LFS.
The issue is very simple Someone is pocketing the huge savings we as hobbyists are losing. If it is the importers or wholesalers, our local LFS should put pressure on their suppliers or look around for better suppliers. If is the LFS and online stores that are pocketing the savings, they must understand that if they do not pass it on to us, we will take our business elsewhere, across the border only if necessary. |
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So, for now, the retailer still gets to dictate prices, especially in mid size markets like Victoria. |
Doug are you the Mod. Please PM me.
Reefrat The point of the thread was that the savings as a result of the high Canadian dollar are not being passed on to reefers. My point was ask and you shall receive! |
Retailers, Vendors and Distributors need to demand lower prices from the manufacturers.
Since I was out shopping for a high chair for my baby today I will take that as an example... Just one model I was looking at a - fisher price was listed in store at Toys R Us at $159.99, on the toysrus.com US website the same item was listed at $99.99. How can this be justified? Both of these items have been shipped from China. Now You cannot tell me that it really costs $60 more to get it to Calgary vs. say.... Spokane? We as Canadians are being taken advantage of. |
Greg, it really frosts ya doesn't it.
Did you ask the store manager if he would honour the same US price. It has been my experience that they will if you ask. I understand from talking to them (they privately agee with my point and tell me their own Canadian buck experience) that they are putting pressure on senior management to do something but senior management are really slow to act. The more fluff we raise the faster fair pricing will happen, especially with Christmas coming. |
What's the Freak'n deal 6 threads on this topic today by naesco. For me it has become an anoiance more than a fight for equal pricing. GIVE IT A REST.
I'm not even going to view my opinion as these threads are just ****ing me off. One was enough. Commando attacks in Vendor forums isn't going to help anyone J |
naesco I too have noticed your repeated challenge and saber rattle. Could you please put you money where your key pad is as I challenge you to purchase an identical Fish Store product from Canada (J&L) and one from the US (your choice). Document your total costs and share, Then return them and document your total returns. This would bring legitimacy to your claims. Thank You
Kevin |
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not sure if this adds anything too the thread or not but i was looking at dr fosters and smith website and they have the 12g aquapod with 70watt HQI on sale for only $175, but when i e-mailed them for a shipping quote they said it would cost about $282 just to have it shipped!!plus the brokage fee and price of tank, iam not sure how mutch the same tank costs here but that shipping just seems nuts so far it looks to me like its cheeper to buy here than pay shipping from the states on dry goods.
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As far as shipping tanks go,yes for a single tank it would be very expensive due to the size,and weight if its glass.For something like that,the best way is to ship a truckload or 1/2 truckload or even a skid.The smaller the size of shipment the more per piece it will cost to ship.For example the above tank costs $282 to ship,but a skid load would be a lot less,and a truckload would be significantly less.Something to keep in mind when we deal with stores.Smaller stores regardless of the type will pay higher shipping costs unless they belong to a buying group,than the larger Wall-mart type store that can ship in volume.( I know this doesn't add to the $$ value discussion,but it will have an effect on price differential)
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The cost of living is more in Canada than in the US. There for a retailer has to charge more for a skimmer etc. here so they can make their more expensive car payments buy that more expensive TV and and pay their more expensive mortgage payment and put that more expensive food on the table.
For the price of that skimmer to go down the price of EVERYTHING that we buy on a regular basis will have to down and I don't think that that is going to happen anytime soon. |
I thought that this was an interesting read that adds perspective to the topic.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/0...inance_economy |
Salt Prices
Petsmartzzzz Instant Ocean 160 gal pail Canadian - 68.99 U.S 35.99 go figure, seriously gouged |
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