Okay well I do work occasionally at a local retailer so I have a pretty good idea why some of this happens.
First, a store is expensive. You need staff and space and utilities and all that stuff. Retail space in Calgary for example is INSANELY EXPENSIVE. $60 / square foot is not unheard of. Basically you need to do a 70% to 80% markup to cover your overhead, minimum.
When you consider the scale most local retailers work at as well you can see where they can't really compete with larger online vendors or stores with bigger markets. When you buy in quantity you get a better deal but what is one of our local shops going to do with 80 mag 7s. It will take forever to recover that kind of capital.
Often you will see retailers push larger margins onto small items like snails. Like it or not, it's the way retial businesses work. Ask Future Shop how much they make on batteries or Safeway about laundry soap. Way back when I worked in a retail computer store I almost fell over when they told me how much they marked up printer cables. Small "sure sale" items always get padded. It's the economics of the business.
Also, it is tons more expensive to get dry goos here compared to somepalce like Vancouver. Most of this stuff comes out of Asia and Vancouver is a major pacific port. Cargo flights are also more expensive, most of the livestock you see for sale here comes though either Vancouver or Los Angeles. Manilla to Calgary direct flights are VERY rare. You see that extra shipping expense at the till.
A retialer is also aking a risk on livestock that youre are usually not. Some things ship poorly and airlines will regularly screw up your life. Those losses have to be covered.
I'm not saying that here isn't profiteering going on sometimes. Every once in a while I'll look at something and wonder too. There are a couple places that I find rather amusing most of the time but I shouldn't say where.
I just don't think it's as bad as people seem to think it is. How many LFS owners in this province drive BMWs? Nobody ever got rich owning a fish store.
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