Canadians getting dinged

[PomegranatePip]

As most Canadians are probably aware, our dollar is pretty much on par with the US dollar. Unfortunately, companies selling many types of products haven't kept up. We still have to pay more for items such as books, magazines, cars, etc.

We were looking at Vita-Mix blenders, and despite the fact that the Canadian dollar is worth the same as (or more than) the US dollar, Canadians are being charged $100 or more than Americans for the same product! That's not even taking into account the extra shipping.

Does anyone have any ideas on what to do about this? $100 is a lot of money that could be better spent on fresh fruits and veggies. I just don't understand why companies are allowed to get away with this. Can you imagine the outcry if they charged based on race? Why should it be less of an outrage to be charging based on country (when the currency is worth basically the same amount)?

[lafsalot]

Maybe you can have it shipped to a friend here in the states, and then have them re-ship it to you. ~
Cathy

[Lilly the Naiad]

I don't think countries charge the same for local products in foreign countries as they do locally? I mean, for a 9 tray excalibur in Norway I have to pay 500 dollars. It seemed about the same in the UK.

Economy isn't my thing though, I just always assumed this was normal for one reason or another (import/export, taxes, etc?).

Bought a box of fivelac from the UK (can't find that here) and had to pay about twice as much the price total because of customs.

[EZ rider]

It surprises me that the companies don't make adjustments like that so as to stay competitive. That a big deterrent to selling their product.

[northernstars]

price-wise that is because some companies insist on shipping only FedEx or UPS and the shipping as often outrageous! If I can't find it here quite often I will just forego it. But, you are correct the companies need to be willing to make necessary adjustments and treat everybody right.

[trinity082482]

Get a Michigan PO Box and have them ship it there and drive over and pick it up. People who use EBAY all the time do this to avoid huge fees.

[crystalmoon]

not wanting to high kack your thread but we get really hammered with prices in the Uk...vita-mix costs about £400 cheapest price over here, reckon thats double the US price

[CaliRaw]

Get a Michigan PO Box and have them ship it there and drive over and pick it up. People who use EBAY all the time do this to avoid huge fees.

How are people getting PO Boxes without having a local street address? When I've gotten a PO Box, they wouldn't give me one without showing some ID with a local address.

[PomegranatePip]

Yeah, I think I looked into that at some point in the past (because some companies just flat refuse to ship across the border... I guess they don't want my money!).

In any case, heading to Michigan would be a loooong drive. :D

[Sunrise]

Hi,

My guess is that Canadian stores paid for US shipments before the dollar went up, therefore they would be losing money if they adjusted the prices right now. Maybe wait a little while and then things will be on par. :)

[Aleesha Sattva]

actually i know some people who run businesses in the states. it's amazing how many orders they ship to canada mysteriously disappear and their postal service won't pay out the insurance. so many of them refuse to send it to canada because of this.

i just bought a champion... it's being shipped from northern bc... and it's $99 more than the cost for the usa. i asked him why and he said they have to cover all the duties etc they get dinged for shipping up here to sell. so that made sense to me.

but $99 on a $200 item? that a 50% hike... seemed a bit steep to me. i checked out health food stores and they wanted $400+ for the same item... so i paid the $299 and counted my blessings i found someone up here to buy from.