Today’s topic is US vs. Canada.
You’d think it would be pretty cut and dried – Canada should win hands down. And, for the most part, it does. Sure, it’s inevitable that Canada will eventually become states 52 through 57 but that won’t happen in the next four or five generations. And, after that, I don’t really care what happens – I’ll be long dead.
No, my beef relates directly to online shopping. I present to you the following two examples:
1) Season One of Everwood on DVD. I can head over to amazon.ca and pick it up for ~$69. I could head over to Futureshop.com and get it for ~$71. Or, I could head over to amazon.com – the U.S. version of amazon.ca (!!!) and get it for US$19. Yes – Nineteen dollars. Shipping to Canada you ask? Why, that’s $5.98. I could have got the shipping for free though the Canada portal – but that’s because it’s freakin’ $70!!!! So, let’s do some math: $19+$5.98=$25. Okay, let’s throw on 15% for exchange…umm…carry the two…oh, right: $28.75! Hmm…$28.75 vs. $79.80 (14% taxes)…
2) Canon Elura 100 MiniDV digital camcorder. This is the camcorder that I’ve decided I want to buy. It seems to give the best bang for the buck. Futureshop has it for around $700. This includes the starter accessory kit. I can get the same thing in the states for about $400-450. Again, factoring in exchange (AND any potential import duty) an it’s still a HUGE savings. Sure, the warranty could become a bit of an issue, but that’s easily worked around.
Needless to say, I’ll be ordering the camcorder from the U.S.. The funny part about the Everwood DVD is that Warner has stated that the ONLY way they will release more than season one on DVD is if sales are really good. Obviously, at $70 sales will NOT be really good in Canada.
Previous 
Next 
Comment Meta:
More Options ...
Categories
Tag Cloud
Blog RSS
Comments RSS
Last 50 Posts
Back
Void 
Life 
Earth 
Wind 
Water 
Fire
Another bit to add to your rant – watch out for good old Canada Post and/or Canada Customs to slap on duty when your parcel crosses the border. I once ordered $32.00 dollars worth of Magic cards and had to pay $10 in duty. Ordered a Paintball gun for my brother for $120, had to pay $18 duty. What the hell happened to free trade??? I could have crossed the border, made the purchase, and returned home without having to pay duty, so what gives??? I won’t buy stuff online if it has to cross an international border, don’t want to get screwed by our government any more!
Yeah, what Jason said. Are you sure the duty charges on the camera won’t be outrageous? Serena’s swimsuit was $20. I had Bev in RI slap a new label on it for me (since for some reason, Amazon.com won’t ship that item to Canada) and the customs bastards opened it and charged me duty even though Bev marked it as a gift in the relabling. It was another $10 – $5 for duty and $5 for handling. I didn’t want them to handle nothin. Rat bastards.
2 things..
1. .Jen and Jason’s comments are interesting to me, since I once ordered a CD from amazon.com (I specifically wanted the US release) and not only didn’t I wind up with any duty charges, I also was able to order it to a Canadian address, no problem. Of course, this was several years ago, so maybe some things have changed…
2. To add to your rant, I’ve been seeing ads for this new coffee from folgers, one that is specifically made for people with sensitive stomachs. Perfect, right? I’m a (now decaf) coffee addict with a sensitive stomach. Do you think I can get it in canada? Nope. Right there on the folgers.com front page, no where to be found on folgers.ca. Rather pissed.