Pet peeves.....

[Billyisgr8]

Why do we as Canadians seem to charge so much for items, not just 100% mark-up but what ever the customer is willing to pay?     This is just what I went through.

Needed a phase converter for a machine we bought, had 4 electrical wholesalers price out what we need......minimum price was $ 4000 and as high as 7000. What!!!! Bought a baldor phase converter from the US for $1200.00 shipped to our door inc all taxes and UPS fees.    I don't get it.

The same machine needed a magnetic contact, overload relay,  1 switch and 3 fuses   $745.42 is what I paid.  I did not question what I ordered and it was all special order.  OK if thats what it costs, thats what I bought, the machine needed it, no questions asked.  Had it  here sitting on my desk, and am curious so i look online.....  I ended up re-buying everything from a New York electrical store for $204 shipped to my house including all the taxes ( does not include whatever UPS wants to charge, I havn't looked at my statement yet)... Same items same boxes, it is the same parts,  $543.00 difference on 4  items.    I returned the $745.42 purchase, and payed the 15% restocking fee.   Why is there so much mark-up on things in Canada?     Is it because we are willing to pay whatever for it, is our life styles so much more than the US?  Here is another, We bought a quad  when the dollar was at par and above the US, it was still $4500 more after all the taxes and everything to buy it in Canada from Can am..a Canadian company.. We did buy it in Canada only because I wanted a warranty and no hassles for the life of the machine.

We have a business and I can definitly say we do not overcharge for what we sell.  Our products work out to get us $50.00 hour shop rate, and that pays for everthing.  Our machines are valued over $150,000.  We are honest and do not gouge in our prices.  It just burns me up, when companies are gouging because they can....   As a business owner I am reminded as to why I have bought so much of what we have in the states over the past many years.   Thankyou to the internet, it has saved us many thousands of dollars out of my pocket.

Many companies are honest companies, but there are those that just charge too much for what they sell

Kevin

[Jord63]

Ford does the same thing. Price out just about any part at a local dealership and then call the dealership in Lynden and it will almost always be about half price. Not sure why.

[Randy]

Be careful buying electrical items from the US, many are not CSA approved for use in Canada. Your insurance may not cover non-CSA approved appliances etc.

[blarneyman]

There are many wholesale/retail places online that have great prices. Sometimes you have to be careful of what you are actually buying though. I used to work at a furniture store that carried a lot of high end furniture and they regularly marked the prices at 300% of cost. It does boil down to what the public will pay and it's wrong. Hopefully more people will start doing what you did and shop around. If the crooks start to lose business because of it they might be forced to lower their prices.

Until that happens, keep buying from the US, we need all the help we can get right now. jk  

PS: Good point on the CSA! We have the same issue down here with listing certs.

[Chris E.]

Looked at buying MSD stuff from CIP1 at $985 for 6AL, dist, coil & wires. Ended up buying from a performance parts shop out of the states for $539 CDN including shipping. Does this make sense? But people must pay it. Why wouldn't I buy from the US?

[Lanny]

There are specific import regulations for electric motors etc, not sure why, possibly CSA?

[blarneyman]

There are specific import regulations for electric motors etc, not sure why, possibly CSA?

Kind of funny because if you actually look deep into the standards between UL and CSA for most electrical equipment they are almost identical.

[egspot]

Two years ago my wife's van needed winter tires 17" and I got quotes from six different store and two were the same franchise. Those two with the same franchises quote a price including all and taxes for the same tire. The difference between the price quoted by both of them was one 1497.00 the other one 972.00.

 How do like them apples?

[Bubba]

It does not matter wether the items are consumer or specialised.

6 months ago, I got a quote for a piece of inspection equipment from a Canadian supplier (from Quebec) for 96K USD.  The first thing I was pissed about was that they were quoting in US dollars.  Then I found out that our US affiliate paid 67K USD for the identical system...with delivery 3 weeks after I got my quote.  After I gave them what for, there were a lot of embarrased sales people, with apologetic phone calls flying around for a month.

After several more grinding weeks, we ended up buying three systems for under 120K CDN.

I am a firm believer that you never get what you want...you get what you negotiate.

[steveo_32]

Totally agree, Its harder and harder to get good deals, Even working at a parts store, I see our "raw cost" and then see US sellers online for FAR FAR cheaper.
One switch was 157 my cost, and we would sell it for 200 with a cost up deal and I found it online for a cost of 67 bucks US. It is crazy!!

[Bruce]

One switch was 157 my cost, and we would sell it for 200 with a cost up deal and I found it online for a cost of 67 bucks US.

I don't know where you saw that $67, but don't automatically assume it's legit.  You may find your item on eBay with a BIN price that's way lower than you can buy it in Canada, because a LOT of stuff on eBay is stolen goods.  Obviously if the good price you find is from an authorized distributor, it's ok.

[buddy boy]

i get my stuff from geoff ,..he tells me it's cheap because it fell off the back of a truck .

[beetlemandan]

never mind pricing, what about when shops tell you that your stuff "might" be ready tommorow, or just plain lie to you about when it is ready?

[85fastlane]

Maybe it's simply higher operating costs in Canada? Overhead, taxation, duty, etc. I support the local guy most of the time, even if I pay a bit more.