Cross Border buying FYI

[MOMMA]

Nothing personal ferniesnow....I don't know what business you are in.....but the last few words of your post bother me.....my comments are directed at business owners in general....

Business's expect us to "buy locally"...."support your community"......but, yet YOU BUSINESS OWNERS are some of the 1st ones to run accross the border when you need something for yourself! How about practicing what you preach!!

Case in point;
A guy I know is part owner of a very successful JD dealership in the Vegreville-Fort Saskatchewn area. Being the general sales mgr, he always preached "buy from your local dealer" and then when he needed a personal vehicle.....guess what?? Runs across the border because he could save a few bucks......sure helped the local GM dealer next door with that

So, when you "businessmen" don't follow the guidlines you ask us to follow and don't buy locally......why would I. And this goes much much farther than just trucks.

Business owners need to remember something. When I see your new truck parked in front of your store and I see a dealersticker on it from somewhere else and I know there are dealers in your own town or selling area, my attitude changes about how loyal I am to you. If you can't shop locally, don't bitch & moan when it happens to you.

I used to zip across the line and buy Gas, Beer and cheese, huge savings every week.. but then I had a reality moment when it clicked that one of our close friends owned a Dairy Farm. I felt like I was cheating on them. Then fast forward to working in a retail establishment dependent upon local economy.. it sure gives you a sense of perspective and a sense of gratitude for all those who do shop local. The more we shop local, the more local shopping we will have.. like a chicken and egg thing.

 

[jhurkot]

I use the montana shipping outlet and I'm from lethbridge. Things to consider....
UPS/FedEx will rape you
USPS will take FOREVER and a day but a lot more reasonable
Driving to the border and back is about 200km (Jetta TDI) and takes about 2.5h (usually unemployed)

The last one is my preferred method but if you can pick up 4 or 5 packages at once it really makes the trip worthwhile. I've never paid GST at the border but I've usually been less than $1000.

So unless the local guy is really gouging you bad (like more than 30%). I really do not find it worthwhile to mess around going to the USA.

 

[jaredszakacs]

ya the montana shipping outlet is a good place. I wish in my business of truck accessories that a lot of the canadian suppliers would work a bit more with there pricing for the most part I can get a lot of the suspension parts and exterior/interior parts from a canadian supplier for nearly the same as the states but when it comes to rims,tires,performance parts it is forsure cheaper in the states no doubt about it so i used to have to go across the line and pick up from suppliers there but it did give me the ability to offer canadian customers with the same parts for the same internet price. I think more and more BIG us suppliers are seeing the market in canada and hopefully the prices start coming down it would be real nice for everyone

 

[moyiesledhead]

I don't shop local as much any more because I got tired of hearing this: "Not in stock, but we can order it." Well.....I can order it too! I'm talking about pretty standard parts that IMHO should be in stock. If I have to wait for it to be shipped I might as well just go online & order it myself. Sometimes from the US, sometimes from Canada. Depends on price. Saves me another trip to town. Really, nobody stocks anything around here any more!

 

[Murminator]

I shop locally if the prices is within "reason" I like to walk out the door with in my hand. Couple weeks ago i went to the Dodge stealership to order a consul shifter and steering column shroud and related linkages and such to swap over from a column shifter to a floor shifter in my new 1 ton like it should have from the factory.....just sayin ....anywho after dropping 60G on truck they gave me a "discount" on parts totalled up to $632.xx said I'd think about it. Visited my friend google ordered the parts from a dealer in Florida shipped to my door $273.xx but when it showed up I had a $21 fee from Canada Post so i got everything for under half price which is NOT within "reason"....

 

[teeroy]

I've been having pretty good luck ordering from the US lately, even with shipping to up here in timbuktu it has saved me hundreds. ordered a power steering kit for zal's rhino after I got one for my commander, saved him almost 500 bucks over buying it locally. arrived via USPS in less than 10 days

 

[sledsarecool]

I am sick of contacting local shops about parts and them not returning calls, or taking weeks to respond back. I guess you dont want that thousand bucks I was going to spend on truck parts etc, and the fact they always have to order it in like moyiesledhead said!I will be doing all of my shopping on-line now and sending it to Montana Shipping Outlet and picking it up myself.

 

[250mark1]

All i'm getting at is you really should shop around canada more as youwill find just as good if not better pricing than the states and I will gladly say that with my truck shop on 90% of the items I will match or beat USA pricing![/QUOTE]

I wish more business had your attitude towards trying to be competitive with us pricing but most do not even try if they at least gave a little discount off of the list prices people would buy more from them instead of from some where in the USA a little less margin per item but they could make more money with the increase in volume of sales with the Internet it has become more of a global consumer driven market place

 

[ferniesnow]

Nothing personal ferniesnow....I don't know what business you are in.....but the last few words of your post bother me.....my comments are directed at business owners in general....

Business's expect us to "buy locally"...."support your community"......but, yet YOU BUSINESS OWNERS are some of the 1st ones to run accross the border when you need something for yourself! How about practicing what you preach!!

Case in point;
A guy I know is part owner of a very successful JD dealership in the Vegreville-Fort Saskatchewn area. Being the general sales mgr, he always preached "buy from your local dealer" and then when he needed a personal vehicle.....guess what?? Runs across the border because he could save a few bucks......sure helped the local GM dealer next door with that

So, when you "businessmen" don't follow the guidlines you ask us to follow and don't buy locally......why would I. And this goes much much farther than just trucks.

Business owners need to remember something. When I see your new truck parked in front of your store and I see a dealersticker on it from somewhere else and I know there are dealers in your own town or selling area, my attitude changes about how loyal I am to you. If you can't shop locally, don't bitch & moan when it happens to you.

HID power, I agree. The "pain" I hear is in general for all businesses. Some don't get it! They are in a cocoon and think everything is coming up rosy. Case in point, I bought an LED taillight in our area from a dealer and paid $91. The next time (1 year later) I bought the same part from an Alberta dealer and paid $67. The Alberta dealer sees the big picture! I have no idea what the price was in the USA. Regarding my business, all purchases are made in Canada and the more from Alberta, the better I feel. As I said before, I have to drive to Fernie or the Pass, Cranbrook or Lethbridge for even simple things like a box of screws, nails, washers, caulking or whatever and since I am driving that distance why not save some money (7% tax and $0.20/liter on fuel just to name a few). If I could buy it locally, I would, as it would save a lot of time. So, to each their own and life goes on. Each business is different. I agree with you about the local business leading the way but one has to know the whole picture. Maybe the JD dealer is living in a cocoon or just didn't like his experience the last time he bought a GM next door?

For a business to be successful, the customer has to feel good regarding his/her purchase and generally revolves around money. Others are including service in that good feeling. I for one, choose the Alberta side to doo most of my business/personal dealings because I get treated well and save money. For me it is a win-win situation.

 

[raceu4it]

Anyone want to buy a sled business, getting tired of "it's cheaper in the states" or i pay $100 and sell for more than $130 I'm ripping a guy off, i guess freight is free, phone free, heat & power is free, oh yea building costs and taxes, at least i can make $9 a hour. Can't get brown winter insurance, so i'll carry inventory till next winter, and hopefully it snows. Guess I'll have to get a oil and gas job, buy a jacked up diesel, rolling on 44's, with a tricked out sled, be a rockstar, then i can shop around for the best deal out there. You guys kill me!!! lol

 

[teeroy]

Anyone want to buy a sled business, getting tired of "it's cheaper in the states" or i pay $100 and sell for more than $130 I'm ripping a guy off, i guess freight is free, phone free, heat & power is free, oh yea building costs and taxes, at least i can make $9 a hour. Can't get brown winter insurance, so i'll carry inventory till next winter, and hopefully it snows. Guess I'll have to get a oil and gas job, buy a jacked up diesel, rolling on 44's, with a tricked out sled, be a rockstar, then i can shop around for the best deal out there. You guys kill me!!! lol

30 bucks on a hundred dollar part is liveable, I would pay it if you were my local dealer. but to ask for 300+ more on an item available in the US for 599 is ridiculous. I will not pay that kind of ransom just to keep you in business. if you guys have to pay that much for shipping on each item then I will sell all my lowbeds and start delivering sled/atv parts because they must be the ones with the lifted diesels....