Sneaky move Letbridge AC Dealer

kidder17

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I hope some day Amazon moves into the sled parts game......I ordered on the 5th, five little Honeywell Thermostats(winterwatchmans). I paid an extra $23 for Amazons Priority shipping.( which covers everything....freight costs, duty, etc.). The order shipped on UPS. It left the Amazon shipping facility in Las Vegas the same day I ordered it(wed. 5th). I got home today, the 6th, after work and UPS had delivered the package already and it was sitting at my door step at 5 pm today. Blew me away( and yes I hate UPS too!)

So for shits and giggles tonight I traced the package, it left LV to Phoniex, then to Kentucky, then to Winnipeg, then to Saskatoon all in the course of Wednesday afternoon to my door step at 5pm today.



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0neoldfart

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I try to shop on this side of the border as much as possible, but sometime it isn't feasable. I believe in supporting your local economy, and good people - not a fan of the "Wal Mart" or "Superstore" dealerships at all - the "Mom & Pop" or family run stores will generally provide the best after sales support. I also like the fact that I can walk into a smaller shop, be recognized, and greeted by name - then I don't simply feel like another wallet with legs. That being said, I don't feel it is reasonable to have my dealer carry every item I could possibly break on my sled, so I carry a selection of common parts that could cut a sled trip short (a-arms as an example). Every manufacturer has rules regarding territorial boundaries, and I do believe most of it stems from our government. The dealers north of the border pay taxes, provide jobs to Canadian citizens (who in turn pay taxes). Honestly, if everyone bought everything from the U.S. you would find our economy in worse shape then it already is, and a higher unemployment rate, too. Just food for thought...
 

tukernater

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I found it hard as a Dealer dealing with the, I'm buying my sled from the states and I can buy that from e-bay. Then have the same guy come in and want a donations or sponsors .It's your local business that help with ALL your door prices and or sponsor classes at races NOT the states .Cheers
 
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HRT Offroad

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Soooooooooo........why can you buy BRP products cheaper in the USA than Canada? Don't expect you to answer it Jan, you're not a BRP dealer. Just something that's never made sense to me. :confused:

I would suspect that there are two major contributors to this; 1) volume - the US has 10 times the population of Canada. Just like anything, volume speaks to price. 2) Even though the US economy is in the sh!tter and their dollar has been lesser in value during the past few years- multi-nationals still base pricing/trade in USD and the past trends of it being worthy. A good portion of world trade is based in USD. Big companies can not justify changing prices mid season, so they base pricing on a semi-worst case forecast for that year. Cross currency business is no different than playing the stock market...it becomes a share averaging game. Sometimes you win...and sometimes you lose, and BIG companies don't like to lose!! In the last 8 weeks our dollar has lost nearly 12 points to the USD - it just goes to show how quickly things can change.
 

HRT Offroad

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Here's another interesting piece of info we learned on recent trip to California; A top shelf automotive mechanic in California makes approximately $20/hr...the same up here is close to $40/hr. If everyone shopped state side - the Canadian's wage would drop to $15!
Be happy you live in Canada - and try to support Canadian business whenever possible...We have a really GREAT country, with lots of benefits attached!!
 

retiredpop

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CBC's Marketplace recently took a look into this issue. A few eye openers.

Bottom line seems to be that we pay more because we will and do not complain about it. Manufacturers blame retailers and retailers blame manufacturers.

When our dollar was in the toilet a few years ago at 70 cents we got conditioned to the price difference. When our dollar went to par did we see a corresponding drop in prices? I sure didn't notice one.
 

HRT Offroad

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CBC's Marketplace recently took a look into this issue. A few eye openers.

Interesting stuff for sure, but one must keep in mind that media is just another form of politics and they put whatever spin on it that they so desire.
 

imdoo'n

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pretty hard to spin anything while comaparing prices, may have been even more interesting comparing prices in vancouver instead of toronto. i'm thinking they are finding what others on this site have been saying for years. and no it is not due to taxes or shipping etc. ever check the price of a liter of gas accross the border, from medicine hat to great falls ,vancouver to seatle, windsor to detroit. we are getting screwed.
 

imdoo'n

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i can see a price differnce due to shipping costs and distances involved. tariffs and industry ptotectionism can be involved, but i don't think made in Canada would be affected.

skidoo is an example, the last time i bought a sled, the us price was better than $3000 difference. can't be due to shipping costs, or taxes or tarrifs. man this crap just makes me irrate.
 

trench

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As a born and raised Albertan I have no desire to support a product produced in Quebec, but that's just my political bias. The fact that they charge more locally than in a foreign market totally seals the deal for me!
 
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Trax 2 Treadz

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i can see a price differnce due to shipping costs and distances involved. tariffs and industry ptotectionism can be involved, but i don't think made in Canada would be affected.

skidoo is an example, the last time i bought a sled, the us price was better than $3000 difference. can't be due to shipping costs, or taxes or tarrifs. man this crap just makes me irrate.


You know what Larry? I can't think about this stuff either because it drives me bat ch!t crazy. When I deal with this crap every day all day I want to lose my mind sometimes. Ask my family there are days that I do!!! I can't explain some of the stupid ch!t our government makes us small businesses do. I don't play games with them, I fill out my forms, do my paper work, pay my taxes and duties and all the other stupid ch!t they dream up and still am behind the 8 ball.

But what do you do eh? Lifestyles of the rich and famous and all the other lies.......

Cheers man!!!

The love of my life and I are off to Fernie this weekend without any kids to take the field portion of our AST 1 course!!!!! OHHHHHH how romantic!!!!

Jan
 

tukernater

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As a born and raised Albertan I won't buy a Quebec built product, but that's just my political bias. The fact that they charge more locally than in a foreign market totally seals the deal for me!
I'm guessing you pay more for any Canadian product than are American neighbors,but still your right to choose.Cheers
 

Trukker

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Here's another interesting piece of info we learned on recent trip to California; A top shelf automotive mechanic in California makes approximately $20/hr...the same up here is close to $40/hr. If everyone shopped state side - the Canadian's wage would drop to $15!
Be happy you live in Canada - and try to support Canadian business whenever possible...We have a really GREAT country, with lots of benefits attached!!
It's the same when I'm pricing freight out of the U.S and competing with American carriers ............... A truck down there may cost 30 per cent less as well as wages cost of living , housing etc . I can't compete with American carriers for the most part as they have a lot cheaper rates but there cost of doing business is less .
 

imdoo'n

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You know what Larry? I can't think about this stuff either because it drives me bat ch!t crazy. When I deal with this crap every day all day I want to lose my mind sometimes. Ask my family there are days that I do!!! I can't explain some of the stupid ch!t our government makes us small businesses do. I don't play games with them, I fill out my forms, do my paper work, pay my taxes and duties and all the other stupid ch!t they dream up and still am behind the 8 ball.

But what do you do eh? Lifestyles of the rich and famous and all the other lies.......

Cheers man!!!

The love of my life and I are off to Fernie this weekend without any kids to take the field portion of our AST 1 course!!!!! OHHHHHH how romantic!!!!

Jan

yes i understand exactly what you have posted from other threads, it just irks me that something made here sells in the states at 20-30 % less than here. just doesn"t make any sense to me. i realize everyone needs to make a living, and that is what life is all about, i can understand where you and ken are coming from, usually not a dealer issue , more manufacturer and government bureaucracy than anything, it is just so damn frustrating. i need to go find a cool drink and look at something else. hey have a great weekend.
 
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snopro

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yes i understand exactly what you have posted from other threads, it just irks me that something made here sells in the states at 20-30 % less than here. just doesn"t make any sense to me. i realize everyone needs to make a living, and that is what life is all about, i can understand where you and ken are coming from, usually not a dealer issue , more manufacturer and government bureaucracy than anything, it is just so damn frustrating. i need to go find a cool drink and look at something else. hey have a great weekend.
Yes it is frustrating for the dealers. As you mentioned in an earlier post a similar sled was $3000 less than in Canada. Its hard to sell to someone that is going to buy US as there is no $3000 markup in new sleds. You are still out to lunch if you sold it at bare bones cost. You just have to grin and bear it. Thankfully the manufacturers protect the dealers on warranty issues. That is the only card we can play with the consumer. I'm glad to be out of this rat race. Lol.
 
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