Cross border shopping and supporting the local economy (2 Viewers)

[Enigma]

I'm all for it, supporting the local economy that is, until one does some simple math on tires for example:


For our example, I will use the winter tires I am looking at getting for our Sienna, 205 70r15 Michelin Xice Xi2.

Canadian Tire: $156 each, installed and out the door at about $895.96
Kal Tire: $156 each, installed and out the door at $820.96

Discount Tire in Washington state: $116 each, installed and out the door at $588.81

So that's a $232 savings for a short drive, and while down there might as well pick up some even cheaper groceries, and even cheaper gas.

I believe there is no duty on the tires, thank you free trade, but possibly might have to pay the BC sales tax on it as well, so that savings get chipped down a bit more, but still.

 

[Rugy]

No duty on tires provided that they are made in the States.
Regardless of origin of tire you will have to pay the Harper Sales Tax.
We have been purchasing tires from Tire Rack or from Discount Tire for over 26 years.
I am all for buying local but at a 20-30% difference is too big to pass up.

 

[AJAEbj42]

Silly question perhaps, but are you SURE they are the same tire being quoted?

Costco and other discount Michelins aren't always the same tire as those from your local tire shop.

But alas, Costco is selling the Xi-2's for $30 cheaper per tire in the US

http://tires2.costco.ca/SearchResults.aspx?SearchID=513e15ab-e71f-48ba-ad20-f49f1c65959c CDN

http://tires2.costco.com/SearchResults.aspx?SearchID=f44e81dc-2a26-4b82-8ae8-2eea93192783 USA

 

[Mud_Guppie]

that's some serious coin to be saved on tiny little tires.

If something isn't done with the cross border shopping and pricing issues it's going to be a ghost town around here. Any business selling retail and wholesale can't compete with the current rules. Anyone working for those businesses will be out of a job as well.
Businesses are failing or suffering, people loosing their jobs, and all the government can do is make it even easier to cross border shop.
I can't even buy them that cheap wholesale.
If I drive down and cross border shop and bring them up here myself legally as a business, I have to pay to go there (fee) and stop inside and pay on the way back. Mean while all the people who just bought the same items get across without paying a penny
ya, I'm tired of paying extra for everything
tired of loosing sales
tired of BS crossborder rules
I just priced out several thousand dollars worth of parts for my car with Canadian and US suppliers. It gave me such a headache I shut the computer off and left it for another day.

 

[Granite Grinder]

Might want to stay away from the Costco in Bellingham, the locals are PO'd with Canadian shoppers. The locals would like it better if the Canadians had their own Costco (in Bellingham) and Washingtonians had their own. Even been a few kerfuffles down there.

 

[ForealBoreal]

Might want to stay away from the Costco in Bellingham, the locals are PO'd with Canadian shoppers. The locals would like it better if the Canadians had their own Costco (in Bellingham) and Washingtonians had their own. Even been a few kerfuffles down there.

why though? fxxxing stupid if you ask me. Sure increased lines for them but its fxxxing costco, the places are always busy.

I have to buy new tires in the spring and am already planning a trip down south to pick some up.
When I am quoted 400 something a TIRE for the 255/85/16s I want in my home town, I told the guy to go fxxx his hat.
Even quoted just over 300 a tire I can save over $50 a tire and still get free mounting and balancing. Plus I don't have to pay duty because they are manufactured in the USA. Pay the tax, whatever.

Steve even knows the frustration that ARB has a monopoly going on in Canada. Canadian Dealers cannot even compete with U.S. pricing and if you live in a border town its sucks to say it but you would probably go down south if your tight on money like most people. I prefer to support local but sometimes I can't afford to do it.

I priced out suspension bushings and pins here in Canada from multiple locations. I contact a source in Australia. I can get it to my door for half the amount I was quoted by others . Brutal if you ask me.

 

[canucksafari]

The companies which brand or distribute the product have a lot to do with it. It isn't all just a tax thing. The TJM control arm bushings I got from Toytec are $49 while they sell for over $200 in Australia. Tells me that the distributor in Australia is making some serious coin. Retailers for ARB here are stuck with one distributor. I get stuff for my CPAP in the US for 40-66% less than it is sold here. The hitch is the manufacturing/branding company does not allow sales to Canada. All you need is a border mail box to get around it. My CPAP machine is $3000 from a local shop and $1200 from a online retailer in the US. The kicker is they aren't even made in the US.

That said, I still hate line-ups enough to not be a weekly US shopper. But if I am down there, I will take advantage of a decent deal. Cross border shopping is nothing new. Growing up in Princeton we would make trips every few months to Orville and stock up. It was as close as Penticton and a lot cheaper.

 

[neoworm]

If something isn't done with the cross border shopping and pricing issues it's going to be a ghost town around here. Any business selling retail and wholesale can't compete with the current rules. Anyone working for those businesses will be out of a job as well.
Businesses are failing or suffering, people loosing their jobs, and all the government can do is make it even easier to cross border shop

I hope I'm not reading your statement right Steve, but you sound a bit like a communist to me.

What do you want the feds to do? Prevent me from cross border shopping by making it illegal or taxing me so bad it's not worth it. What's next? No vacations abroad anymore either. Sounds alot like what my East german relatives used to describe. As far as I'm concerned I have a right to buy my s*** from whomever I please.

How about the Canadian retailers start pressuring the feds to help make them more competitive. Everytime I bring the issue up with Canadian retailers they blame the prices on the gov't. Why does a Toyota cabin air filter cost $50CDN at a dealer here and I can get the same one from Toyota across the border for $15???? I'm no economist so maybe one can explain it to me.

I feel for you Steve but the problem isn't with the consumers. Of course if that's what you meant then nevermind.

 

[Granite Grinder]

How about economy of scale, in Canada Toyota might sell 1500 cabin filters a year, in the USA they might sell 1500 cabin filters per month. We do all realize that there are 312,000,000 people in the US, compared to 35,000,000 in Canada. Really, no comparison.

 

[Vanny]

Maybe I am simplifying this too much but isn't it about supply and demand? 30 million people versus 300 million people.

I consider my time valuable so I can't justify going for a drive to Bellingham for groceries. But Point Roberts is only 10 minutes away so a 9pm trip with no line ups for cheap fuel is worth it, along with some milk, cheese and a bottle of wine.

 

[UCruiser]

The cabin air filter is probably made in China, and costs Toyota the same no matter where its sold... the reason it costs 3x more in Canada is mostly likely in large part due to Toyota's greed, and the fact that some people are willing to pay that much for it here, rather than seek the next best alternative...

The only thing that we can do as consumers to prevent this, is to seek the next best alternative...

 

[Granite Grinder]

Toyota Canada and Toyota USA are completely different entities, other than sharing the name Toyota they have nothing in common, they don't even honour warranties across the border. Agreed that the cost of production is the same, and for sure USA has a much closer relationship with China, again due to the fact that the US probably spends more money on Chinese goods in a day than Canada spends in a month. I am just making this up, but I'm sure there is some reality to it. I am also sure that greed has a lot to do with it as well... and collusion.
When I spoke to Howard at Richmond Toyota parts and showed him my quote from American Toyota for the same parts I was buying, his cost wasn't as good as my price with a discount from AT. In other words, I could sell him parts cheaper than he can buy them from Toyota Canada, and still make his margins.

 

[neoworm]

When I spoke to Howard at Richmond Toyota parts and showed him my quote from American Toyota for the same parts I was buying, his cost wasn't as good as my price with a discount from AT. In other words, I could sell him parts cheaper than he can buy them from Toyota Canada, and still make his margins.

I'm pretty sure I'm a simpleton so could you please explain to me what the population of Canada has to do with that?

I'm just talking out my ass here but my gut tells me that a big part of the problem is there is a lack of competition in Canada. Which I suppose could have something to do with the population difference you noted.

It seems to me that businesses in the states are much more willing to reduce their take etc to earn my buck than their Canadian counterparts. If that's due to Canadian retailers paying to much for goods in the first place then that needs to be dealt with by the retailers. It's not up to the consumer. The only power I have to change that is to buy my stuff in the states.

having worked in a segment of the retail industry for the last 5 years I've seen the mark-up on some of this stuff. I don't doubt it's hard to make a buck for small shops like EBI but let me tell you none of the "large" retailers are heading for the poor house anytime soon.

 

[Granite Grinder]

Like you neo, I'm just speaking out my ass. I suppose my point would be that Toyota Canada has to strike deals with the parts suppliers as well, and I doubt they buy the volume Toyota USA buys, so hence they are not going to get the same pricing i.e. volume discount. Same like Costco, they get entire product runs specifically for them with the guarantee of purchasing 100 (or whatever) box cars of them, you buy one and check the manufacturers website for the product and it doesn't come up, due to the fact the product was never released to any other supplier but Costco. I am in no way endorsing the gouging that happens in Canada, nor defending Toyota Canada... I personally think they are a vile company. I live 7 minutes from Blaine, needless to say I do a lot of X border shopping, but never on weekends.

 

[Vanny]

The average 2 person household income in Canada is around $76,600 and in the US it is around $50,000. They charge more in Canada because they can and most Canadians will pay.

 

[canucksafari]

It would be interesting to know what Toyota USA pays for the cabin filter versus Toyota Canada. Both are nothing more than distributors. I am sure Toyota USA gets better prices from Toyota but not that much to account for the difference between the US retail price and Canada retail price. Economy of scale argument doesn't always fly. I have been in small countries and find the coast of foreigner produced products much cheaper in small economies than big economies. I think it has more to do with what the businesses (manufacturer/brand, distributors, and retailers) think the market will bare. The product producer/brand owner tries to limit the consumers' ability to make free choices by giving exclusive rights and limits where retail can sell to. They are just looking out for number one - themselves. I have not guilty feelings at all when I find a way around that.

 

[neoworm]

Ya ask a retailer what his cost is on the product you're purchasing. See what kind of answer you get. LOL. There's a reason they don't want you to know.

When I ran my business do you think I told people how much money I was making. haha. As far as they knew I was barely scraping by.

 

[Fantom]

I don't agree with the difference in price but let's look at the global issue. In Thailand, a driver's door window, replaced and installed at the dealership, cost the equivalent of $30. Which, for that economy is the equivalent of what we would pay here (percentage wise to income), of around $300+.
In Poland things are fairly expensive for the wage earned, jump the border and go to a country running the Euro and things become very expensive. People are coming to Poland, same as we to the US, to buy products.
The ultimate reason for it? No clue, I just find it interesting how the companies make money when they sell a $300 product and service for $30.
I'm sure there's some government regulation on this, and between the income status of the local economy, taxes, corporation greed and likely factors we will never know, we have what we have. Other than making a large social statement, which usually means that small businesses will suffer, it's not likely to change. We (as society) would also have to get off our butts and do something about it, and let's face it, BC, and for that matter Canada, is not known for it's rebellious, stand up against the man attitude. Yes we quietly whine and bitch about the issues, occasionally circulate a petition that makes us feel better about it and gives us the illusion we have real democracy, but we are not going to take it to the streets and create a social uprising. So in reality, it is what it is, we'll vent about it on forums but until we actually stand up against the corporations and government that control these issues, it all means nothing.

 

[neoworm]

We (as society) would also have to get off our butts and do something about it

Ya, It's called cross border shopping and ordering from cheap retailers on the internet. Things will change when enough people start doing it.

So are you ready to start a Revolution Mat or are you just contributing to the whining?

 

[Fantom]

too much on my plate right now, but I'll happily take up the revolution in about a month, my schedule should be a little more free by then