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Not really a "deal"....
Not really a "deal" but a very good FYI
As some of you have helped me here. I would like to thank you all for your advice.
BUT one of my non HOC buddies Arctic Snow Tester Dude pointed me to this site:
Prices are comparable to Monoprice and it's in Canada!!!!!!
Ordered on Saturday received it today!!
I should also mention that EXPRESS shipping was only $11 on a $100 order!
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But still not bad. Good to have a Canadian option for those rush orders (ships from TO).
And what the heck kind of name is "Arctic Snow Tester Dude", anyway?
I usually name them either by situation (ie Chinup Girl) or what they do for a living.
In this case this is what he does for a living. Well he is an environmental investigator. His last contract was going to the Arctic and testing the snow for whatever reason.
And
Probably not completely comparable but when you factor in shipping from the USA etc. Do the math. In this example the same order from Monoprice with shipping totalled $143 (USD) and of course the taxes etc will be added on top of that.
Just FYI for all of you, if you don't already know. But since we all live in Ottawa and the border is 35 mins South (seriously) I don't know why more people aren't using services like the Corporate Center (www.corp-center.com) to buy stuff. Seriously, I have had electronics, appliances, tires, tools, hockey equipment and all sorts of stuff shipped there then I just go across early one morning before work, pick it up and pay them either $4 U.S. or $6 U.S. per package (depends on its size). You get U.S. prices from the U.S. merchants (which rock!) and you get free shipping for almost all the vendors in the U.S.
For me it's a no-brainer. I have saved thousands.
but the Import tax/tariffs from our Custom when you coming back. Its depend on how long you've been gone (excemption for certain goods), what you bringing in, where it is manufactured (if NAFTA applied). You can find all this from CBSA website.
as stated (perhaps below, this thread is getting all messy) I pay every time I cross. I don't need them pulling apart my door panels because I tried to skip out on $5.98 in taxes. I would advise everyone trying this to be open and honest and factor CDN taxes into the purchase before they buy.
They don't remove your door panels because you skipped out on $5.98 in taxes... they remove your door panels because you spit on the customs officer when asked for your passport.
Just marry a nice North American Native girl.
:-)
I already knew about this.
fungster88 did it a couple of years with his tires.
I would do it too for big ticket items. But something this small hardly worth it. ie Price of gas etc.
If you filled up while you were down there, it would only add to the total.
ie 65 litres = $37.82 U.S., or it did last week when I picked up my new dishwasher.
But I was still able to order a full set of snow tires from the U.S. - that Crappy Tire said was "hard to get" (Michelin) - and have them delivered to my front door for less money and fast than Canadian Tire could obtain them.
The UPS Store in Ogdensburg apparently also does the scam you're talking about.
it's a not a scam! There is nothing even questionable about it. I have a right to shop anywhere I choose, even if that is cross-border, as long as I pay the duty and taxes associated with my purchases before bringing them back into Canada. And I do declare my purchases and pay the taxes and am still light years ahead of Canadian prices.
Secondly... the UPS store charges a monthly fee for a P.O. box that's around $60 per month. Which is waaaay to steep for me. I'll stick to paying between $4 and $6 per item.
Thirdly... I got tires this year at 1/4 the cost that Crappy tire said was their "Lowest Price of the Year!". Plus Walmart Ogdensburg put them on and rotated/balanced all four tires for $45.97. It's ridiculous.
And for a Dishwasher totally worth it.
Anyway, I got a pretty damn good deal and I am happy with them.
The Canadian dollar at or near par with the US dollar, that is half of what it costs here. I wonder what percentage of their gas price is taxes...
Well, here, 40 cents of every litre is tax. There it's just the 8 per cent state tax because they regulate the price that the refiners sell gas to the retailer for. So... you take away the 40 cents (HST is on top of that) and you end up with your 50%-ish discount.
There are ten times the number of Americans as there are of us in a country of comparable size. In order to maintain the infrastructure we travel on in this country, we need to pay more tax on our gas. I have no issue paying more for gas, but I admit I do plan my fill-ups just across the border when I am travelling to see Stormblade Jr.
if they gas companies weren't raking in record profits every quarter. There has to be balance. Taxes yes, profits yes, gouging the consumer NO. And furthermore, there are more Americans which means they need more infrastructure, which means more roads than we have here. They do pay for those roads, as is evident in the many and I mean MANY toll roads down there. But they also keep them far better maintained than we do. Still, something has to give. People can't be expected to shell out "the equivalent of a cup of coffee per week" for every new government initiative/service out there.
nt