Here's why things cost more in Canada...

[DecepticonusPrime]

Good article today, especially for toy collectors. I don't know about you guys, but I buy while in the US whenever I can.

It also mentions raising the limits for import duty, etc. Hopefully we'll see some good results in the future.

http://www.thestar.com/business/pers...ors_picks=true

Everything from books to hockey pants and cars could be cheaper if Ottawa eliminated many import tariffs or brought them into line with lower U.S. rates, a Senate committee says.

Higher tariffs are one of the key causes of a persistent Canada-U.S. price gap that has infuriated many consumers and led federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to call for the senate study.

In a landmark report issued Wednesday, the senate committee on national finance calls on Ottawa to review its tariff policies, noting that in some cases they protect industries that no longer exist.

“Hockey pants that are brought into Canada, manufactured in China, have an 18 per cent tariff. In the U.S., it’s 2.9 per cent. Why the difference? Maybe we were trying to protect a Canadian manufacturer years ago. But they’re all gone now. That one shocked us,” said Senator Joseph Day, who chaired the senate committee.

Flaherty said earlier in the day he was open to the idea of reviewing federal tariffs.

“We’ve been looking at our tariff situation carefully, particularly with respect to consumer goods in Canada to see what we could do,” he said after giving a speech to the Economic Club of Canada at noon.

“Tariffs are obviously sources of revenue, as well, and I have revenue concerns as finance minister, but as a general rule we would like to eliminate tariffs going forward.”

The Retail Council of Canada, which has borne the brunt of most consumers’ ire over the Canada-U.S. price gap, applauded the report’s findings, noting it had vindicated many of its claims.

“We’re hopeful the government will act on the senate recommendations. They have an opportunity in the upcoming budget which we understand will be in March,” said David Wilkes, the association’s senior vice-president.

Canadian consumers feel “ripped off,” the committee said in its report, called The Canada U.S. Price Gap . The report blamed everything from “country pricing” — the practice of some large multinational suppliers of charging Canadian retailers more than U.S. merchants — to higher fuel prices in Canada.

But the senators also put the onus on Canadian consumers to become more price conscious and get better at negotiating with retailers, noting smart phone applications and Internet sites are making that easier.

“It’s important for us to understand what the market will bear. The vendor is going to sell at the highest possible price he or she can get,” Day told a press conference after the report was released.

The study, which found no single factor explains all price discrepancies, made three other recommendations. They include:


Integrating Canada-U.S. safety standards to remove requirements for extra tests in Canada.
Raising the minimum threshold for goods that can be shipped duty free through the postal service. This would benefit consumers who shop online on U.S. sites for import into Canada, for example. Many consumers complain that duty, taxes and brokerage fees can nearly double the cost of ordering small items online. The current minimum is $20. Many countries are considering raising that to $100, the committee noted.

<bullet>Eliminating the 10 per cent markup that exclusive Canadian distributors can add to U.S. books imported into Canada.

Canadian consumers have been complaining about the price gap since 2007 when the once lowly Canadian dollar soared above parity with the U.S. greenback.

Goods in Canada were 24 per cent more expensive, on average, in 2007 and still 14 per cent higher last spring, said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, who has been informally tracking a basket of goods over the years.

The price gap was obvious to Canadians who shop online, travel in the U.S. or buy books that contain both price points on the cover, the senate committee noted.

Consumer outrage found a new focus when U.S. retailer J. Crew opened its first Canadian store and website last year, with sharply higher prices.

Flaherty responded last September by asking the senate committee to investigate the causes of the price gap.

Even some automobiles made in Canada are priced significantly higher here than in the U.S., according to the report called The Canada-US Price Gap.

A Toyota Rav4 made in Woodstock is cheaper in Hawaii than in Ontario, the report noted.

When the Canadian dollar is at par, consumers naturally wonder: “Are we being gouged?” the report asked.

Tariffs generated $3.6 billion in revenue for the federal government in 2010-2011, or about 1.5 per cent of total budget revenues, the committee noted.

Correction: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Toyota Rav4 is made in Cambridge, Ontario.

[FEZaid]

Our dollar is stronger than ever and doesn't seem it going down in value anytime soon. Its about time they fix this costing issue.

[UltraPrimal]

I too hope we see some fairer pricing soon. Why just this evening I was over on TFW and saw a thread for deals on video games. Well, one game I was interested in was on WalMart.com for $10! While on WalMart.ca it was listed at $25! Fuck you WalMart Canada!

[Knockout]

I shop in the US because I don't make enough money to buy stuff here in anything. -shrug-

[Robimus]

Call me crazy, I don't think we should lower tarrifs on imports from China. I'm fine paying the extra 10%-15% on stuff and watching for sales.

That said if something is made in the USA or Canada that is something they need to watch and correct if needed.

[Scrapper6]

Originally Posted by Robimus

Call me crazy, I don't think we should lower tarrifs on imports from China. I'm fine paying the extra 10%-15% on stuff and watching for sales.

That said if something is made in the USA or Canada that is something they need to watch and correct if needed.

Yes, wouldn't we have less and less sales if everything cost the same as it does in the US? I mean then we wouldn't be able to bargain hunt for stuff on sale at roughly 50% markdown compared to the pitiful US sales that bring it down 5-10% from MSRP.

On the flipside, I am not liking the fact that I have to pay more money for a small LEGO set by a good 20% mark-up at certain stores compared to what the people in the States get to pay. LEGO is already an expensive bloody toy and if the larger (IE 100$ or less sets) cost us the same as it did in the US people wouldn't be so annoyed by the costs and we might actually see more stock rotation for them too.

There's a big difference for something like... Modular Buildings as one example, where people in the states only have to pay around 150$ or so while we're paying premium prices on them at 200$ a piece for each set, 300$ in the case of the larger Modulars. That's a lot more of a markup for a country who's dollar has remained at or close to par since... What 2007?

Electronics, Cars, things of that nature, a lot of them are overpriced as well for one reason or another and people are refusing to pay it after a while. It's all well and good to wait for a sale Rob, but if you're shopping for a new T-V or a new car then paying a premium is definitely not something you're going to want to do. Especially the way our middle class incomes have been of late.

I hope they'll fix things right and not make more of a mess of it for us. Right now in Canada Deluxe Transformers are pretty much the same price as certain stores in the States are charging, because the US raised their prices. If they make a mess and suddenly we're being asked to pay MORE than the US for the same figure, well go suck an egg isn't strong enough of an insult to throw at them.

[Robimus]

I doubt we would be asked to pay more because of retail errors in the USA. We actually seem to be benefiting from their production errors quite often( SDCC exclusives showing up at Winners and such).

Big picture, stuff that is made in places like China(toys, TV's and such) need to be controlled and taxed to encourage and level the playing field for our local economies.

I'd rather they charge a bit more and improve distribution so we actually see everthing the USA does

[CobraCommander]

Marketplace just did a show on this...

http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episod...fidential.html

[DecepticonusPrime]

Originally Posted by Robimus

Big picture, stuff that is made in places like China(toys, TV's and such) need to be controlled and taxed to encourage and level the playing field for our local economies.

To an extent, but this kind of thing can encourage lazy business and lack of innovation on the part of local companies.

Just look at our cell phone plans, for one example. Absolutely horrible situation for consumers, all in the name of "protecting" Canadian companies.

[Window]

Originally Posted by DecepticonusPrime

To an extent, but this kind of thing can encourage lazy business and lack of innovation on the part of local companies.

Just look at our cell phone plans, for one example. Absolutely horrible situation for consumers, all in the name of "protecting" Canadian companies.

Protectionist economies, time and again, have shown to fail horribly.
It is when you strike that balance between protecting your own while encouraging foreign investment and allowing for a regulated but open business environment that you have a healthy economy.

US went far too open and unregulated and now look where they are at - Canada is the opposite.
Honestly Europe probably has the best example of a good balance.

/jealous of Euro internet and cell plans