Canadian TF Sellers

[The7thParallel]

Well, let's say they order from the Asian sellers at $60 (incl. shipping) that we can.

Once it gets to them, they need to re-sell. To send it to someone else costs $10 in shipping. But they also need to make a profit, so they sell it for $79.99

Snail sells them for $89.99. Now we have a thirty dollar profit with no shipping. THAT sucks. But the others who sell online for $79.99 plus shipping... perhaps they could drop down a little. But then again, they're just keeping the pricing the same as everywhere else.

I'd much rather buy locally, but going to the source is cheaper long-run. It's a shame.

[protoform_ironhide]

When it comes to Takara, I buy from oversea nowadays. I only buy Hasbro in North America... I wouldn't buy Hasbro from overseas... Would you? Money comes first when it comes to making a purchase. I may purchase from Canadian Retailers on TF when I have no choice, but then there are just too many better choices.. Thanks to the internet.

[Nullray]

This is a very interesting topic. I find it strange that the power of the internet wants people to honour the purchasing power of local sellers vs online power house mass sellers. The age old discussion on why purchasing something in different countries and the varying rates has gone on for a long time. Look a the automotive industry. I can buy a GM Camaro in Canada built in Oshawa for the US Market for $28KCan and get the same vehicle in the US for $23USD. Thats why we can negotiate the cost of a vehicle because the margins are so great. But what if they are very narrow.

For instance. A guy can sell online from China for $63. The question is. Where did he get them? Are they off the back of a truck or out the back door? Are they bootleg? Either way he is local and can get the best possible deal and the power of the internet gives him a means to sell and undercut the international community.

I will give you an example

A case of six varies from supplier to supplier. Some people get better deals but the average is still pretty much the same.

To buy a single unit at $56USD and case of six for $52USD each. The case is $312USD
The current rate of exchange is 92c with exchange fees with roughly add up to 10%
So each item would be $62Can or $343.20Can per case

The international shipping on a case is roughly $24USD and if sent express even greater.

24USD (26.40Can) Each unit is $4.40Can

Some suppliers charge a 3% financial fee as well as state and provincial tax.
Then add the cost to rent a table at a venue
Then add the cost to transport items $1.25/L on average going far distances adds up.
Then add the potential cost of custom brokerage fees.
(If you dodge that bullet then great)

So if each unit cost $62 + $4.40 thats $66.40Can each
(excluding extra fees)

If you meet the guy in a local venue and tell him you can get it off their smart phone for $63. It has already cost him $66.40 to get into Canada. If he wants $80 and covers the tax for it that makes the profit margin $13.60Can. If you factor in the venue rent, the gas to transport and the fees applied at customs. That $13.60 profit dries up real quick.

So I guess my question in the end is. Most people are willing to negotiate and give discounts to fellow collectors out of the love of collecting even though the margins are so low. But to lowball local small guy vendors IMO is crazy. It is just a case of inevitable bankruptcy. Why would you expect them to be able to compete with their local overseas markets that isn't fair? The margins for profit are already so low.

The local toy supplier is usually a collector like everyone else and fuels his small profits to get onto the next best thing. If people don't support their local guys. When you get to shows you will find less and less vendors will be coming out as time goes on. Its a great community and am glad to be apart of it.

[Knockout]

You can't compare Canadian sellers to world sellers, there alot of differences here that makes us more expensive. And though it's not fair, it's a way of life. You either have to suck it up and deal or shop elsewhere.

[Goaliebot]

I find Canadian/US sellers less stressful to buy from, so that's a plus for me.

[Slayback]

Well -this is going to add more stress... paypal -even though the CDN was actually up today - exchanged at .89 cents.

[Bruticus]

Originally Posted by Slayback

Shipping, Taxes and a lot of other fair arguments.

I agree with this. Shipping and Taxes are what kills small retailers like us and drives prices through the roof. We have to take a hit on our profit line to be somewhat close to the big retailers. We need to realize, as Slayback stated, that if you get one or two of an item, you are not likely to get dinged, but if we order 3-4 cases of something or we try to make an order with multiple cases of items to reduce shipping costs, we get dinged every time.

Originally Posted by joshimus

I'd rather pay more and support the Canadian market than pay less to support other countries... To ship Greyskull within the US is 50.00. To ship to canada, 140.00 + exchange rate + whatever customs hits us with. So, HOW can a Canadian retailer be competitive with the US on this? They can't. There's always more to the story than a simple "Well I will just buy elsewhere because Canada isn't competitive".

Thanks for your support with this, Joshimus. We try to be competitive, but it's a losing battle with all the fees; taxes, etc. that we get dinged with. I bet people did not know that US Retailers DON'T PAY DUTY on shipments of toys from China. US has it classified as a duty-free... so there is why they can sell it cheaper. Why doesn't Canada? We do, so instead they make an estimated value of the shipment and drop taxes and handling fees on the shipments.

Originally Posted by Wheeljack Off

If you can import 1 for 60 bucks or so, someplace that is buying 100 should be able to do much, much better.
They be need to lower their margins on some of this stuff or lose the business entirely.

I agree with part of this statement..."someplace that is buying 100 should be able to do much, much better." Problem is, aside from A3U (who deals in US Dollars) and maybe Automation, I don't know of ANY Canadian companies that is buying 100 units of one item to support the big discounts... we can't afford to. Because we can't buy in massive quantity (a third-party company told me I needed to buy 210 units of a figure (35 cases) before I would get competitive pricing), we don't get anywhere near the great discounts we need to make Canadian pricing near US pricing.

Originally Posted by OLDMR

That guy was selling MP red alert for $140 at TFCON. When everyone else was selling at $100.

If Canadian resellers are going to treat Canadian collectors like that, building relationships doesn't make any sense because the loyalty only seems to go one way.

There is no shame in the Asian route. Just the Canadian scalpers.

THIS I take offense to. We had Red Alert for 125/135 with the coin and the last one we sold during our Boxing Week sale. They were part of the original run and they were genuine, not the stupid KOs. Very few people had Reds at TFCon... it was a plethora of Lambors and Tiger Tracks.

I wish that those people who are calling small retailers "Canadian Scalpers" and insulting many small guys on the boards here that do this to assist our fellow Collectors would understand what it is really like to operate a business in Canada. We are not scalpers. There are more costs involved than just buying the figures or renting tables. Slayback, Nullray, ourselves, and there are several others that do this for the love of it, but we need to cover all our costs plus make enough to afford to keep getting the new stuff that you all ask for.

I know that there was a Dealer that had rock-bottom pricing (which he was losing money on) at TFCon that we all get compared to, but he admitted that had a strong motive... He was trying to flush TFSource out from ever returning to TFCon, to which he failed. He also sells more than just TFs, so he had other stock to make up for the loss.

I apologize for the rant... Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but Canadian retailers can never match the price of companies that house their warehouses within a 10 block radius of Takara's.

[Bruticus]

Originally Posted by Slayback

Well -this is going to add more stress... paypal -even though the CDN was actually up today - exchanged at .89 cents.

Paypal takes an additional 2.5 cents per dollar when you pay in Canadian and they have to exchange it over. They usually round in their favor too, so it can be more.

[Buhawi]

Originally Posted by Goaliebot

I find Canadian/US sellers less stressful to buy from, so that's a plus for me.

I chose Automaton for turdparty products for that same exact reason. That and the toy is delivered to my door the next day.

[Johnstewling]

Originally Posted by Bruticus

I agree with this. Shipping and Taxes are what kills small retailers like us and drives prices through the roof. We have to take a hit on our profit line to be somewhat close to the big retailers. We need to realize, as Slayback stated, that if you get one or two of an item, you are not likely to get dinged, but if we order 3-4 cases of something or we try to make an order with multiple cases of items to reduce shipping costs, we get dinged every time.



Thanks for your support with this, Joshimus. We try to be competitive, but it's a losing battle with all the fees; taxes, etc. that we get dinged with. I bet people did not know that US Retailers DON'T PAY DUTY on shipments of toys from China. US has it classified as a duty-free... so there is why they can sell it cheaper. Why doesn't Canada? We do, so instead they make an estimated value of the shipment and drop taxes and handling fees on the shipments.



I agree with part of this statement..."someplace that is buying 100 should be able to do much, much better." Problem is, aside from A3U (who deals in US Dollars) and maybe Automation, I don't know of ANY Canadian companies that is buying 100 units of one item to support the big discounts... we can't afford to. Because we can't buy in massive quantity (a third-party company told me I needed to buy 210 units of a figure (35 cases) before I would get competitive pricing), we don't get anywhere near the great discounts we need to make Canadian pricing near US pricing.



THIS I take offense to. We had Red Alert for 125/135 with the coin and the last one we sold during our Boxing Week sale. They were part of the original run and they were genuine, not the stupid KOs. Very few people had Reds at TFCon... it was a plethora of Lambors and Tiger Tracks.

I wish that those people who are calling small retailers "Canadian Scalpers" and insulting many small guys on the boards here that do this to assist our fellow Collectors would understand what it is really like to operate a business in Canada. We are not scalpers. There are more costs involved than just buying the figures or renting tables. Slayback, Nullray, ourselves, and there are several others that do this for the love of it, but we need to cover all our costs plus make enough to afford to keep getting the new stuff that you all ask for.

I know that there was a Dealer that had rock-bottom pricing (which he was losing money on) at TFCon that we all get compared to, but he admitted that had a strong motive... He was trying to flush TFSource out from ever returning to TFCon, to which he failed. He also sells more than just TFs, so he had other stock to make up for the loss.

I apologize for the rant... Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but Canadian retailers can never match the price of companies that house their warehouses within a 10 block radius of Takara's.

This is all well and good and I agree with you, but to ask you one question, why is your pricing so far above that of Automation or Ages 3 and Up or Kool Toys?

For example, your MP SoundBlaster is almost 30 dollars more to preorder than it is at Automation. How can you try to compete with someone offering it in the same country for that much less?

Also, you guys are selling MP Sideswipe for 125.00 bucks and he's going to be available in another month or so for under 100 everywhere?

Just curious how this all works.