O Canada! → Canadian → Canadian Chat > [Serious] Should consumer border limits be abolished?

Re: [Serious] Should consumer border limits be abolished?

same BS eco fee in Quebec btw. Actually I think it's $46 for a tv 29" or larger here in Quebec.

And what do they do exactly? Run a data entry warranty card place? Call in center? Stock extra pieces that are not fabricated in Canada?
Low wage jobs for low wage populace who produce nothing but a low value service, but keep up the farcical "Canadian jobs first" bit, it gets funnier the longer it occurs.
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~ Project Hope ~

Groceries are one thing I haven't gotten around to shopping in the states for (yet).
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~ Project Hope ~

I'm thinking no, but it would be nice if they were increased and they made some kind of less than 24 hours type limit.

My argument is mostly in regards to the tax. It usually GST/PST or HST that you have to pay when crossing the border. There is duty on some items but for the most part what you are paying is your federal/provincial sales tax. I don't buy at mom & pop stores too often. Bigger chains are usually cheaper. Does best buy really give a crap if I buy from Best Buy USA or Best Buy Canada. Does Wal-Mart care if I buy from their US or Canadian store? Do I really hurt their bottom line? Probably not. If the government removed limits it would continue to impact their ability to earn the sales tax. It could shift the burden of sales from those who live close to the border and have the means to cross border shop to those who don't. That's what my gripe would be. Certain parts of the population would be able to avoid sales tax and others wouldn't.

As for higher prices in Canada. I don't blame it all on the retailers. When online shopping first started at the end of the 90s there were almost no barriers. Then slowly over the the past 10-15 years you could see manufactuers protecting their pricing zones. Warranties stopped being valid internationally (ie if buy something in the US the warrantee is invalid in Canada), import fee deposits etc...

Manufacturers set different prices in different regions (probably setting them to what the market will bear). The price of a good will tend to be different in the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. Some of it is due to local duties and transportation fees, but much of it is to maximize profit. Canadians are willing to pay this much for an item, and Americans this much etc... They realize they can make bigger profits by using different prices in different regions. Which means the cost for products is also more expensive for Canadian Retailers.

Conclusion: It would be nice to get rid of geographical pricing but i'm not sure the tax consequence would be worth it.

nothing ironic about it all...as i said, it really depends on the company.

but you mentioned a few larger ones yourself, Panasonic for example.

these companies all have head offices here (Mississauga and i believe St Laurent for Panasonic, depending on the division you work in)...they have executive staff, marketing, sales and service at various levels (executive, directors, managers, etc)...many also likely have a decent chunk of junior staff comprised of co-op students and recent grads...some may also have warehousing for distribution, so there are all those jobs associated with them as well...factor in cleaning staff, building maintenance, possibly even food service (depending how large their main office is), it is quite possible there may be several hundred people working in the head office, with field staff (regional managers, outside sales, etc) adding several hundred more (or thousand, again, depending on the company).

having worked in the electronics industry before, and being to a few HQ for some of these companies, i can assure you their presence isn't limited to 3 people making minimum wage in some run down corner office in Scarlem.

either way, i'm not here to do your homework for you...if you want to learn about what these companies do, how they contribute to our economy in the many levels they do (municipal, provincial and federal), as well as investment in the community through various charities and organizations, i encourage you to do so.
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People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

- George Orwell

here is Panasonic Canada's Head Office in Mississauga.

»maps.google.ca/maps?q=5776+Amble···,,0,0.42

over 600 people work out of this office alone.
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People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

- George Orwell

Well, I've tried to find info on the types of jobs that they have here in QC, and ON, to no avail.
I have found their F/S, and as I suspected, all profit/loss rolls into their head office in Japan, not Canada.
As a consumer, I will still make my purchases where my dollar goes further, which is lucky for some ON retailer who delivers to QC, and does not have a RevQc tax #.
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~ Project Hope ~

here is a company here in london... near the airport

»www.startech.com/Networking-IO/A···EX100SFP

in the USA it is 133USD
yet in canada it is 138CDN

Why?

yes they are converting the price with exchange but why shouldn't it be the same?

The main reason for the higher prices in Canada, is the higher minimum wage here, at least 30% higher than the U.S. Wages (SG&A) are the largest single line item expense for employers.

Unless that changes, products sold for retail in Canada will never match USA prices. It's always amusing to hear people complaining about higher gas and other prices in Canada, they're thinking only of their personal cost, and not the societal benefit.
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Logic requires one to deal with decisions that one's ego will not permit.
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing - Edmund Burke.