Saturday, January 8, 2011

Cross Border Rip Off

I want to take a few minutes away from my role as a spot news videographer to highlight an injustice. Canada is a great country but our retailers are taking advantage of us on a daily basis. It’s like they are taking money right out of our wallets. It’s just not right.

With our dollar now closing above or near par with the greenback on a regular basis, we continue to be overcharged for our purchases, paying substantially more for the same products in Canada as they do in America. In Toronto we sit one hour away from the US border but our retailers refuse to lower prices and charge Canadians fairly.

We already pay significantly higher taxes north of the border. Some would argue that we are better serviced by our government in return. We are left with much less “after tax” income and we have our buying power further eroded by corporate greed at the retail level.

Here are just a few examples of how we continue to be gouged by retailers. I for one have decided to hold off on any big purchases and just shuffle off to Buffalo when I need anything big.





Gold's Gym 480 Treadmill

Sears.ca $599.00 (advertising $600 off until Jan 28 Reg. $1199.00)
http://www.sears.ca/product/golds-gym-trainer-480-treadmill-15chp/606-000097485-GGTL39608

Walmart.com $377.00
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Golds-Gym-480-Treadmill/11993389







1 comment:

  1. I can tell you from first hand experience as a retailer and importer with business in both Canada and the USA that there is no excuse for this 50% markup. I bring cargo to Canada from my USA locations all the time and I suck up the freight and customs charges. The only difference in cost should be the dollar and freight. Today if you want to do business in Canada then you suck it up. Most of this stuff does not even come from the USA it is made in China!

    Thanks for showing some excellent examples of how we are ripped off here and why you should not support companies that do this. Shop online or drive to Buffalo. I do it all the time.

    ReplyDelete