Why such a huge price difference?

[Rayne]

So I started to price a few things out online and noticed after adding quite a few items that I was shopping on the American site. So I quickly change over to the Canadian site and find out that everything is quite a bit more expensive over here. Now being a Canadian this is nothing new since our currency is usually below the US greenback but there seems to be a massive mark-up once it crosses the border. Like 20-40% more expensive in some cases! Our dollar has been close to parity for quite a while now so why are we getting hosed so bad?

Example 1 - Canada vs USA
Example 2 - Canada vs USA
Example 3 - Canada vs USA

[tammam]

My answer: Don't buy from Big al's (execpt on boxing day). mops.ca seems to have pretty good prices.

[WCL]

I don't see Eheim on mops.ca

[Baos]

I heard it has something to do with the Free Trade Agreement. I also heard that it's only good if you live in USA

[Acipenser]

Because they can, Canadians are trained from birth to bend over and take it up the ass ! and apoligize for not get bent over fast enough !

[eternity302]

Because they can, Canadians are trained from birth to bend over and take it up the ass ! and apoligize for not get bent over fast enough !

HAHAHA!!! LOL!

Everything is taxes after taxes after taxes!

Lets look at it this way, from the mining of metal pieces to the production to the transport to the warehouse to the retailer... everything has taxes! And so yes, it adds up, but to add up ridiculously... WELCOME TO CANADA!

BC in general has the most ridiculous tax! But can't complain, we do live in a great area and have awesome health care!

[Mferko]

the worst is when they tax the same thing over and over and over again, ie now under HST private car sales even get taxed. the avg car has about 4 owners and it will be taxed every time it changes hands.

[eternity302]

You think that's ridiculous? I only started driving 10 years ago... it wuz $0.344/litre when I first had to gas up my car... and i wuz like OMG! look at it 10 years later!

And look at food? OMG! You kidding me? with the HST, it's now double the taxes which we were paying for! I guess the government dun want us to eat!

[neven]

funny thing is the average household tax burden is higher in the states than here, you just don't feel it on purchases as much as the states do.

But most of the links you posted showed a discount, which was promotional, so the cost difference wasn't actually that much

[Mferko]

funny thing is the average household tax burden is higher in the states than here, you just don't feel it on purchases as much as the states do.

But most of the links you posted showed a discount, which was promotional, so the cost difference wasn't actually that much

i know their income tax is lower, do they have some kind of sales tax i dont know about?