Price of things - Canada vs USA - Rant

[SilvrT]

Just thought I'd rant a bit.

 

I have a 2003 F350. The side mirrors are pretty good and they extend for towing a trailer.

 

BUT ... 2008 & UP mirrors are FAR BETTER

 

So, I found that there are 2008 style replacement mirros available.

 

To buy them from amazon.ca (Canadian site) it would have cost me $425.96 CAD delivered to my home.

 

To buy them from amazon.com (US site) I can get them for $264.58 CAD delivered to my shipping location in Blaine (a short 20 min drive)

 

Why oh why do we Canucks have to pay so much more for these things in Canada is beyond me. One would think someone would clue into this because up here the motto is "buy Canadian and keep the money at home" ... if they put the damn prices of things at a point that would entice us to buy Canadian, more people would.

 

Rant off.

[MiCarl]

I'm sure a large part of it is the Value Added Tax, which we don't have in The States.

 

Gotta pay for the "free healthcare" somehow.

[camos]

To buy them from amazon.ca (Canadian site) it would have cost me $425.96 CAD delivered to my home.

 

To buy them from amazon.com (US site) I can get them for $264.58 CAD delivered to my shipping location in Blaine (a short 20 min drive)

 

Why oh why do we Canucks have to pay so much more for these things in Canada is beyond me. One would think someone would clue into this because up here the motto is "buy Canadian and keep the money at home" ... if they put the damn prices of things at a point that would entice us to buy Canadian, more people would.

 

Rant off.

Just a guess on my part but I think it has something to do with border fees being added to the price before the store's markup is calculated. In any case, those mirrors are probably not made locally.

 

You are right, it is a ridiculous situation. I often buy boots from LeatherUp.com for less than what they sell for on LeatherUp.ca. That's delivered after shipping and conversion are taken into consideration.

[Kretz]

I agree but I think it's a question of economics. The Canadian market just isn't important or big enough, I don't have figures but the US market has a LOT more consumers. I find many Canadian companies guilty of gouging, they really don't care if you come back again. I also, often buy things across the line, get them sent to my pickup point in Sumas & then go collect them. Most times if it's under a few hundred bucks the CBSA don't bother to collect duties, taxes etc. I would love to support local industries but can't afford to when it can cost twice the amount sometimes to buy here in Canada.

Too many Taxes, tarriffs etc here, hell's bells we don't even have free trade between our Provinces. How stupid is that?

Another annoying thing the way Canadian consumers are treated by manufacturers. Friend has a Kawi Vulcan the one with plastic oil pump gear that is prone to failure. Repair is a complete engine removal & split (to get at the gear) As I understand it from the forums, in the US these have been replaced by Kawasaki at no cost (a BIG repair) even when the bike was well out of warranty, here in Canada it's a case of "Go to hell, sort it yourself!"

No doubt about is we get the sh*tty end of the stick most of the time... But hey! We're Canadian :canada:we can take it!

[SilvrT]

I'm sure a large part of it is the Value Added Tax, which we don't have in The States.

 

Gotta pay for the "free healthcare" somehow.

 

 

Been down this road more than once but here I am again .... where you folks get the idea we Canucks have FREE healthcare is beyond me.

 

We pay into a government health care insurance plan. Our premiums are $150/month for the two of us. It covers most things but not all. Those it doesn't cover can be very expensive. Prescriptions are not covered unless a person's income is below a certain amount which is basically poverty.

 

Aside from that, many employers are enrolled with an extended health care provider for their employees. In many cases, the employeee pays the premium or a portion of it. This covers many of those things the government plan does not. For example, eye glasses, dentures, dental work, prescriptions, and much more. However, many of those things are not full coverage but rather, only a percentage. The individual pays out of pocket for what's not covered.

 

So, kindly get the facts straight .... we DO NOT have FREE health care!

 

[Kretz]

 

Been down this road more than once but here I am again .... where you folks get the idea we Canucks have FREE healthcare is beyond me.

 

We pay into a government health care insurance plan. Our premiums are $150/month for the two of us. It covers most things but not all. Those it doesn't cover can be very expensive. Prescriptions are not covered unless a person's income is below a certain amount which is basically poverty.

 

Aside from that, many employers are enrolled with an extended health care provider for their employees. In many cases, the employeee pays the premium or a portion of it. This covers many of those things the government plan does not. For example, eye glasses, dentures, dental work, prescriptions, and much more. However, many of those things are not full coverage but rather, only a percentage. The individual pays out of pocket for what's not covered.

 

So, kindly get the facts straight .... we DO NOT have FREE health care!

 

 

Calm.... Big Breaths.... lie back, Relax & just dream about your upcoming road trips.

Good Ole Christy says it's gonna be free though... & if you believe that I've got some swamp land in Florida for sale!

[SilvrT]

Calm.... Big Breaths.... lie back, Relax & just dream about your upcoming road trips.

Good Ole Christy says it's gonna be free though... & if you believe that I've got some swamp land in Florida for sale!

 

I think the saying is ... "I've got some ocean front property for sale in Utah ... or Colorado ... or Saskatchewan" LOL

 

Regardless, if she comes through with that, you can be sure one way or 'nuther.... it won't be FREE coz nuthin that comes from guvmint is ever gonna be free!

 

"guvmint" luv it! ... stole that from @camos LOL

[slowrollwv]

Can I come up to Canada and get my health insurance? I just got the paper work today from the company that has my insurance now but will loose next week. For my wife and I to be covered with the same insurance it will cost me $1,217 a month.

[djh3]

Aint nuttin free!!! Somebody is payin somewhere. We have millions on "free to them" health care here in the states. The do gooders have put these good for nothing gold brickers on the dole so long they dont know anything but working the system. Sorry for the rant We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread.

[SilvrT]

Can I come up to Canada and get my health insurance? I just got the paper work today from the company that has my insurance now but will loose next week. For my wife and I to be covered with the same insurance it will cost me $1,217 a month.

 

I'll be 70 in a month and a half. I'm still working and therefore I'm still covered under my employer's extended medical. That ends at age 70. I can't imagine what it would cost me to pay for that myself or even if I could get it. I know it will cost me just under $2,000 for 6 month's worth of travel insurance when we head south.

[Midrsv]

I can give you one reason some things cost more. It is your government mandate that all goods sold in Canada must have both English and French on the packaging and documentation. When I worked we created product and packaging designs for the US market with English only. We shipped the exact same products into Canada. But because of the language requirement we had to build a separate inventory for the Canadian market with multi-language products, packaging, driver CDs, and manuals. Maybe we build 200,000 units for the US market and 10,000 for Canada. So those 10,000 units have to carry all of the planning, translation, package design and driver development. Where those costs for the US market are spread across 200,000 units. And in some cases, where products are sourced from Asia it is cheaper to rework the units by repackaging the US units before shipping on to Canada. So you have the US base unit costs, you throw away the US box, documentation, and drivers, then add in the new bi-language items.

[saddlebum]

I can give you one reason some things cost more. It is your government mandate that all goods sold in Canada must have both English and French on the packaging and documentation. When I worked we created product and packaging designs for the US market with English only. We shipped the exact same products into Canada. But because of the language requirement we had to build a separate inventory for the Canadian market with multi-language products, packaging, driver CDs, and manuals. Maybe we build 200,000 units for the US market and 10,000 for Canada. So those 10,000 units have to carry all of the planning, translation, package design and driver development. Where those costs for the US market are spread across 200,000 units. And in some cases, where products are sourced from Asia it is cheaper to rework the units by repackaging the US units before shipping on to Canada. So you have the US base unit costs, you throw away the US box, documentation, and drivers, then add in the new bi-language items.

Yeh that has always been a sore spot with many Canucks. Problem is as long as there is a middle class there will be out of control government spending, and much of it for foolish whims. But once the middle class is gone/tapped out, who is going to support the country.

[SilvrT]

I can give you one reason some things cost more. It is your government mandate that all goods sold in Canada must have both English and French on the packaging and documentation. When I worked we created product and packaging designs for the US market with English only. We shipped the exact same products into Canada. But because of the language requirement we had to build a separate inventory for the Canadian market with multi-language products, packaging, driver CDs, and manuals. Maybe we build 200,000 units for the US market and 10,000 for Canada. So those 10,000 units have to carry all of the planning, translation, package design and driver development. Where those costs for the US market are spread across 200,000 units. And in some cases, where products are sourced from Asia it is cheaper to rework the units by repackaging the US units before shipping on to Canada. So you have the US base unit costs, you throw away the US box, documentation, and drivers, then add in the new bi-language items.

 

Good points and I can understand that.

 

However, many things purchased off amazon.ca (the Canadian site) are sourced and shipped from USA and there is no multi-language packaging. Take these mirrors I just ordered for example. While the price difference is equal to the currency exchange, the shipping cost ($190) on the Canadian site is ridiculous and this item is sold and shipped from the exact same location. For me to bring this item across the border I would pay appx $45 in taxes and duties. That leaves $145 for actual shipping cost (190-45). Somebody is ripping me off as there ain't no way it cost that much to ship those mirrors. Oh, BTW, had I ordered it from the Canadian site, there would have been taxes added which is another 12%.

[XV1100SE]

I've found that if items ship thru a courier (FedEx for example) I get nailed with brokerage fees. If possible, ship USPS and it just goes across the border. No brokerage fees, no additional taxes.

 

I can understand why there are still some companies that won't "international" ship to Canada - not worth the headache getting shipping clearances (filling out forms for cross border).

[Condor]

Just thought I'd rant a bit.

 

 

 

Why oh why do we Canucks have to pay so much more for these things in Canada is beyond me. One would think someone would clue into this because up here the motto is "buy Canadian and keep the money at home" ... if they put the damn prices of things at a point that would entice us to buy Canadian, more people would.

 

Rant off.

 

Yes , But you get free medical.....

[SilvrT]

Yes , But you get free medical.....

 

 

hahahaha ...

[camos]

So, kindly get the facts straight .... we DO NOT have FREE health care!

OK, so it's not free but it is certainly inexpensive. It doesn't cover everything but it covers enough so the average person can access medical services without taking out a mortgage. We in BC pay $75/month, compare that to the $600 slowrollwv mentioned. When the US healthcare was in the news, there were a number people interviewed who had to pay $2-4 k per month. Probably not average people but that does not happen here where we all pay the same. Our healthcare is a bargain, unlike the cost of goods coming into this country which really is a total rip off.

[Freebird]

SlowRollWV said 1217 per month for his wife and him. I recently checked on insurance for my wife and I. We are not high income and the fact is, unless your income is low enough that you qualify for some type of subsidy, your income really isn't a factor. The quote that I got for my wife and I, $5,000 deductible, came to just over $2,000.00 per month. That is a primary reason that I'm still working. I am 62 now and will have to wait until I'm 65 before I am eligible for Medicare. Along with that I will need some type of Medicare Supplement insurance to cover what needs to be covered but it will be much less than $2000.00 per month but still more than you pay.

[MiCarl]

Our healthcare is a bargain, unlike the cost of goods coming into this country which really is a total rip off.

 

My original point was the cost of your healthcare is heavily subsidized. The government gets the money for the subsidy through taxes. I believe you have some form of Value Added Tax, which is a type of sales tax levied at each stage of production rather than at the cash register. Politicians like the VAT because the tax is hidden in the retail price so you gripe about retailers ripping you off instead of griping about politicians taxing you.

 

When someone imports something the VAT (they probably call it something else on imports) is assessed at the border. That is a major part of the reason retail prices on most things (except health care) are higher in Canada than the U.S.

 

We have our own hidden taxes in the U.S., but that is a different subject.

[SilvrT]

My original point was the cost of your healthcare is heavily subsidized. The government gets the money for the subsidy through taxes. I believe you have some form of Value Added Tax, which is a type of sales tax levied at each stage of production rather than at the cash register. Politicians like the VAT because the tax is hidden in the retail price so you gripe about retailers ripping you off instead of griping about politicians taxing you.

 

When someone imports something the VAT (they probably call it something else on imports) is assessed at the border. That is a major part of the reason retail prices on most things (except health care) are higher in Canada than the U.S.

 

We have our own hidden taxes in the U.S., but that is a different subject.

 

It's my understanding that the Value Added Tax was replaced with the Goods And Services Tax. We did not "see" the VAT but we now see the GST as it is added to the sale of every item purchased in Canada regardless who buys it. Even things imported across the border (when declared) have GST added. Those lights I bought, for example ... when I submit my declaration the guvmint will charge my credit card for the duty fees plus the GST. FWIW the duty fees on those amount to 5%.

 

To speak more to your statement, those mirrors are $195.99 US on amazon.com. Converted to CAD they are $267.98. The Canadian amazon site lists them for $262.15 so it's apparent there is no "Value Added" tax on that.

 

However, I do agree that our health care is subsidized thru taxation somehow. Considering the condition of many of our highways I'd guess they've taken all the gas tax and funneled it into the health care subsidy LOL (just kidding)

[SilvrT]

OK, so it's not free but it is certainly inexpensive.

 

"inexpensive" is only applicable to what we pay out of pocket.

 

I am not disputing that and I suppose when one compares $2,000/month to $150/month, one could think of the latter being "free". But in reality what we pay out of pocket every month is only a small portion of what we really pay through taxation and I figure if we broke that down to an individual level we'd see that we're paying a LOT more per person through the taxes we pay that go to subsidize our health care system.

 

Point being .... our health care is by far "FREE".

[snyper316]

Heck I am trying to figure out why there is such a big gap in premiums on insurance. I thought we were being robbed on one person paying $230 a month. She had to go to Dr recently and we had to pay for the visit out of pocket. 68 for office visit and 15 for UA. And 12 for a 23 dollar prescription. So from now on I will be thinking of the people who may or may not make more money paying way way more then me. I about fell over when @Freebird said how much he paid. I think that is plumb ridicoulous, sad thing is it isn't the first time I have heard something like that!!

[Freebird]

OH...I am NOT paying that figure of over 2,000.00. Fortunately I have insurance through my employer. I pay some but nowhere near that. I'm not even sure the exact amount but I think that I pay about $500.00 per month for me and my family. I was just saying that if I were to quit my job right now and have to purchase my own insurance, that number over 2,000.00 was what I was quoted. There were some options that were cheaper, as low as about 1300.00 per month but with deductibles of 10,000 and more before they paid anything at all.

[snyper316]

OH...I am NOT paying that figure of over 2,000.00. Fortunately I have insurance through my employer. I pay some but nowhere near that. I'm not even sure the exact amount but I think that I pay about $500.00 per month for me and my family. I was just saying that if I were to quit my job right now and have to purchase my own insurance, that number over 2,000.00 was what I was quoted. There were some options that were cheaper, as low as about 1300.00 per month but with deductibles of 10,000 and more before they paid anything at all.

 

My bad, that is about the same as she would be paying if she insured us all. They also have a thing called in Network and out of Network. Her in Networks are Dr.s we have never heard of. The Dr she uses is completely out of the Network they take her insurance but her insurance refused to pay. Sorry I miss read what you were saying. But even still I know someone right now that is what they pay actually he pays closer to 4,000 for him and his wife. But they also own a gas station, Taxi service, He is city Council, and his wife also drives a bus in the afternoons.

[CaseyJ955]

I have healthcare coverage from a previous contract, will probably have it for many years to come but if I didnt the cost of it for my wife and I is cost prohibitive, when you count the deductible and copays we would have the better part of $8000 into doctor visits before the ACA even kicked in a penny. It's cheaper for me to go to the doctor and just pay outright for the services, even MRIs and such fall considerably cheaper than ACA at the end of the year.

 

Imagine how bad it would be if Obama wanted to make it free instead of just really super expensive/cost prohibitive for most working Americans. Freebirds story is one I have heard WAY to often, I see it coming myself. I know a lot more people that fly without because they got dropped or just cant afford it. One positive about the American healthcare system is that if you have the scratch you can still get quality healthcare, it is available to those who can afford it.