I should start by saying that it’s not like we don’t have great Canadian brands. I love shopping with Canadian home grown businesses. There’s no denying, however, that there are some great US brands out there that we get flooded with advertising for, and then can’t access which is frustrating.
More frustration ensues when these companies either open their websites to Canadian Shoppers or move their stores into Canadian malls only to slap us in the face with higher prices than they charge their US customers.
Huh??
I haven’t been living under a rock and I know that the Canadian dollar has been on par, or close to, the US dollar for some time now. Actually, I cashed a US check at the bank the other day and got back less in Canadian funds (how do like that?!) So, how is it that US companies can get away with charging Canadians more?
What I’ve learned is that they now blame taxes and duties as part of this price increase (see the J.Crew fiasaco here) but that only explains part of it. Surely it costs money to do business in the US, and there’s taxes in the US too so…excuse the pun…I don’t buy it.
In the case of one lingerie store, I have two options. I can either Shop here in Canada and get 5 items for $30 in the store, or Shop on the website and get 5 items for $26 but then have to pay shipping. ARGH! Little things like this drive me crazy. And that’s just a few dollars. Many items can be sometimes more than 50% more in Canada than in the US. FOR THE SAME ITEM.
I’m really really excited to see what SHOP.CA brings to the table…uh…laptop…in terms of bringing in US brands that until now have been unattainable to us in Canada without paying a ridiculous fee! SHOP.CA is a company founded BY CANADIANS with an understanding of the issues Canadians encounter when Shopping. This is huge, and if you’ve ever encountered one of those ridiculous pricing discrepancies between US and Canadian products, I know you’re going to be just as excited as I am!
Have you signed up with SHOP.CA yet? Next month you will be able to Shop to your heart’s content but right now they’re still in the sign-up stage and as one of the SHOP.CA Super Shoppers, it’s my job to make sure you’re aware of this awesome new site AND sign up ahead of time to score the BEST REWARDS.
Sign Up Now and Receive:
– $10 SHOP.CA Rewards on your first purchase of $100 or more when the site launches
– 5x the Rewards for all your purchases until the end of 2012! The regular rewards amount is 0.5% but by signing up now, you will receive 2.5% Rewards until the end of the year!
SHOP.CA Offers:
– 26 PRODUCT CATEGORIES filled with millions of the world’s leading brands
– clear pricing with NO HIDDEN FEES
– FREE SHIPPING when you spend $40 or more
– FREE RETURNS
– LOYALTY PROGRAM that can save you 2.5% on every purchase starting right now
– REWARDS for being social and sharing, posting reviews, and building your profile
Are you ready to actually get value for your Canadian dollar when shopping for US brands (and ALL brands, actually)? Me too! Sign up today and get ready for a SHOPPING REVOLUTION in Canada!
Disclosure: I am part of the SHOP.CA Super Shopper program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog, as always, are my own.
I’ve been sick of this for a long time. They use the old excuse of the U.S. population being so much bigger than ours so they can offer greater sales. I’m excited for Shop.ca to come to Canada. Gives Canadians more incentive to keep our money in our country.
UGH! I am totally with you! I just tried to order 3 pairs of socks…. and the shipping rate was 20 bucks- no thanks!
agreed! any time we go to order anything and think its a deal, we find out the deal wasn’t really that good after all after shipping! Excited for Shop.ca!!
yay this is great!
This is awesome but TROUBLE for my pocketbook! ha ha
my jaw drops every time i see the US price and the Canadian price on books, etc. i don’t know how much the US stores charge up there, but that doesn’t seem fair at all 🙁 but it’s nice to know that some people are trying to help it out.
I had no idea about this! I’m from the US (Georgia) and never really paid attention. Doesn’t seem fair!
I’m already a member and can’t wait to shop with them! I’ve found deals online and then found that shipping costs were outrageous!! Super frustrating!
thanks
great! shipping often makes me decide against ordering something i love – if shipping is as much or more than the item i’m buying – no way.
I love that they have free shipping on orders over $40…it can be very easy to spend that amount. It would be nice to pay the same amount for items from the US…seeing as our dollar is worth at least the same if not more than their dollar now. Thanks for the info.
I can’t wait for them to open their virtual doors. I think this will make online shopping so much better for Canadians
shop.ca is coming and hopefully it would be better
I would love to win your Evenflo Carseat giveaway!!
I love the free shipping over $40!
nathania.a at gmail dot com
Thanks for the info!!! I didn’t know about this!!
I feel your pain. You shouldn’t have to pay more but at least you don’t have to pay what Hawaii pays for prodycts. Could you imagine paying over $7 for a gallon of milk. Yes you live in Hawaii but still!
I just signed up. I’m hoping I’ll be able to find some bedding for my son!! I want to paint his room but I need the bedding first and can’t find any bedding for him that I like. Besides from the pottery barn kids but that is way to much for my budget. 🙁
I like that I will finally be able to purchase some of the things that I see on line. Hurray!
It’s about time something like shop.ca came to Canada! Very well needed!
Well, lets see… I never shop online because I can never get a good enough deal. But even a great deal at the stores is a far cry for what US has to offer. Honestly, I don’t see how one company is going to be able to change this situation, but I’ll sure give them a chance and check them out.
I am so looking forward to this, online shopping is just sooooo much easier with little kids at home:)
I do not like ordering anything from the states the shipping can be outrageous… This site looks fantastic
Wow! This sounds like such a great opportunity for us Canadian shoppers to get in on some of the bargains our American neighbours are able to get! I’m looking forward to checking it out
Looking forward to order something online. Maybe I’ll find some bargains!
looks like this is going to be GREAT!
Uh oh! I think Im gonna go broke now that Shop.ca is coming to Canada
it’s great that Canadians will get deals too!!
Jessica Bleasdale (Rafflecopter: JACB)
jessicableasdale at gmail dot com
really? Thats not fair at all!!
I hope they do it! I’m currently in Alaska, and shipping is outrageous for us as well!
This is good! can’t wait
I was trying to order a tiny little bracelet from a company in Minnesota, $40 shipping… on a $25 item that weight less than a pound… Cant wait til its a little more fair
nice we’ll get a price break on stuff like Americans do
It’s good Canadians will get a break. I see this complaint all the time and it really doesn’t seem fair.
I had no idea. I am from the US and was completely unaware of this.
US products are much cheaper than CDN, happy that Shop .ca coming to Canada especially with free shipping
Fan R.
teddyoutready2(at)gmail(dot)com
That is great! I didnt know a lot about these things.
I love shopping online – I’m signed up for shop.ca and can wait to get started!
SHOP.CA coming to Canada sounds very exciting!
It is not just Canadians who feel this unjust. I live in Alaska where we are nothing more than a foreign country to the rest of the united states. Everything here is more expensive including our gas and we produce the stuff. Thanks to the internet we can now at least join the rest of the world. Here is how I deal with it… if you look hard enough you will find what you want online (somewhere) for less shipping cost, if not free shipping, you just need to look a little more. If you cannot then send an email to the company. My letter usually starts by explaining that Alaska is a “major” international shipping hub, getting things here is virtually easier than getting them nearly anywhere in the U.S. and we shouldn’t be charged 7 x’s the cost. We are nearing on 1 million customers in Alaska that they could be shunning because of their backward practices. I am sorry but the internet makes us all equal ; )