Unsurprisingly, cross-border shopping is up - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

The Goon · 07-30-2007, 08:42 AM

Article

I know the price difference between the USA and Canada has been discussed before. What's interesting is how cross-border shopping actually helps the Canadian economy (but not individual firms).

What I like in that article is the calculator which takes into account your car's mileage and how much you pay for gas before letting you know if you're actually getting any savings going across the border.

Still, I'm thinking about a long-weekend trip to Spokane to do some shopping.

ricoFlame · 07-30-2007, 08:47 AM

we're making the trek mid-august. for the wife it's more for the different shops that are available than any savings, for me it's about getting the hell away from work.

ken0042 · 07-30-2007, 08:49 AM

It's a shame we aren't closer to the US or any city down there. When I was in Winnipeg we would sometimes go to Grand Forks for the afternoon; as it was just over a 2 hour drive each way.

ricoFlame · 07-30-2007, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

It's a shame we aren't closer to the US or any city down there. When I was in Winnipeg we would sometimes go to Grand Forks for the afternoon; as it was just over a 2 hour drive each way.

i agree, but i've made a couple weekend trips to billings montana, and i must say well worth the trip, lots to do and pretty good shopping. unfortunately more than a day trip though...long drive.

guzzy · 07-30-2007, 08:57 AM

I do most of my shopping in Spokane and Kalispell. I use them as mini vacations more than shopping trips. We have free access to property in the Flathead area so it makes it a quick and beautiful resting spot.

The one thing people really don't realize is the price of everything in Canada. Everything is very expensive. Even a pack of socks at Costco in Kalispell is $10 where here you pay $15. I bought an electric shaver for $90 in the Spokane and the same one here is $140. An Eddie Bauer baby stroller with car seat is $200US but up here it is over $300. I realize the infrastructure down there is much better and it is quicker to transport goods, plus the duty etc for bringing any goods across the border. It is still ludicrous how bad we are taxed, and then there are hidden taxes in everything that we don't even realize. Plus the companies in Canada are just gouging us to make up for a less inflated economy in the US right now.

Even with the cost of gas, if you do enough shopping you can at least break even, plus you had a bit of vacation. I am heading down next Friday for a week and I can't wait to be gone. I worked over 260 hours in three weeks so I am going to spend some of my hard earned cash in the US.

The Goon · 07-30-2007, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fotze

What are the limits again? Also some things are exempt from duty such as cameras. Are there other things exempt.

If you're away for 24 hours, you can declare $50 of goods.
If you're away for 48 hours, you can declare $400 of goods.
If you're away for 7 days, you can declare $750 of goods.

The Canada Border Services Agency site has the details as well as approximate border wait times.

burn_baby_burn · 07-30-2007, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guzzy

An Eddie Bauer baby stroller with car seat is $200US but up here it is over $300.

Be carefull with the car seat. My wife and I had a baby boy in March. My brother who lives in Montana gave us his car seat and stroller. When the nurse came to the house to check the baby after it was born. She asked to see the car seat. Since it was purchased in the US it didn't have the goverment of Canada inspection sticker on it. So it is illegal to use in Canada. I compared it to the same make and model as one purchased up here with the sticker on it. No differance. Apparantly the fine is very hefty for using a baby seat without the government sticker on it. So my wife freaked out and I had to go buy, the exact same model up here. So for anyone that is shopping for baby car seats in the US, keep this in mind.

ricoFlame · 07-30-2007, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Be carefull with the car seat. My wife and I had a baby boy in March. My brother who lives in Montana gave us his car seat and stroller. When the nurse came to the house to check the baby after is was born. She asked to see the car seat. Since it was purchased in the US it didn't have the goverment of Canada inspection sticker on it. So it is illegal to use in Canada. I compared it to the same make and model as one purchased up here with the sticker on it. No differance. Apparantly the fine is very hefty for using a baby seat without the government sticker on it. So my wife freaked out and I had to go buy, the exact same model up here. So for anyone that is shopping for baby car seats in the US, keep this in mind.

i didn't know that. definitely helpful hint. thanks.

HockeyPuck · 07-30-2007, 09:20 AM

I just imported a 2005 Tacoma from LA about 2 weeks ago. Savings are incredible (~$10000)....

burn_baby_burn · 07-30-2007, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HockeyPuck

I just imported a 2005 Tacoma from LA about 2 weeks ago. Savings are incredible (~$10000)....

Did you do that over the phone? Or did you go down and pick one out?

mykalberta · 07-30-2007, 09:43 AM

I dont know about cross border shopping, but I have been ordering alot of stuff lately from the US. Alot of companies are now offering free shipping to Canada on orders over 150$ so it only makes sense. GST and 5$ handling fee is all you pay for most items so long as they are shipped with USPS.

MYK

Reaper · 07-30-2007, 09:47 AM

My wife and I are planning on heading down to Montana for a weekend getaway. Does anyone know of any decent hockey equipment stores down there? I'd love to pick up a few things on closeout.

burn_baby_burn · 07-30-2007, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper

My wife and I are planning on heading down to Montana for a weekend getaway. Does anyone know of any decent hockey equipment stores down there? I'd love to pick up a few things on closeout.

Where are you going? Hockey is not big in Montana. I'm guessing, but I think the selection would be sparse at best.

Reaper · 07-30-2007, 11:21 AM

We were heading to Great Falls, possibly to Helena.

Homer_J · 07-30-2007, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken0042

When I was in Winnipeg we would sometimes go to Grand Forks for the afternoon; as it was just over a 2 hour drive each way.

We're heading down to Fargo for the long weekend. It's only 3 hours from Winnipeg and my wife loves the shopping there. Lots of stores we don't have here. This will be our second trip down there this year.

We're looking for baby stuff. Anything other than car seats I should avoid?

Ozy_Flame · 07-30-2007, 11:48 AM

Just bite the bullet and drive to Seattle. Hell, just fly there even, it would probably be cheaper. I've always found it funny when people say they can drive to Vancouver but to drive to the US West Coast on a road trip is too far.... :S

HockeyPuck · 07-30-2007, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn

Did you do that over the phone? Or did you go down and pick one out?

I found the truck on Autotrader.com, got all the paperwork ready, flew down to LAX, bought the truck (private sale), and drove it up. It was actually quite easy.

Superflyer · 07-30-2007, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guzzy

The one thing people really don't realize is the price of everything in Canada. Everything is very expensive. Even a pack of socks at Costco in Kalispell is $10 where here you pay $15. I bought an electric shaver for $90 in the Spokane and the same one here is $140. An Eddie Bauer baby stroller with car seat is $200US but up here it is over $300. I realize the infrastructure down there is much better and it is quicker to transport goods, plus the duty etc for bringing any goods across the border. It is still ludicrous how bad we are taxed, and then there are hidden taxes in everything that we don't even realize. Plus the companies in Canada are just gouging us to make up for a less inflated economy in the US right now.

Can you use a costco membership from Canada in the U.S.?

ricoFlame · 07-30-2007, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superflyer

Can you use a costco membership from Canada in the U.S.?

you can use it anywhere in the world.

Resolute 14 · 07-30-2007, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guzzy

...It is still ludicrous how bad we are taxed, and then there are hidden taxes in everything that we don't even realize. Plus the companies in Canada are just gouging us to make up for a less inflated economy in the US right now.

You didn't think free health care really was free, did you?

But yeah, it would be nice if the gouging came to an end.