Races & Classes

[Khaalis]

Many Canadian retailers are now selling products at American prices, because they're afraid that Canadians are going to shop online instead.

It's possible that the nearest comic book store to where I live will be selling RPG books at American prices, because they're already selling comicbooks at American prices.

This is true, however, Canada is implementing laws (or trying to) to make all online purchases subject to the same taxes as anywhere else. NY State already does this as well.

 

[Frozen DM]

This is rubbish. It has nothing to do with Price Gouging. I have quite a few Canadian friends that come here (NY) often and shop. Short of "smuggling" goods back across the border, they MUST pay Import Tax, Goods & Service Tax, AND their Regional Sales Taxes (Ontario in this case) on ANY item they purchase in the US. In the end, this comes to a price often higher than if they simply bought it in a Canadian store at Canadian pricing.

True, but the OP was about the SRP, not the total cost after taxes. The Goods and Service tax is applied on TOP of the SRP, not included in it. As are provincial taxes. I'm from Quebec and all together we pay approximately 15% tax on everything we buy (I know insane. It's so bad, our provincial tax taxes the federal GST, paying taxes on taxes...). So that $25.95 book now becomes almost $30 after taxes. When the Canadian dollar was worth less than the US dollar, online sales were not as attractive. Had I bought that book online a few months back, it would have cost me $32, now it'll cost me $27 (after shipping and import fees).

The fact is, most manufacturers have always claimed the price difference between Canadian and US goods was due mostly to the exchange rate. Now that the Canadian dollar is actually on par (or worth more) the prices should be dropping, but they aren't. Retailers are now being forced to cut into their bottom line just to stay competitive with online sellers.

 

[grimslade]

I, for one, am glad that canadians must pay more for equal books. It is revenge for all the cold air that is spraying Lake Ontario on me today in the form of snow. Keep your cold air in the Great White North, eh!

 

[Desdichado]

I, for one, would like to hear what the extra costs are for WotC to sell items in Canada, at least so I can understand some of the reasons for the price difference. So, if any WotC people happen to look at this thread, a reply would be appreciated.

GST and PST for one. Er... for two.

In any case, this discussion is fundamentally flawed from the get-go. Price is determined by supply and demand, not by exchange rates, or adding up iterative costs to the producer. And regional costs always differ.

How about I'll explain to you why it costs you 30% more for your books in Canada when you explain to me why it costs me nearly 100% for my house in Detroit than it would have if I'd stayed in Texas. And why it'd cost me another 100% more even than that if I moved to Washington DC?

I'm on board with med stud. If it bothers you that much, order it from Amazon US.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Can't you just order it from USA? Many times it's cheaper to order books over the Atlantic, shipping costs must be lower if you live in Canada?

They artificially maintain their distribution monopolies by charging extra shipping costs to account for the difference in list price between Canada and the U.S. That policy started up around the same time the dollar hit 90 cents U.S. Before that, shipping to Canada was the same price as shipping to the U.S. I used to order from Amazon.com from time to time, but I stopped because they implemented punitive fees.

GST and PST for one. Er... for two.

There is no PST on books. That's irrelevent anyway because GST and PST are not included in the list price, and are paid on top of the cost of the item by the consumer.

I'm on board with med stud. If it bothers you that much, order it from Amazon US.

They're deliberately undermining Canadian purchasers who try to buy from Amazon.com or any other American distributor. Often, they won't even ship to Canada.

 

[Goken100]

GST and PST for one. Er... for two.

In any case, this discussion is fundamentally flawed from the get-go. Price is determined by supply and demand, not by exchange rates, or adding up iterative costs to the producer. And regional costs always differ.

How about I'll explain to you why it costs you 30% more for your books in Canada when you explain to me why it costs me nearly 100% for my house in Detroit than it would have if I'd stayed in Texas. And why it'd cost me another 100% more even than that if I moved to Washington DC?

I'm on board with med stud. If it bothers you that much, order it from Amazon US.

Says the student that didn't take or remember anything past intro level Eco. No offense, it's a good stab, but not quite right. Prices of houses can differ from one area to another because of the lack of portability. Not so with books. So to say that the price difference is due to supply and demand is a partial answer at best, but more likely to be misleading.

P.S. Detroit's not expensive. Washington, DC is expensive. It's Texas that's a bargain.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

I don't know where WotC prints their books, but the 2nd biggest RPG company White Wolf has their books printed in Quebec, by a company that I think is called Quebecor.

It's very likely that WotC might also have their books printed by that same company. And if that's so, then the books are getting printed in Canada, then getting shipped to the US for distribution, before getting shipped back to Canada again...

... and that costs a butload more money than just distributing the books

Maybe WoTC just hates Canada, so arbitrarily raises the price

Or maybe, just maybe their like that one store that charges $10 more than all the other stores, just because they think they can get away with it.

 

[JohnSnow]

My guess is that this all comes down to a basic principle of pricing - NEVER lower the price.

Canadian books have been on a slow upward trend for years. They've been more expensive (in Canadian dollars) than US books have been in US dollars because, well, for years the Canadian dollar wasn't as strong.

Now it is, but there's no incentive in lowering the price of a book since Canadians are used to the higher pricetag. Pricing is based on the market - that's it.

In the UK, you often pay roughly the same numerical amount for a product in British Pounds as people in the USA pay in US Dollars. The business term is "Price Elasticity of Demand." Fix price at the point people will pay. And the unspoken rule is: the base price should NEVER go down. Since the Canadian people had gotten used to higher prices, they keep getting charged at that rate.

Or they go over the border - the same way Americans used to go over the border to Canada for some things.

 

[LightPhoenix]

This is true, however, Canada is implementing laws (or trying to) to make all online purchases subject to the same taxes as anywhere else. NY State already does this as well.

We do? I don't think we pay taxes on stuff we order online from other states. I don't know about bringing stuff down from Canada though.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

My guess is that this all comes down to a basic principle of pricing - NEVER lower the price.

Canadian books have been on a slow upward trend for years. They've been more expensive (in Canadian dollars) than US books have been in US dollars because, well, for years the Canadian dollar wasn't as strong.

Now it is, but there's no incentive in lowering the price of a book since Canadians are used to the higher pricetag. Pricing is based on the market - that's it.

*snip*

Or they go over the border - the same way Americans used to go over the border to Canada for some things.

Electronics are starting to come down, because people are willing to cross the border to buy them. The Playstation 3 is now the same price in Canada as it is in the U.S. I expect that if things like books and such don't also come down, there are going to be some unhappy retailers within 200 km of the U.S. border come the holiday season.