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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steel_Wind" data-source="post: 3619381" data-attributes="member: 20741">One of the interesting things is how online resllers have had such a deep impact on the American economy - and barely affected the Canadian economy. It has a presence - but it's small.We still have FLGS's and they've barely been touched. The reason is shipping costs for internet transactions.  In the USA, they are negligible or sometimes even "free". In Canada - they are substantial. Any shipping via UPS from the USA attracts a customs brokerage fee of $30-40 (Even if it is a duty free item - this "surprise" charge antagonizes the hell out of people. They charge $30 to collect a few dollars in tax). If you go USPS shipping you avoid customs brokerage fees but it takes longer  - worse - USPS just went up a lot and is about $15-20 now.  To this we add Provincial sales tax and GST (which always apply no matter where it is purchased) and a $5 minimum customs handling fee on all shipments. So shipping is now a minimum of about $20-25 per order - and often higher. And it takes 2-3 weeks to get here.Some online resellers have a Canadian point of origin and shipping is a lot less. Amazon.ca does a rather brisk business - but it's nowhere near as large as in the USA. Funny enough - people browse online up here a lot but do precious little online ordering compared to those south of the border.  The FLGS is still quite alive and kicking in Canada.</blockquote>