Canadian Pricing

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I found that to buy the lighting that I want for my next tank (3 x 24" 2x65w) up here would cost
270$ * 3 = 810$ + taxes = $931.00
Buying it from the states would cost
112$ * 3 = 336$ + taxes and duties = $432 USD or ~$500.00

total ripoff.. they need to fix their pricing and stop gouging.. I have no reason to shop in Canada for anything but fish and plants. Our dollar is not worth 50cents..

Filters, if I was buying more then 1 could save just as much, how do stores up here consider bending us over with pricing to be fair?

just wondering if anyone found a site that doesn't try to gouge quite so badly so I can keep our $$'s up here, right now I have no motivation to do so. I may even look into ordering everything but tank, fish and plants from the US. Even bulbs, they are 22$ down there and 100$ up here..

 

[chili is hot]

i also hate the canadian priceing, its a total rip off and there is no reason to buy anything from canadian stors except plants,fish and tanks. it also sucks that Drs.foster & smith charge outrageous prices to ship to canada. i wanted to buy a filter and it would of cost me $100 to ship it here. if you have any friends in the US you could ship it to them then have them ship it to you, probobly save alot of money that way, or get a PO box and go pick it up right across the border.

 

[SerLunchbox]

Have you guys ever considered from J&L Aquatics? For online ordering of lights and just about any hardware, you can't get better.

your online lights that cost that amount ......
24" AquaLight 2-65W SP 130 Watts Coralife $161.45 Instock

That would be 161.45 *3 = $484.35 + GST = $518.26 and for lighting their shipping price is only half

I don't know where you are shopping, but check the canadian listing of online stores

There is the site
http://www.jlaquatics.com/

The site has been live for a few years now and i know for a fact that it is listed somewhere in the canadian part of the forum.

So ... before shipping at $500 USD that is about $579 CDN ... that is sllightly MORE then your american bought lights before shipping.

 

[mr funktastic]

i find big als has fair pricesand shipping is free if your order is over 100 dollars or only 5 dollars if it is under 100. even though you are paying a bit more for the filter or lights it will eventually be cheaper because you are not paying high shipping fees or border fees. maybe your lights will be cheaper here www.bigalsonline.ca

 

[Toirtis]

J&L is good...quality, stock, service and pricing.

The problems with ordering from the US are: 1) Many US shops don't ship here; 2) If the do, shipping is often prohibitive, or you get nailed with very ugly customs/brokerage fees that can total as much as 35% of the cost of your order.

But it is true that the equivalent price of many products is higher here....partly because stuff that is nopt manufactured in the US, but has a US distrbutor gets nailed with customs when coming into Canada (plus all that extra shipping).

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Bigals was the price I was using. (rediculous), if you look at anything, then flip to Us or Canada, you will see the price difference, and that's even with the SAME STORE..

Serlunchbox, that is a bit more reasonable.. BA's says they price match, perhaps matching their own US prices would be too much to ask but if I go to a store and they have 2FW and 1SW in, I may buy them on a price match, tho I doubt it. I will probably get them shipped to a friend in the states that will ship them up here, 10$ for shipping and I can get some extra bulbs for 11$ each.. makes it very much worthwhile.

I'm just annoyed that there is such a huge price difference in products between the US and Canada, (you shouldn't have to check 18 different stores to find 1 that is half the price) and seeing the 100% markup just makes me disgusted..

It really deters people from getting proper equipment and sometimes causing a potential hazard to their household.

Thanks for the responses, and I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice. (Oh, and I have no problem with tank prices, I got my 75Gal for 99$, it was the 99$ single tube light fixture that disgusted me.

 

[Toirtis]

I will probably get them shipped to a friend in the states that will ship them up here,

You are close rnough to the US to get them shipped to a PO box just south of the border and go pick them up personally.....used to do it myself when I lived in Vancouver.....now I am 4½ hours away from the nearest border crossing.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Yeah, I was talking to a guy at work that does it with custom car parts, I guess that since you own them prior to going over the border it's already your property.. not sure how that works, but this friend also get's free shipping.

 

[Zagz]

Big Al's will price match, I have done it with them. As for shipping in Canada, they offer free shipping with orders over $35.00 Can. You can always email them regarding the differences in pricing between the US site and Can site. I have found them quite reasonable to deal with whenever I have had a price discrepency.

 

[malkore]

I think Big Al's just gives us Yankee's a good deal, then charges their native Canuck's an arm and a leg so they can turn a profit.

Serves you Canadians right!


(JUST KIDDING!)

I ran 931.00Canadian and it's like $808.00 in US funds at the current exchange rate. All I can think is that Big Als' is getting stuck with those hefty customs fees. But that makes me wonder how JL Aquatics pulls it off. Maybe he has his stuff shipped in to a PO box too

 

[Toirtis]

that makes me wonder how JL Aquatics pulls it off. Maybe he has his stuff shipped in to a PO box too

Big Al's gouges in Canada....if you think their online prices are bad, you should see what they charge in the shops....a good 20%-30% more (which really adds up on a $200-$500 item)!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

The shops here have the same prices as the web.

Funny they should have a problem when Maxtor can get drives up here without taxes or duties, and they aren't passed to the customer (except the taxes). It's total and blatent gouging..

 

[Zagz]

Big Als is located in Canada isn't it? That makes the gouging even worse IMO. That is precisely why I shop around and make their price matching guarantee work for me.

 

[SerLunchbox]

No, Big Al's is an American company. Also Malkore, J&L Aquatics is based in Canada and gets a great supplier price because of how many customers that they service.

 

[Toirtis]

No, Big Al's is an American company.

Actually, I believe that they are Canadian....all franchise licenses, even those for the US, are directed through their Canadian head-office in Woodbridge, Ont, although they do have an office in Niagara, NY. This might explain why they have 18 retail locations in Canada, but only one in the US.

 

[SerLunchbox]

i stand corrected (yes, people other then my wife can prove that i am wrong)

 

[u2_Crazy]

Here is a copy of an e-mail I sent to Big Al's this morning, I doubt anything will come of it, but who knows, it never hurts to try I guess.

Hello,
I recently ordered 2 parts from bigalsonline.ca. I ordered a All-Glass Compact Fluorescent Strip Light- 30" 55Watt (Black) for $103.99 and a Jungle Labs Plant Care CO2 Fizz Factory for $27.99. As I browsed your website I noticed the US link so I checked and you are offering the same items for huge discounts. So I shopped around a bit more and noticed Petsmart.com is also offering the same 2 items for considerable discounts as well. Petsmart sells the light for $78.99 and the Fizz Factory for $14.99. As of today, I paid $151.78 cdn when I should have only paid $109.60 cdn. Even further, The cdn prices were the boxing week sale prices, I am not sure what the US sale prices were but I am sure they were cheaper than what they are showing today.

Since you are a Canadian company and have your Head Offices in Ontario where I live, I would expect that you be able to provide the same great prices you are offering US customers to your fellow Canadian Customers.

I look forward to your response,

Sincerely

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I'ld be most interested to see their response, probably get a "we'll refund x$ to you, but we're gonna continue to screw over everyone else that is ignorant enought to not look anywhere but here.

Oh, Today our Dollar hit a 14 year record high of .82 American.

 

[Zagz]

Make sure you post the responce for all of us. I have noted that on every item I have made them price match they haven't changed the pricing on the website.

 

[Toirtis]

Oh, Today our Dollar hit a 14 year record high of .82 American.

Are you sure that you are in Canada? Our dollar was up to a high of $0.8608 US today at noon, and closed only a couple of points lower....all signs point towards a 90 cent high by March.