I have bee reading this thread with interest. What is making me wonder about pricing is the spread between prices in the US and prices in Canada. For those costs from the manufacturer that are going up, the increases should be the same on both sides of the border. Thusthese would not be in the equation for the differences.
Where a difference might be justified is extra shipping to Canada and any duty if it is applied. I also accept the fact that margins might need to be higher due to payroll taxes and other government immposed benefits. But what should that difference be? On the case where there is no duty, one might argue for a spread in the 10 to 15% range but the spreads we are seeing are a lot higher and they vary greatly from dealer to dealer.
For example, on an Eagle Seafinder 320 DF sonar;
American price $199
Canadian mail order price from Toronto $249
Canadian price in Nanaimo $299
Or on a Lowrance GPS
American Price $499
Canadian mail order price from dealer #1 $549
Canadian mail order price from dealer #2 $629
I could go on with examples like this, but it begs the question of how much more should we be paying here. Are some Canadian dealers, like the one for the GPS losing their shirts on these sales or are other ones making too high a profit. I also know we can talk about stocking costs and volume, here the small dealer here needs a higher margin to survive. How much more should we as consumers pay to support first local dealers, then Canadian dealers and finally US dealers?
I like to buy from people I know, but where is the cutoff?
Comments?
Where a difference might be justified is extra shipping to Canada and any duty if it is applied. I also accept the fact that margins might need to be higher due to payroll taxes and other government immposed benefits. But what should that difference be? On the case where there is no duty, one might argue for a spread in the 10 to 15% range but the spreads we are seeing are a lot higher and they vary greatly from dealer to dealer.
For example, on an Eagle Seafinder 320 DF sonar;
American price $199
Canadian mail order price from Toronto $249
Canadian price in Nanaimo $299
Or on a Lowrance GPS
American Price $499
Canadian mail order price from dealer #1 $549
Canadian mail order price from dealer #2 $629
I could go on with examples like this, but it begs the question of how much more should we be paying here. Are some Canadian dealers, like the one for the GPS losing their shirts on these sales or are other ones making too high a profit. I also know we can talk about stocking costs and volume, here the small dealer here needs a higher margin to survive. How much more should we as consumers pay to support first local dealers, then Canadian dealers and finally US dealers?
I like to buy from people I know, but where is the cutoff?
Comments?
haha. Plus if you're a guide, get an additional 10% off all merchandise. Saved us loads when we rigged up our new boat last summer. 
