# Sometimes it hurts to be Canadian



## Instal (Apr 8, 2007)

I have just learned that street prices for the AE4000U in Canada will be $3000.00 At the current exchange rate the price in Canada should be $2104.00. While I can understand there MAY be some differences in distribution costs etc between Canada and the US I am sure those differences could not possibly account for $896.00. The bottom line is that Panasonic is gouging their Canadian customers:rant:


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

Instal said:


> I have just learned that street prices for the AE4000U in Canada will be $3000.00 At the current exchange rate the price in Canada should be $2104.00. While I can understand there MAY be some differences in distribution costs etc between Canada and the US I am sure those differences could not possibly account for $896.00. The bottom line is that Panasonic is gouging their Canadian customers:rant:


You can get someone to send you the 4000U from the US.


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## Instal (Apr 8, 2007)

lsiberian said:


> You can get someone to send you the 4000U from the US.


Yes and that is what I will probably do if I can get over how mad I am at Panasonic. I think I will wait and do some comparisons to see if other manufacturers are up to the same hijinks. I think I will find they are but not to that extent. Buying from the US brings its own set of problems as well with unknown brokerage fees, warranty issues etc.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

No warranty at all is definitely a big issue on cross border electronics.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

You will find that almost all companies add a substantial markup in Canada. Brokerage fees and GST get added to all imports so much for the "free trade" agreement we have with the US. I've always thought that was a big joke.


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## Instal (Apr 8, 2007)

tonyvdb said:


> You will find that almost all companies add a substantial markup in Canada. Brokerage fees and GST get added to all imports so much for the "free trade" agreement we have with the US. I've always thought that was a big joke.


I agree Tony the question is to what degree. 50% seems unprecidented to me.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

Well maybe if you stopped sending us all that cold air we might charge you less too.


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## Altern8 (Nov 25, 2009)

I would have thought that an extra $896.00 is a small price to pay for the privilege of living your side of the border :heehee:

I just paid NZ$ 3,999 which equates to around US$ 2,880 (depending on the exchange rate yo-yo). I got a free bulb with that though. Paradise has its drawbacks I suppose!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Instal said:


> I agree Tony the question is to what degree. 50% seems unprecidented to me.


I found it here for a bit less.
Or contact these guys here and see what they sell them for.


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## Instal (Apr 8, 2007)

lsiberian said:


> Well maybe if you stopped sending us all that cold air we might charge you less too.


ba dump bump:sarcastic:


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## Instal (Apr 8, 2007)

Altern8 said:


> I would have thought that an extra $896.00 is a small price to pay for the privilege of living your side of the border :heehee:
> 
> I just paid NZ$ 3,999 which equates to around US$ 2,880 (depending on the exchange rate yo-yo). I got a free bulb with that though. Paradise has its drawbacks I suppose!


Yes it is a good country to live in, thats why I said "sometimes". I understand NZ is quite nice as well.


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## Instal (Apr 8, 2007)

tonyvdb said:


> I found it here for a bit less.
> Or contact these guys here and see what they sell them for.


Thanks very much for finding that for me Tony, they are currently out of stock but I will keep an eye on it!


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## koyalo (Dec 1, 2009)

If you have a friend / relative who lives near by border (or even 3-4 hour drive); you can order on their name and can bring it back to Canada if you can spend around 7 days in USA.

That's what I did. I went to vacation for two weeks in USA and ordered everything a HD projector, LG blue ray 5.1 HTIB, HDMI cables, projector mount, long power cord at her house. For family of 4 I brought all of these tax free to Canada!!!

SAVINGS:
-- My PJ costs C$1800 + 13% tax in Canada. I paid US$1350 delivered during Black Friday sale
-- LG Blue Ray 5.1 surround sound HTIB...not available in Futureshop/Best Buy. Other online Canadian site sell it for C$999 + 13% tax. I paid $480 US from Amazon.
-- 25 feet HDMI cables...Futureshop/Best Buy charge C$369 + 13% tax. I bought it from Amazon for $20 + 5 shipping
-- Projector mount. I paid $99 for a very good quality one. It costs C$150 + 13%TAX in Canada.

My whole system is ready in US$2100 which I would be just paying for PJ + Mount if I buy from Canada. So virtually the Blueray home theater + HDMI cables are free in terms of savings I made!!

I do this all the time. Go to US to meet friend / family for a week during Black Friday bring all the stuff from US tax free. I hardly buy any electronics from Canada now. Yes there is a risk for warranty...but usually with reputed brands that risk you can take for $$$ savings you make.

Be a smart Canadian!!

-K


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