Canadians are buying product way off the real retail prices?

[bdidol]

You want to see overpriced...Shop in the UK!

I haven't really been over to the states lately even with the dollar being nearly par because I just don't see a great deal of savings on their regular priced item. Granted sale prices are amazing but unless you know where to find what you want on sale when you want it I find it hit and miss.

(sometimes we will go to see what we can find that is different...but we only buy it if we think its worth the price they are asking)

You have to consider the UK economy for that prospect..there Pound is more than twice a CAD...also the tax are not as high as Canadians (and they do get health care)...I was there twice...and saw the huge sale banners everywhere

[bdidol]

Look on the bright side....

Because of the higher prices and taxes here in Canada, we Canadians have to think twice before plunking our hard earned dollars for stuff, thereby, making us less consumeristic and materialistic, and inadvertently, more environmentally conscious...

and saving less money in the account!

Regarding the environmental point of view...I don't really agree..to see the real picture you have to visit a landfill site

[Woofy]

and saving less money in the account!

Regarding the environmental point of view...I don't really agree..to see the real picture you have to visit a landfill site

To be honest, I don't think I dare to visit a landfill site. I think I will likely hyperventilate from seeing all the waste.
All else being said, much as I try to buy less (because of the high prices and trying to be environmentally conscious), sometimes I find myself fighting a losing battle when all the sales jingles and flashy doohickeys are dancing in front of my eyes!

[NancyM]

I think your right when you say we pay way too much for things here in Canada. You have to shop around alot to find a fair price these days.

so true

[Zonny]

and saving less money in the account!

Regarding the environmental point of view...I don't really agree..to see the real picture you have to visit a landfill site

Aside from just needing less stuff, I wish the stuff we DO need had less packaging! We recycle/compost what we can, but some stuff just ends up as garbage. And I wish stryofoam were OUTLAWED! Good for nothing, there's no good way to dispose of it.

Z

[etherealone]

Look on the bright side....

Because of the higher prices and taxes here in Canada, we Canadians have to think twice before plunking our hard earned dollars for stuff, thereby, making us less consumeristic and materialistic, and inadvertently, more environmentally conscious...

i think it makes a difference too.

i see these coupon queens on american television that literally spend under $20 per week to feed their families! but i also see what gets put into that cart. horrible stuff really.

i just buy, with coupons and sales, whole food items, like nuts, baking, some canned, reduced meats, etc. and the general misc like medicines and health/beauty i can get for free or close to.

regardless of what the states can offer by way of lots of free garbage food, I wouldnt trade it for OHIP. no way!

[Nice Sass]

I have had so many different perspectives on this that I could comment at great length so I'll try to be brief: I've mentioned this on SC before - I used to work in the Customs realm and saw the true value of goods that are being imported to Canada for sale here, and the markup is INCREDIBLE. When there are sales the stores are continuing to do just fine, believe me.

When Bath & Body Works opened a store in Windsor I questioned why their prices were so high compared to the US and they said that it was because of the "exchange"...well, we're sitting pretty comfortably with the exchange rate right now and have been since that store opened, so a 40% difference in price is not exchange driven. I also know how much companies pay on average for brokerage and shipping, and that's not it either. It's simple economics - supply and demand. Canadian society has become accustomed to paying more, so we do. Supplies are more limited here (definitely less selection than in the states, as well as less competition), so we pay more. For that reason, I will NOT shop at B&B Works in Canada, and will continue to buy their products in the States; at least honour their coupons and I'll consider it.

I watch the prices on various staples, and if there is a HUGE discrepancy then I purchase in the states; minimal and I purchase in Canada. It was actions like these (Canadian consumers speaking up) that caused Best Buy Canada to adjust its electronics pricing two years ago with the change in the exchange rates, and consumers need to continue to speak up to create more change.

Another example: For $495 we purchased the exact same nursery furniture set in the states that we could have purchased at Toys 'R Us here for $1,970. There is absolutely no justification for that price difference and I refuse to be gouged.

That's probably too long already!

[pippinelkhound]

Just remember our social welfare system is paid via those taxes. As others have said would you really want to have to rely on US style healthcare? Basic, minimal healthcare for emergencies only unless you can afford private insurance (I have a friend who pays over $600/month for a very basic plan, doesn't even meet what we take as standard)? Very little in the way of social assistance to those whose EI has run out? That's what low US style taxes will get you

[Woofy]

Just remember our social welfare system is paid via those taxes. As others have said would you really want to have to rely on US style healthcare? Basic, minimal healthcare for emergencies only unless you can afford private insurance (I have a friend who pays over $600/month for a very basic plan, doesn't even meet what we take as standard)? Very little in the way of social assistance to those whose EI has run out? That's what low US style taxes will get you

I beg to differ a little. US is not a good example of a good healthcare system. Let's compare it to some more efficient systems.

I think a good healthcare system is a system whereby the government subsidizes healthcare, with some form of co-payment from the people. I believe a few of the healthcare systems in Asia are like that. I know for sure Singapore is like that.

This way, there is less abuse of the system. Anything that is free inevitably gets abused. It is very unfortunate, but a fact... just human nature.

When people have to cough up some form of payment, somehow we become more prudent.

This is not to say I do not appreciate our healthcare system. I do... but I wouldn't mind a small co-payment, if it means we become better stewards of the healthcare resources we have in this great country.

[thecountess]

i've mentioned this before

a few years ago, on tv there was a guy commenting on the news i think about retail and sales.

he said that the markup is so great on retail, that for clothing and such, you're not really getting a deal until the item is marked down 60-70 percent off, meaning that these 25-30 percent off sales are really nothing, they are still making more than adequate money. if you buy at regular prices, you may as well just be making a donation to the company

I agree 100%, based on having worked as a retail store manager.

At one company I ordered from head office's centralized warehouses, at another company I purchased directly from the vendors and saw the wholesale cost prices for things. I know firsthand the insane margin stores enjoy for many different types of products and this is why I don't feel bad at all about purchasing as many items as possible at sale prices of 50% or more if I can swing it

[thecountess]

I beg to differ a little. US is not a good example of a good healthcare system. Let's compare it to some more efficient systems.

I think a good healthcare system is a system whereby the government subsidizes healthcare, with some form of co-payment from the people. I believe a few of the healthcare systems in Asia are like that. I know for sure Singapore is like that.

This way, there is less abuse of the system. Anything that is free inevitably gets abused. It is very unfortunate, but a fact... just human nature.

When people have to cough up some form of payment, somehow we become more prudent.

This is not to say I do not appreciate our healthcare system. I do... but I wouldn't mind a small co-payment, if it means we become better stewards of the healthcare resources we have in this great country.

A very thought-provoking movie you may want to watch is Michael Moore's "Sicko"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicko

[lekate]

I beg to differ a little. US is not a good example of a good healthcare system. Let's compare it to some more efficient systems.

I think a good healthcare system is a system whereby the government subsidizes healthcare, with some form of co-payment from the people. I believe a few of the healthcare systems in Asia are like that. I know for sure Singapore is like that.

This way, there is less abuse of the system. Anything that is free inevitably gets abused. It is very unfortunate, but a fact... just human nature.

When people have to cough up some form of payment, somehow we become more prudent.

This is not to say I do not appreciate our healthcare system. I do... but I wouldn't mind a small co-payment, if it means we become better stewards of the healthcare resources we have in this great country.

I would be more in the hole financially if I had to cover part of my health care this past summer, I was in no position able to pay for anything, I had *just* graduated university, and hadn't worked that much last year so I could focus more on school. But then I go and break my foot, require surgery and ridiculous amount of doctor visits. Luckily, living in Canada, I did not have to worry about money while I was unable to work for 2 months. And what do you mean by "co-payment?" what the hell are taxes? Health care is by no means free, it's just a universal insurance plan.

[pippinelkhound]

I beg to differ a little. US is not a good example of a good healthcare system. Let's compare it to some more efficient systems.

I think a good healthcare system is a system whereby the government subsidizes healthcare, with some form of co-payment from the people. I believe a few of the healthcare systems in Asia are like that. I know for sure Singapore is like that.

This way, there is less abuse of the system. Anything that is free inevitably gets abused. It is very unfortunate, but a fact... just human nature.

When people have to cough up some form of payment, somehow we become more prudent.

This is not to say I do not appreciate our healthcare system. I do... but I wouldn't mind a small co-payment, if it means we become better stewards of the healthcare resources we have in this great country.

I never stated that the US was a good example of a good healthcare system. It's a very have/have not system. They won't let you die on the sidewalk but they will chuck you out as fast as they can.

My friend that pays $600is a month has only prescription coverage and catastrophic illness coverage. Lab draws, xrays for routine run of the mill stuff is out of pocket. Yup, the basic bloodwork, PAP, etc, she pays for.

What I see in the healthcare system these days are too many people with unrealistic expectations of it. They visit the doctor for prescriptions for every drug they see advertised on US tv stations. They expect every treatment possible for their relative regardless of how old or how terminal they are.

Does a patient with Altzheimers that lives in LTC really need cataract surgery? Do you want your 98yo Grannie tube fed and comatose on life support because "she might come out of it"? When you are in your 80s, hands crippled with arthritis do you really want a colostomy, can you care for it? Does a 75yo woman really want her 86yo husband to get a script for Viagra?

The human body wears out for a reason. It's called death. Our culture is doing everything it can to prevent the inevitable at great cost to the system. People make decisions because they don't want the responsiblity of saying "my parent is old, the surgery is risky, so maybe as a family we should let her go".

Just remember that your chances of surviving a code even in hospital aren't that great. Yup, we'll get your heart started, but we'll break your ribs, sternum, possibly puncture a lung and lascerate either your spleen or liver. You'll be on a ventilator and in ICU. When you are a 50kilo, 80yo with brittle bones do you really want to risk it? Young, strong, and fit your chances are better.

[lekate]

I never stated that the US was a good example of a good healthcare system. It's a very have/have not system. They won't let you die on the sidewalk but they will chuck you out as fast as they can.

My friend that pays $600is a month has only prescription coverage and catastrophic illness coverage. Lab draws, xrays for routine run of the mill stuff is out of pocket. Yup, the basic bloodwork, PAP, etc, she pays for.

What I see in the healthcare system these days are too many people with unrealistic expectations of it. They visit the doctor for prescriptions for every drug they see advertised on US tv stations. They expect every treatment possible for their relative regardless of how old or how terminal they are.

Does a patient with Altzheimers that lives in LTC really need cataract surgery? Do you want your 98yo Grannie tube fed and comatose on life support because "she might come out of it"? When you are in your 80s, hands crippled with arthritis do you really want a colostomy, can you care for it? Does a 75yo woman really want her 86yo husband to get a script for Viagra?

The human body wears out for a reason. It's called death. Our culture is doing everything it can to prevent the inevitable at great cost to the system. People make decisions because they don't want the responsiblity of saying "my parent is old, the surgery is risky, so maybe as a family we should let her go".

Just remember that your chances of surviving a code even in hospital aren't that great. Yup, we'll get your heart started, but we'll break your ribs, sternum, possibly puncture a lung and lascerate either your spleen or liver. You'll be on a ventilator and in ICU. When you are a 50kilo, 80yo with brittle bones do you really want to risk it? Young, strong, and fit your chances are better.

OMG Quoted for truth, I say this often, but I wrote a paper on this last year (the idea of humans living longer and longer, keeping the body alive, but what about when the brain dies? do we continue to force the body to live? This is something we see *everyday* with people who have dementia and alzheimer's, which is essentially the death of the brain, and without the brain what is there to live for? it's selfish to keep a body alive but because of science our society has regressed to the point where we can't deal with death). Sorry I got horribly off topic.

[pippinelkhound]

Lekate: I don't think we really went far off topic. People were complaining about how much we as Canadians pay in taxes.

I'd rather pay the taxes than wind up with American style healthcare. I don't want to be paying $1K a month for my family, worrying if my college student child can find insurance. I don't want my neighbour with diabetes afraid to go to the doctor.

Heck, we should be thanking smokers for paying all those "sin" taxes!