Why buy in Canada?

wuga · PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, ONT

Why buy in Canada?

Iwannagofast · ONTARIO

I hear that Warren. Yesterday I received a part ordered through E-Bay delivered to a U.S. mailbox. Sourced here in Canada it would have cost me $56.00 Cdn. Through E-Bay it was $18.00 U.S. The real kicker was when it arrived - it has "Made in Canada" stamped on it - and it is a better made part than the original! Go figure.

-- Edited by Iwannagofast on Saturday 25th of February 2017 07:47:17 AM

flatblack55delivery · PORT HOPE, ONT

So are you saying Karbelt is inflating there prices for profit or could it be because of costs of doing business. Hydro , mimimum wages, taxes add to the costs. A bricks and mortar location ,property taxes, free trade, brokerage fees, delivery charges in soutern Ontario are the are the highest in North America .I have a small Appliance service business and I am constntly hving to deal with the problem of people finding parts on line from American mail order houses, then rheming me out because my quotes are much higher. We operate at a bare mimimum markup and I can grantee non of those who worked for an hourley wage would work for it. What is the solution, I guess lower taxes, roll back wages, get rid of unions, lower house prices and property taxes, get rid of OHIP, while we are at it lets blame the government for all our problems(this is reserved for those of you who didn't even bother to vote in Ontario last time). Just be thankful you can still afford to buy a thousand dollars worth of parts from anyware. Ed

-- Edited by flatblack55delivery on Saturday 25th of February 2017 09:34:09 AM

Iwannagofast · ONTARIO

I don't disagree with anything you stated regarding operating in Ontario Ed. I just had exactly that conversation with some folks in their twenties this past week.
I used to work for a Company based out of Livonia Mich. When it came to wages, benefits, etc we got sold out every time, but we still live here and try to buy local to support our neighbours.
Sometimes though the dollar doesn't go far enough to keep my neighbour in the Standard of Living that he or she thinks they Deserve, you know......half million dollar house with two brand new cars( trucks, sport utes, whatever) in the drive. Big screen's in every room in the house, full on patio/pool/entertainment area, etc, etc, etc.......

Seems like some folks today want to start their adult life with all the trappings it took Mom and Dad 40 years to accumulate. And the Banks / Credit Companies are all too happy to help them out.

Petebil · ONTARIO

Your first mistake was going to Karbelt. There are lots of options here in Canada, but you have to shop around and buying online will almost always be cheaper.
Here's where I try first;

www.thewrenchmonkey.ca

www.tdotperformance.ca

http://grisdaleracingproducts.com/

Grisdale is probably where you should have gone for those nuts and washers.

Smokin Joe · ONTARIO

I bought a 7 1/2 Hp. US made phase converter in the US as it was much cheaper than here in Canada. They told me they could also supply me with a 600 volt transformer I also needed. I told them I would buy one here as the shipping would be to expensive. They told me that their supplier was in the west end of Toronto and would be no problem. Then with the brand name in hand I figured I could just buy it here my self. That was until I called them and gave me a price twice that if I bought it in the US. The same as my Scotsman USA made iron worker I buy parts for it in the US because of the massive price difference.

-- Edited by Smokin Joe on Saturday 25th of February 2017 01:13:46 PM

-- Edited by Smokin Joe on Saturday 25th of February 2017 01:15:28 PM

poncho62 · ADMINISTRATOR

Last week I ordered a new OBD scanner from eBay......shipped from China. Same one on Amazon.ca is $250 cdn......I got it with free shipping from China for $109US ($143cdn) plus $20 cdn import fees.. Funny thing, usually these items that come from China take at least a month to get here. I ordered mine last Thursday and got it on Tuesday.....

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/131981793417?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Petebil · ONTARIO

I try to buy Canadian whenever I can, but at the end of the day, it's my money and I'll get whatever benefits me the most. I'm not blaming the small business in the huge discrepancy in price between the US and Canada, but all the middle men that want a cut for doing nothing more than shuffling paper, and the biggest thief is this greedy Government.

-- Edited by Petebil on Saturday 25th of February 2017 03:15:25 PM

wuga · PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, ONT

Karbelt brought the items in from their warehouse in the US which can probably buy these parts in the US for the same price as Summit. I'm sure their brokerage fees are next to nothing so what we have is a dollar discrepancy which I took into account, HST which was included in Summit's delivery to my house and I'm sure Summit has overhead as well. Summit's price was $2CDN and Karbelts was $4CDN. Double the price? Maybe someone can justify this or maybe they should be selling out of their warehouse in the US to compete on an equal footing.

Warren

Petebil · ONTARIO

I just checked, and http://www.tdotperformance.ca/ carries ARP fasteners. Can you punch in your part number in and let us know what their price is? I'm now curious.
Also, with Tdot, items over $75 have free shipping. I have probably placed 20 orders with them over the past year and have always been more than happy. The only problem is that they are limited as to which brands they carry.

-- Edited by Petebil on Saturday 25th of February 2017 03:56:28 PM

DJD · SCARBOROUGH, ONT

lol
reminds me of shopping for a torquer intake for a ford 460 a few years back
shipped from sumitt it was (would have been) $509- includeing taxes , shipping , exchange and brokerage
from karbelt in pickering it was (would have been) $512 PLUS 13% tax

so , really when buying from karbelt all your really doing is having them order the part and then charging you for ordering it - that you can do yourself cheeper

it would go a long way to helping everyone if we stoped artifically devalueing our dollar

wuga · PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, ONT

Petebil wrote:
I just checked, and http://www.tdotperformance.ca/ carries ARP fasteners. Can you punch in your part number in and let us know what their price is? I'm now curious.
Also, with Tdot, items over $75 have free shipping. I have probably placed 20 orders with them over the past year and have always been more than happy. The only problem is that they are limited as to which brands they carry.

-- Edited by Petebil on Saturday 25th of February 2017 03:56:28 PM

Weird numbers in the $1000 range came up because the nuts and washers are sold individually. I did check a set of ARP flywheel bolts that I am ordering and they were $10.76US from Summit and $38.50CDN from Tdot. Ouch!

Warren

Petebil · ONTARIO

wuga wrote:
Weird numbers in the $1000 range came up because the nuts and washers are sold individually. I did check a set of ARP flywheel bolts that I am ordering and they were $10.76US from Summit and $38.50CDN from Tdot. Ouch!
Warren

Yeah, that's weird. I guess it depend on what you need. There no rhyme or reason to Canadian prices. hmm hmm hmm

BARRIE, ONTARIO

Its not only car parts . Its everything . A new mag for hunting rifle . 30 some bucks in States . almost 85 in Canada ..77.

Smokin Joe · ONTARIO

How about Erwin tools for one. They auctioned off their factories in North America and moved to China. They are the ones that make Vise Grip. Did they reduce the price in half in Canada as they did in the US. NO. I bought 24 of their welding clamps for $12.50 each at Sears and here I believe they are around $28. What ever happened to free trade to?????????????

Bob T · BRANTFORD, ONT

I find the same thing mostly on auto parts BUT at O Rielys auto parts and Advance auto parts in Detroit 5 liters of Pennzoil was $24. U.S. and I bought it for $14. Can. at Walmart. Same with oil filters. Wix at O Riellys was $ 6.50 U.S. and at Napa $4.00 Can. No ryme or reason why there are these variations.

poncho62 · ADMINISTRATOR

I agree with that Bob....I work at a NAPA and I can buy oil cheaper on sale at Walmart or CTC than I can for my price at NAPA......I get my filters at NAPA and the oil elsewhere.

Smokin Joe · ONTARIO

I stopped going to NAPA two years ago. The price was higher with my club discount than the regular price.

-- Edited by Smokin Joe on Sunday 26th of February 2017 07:34:06 AM

gkent · BRANTFORD, ONT

It would be interesting to know where Tdot is located and ships from. Back in December we were looking for some dining room lights. We found some at a local lighting store for $160. each. Since we live in Brantford and it only has ONE lighting store I decided to do some comparison shopping on line. I found a place called "Canadian Lighting" and the price was $98. each including shipping. Since I had a couple questions I called them and found out they're located in CALIFORNIA !! Anyhow, I ordered them on a Saturday and they were on my doorstep on Tuedsay. Two fixtures for $196. Canadian INCLUDING shipping and tax !! Even the local shop wouldn't have had them that quickly!

RockAuto also has stuff that ships from Canada.

Marten · RICHMOND, ONT

Gkent, perhaps to late now, but are those lights CSA approved? There should be a sticker on them somewhere. I see this regularly where this is not CSA approved, could be an issue if something bad happens.

gkent · BRANTFORD, ONT

Being the identical fixture I'm going to assume the sticker is there. Y'now, there isn't somebody sitting on the docks opening every single box that comes into Canada and checking if the items meet code and then putting a sticker on them! When products are manufactured in large volumes for export (or import to Canada, US, etc.), samples of those items are tested and if approved they're stickered at the factory - wherever that may be. And furthermore, in the case of light fixtures, its the socket, cord and plug that has to meet code, not the whole fixture so these things could have quite possibly been approved YEARS ago. Seriously, do you think every newly designed light fixture goes through an approval process ?!?! That process would bring any industry to a standstill.

flatblack55delivery · PORT HOPE, ONT

Martin is correct. No sticker, ins no pay. Had a customer tell me that they brought a coffee maker back from there stay in Florida and it shorted out and started a fire in the kitchen. Burned the counter top and cupboards above. Ins checked the numbers found out it wasn't approved here and wouldn't pay. Also had a guy ask me to purchase a bunch of new vending machines he had purchased to put in offices and schools. They weren't approved for sale in Canada so no ins on them which is a requirement to place vending machines in schools and most other buildings, he ended up selling them for scrap, cost him over 20 grand. Stuff you have to know to ask because not everything for sale is approved or inspected at the border. Samsung phones and washers catching fire or self destructing, Maytag fridges and dishwashers ,Noma cords and ligting catching fire ,even the stuf that is approved is crap why would you take a chance on cheap unapproved crap coming from gawd knows where. Ed

Rochie · LONDON, ONT

I'm in the process of doing a 64 Malibu. I wanted a power antenna. I looked around at parts houses, CTC etc,. and the web. $69 to $149. Well a little deeper into the pages of Evilbay I saw an antenna from CHINA that looked suspiciously like the one in CTC for $69. I took a flier and bought it. $6.54 and $11 for shipping. It showed up a week later and it is identical to the CTC antenna. It really7 does pay to look before jumping

Buzzard · PERTH, ONT

In my shop, I buy 90% of my parts from the U.S.A.One of the problems for small business is that there is no longer wholesale and retail available when you are
buying.I mark my part's up 10% so no one is getting rich here.

Thanks Larry Precision Works

gkent · BRANTFORD, ONT

"No sticker, ins no pay."

So those would be fireproof stickers ?!?!?

Any item sold in the US will have a UL approval. Most, if not all, of those will have a CSA approval as well - you seriously think a manufacturer isn't going to cover both bases at once.

So just for the hell of it ... you're saying if your non-CSA approved toaster causes a fire your insurance won't cover it BUT if you leave a pan of bacon fat on the stove while you go take a dump and it burns your kitchen down, you're covered ?

Seriously, you guys have been listening to too many old wives tales.

"not everything for sale is approved or inspected at the border."

Actually NOTHING is approved or inspected at the border. Contrary to what you might think CSA isn't even a government organization. Its a private corporation that tests **** - that's it! And likewise with the UL in the US.

-- Edited by gkent on Monday 6th of March 2017 09:56:05 PM

murman · WATERLOO, ONT

Summit racing has a nice fuel regulator for $ 90 USA..,,how much are the shipping fees and taxes to get to my house in ontario? Thanks

wuga · PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, ONT

Couldn't find the one you were talking about but shipping and taxes seem to be about $28US. Put the item in your cart and then estimate shipping to your postal code. It will give you the rate for both shipping and taxes by FedEx ground.

Warren

wuga · PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, ONT

Just ordered a bunch of stuff from Summit including 4 American Racing D spokes, $660 Cdn including HST, $1150 Cdn including HST from Tdot. I will be picking this stuff up just across the border and will claim all of it and pay the HST because I'm not over 48 hours.

Warren

Torquewar · DORCHESTER, ONT

On the performance side etc i try to support the local speed shop whenever I can. If no one goes then a resource will be gone. Its nice to get that set of gaskets etc on a Saturday morning when I want them now. Most of us do the research and make the decision. It is on occasion not reasonable to buy here especially when its 4-500 hundred bucks difference .The speed shop guy doesn't like it but..... .