Buying a fridge

[Spidubic]

topic title is a little odd but I really had no idea what to call it. Topic is taken from this comment on CD989 by I assume our very own growler.

"if you do a bit of research, why is it that the american retailers can sell a refridgerator, that is built in hamilton, ontario, for,on average, 20% lower than leons,the brick, or sears ?
so if you want to keep your company working, get competetive !"

It seems like the same idea as getting stuff from China. How the heck do they build it and ship it here and end up having the item cost less than if it was manufactured and sold here? How does a Hamilton company build something that ships to the states and costs less their than in our own stores here? Where does the money go? I would say in the markup but I get the feeling the markup is no longer there anymore. So what explains the difference?

[observer]

Well, I, for one, can't explain it!

A little probably has to do with how much workers are paid (i.e. salespeople etc.) - considerably more HERE than THERE. Chances are there some kind of greater tax loadings on Canadian goods?? - something like flying from a Canadian airport costs so much more - AFTER THE TAXES AND FEES - than flying from a US airport does - even if the airlines are starting out asking the same price for the flight.

[longtallsally]

I think Observer is correct--it is the wages and salaries. Beyond the hourly or weekly rate, though, there are statutory benefits that must be paid for each employee too. All these items are much higher in Canada than the USA. Also, our taxes, operating costs, and bureaucratic processes are more expensive here for manufacturers and retailers. It all adds up, to the point that it's expensive to do business in Canada so many companies choose not to.

[retired2]

Cars are the same, made in Canada but cheaper in the USA

[observer]

Maybe the price we Canadians pay for our "safety" nets - our health care - our Old Age security - maybe even our Unemployment insurances? (don't know how the US handles that)

[Ruby Tuesday]

Hubby bought a bow a couple of years ago. Ordered it from a US distributor and got it cheaper than buying it direct from the mfg's location - which was in the K-W area.

Volume, corporate taxes, wages, higher costs of raw materials, high cdn dollar, etc, etc all contribute to the high prices we are exposed to.

[growler]

hi again,
the place you can find pricing is on the MSN network news site, i can't recall the heading but somthing about pricing !
and yes it was me that posted on the cd98.9 site,(big surprise right !??)
and it is something (i don't have a lot of marketing skills) about the method of selling we don't have in the great white north !
example : CANADIAN TIRE ! they have tried on 2 occasions to set up chains in the usa, both failed !
they bought existing,profitable operations (the one was browns automotive and hardware,ithink) and it had a group of almost 100 stores !
they stuck to it with that company for 2 1/2 year or maybe 3, until they had lost about 330 million then bankrupted the group, and left. but then got sued by several owner/operator stores that were hooked up with them and lost another 3 or4 hundred million. and that failure was the second time they tried to do it in the usa.
it seems even though they are very profitable here they can't do it there.
even under an assumed name !

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