Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!utcsri!utegc!utai!ubc-vision!watmath!looking!brad From: brad@looking.UUCP Newsgroups: can.general,news.misc,news.admin Subject: Re: uunet access from Canada Message-ID: <827@looking.UUCP> Date: Sat, 4-Jul-87 21:35:24 EDT Article-I.D.: looking.827 Posted: Sat Jul 4 21:35:24 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 5-Jul-87 07:46:45 EDT References: <954@van-bc.UUCP> <824@looking.UUCP> <132@bby-bc.UUCP> Reply-To: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) Distribution: can Organization: Looking Glass Software Ltd. Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 49 Xref: utgpu can.general:636 news.misc:571 news.admin:535 In article <132@bby-bc.UUCP> john@bby-bc.UUCP (john) writes: >I think you could more reasonably put this down to the desire to make >what the traffic will bear than governmental interference. If what >you are saying was true I wouldn't have been able to send a 5kg package >from Vancouver to Texas by UPS for $8, or a 24kg package from LA to >Vancouver for $45 (by UPS), or get a return airfare from Vancouver >to LAX for $285 on CP Air. Can you do this with next day delivery? Have you done it? UPS tells me that there will be a $25 to $30 customs brokerage charge to ship a large package to the USA. They have charged me each time I have done it, so I don't know how you get away with it. (By the way, the brokerage fee of $30 is for stuff with a duty of 3 CENTS) > >It is not the Canadian government it is business that results in the >higher prices. > >Why does a Sony CDP1302 list for $1900 at a time when the US list is >approx. $1270 ($950 US) - they both have to come from Japan. > >Why does an Everex Qic02 tape unit cost $2500 here in Vancouver and >only $1500 if bought in the US and shipped here ($1500 includes >exchange, FST, and shipping)? > >Why does an HP LaserJet-II list for $3400 ($2500 US) in the US and $4700 >here in Canada? I don't mean to be rude, but somebody sold you a bill of goods, and you paid full duty, brokerage and 12% F.S.T. on it. How on Earth do you think the Canadian dealer manages to make money selling the LaserJet for $4700 when anybody can order one from the states for $3400? If there were free trade (real, free trade, not the stuff that Mulroney is talking about) then there would be no discrepencies. The Canadian dealer charges more because there is a hassle getting stuff over the border. It takes effort to get stuff over the border, so dealers charge more for doing it. If customers didn't think it was a better deal to buy a LaserJet for $4700 than to import one themselves, the dealers would go broke. This is not to say that many businesses don't charge a lot for handling the red tape for you. They charge what the market will bear, like any good business. But there wouldn't be any price difference without the government red tape. I know. I ship to and from the USA on a regular basis, and it often makes me want to move south. -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473