Originally Posted by Former Lancastrian (Post 10505493)

I guess you are not living in Hamilton for the cleaner air, or the GTA for more space or Vancouver for cheaper housing ;)

Originally Posted by Alan2005 (Post 10505340)

Why do some people get all defensive when people make valid observations about life in Canada.

Originally Posted by Steve_ (Post 10505428)

We have this conversation on here all the time - it boils down to the fact that Canada is a large country and shipping costs are not subsidized by the govt. the way they are in the US (USPS receives huge assistance from the US Treasury)

So Canada Post charges much higher prices for shipping and also the service is slower. Because they're competing with Canada Post, DHL/Purolator and UPS are also slower and more expensive.

Plus - unlike the UK, you cannot avoid the taxes on products (stuff below £15 is exempt from VAT when imported for example from outside the EU, so Amazon has a warehouse on Jersey) or like the US, where you can avoid sales tax by buying out-of-State.

So when you buy on-line in Canada, you have to pay all the tax you would normally pay plus shipping, plus the shipping is expensive and slow.

So why buy on-line? Quicker and easier to go to the shops. Ergo internet shopping in Canada is pretty bad.

Frankly I think Canada's retail market is a level playing field, I always think it is crazy in the US where they provide massive competitive advantages to companies like Amazon at the cost of local retailers, or how it works in the UK where they have the exempt VAT limit (which basically allows Amazon to offer "free" shipping).

So I think it isn't accurate to say that it's worse - it's fair. This is how a retail market should look.

Also the moral of the story is don't think you're going to move to Canada and start a successful on-line business using Ebay or whatever. If you're going to do that you're going to have to open this thing called a "store".

Originally Posted by BristolUK (Post 10505516)

Of course, I realise that naming the band enables people to have a dig at my purchase, thus discrediting the attempt at showing Amazon Canada can be the best deal. :rofl:

Originally Posted by JimandBettina (Post 10505306)

I think that these companies would fall foul of the Monopolies Commission in the UK - Rogers definitely would. They charge stupid prices for mobile phones and there is not much competition.

Originally Posted by Jsmth321 (Post 10505633)

Amazon in the US seems to prefer the private companies, in all the years and thousands I have ordered from Amazon, they have never shipped me anything by the postal service, always some unknown small shipper, or UPS.

Originally Posted by Steve_ (Post 10505651)

Yes but those shippers are competing with USPS. Also Fedex and some of the other carriers use USPS for some of their logistics, they can for example deliver a letter by dropping it off at the post office and then USPS performs the local delivery. Try doing that with Canada Post and they will be much slower.

Originally Posted by Oink (Post 10505585)

Because after you've moved your family here, you finally realize that Amazon.ca is about as good as it's going to get.

Originally Posted by Steve_ (Post 10505638)

Depends on what you're buying, I do buy stuff occasionally from Amazon Canada but usually I find it is cheaper to go to the store. Certainly faster. I think the most recent example was when I bought a camera.

Also something else about Canada - I always find it is better to stick to Canadian chains rather than American ones, with rare exceptions (usually ones that have been around for ages like Home Depot). Prices at Visions and Soundsaround imx for example are far lower than at Best Buy. Strangely Future Shop prices seem to be lower than Best Buy as well even though they're owned by Best Buy.

Originally Posted by CanadaJimmy (Post 10505670)

I'm with Jsmth321, I would much rather have a USPS style mail service in Canada. It's not just the public/private issue either, Canada Post's workers get great benefits and paid very high salaries for what they do and the little hours they work. Seems like they get all the benefits of a public company without actually being publicly controlled.

Originally Posted by Steve_ (Post 10505680)

Everyone always goes on about the negatives though, I assume because they notice them more.

What about GST only being 5%, compared to VAT being 20% (I realize it is higher in other provinces but nowhere near 20%)?
What about car registration fees, it's only $70 per year in Alberta.
What about the price of gasoline?
Lower income taxes and much lower payroll taxes (maximum class 1 ni is like $6,700 vs $3,100 for cpp/ei - and the employer contributions are staggeringly higher in the UK).
Lower house prices (okay maybe not as noticeable in Vancouver).

It's a pretty long list. Just the GST difference alone easily takes care of my higher car insurance bill and then some.

Originally Posted by Steve_ (Post 10505638)

Depends on what you're buying