Zoe Bell

yes because if it is shipped via UPS then they hit you for massive admin charges if you have to pay import duty.

2 buck tax turns into 40 if you are not careful

JimandBettina

Mate,

Are you asking me this question or throwing it out rhetorically? I am not complaining about anything but pointing out that Amazon in Canada is crap compared to the UK. I have bought many things off the UK site, whether that be books, electronics, cameras and so on that are not even on the Canada site and received all items very quickly.

This was merely an observation based on trying to find stuff to no avail that wold have definitely been on the UK site.

My bank has been great to me.

Mobile Phone charges are ridiculous compared to UK.

Food prices are the same as UK if you look around.

Car Insurance is a f*****g rip-off.

The booze is OK and some of the beers are great, like Creemore, Alexander Keiths.

The local school has been great to my daughter and taken her on in Grade 10 even though she is 14, as she has already completed Grade 9 in UK.

Cheers,
Jim

JimandBettina

Cell phone charges are ridiculously expensive. Why do you pay for incoming calls? Where is the unlimited internet (data) packages or unlimited texts.

I was recently using a simcard in the UK with 250 voice minutes, charged by the second, unlimited data and texts - all for £10 per month. You will never get that kind of service here - yet.

Oink

+1

Put on a coat and some mittens and go out and live life.

Zoe Bell

but coats are sooo expensive and unfashionable here

CanadaJimmy

A big part of that is not because USPS doesn't work, but rather because they are required to pre-pay retirement benefits. It's not fair to compare based on those numbers alone.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_7257462_us...benefits_.html

BristolUK

Maybe that accounts for the comparatively big difference I saw on something a few days ago. But what made me disregard that option was the overall cost rather than because it was UPS delivered.

If I paid more attention, I might see use of UPS as the reason but I am making my choice on overall cost.

A few years before I moved here I remember ordering a bunch of CDs from the US that even with cross Atlantic shipping rates the overall cost was half what they'd have cost me in the UK.

What I was getting at was whether someone making a personal purchase would make their decision based on UPS involvement (in principle if you like) when, if they looked into the overall cost, they might find it was still cheaper because of the lower base price to begin with.

BristolUK

I might be missing your point but I used to resent the additional cost to me of calling a mobile number in the UK compared to a land line.

It didn't seem right that someone else's decision to be called on their mobile should cost me more.

So it doesn't seem unreasonable to me for the person making the decision to have a mobile/cell phone to pay the extra cost of the call made to it.

Almost Canadian

You are not in the UK

nativenewyorker

We order from amazon uk. They charge for shipping but take the VAT off so doesn't work out too bad. Gets delivered quick too.

Former Lancastrian

What is that people are ordering from Amazon.UK that they cant get here?
Is it something they really need? Is there a Canadian equivalent?

Oink

If you order stuff from another country get the seller to put 'gift' on the customs ticket then you don't have to pay the sponging Canadian government their extortion money.

Former Lancastrian

The receipt attached saying they paid 20 quid for the item is sometimes a giveaway

Alan2005

ITT: Apologists for 'the way it is'.

JimandBettina

I know (??????). Your point is?

PS: where in my post did I say I was in the UK?