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In Canada, books are sold at retail with two, or maybe even three prices printed on the cover; US and Canadian. Often the Canadian price is up to 20% higher.
In today’s economic world, the US dollar is almost on par with the Canadian dollar, so this pricing model is, from the consumers perspective, flawed. Why would I buy a book in a retail environment for 20% more, when I can buy it online, have it delivered to my door, and pay 20% less in the process? As well, the online retailers often discount books even more…so your online savings may be more.
In June, when the exchange rate was 1.064 USD -> CAD, I posted “How Canadians save money when buying books through Amazon.com. Now, with the rate being close to par, and many starting to think about Christmas shopping, it seemed time to update the situation.
So, it seemed prudent to whip up another spreadsheet, this time in Google Docs, to explore the situation…below is the result. Please forgive the lame layout, I’m not a spreadsheet guru, just someone looking for answers 
First off, I chose 4 items that I’m somewhat interested in. Then, entered the prices and the exchange rate I recorded during the day on Sept. 18th, and then laid it out to include information about the free shipping price point. No sense paying for shipping if you can get it for nothing.
So here’s the result.
Canadian online retailers faired quite poorly. Their minimum purchase for free shipping was higher, and even once the exchange rate was factored in, their discounted retail price was higher than Amazon.com.Also interesting, if you rank the items in terms of priority (top item is must have, next down is second..etc), you’ll have to purchase two items from Amazon.com to receive free shipping, and two to three items from the Canadian online retailers. But, your minimum purchase price to receive free shipping increases from between five to 10 dollars!Bottom line, if you’re buying more than a couple of items, and don’t need them instantly (free shipping may take a couple of weeks), Amazon.com is the way to go.
Technorati Tags: Online Shopping, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Chapters.ca, Books, Book Shopping, Christmas shopping, christmas, gifts, Brad Grier, article, US Dollar, Exchange Rate, Canadian Dollar, CAD, USD, Cross-border shopping
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
interesting, i already made a purchase at amazon.ca, hmm so if i order books at amazon.com with free shipping (super saver), all i pay is just the books? about taxes and all that stuff?
I believe books are Duty Free. For the other things, you’ll want to check and see…I believe electronics..etc is duty-able.
Don’t forget to add the 2.5% currency conversion fee your credit card issuer will charge you (unless of course it’s a U.S. Dollar card).
Ah, good point CCB! I’d not thought of that.
I really should update this one though. I believe Amazon.ca prices are now more in line with the exchange rate, and other booksellers here are working to close the gap.
Fodder for a future post, methinks.