No one is "screwing you" your comparing apples to oranges.
Printable View
Duty is a big cost, I can order stuff from the States, so long as it is made in North America and depending upon the courier I can have it delivered at a decent price... down with Brown. You have to ask where the stuff is made, not assembled or sold; but manufactured. Most tree stands are from overseas, most decoys as well. All that Free Trade/Tariffs stuff, you know... trying to keep jobs in Canada, people employed an/North Americad paying taxes, etc.
Despite what people think, that's not all profit. Distributors and retailers have costs. One of those costs is a carrying cost -- the cost of keeping stuff in inventory for you to buy. Canada is a small market, which means stuff doesn't turn over as quickly. This is one reason prices here are higher.
Nobody is laughing their way to the bank here.
A few years ago (when our $ was at the ~ same level as the US-$) I purchased Alliant-powder (Unique and Reloder 22) for $18 a pound (in Conroe / Texas) . Here , in Ontario , it retailed for $42/lb. (at Accurate Plus on #7 near Peterborough) . --- I realize that our Canadian prices are (for various reasons) a BIT higher ; BUT that much ??? --- Come on !!!
I haven't been asked or charged for 'duty' in many, many years....since almost everything is made 'off shore', it's a given and I think trade agreements may have nullified it as an cross border issue.
That is why Amazon is doing so well, proving out it is the future of retail....they centralize storage and distribution points to fill on-line sales orders, much like Walmart does with bricks and mortar.
Interesting when you look up items and compare the difference between Amazon.com and Amazon.ca
example:
http://www.amazon.ca/Ameristep-Grizz...rds=tree+stand
http://www.amazon.com/Ameristep-Griz...rds=tree+stand
Virtually the same price (free shipping on .com) ...online sales have largely equalized the prices across the border.
Exchange rates, economy of scale, blah blah, most Canadians willingly pay the higher prices and the Business' know it.
Deals are still to be had here in Canada as 2 months ago I picked up 4 Ameristep 2 man ladderstands for 69 Dollars each at Walmart ...
Glen
Low dollar, smaller buying power and when it comes to guns, ammo and many other hunting related products it gets into the country through distributors which need to make a profit. cant see the loonie hitting parity with the US dollar anytime soon so don't expect sporting goods to drop.