Made in Canada. Making the effort?

Yes I agree there are some exceptions like my local Home Hardware, but for many things it is becoming preferable to buy it from Amazon a budy of mine bought from Amazon a pack of sanding disc 10 bucks less then Home hardware who were also out of them.

Best buy provides delivery but you have to pick up from their store, they should be offering then at least 50% discount. Especially when Amazon will sell the same item cheaper and delivered for free. All of their site online are poor for ordering.

Buying big stuff in Canada you are guaranteed to be ripped off, roofing material so cheap in the US and so much easier to buy.
Called Ideal roofing, they won't see to me have to call Home Depot price 5X what it is in the US.

Roofing job cost buying from the US 2000.00
Canada 10,000
That is not a small price difference. Canadian companies as far as I am concern do not deserve business as they have explicitly stated they do not want business.

I guess many Canadians are willing to settle to pay more and get less and poor service excluding the small exceptions.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

For the most part I agree GW.... I (used to) do lots of shopping in Ogdensburg and the customer service is always head and shoulders above what I get here in Ont.

But there are stores that surprised me over the past year or so. Home Hardware is one. Most of them are locally owned (franchises) and the staff are very professional and know their stuff . If they don't know the answer to a particular question they find the guy that can help you. I've been using the one in Brockville regularly now and stopped going to the Home Depot across the street.

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Quote:

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Roofing job cost buying from the US 2000.00
Canada 10,000

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The last time I got a quote to do a roof (2010 or so), it was around $8,000.
Assuming his income is around $60,000 per year. He'll lose around 25% to income taxes
Pays around $150/month for private healthcare insurance.
Pays around $700-800/month for his truck ( new $70,000 or used $35,000) in order to do the job.
Pays around $16/hr for helpers.
Pays around $18-30/hr for experienced roofers.
Possibly WSIB and more.

And then, has the same problem most people do. Canadian made stuff is expensive.
So he shops at Walmart

JBen, I did the roof myself, the cost I paid for the tin was 2000 the cost at Home Depot (From Ideal Roofing) was 10 grand that was just for the tin. This was only the product no labor. That is a massive price difference
Also the longest sheets they could sell me were 12 ft, I wanted 17 ft so I could do it in one sheet (The pro way not half ). The company I bought from in the US Ogdensburg can provide them up to 53 ft. Big difference. Making excuses for Canadian companies to be bad companies does fly well.

Once the Border opens again I will be purchasing my metal again from the US as Canadian Companies are not capable of providing the service unless you want to do a half job , I prefer to do it the correct way.

QUOTE=JBen;1138619]The last time I got a quote to do a roof (2010 or so), it was around $8,000.
Assuming his income is around $60,000 per year. He'll lose around 25% to income taxes
Pays around $150/month for private healthcare insurance.
Pays around $700-800/month for his truck ( new $70,000 or used $35,000) in order to do the job.
Pays around $16/hr for helpers.
Pays around $18-30/hr for experienced roofers.
Possibly WSIB and more.

And then, has the same problem most people do. Canadian made stuff is expensive.
So he shops at Walmart[/QUOTE]

Not "making excuses" GW.
Poor service is poor service.

But with respect to cost. The US is a huge market. Scale of economies matter.
That's one reason I mentioned a truck. New trucks here cost around $70,000? And even used, a roofer here is looking at monthly payments above $600. Then there's taxes, and employee's. Worded differently. What would a Benelli cost a US hunter vs what you or I would pay for the same SG here..........................

Jben a few years ago we bought a pair of exhaust fans for the workshop, they were made in Canada and cost half the price to buy them from the US vs buying them in Canada, literally half the price..

Don't doubt it GW. There's a ton of stuff that goes into it. Shipping is one. It's a lot cheaper to ship stuff to the US than it is Canada. Either parts/components, or completed thingies. Labour and taxes factor in, as do other things. You mentioned fans.

This is the inline fan I'm dithering over for my grow room. By the time I add 6in ducting and a carbon filter ( if I want to).....
$220 CAD off Amazon. The same unit in hydroponic shops might sell for $270-$280
https://www.amazon.ca/AC-Infinity-CL...49&s=hi&sr=1-3

"Made in Canada" sounds good, and I'd love to see a return of manufacturing. But it only sounds good, until the majority see the sticker price.
Local farms.......vs......stuff from S. America.

Amazon.com in the US? $149.
https://www.amazon.com/AC-Infinity-C...9271930&sr=8-2

Building some cabinets in my garage this weekend and went shopping for plywood yesterday morning. Home Depot would have been the convenient stop but in the spirit of trying to buy from a local Canadian chain I opted for the drive to Home Hardware Building Centre. Prices were a bit more but like Mike said I also have had good customer experiences at Home Hardware.

Noticed some Spanish writing on the stamp on the wood and took a closer look. Product of Chile ??

I guess maybe it’s part of the whole lumber shortage that we had in the summer, but I was really surprised to see South American lumber in central Ontario...

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Originally Posted by 73hunter

Product of Chile ??

but I was really surprised to see South American lumber in central Ontario...

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Southern Chile aka Patagonia is analogous to coastal BC. Latitude is about the same but in southern hemisphere. Mountains and elevation are also similar. Pre-COVID it was one of my favourite vacation destinations. Great fishing on the rivers and tons of whitewater kayaking. Other than the flights cheap as well and very friendly people. Great wine areas as well if you are into that sort of thing.

Hiking in Torres Del Paine National Park in Chile with a bunch of friends about 10 years ago:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...0d5a816b_b.jpg

Great picture S8472

Yup Species, I figured that Patagonia could have been a lumber producing region - just didn’t expect to see that lumber for sale in Lindsay. Global village I guess.

Agreed great pic .... you sure get around !