Bit of a Vent

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by digital-audiophile

If two of the exact same skimmer are manufactured in Germany and one is shipped to a LFS in Canada and one is shipped to a LFS in the United States with the dollar at parity and assuming that both stores have the same overhead and expected profit margin there should be no real difference in the price.

Most of the time this isn't how it happens though. You usually can't call up a factory in Germany and say "I'd like 3 please". They're going to sell them by the pallet or not at all. This means you have to call up a wholesaler, almost always in the US, and get them from there.

Now there is another thing that comes into that with currency. USD and CAD are at par but keep in mind this has more to do with the relative weakness of USD compared to the strength of CAD. If that wholesale operation is buying from Germany they are now paying more and will pass that cost on. This is already starting to happen.

The option for local guys is to find ways to buy direct or find Canadian wholesale guys that do it. This isn't always easy or even possible though.