Are Canadian consumers being fleeced?
Cats: Canada|The other day I bought a book called The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More. It’s a buzz book on the way the internet is tearing down borders of space and time in commerce.
The book, published by Hyperion of New York, was originally priced at US $24.95 and Can. $33.95. There was a sticker over the Canadian price showing a new price in Canada $28.95. The value of the Canadian dollar was almost par on the day of the purchase, meaning I should have paid about $25.10 for the book.
But I paid $4 more. Why? Because book publishers are claiming that the price is based on the value of the dollar at the time they published it? Funny, that. I own export business in the service sector and I cannot charge more to account for the Canadian dollar value at the time my services were provided.
The truth is that Canadian consumers are being fleeced by book publishers, auto manufacturers and many other consumer industries. They are dragging their feet to re-adjust the prices of products. Meanwhile Canadian exporters are paying the price of the stronger dollar.
Perhaps the book should be called The Big Rip Off: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less for More.”
September 27th, 2007 at 7:20 am
This has always been an issue, albeit more apparent given the strong Canadian $.
It would be easy enough, one would think, to have a base price on the shelf and a price adjustment at the till.
Almost all purchases are electronic nowadays anyway.
There was a snippit on CTV last night regarding vehicle purchase prices, but I didn’t really follow it.
Stay tuned I guess.
September 27th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Bloody right we are being fleeced! It’s the old ‘when prices go up they are adjusted instantly, but they hold on by their fingertips when the bottom falls out’ syndrome.
Last week I saw a book that was $48 Canadian and $29.95 US!!!!! Almost 40% higher …..!
September 27th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Yeah, I read a story about this. Sorry we’re screwing you guys over.
September 28th, 2007 at 11:51 am
It’s not you Chelene, it’s Canadian publishers who charge the big price and don’t make the adjustment.