Canadians Riddle me THIS

[Number_35]

Back when the exchange rates were very favorable for Canadians, I remember seeing a ton of BC plates at the mall and the garbage cans near the restrooms were full of old clothes. I guess customs doesn't charge import for the clothes on your back.

That was Jack Reacher's fault.

 

[tcp71]

We just spent 10 days in Florida. Overall the cost of food and hotels was pretty much the same in US$ as we normally pay in CDN$ at home so there is a 25-30% overall higher cost in Florida than Alberta. Some consumer items were a touch cheaper, but not enough to warrant huge purchases. Obviously there were outliers, but averaged out it there is a higher cost in Florida. Border states may look somewhat different.

 

[Number_35]

It’s probably a habit left from post 2008 crash. Back then Canadian dollar almost reached parity for a while and then stayed pretty close to the US dollar for years.

My wife and I used to go to Buffalo probably twice a year shopping. I loaded up with automotive stuff and she with clothes, shoes for the kids and some food items that we couldn’t get in Canadian stores.

With todays exchange however, it make little sense to go to US specifically shopping. Gas price difference is still worth it, comparing Toronto prices, but for grocery items, I’m not so sure it’s worth it.

The C$ was over par (as high as US$1.10) in the summer of 2007.

One of my coworkers priced out a new Honda Accord (V6 automatic) here @ C$30K.

He bought one in North Dakota instead, for US$20K (about C$18K at the time).

Even with the hassles of importing and upgrading the car to Canadian standards (DRLs being the biggie) it was well worth it. I think he pretty much had to forfeit the warranty coverage as well, but as it turned out the car didn't need any warranty work anyway.

Various of the automakers tried discourage their American dealers from selling to cross-border shoppers. I guess the Canadian dealers were unhappy.

 

[97prizm]

There are duties and a personal exemption based on length of time outside of Canada. Anything labeled as made in the US, Canada, or Mexico aren’t subject to duties when entering Canada. And certainly it’s possible for a Canadian to buy Canadian made goods in the US. Gas is a bit different (hard to prove the origin) and just wearing clothes is something that’s a bit tougher to figure out. At that point it might be considered used.

CBSA will have CBP info of when a Canadian entered the United States.

I’ve returned FROM Canada with just food and had no issues. It wasn’t much (spent less than $50). for two adults even for a trip less than 24 hours. But nothing was labeled per se, but I could have shown them the receipts. Entering Canada has never been difficult except for intrusive (but polite) questions,

I routinely watch Canada Border Patrol on YouTube and it seems like they like to hassle Americans, maybe it's who the show picks out. I've seen a number of people stopped when asked if they have food with them. You'd of thought they were trying to sneak plutonium across the border. It seems like Canadian airports care more about food being brought in.

 

[mk378]

It's not about food but the foreign insects and other invasive things that may be living on it. Though some food is illegal to import, such as game animals. Many people have been caught with suitcases full of "bush meat" which is various small African animals, dried and pressed flat.

 

[John105]

seems lots have changed--VA used to be 30 cents cheaper than NJ, and DE 10. PA 30+ cents more, than NJ regular at Costco. Come 2023, NJ is the cheapest, which for my entire existence on earth, less 7 years, was 30 cents less than CT. Today, CT is cheaper.

Then milk, what a surprise, PA the most expensive. NJ was $1 cheaper. DE was $2 cheaper at around $2.50/gal. I'd see people with 20 gal in their carts. Hoard o rama! How the heck would they refrigerate that milk in that quantity?

As mentioned above, not being good at math on top of ever changing relationships adds up to all the strange behavior.

p.s. this is all Costco pricing btw

 

[Number_35]

I routinely watch Canada Border Patrol on YouTube and it seems like they like to hassle Americans, maybe it's who the show picks out. I've seen a number of people stopped when asked if they have food with them. You'd of thought they were trying to sneak plutonium across the border. It seems like Canadian airports care more about food being brought in.

A group of us went skiing at Frostfire in ND about 20 years ago. We had packed lunches, but had to surrender all of our fresh fruit at the border.

The border guards must get tired of apples.

 

[John105]

It's not about food but the foreign insects and other invasive things that may be living on it. Though some food is illegal to import, such as game animals. Many people have been caught with suitcases full of "bush meat" which is various small African animals, dried and pressed flat.

back in 2002 I got hauled into secondary by the USDA flying from Dorval to PHL. Taking my apple from me was justifiable, but strip search, c'mon now.

 

[John105]

I routinely watch Canada Border Patrol on YouTube and it seems like they like to hassle Americans, maybe it's who the show picks out. I've seen a number of people stopped when asked if they have food with them. You'd of thought they were trying to sneak plutonium across the border. It seems like Canadian airports care more about food being brought in.

years ago had a black lab jump into my car and out, into the trunk and out, and a have a safe trip home. What if I were allergic to pets?

Another time, stopped by CBP in Lake George, NY. That's quite far from the border yet mobile check point.

Americans hassling Americans, I never got it. the other way around, sure, when the exchange was 1.65:1 we were heading to a playground with monopoly money, only natural to be envious.

 

[Number_35]

We just spent 10 days in Florida. Overall the cost of food and hotels was pretty much the same in US$ as we normally pay in CDN$ at home so there is a 25-30% overall higher cost in Florida than Alberta. Some consumer items were a touch cheaper, but not enough to warrant huge purchases. Obviously there were outliers, but averaged out it there is a higher cost in Florida. Border states may look somewhat different.

That is pretty much how prices in Germany seemed in 2018. Price in Canada in C$ = price in Germany in Euros.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

I only live ten minutes from the border but I rarely go down, it's just not worth burning an hour or more of my weekend to maybe save $20 on a tank of fuel. Maybe if I had a big truck with a huge fuel tank it would be more worth it. Additionally my in-laws live outside of the metro area here that has additional fuel taxes, and they're only 30 minutes away, so when the wife and I go there ( a couple times a month) I can save on some fuel out there.

I tend to agree a lot of people just aren't good at math also, or people don't put a value on their time. Even a family Costco run that might save you $100-150 if you spend say $6-800 on a trip, is that really worth burning 1/4 of your weekend? I don't think so.

 

[Pablo]

I only live ten minutes from the border but I rarely go down, it's just not worth burning an hour or more of my weekend to maybe save $20 on a tank of fuel. Maybe if I had a big truck with a huge fuel tank it would be more worth it. Additionally my in-laws outside of the metro area here that has additional fuel taxes, and they're only 30 minutes away, so when the wife and I go there ( a couple times a month) I can save on some fuel out there.

I tend to agree a lot of people just aren't good at math also, or people don't put a value on their time. Even a family Costco run that might save you $100-150 if you spend say $6-800 on a trip, is that really worth burning 1/4 of your weekend? I don't think so.

Pretty much why I asked the question I suppose.


Still you hounds have better food for less $

 

[ecotourist]

The C$ was over par (as high as US$1.10) in the summer of 2007.

One of my coworkers priced out a new Honda Accord (V6 automatic) here @ C$30K.

He bought one in North Dakota instead, for US$20K (about C$18K at the time).

Even with the hassles of importing and upgrading the car to Canadian standards (DRLs being the biggie) it was well worth it. I think he pretty much had to forfeit the warranty coverage as well, but as it turned out the car didn't need any warranty work anyway.

Various of the automakers tried discourage their American dealers from selling to cross-border shoppers. I guess the Canadian dealers were unhappy.

My secretary bought a new Subaru in the US at about the same time. It was a lot cheaper.

Not too much later Subaru stopped American dealers from selling to Canadians.

 

[Jimmy_Russells]

My secretary bought a new Subaru in the US at about the same time. It was a lot cheaper.

Not too much later Subaru stopped American dealers from selling to Canadians.

Depends on the brand. Especially for German cars if you convert the sale price to Euros the cars are WAY cheaper in Canada.

 

[ripcord]

I only live ten minutes from the border but I rarely go down, it's just not worth burning an hour or more of my weekend to maybe save $20 on a tank of fuel. Maybe if I had a big truck with a huge fuel tank it would be more worth it. Additionally my in-laws live outside of the metro area here that has additional fuel taxes, and they're only 30 minutes away, so when the wife and I go there ( a couple times a month) I can save on some fuel out there.

I tend to agree a lot of people just aren't good at math also, or people don't put a value on their time. Even a family Costco run that might save you $100-150 if you spend say $6-800 on a trip, is that really worth burning 1/4 of your weekend? I don't think so.

It depends on how dear that $$ is to you.

 

[97prizm]

My secretary bought a new Subaru in the US at about the same time. It was a lot cheaper.

Not too much later Subaru stopped American dealers from selling to Canadians.

Wow. No kidding? When I was an emissions Inspector a guy came in with a Dodge Ram. It got flagged as a Canadian model. The dealership ended up buying it back from the guy. When i worked for a VW dealership we had a few people try to cash in on the dieselgate buy back. Come to find out they bought a Canadian version and were told they'd have to return it to a Canadian dealership.

 

[97prizm]

The C$ was over par (as high as US$1.10) in the summer of 2007.

One of my coworkers priced out a new Honda Accord (V6 automatic) here @ C$30K.

He bought one in North Dakota instead, for US$20K (about C$18K at the time).

Even with the hassles of importing and upgrading the car to Canadian standards (DRLs being the biggie) it was well worth it. I think he pretty much had to forfeit the warranty coverage as well, but as it turned out the car didn't need any warranty work anyway.

Various of the automakers tried discourage their American dealers from selling to cross-border shoppers. I guess the Canadian dealers were unhappy.

Yeah and the Canucks still can order a 2023 Subaru crosstrek sport with the 6spd manual. If i had the money I would have bought one. A guy in line with me at the dmv is here on a visa from Australia. He ordered a 2022 crosstrek manual 6 months ago and it was just delivered.

 

[y_p_w]

A group of us went skiing at Frostfire in ND about 20 years ago. We had packed lunches, but had to surrender all of our fresh fruit at the border.

The border guards must get tired of apples.

I returned from Canada and was told that any fresh fruit we had was OK as long as it could be identified as being of US origin. That would be something like a sticker on an orange or fruit that was packaged in a clamshell or bag with a label. And there was lots of American produce for sale in BC.

 

[Pablo]

Filled the Tacoma this AM

 

[Snagglefoot]

Have to admit, saving money can get irrational with some folks.