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[Foreign Jackass]

Why are mp3 players so expensive in Canada? 350$ for a 250US$ iPod mini, 319$ for a 219US$ Creative Zen 30 gb.. What the hell?

What if I order a Zen over the internet, will I pay a weird 100$ tax over it when it gets here?

 

[dem]

I dunno..

Did they enforce some sort of tax on these things? I know they were talking about it a long time ago..

 

[SickBoy]

In part, it's because retail prices on a lot of US products are based on what the Canadian dollar used to be worth and haven't been adjusted.

A chunk of it, as well is the "blank media levy," which is part of Canadian copyright legislation that compensates artists for the act of copying music.... one of the biggest POS rules out there because (IMO) it presumes that if you're buying a CDR, you're buying it to burn copyrighted music.

EDIT: According to Apple's site, that levy makes up $15 on the price of the iPod Mini.

 

[TheOMan]

Forgive my ignorance but I'm curious....why are you buying this stuff over the net from Canada. Is this stuff not available in the US? (I'm in Canada).

Also, there is no tax/duty on electronics...so no you won't pay any weird fees if I recall correctly - *if* you're shipping to US/Mexico.

Edit: I guess you're not in the US either...but I'm still curious why order from Canada...shipping?

 

[Foreign Jackass]

I AM from Canada. Hence the question. I wanted to order it from the US.

 

[Saturnman]

Buy a Flash-based player instead if you're strapped for cash.

 

[p_xavier]

I AM from Canada. Hence the question. I wanted to order it from the US.

Long story short : you'll pay a customs fee, plus the duty fee, plus the federal and provincial taxes. Yes, you'll be screwed.

 

[SickBoy]

I doubt you'll pay anything wacky... but ordering from the states will obviously mean shipping fees, a bit of a border wait, and you will have to factor in customs charges as well.

I doubt you'll pay any duties, but count on paying a $5 "handling fee" for Canada customs plus GST on whatever it is you order.

EDIT: Yeah, what that guy said (forgot about PST) ...and I wouldn't bet my life (or even a modest amount of cash) on the idea that you won't pay any duty. I haven't ordered any electronics from the states, so I really can't say for certain. Just games and CDs... but I don't believe there's duty on electronics

...don't beileve, but don't really know for sure

 

[Foreign Jackass]

Long story short : you'll pay a customs fee, plus the duty fee, plus the federal and provincial taxes. Yes, you'll be screwed.

Will all those fees (except taxes, which I pay here anyways) amount to more than 70$? I mean, 70$ is a lot of cash.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Will all those fees (except taxes, which I pay here anyways) amount to more than 70$? I mean, 70$ is a lot of cash.

Customs: $5
Tax imposed by customs: 7% + whatever your PST rate is
Portable media tax: I've never seen it enforced on imported hardware, but as said, max $15.
Shipping cost: whatever they say

So find out the cost, convert to canadian dollars (xe.net) and then break out windows calculator.

example:

Just bought some crappy MP3 player. Converted cost is $250 CDN.

250 x 1.07 (7% tax) + 5 (customs) + 30 (shipping) = $302.50

And just so you know, if you pay for a courier (UPS, Fedex, that sort of thing) they will almost always bill you for that customs + tax by way of the mail (in my experience showing up a month later...)

 

[BigJonsson]

Apple's student discount is your friend

 

[Foreign Jackass]

Isn't the student discount only available in the US anyway?

 

[Foreign Jackass]

Forget about that, I just checked it out. The rebate is kinda cool. Now I can get it for 315 CAN plus taxes. Which would probably be the same price I'd pay if I ordered it from the US. That's kinda cool.

 

[BigJonsson]

And I'd think that Apple USA wouldn't ship to Canada anyway

 

[TheOMan]

Ah I see, makes sense now.

There is no duty on electronics and as far as I know, you will *not* be charged pst/gst (at least I wasn't when I ordered some software and other electronic trinkets).

 

[Takuan]

http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/pro...px/dj_pocket?c=ca&cs=CADHS1&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn
Dell's Pocket DJ seems like a great buy at $279.99 Canadian for 5 gigs. No idea if they're any good, though. Nice features, and pretty slim design at 3.5x2.1x0.5 inches. If I was in the market for a hard drive music player I'd get it over the iPod Mini.

Edit: Yes, if you buy anything from a US site expect to get reamed by customs and duties - I've been reamed so many times I could star in a goatse.cx feature.

 

[SickBoy]

Ah I see, makes sense now.

There is no duty on electronics and as far as I know, you will *not* be charged pst/gst (at least I wasn't when I ordered some software and other electronic trinkets).

I'd say you're lucky then... the only time I haven't been charged tax on something I've ordered online is when it's been from EBay. They otherwise get me without fail

...and whoever mentioned the thing about couriers is right. I've read stories about people who won't buy from anywhere that ships UPS only because the UPS customs brokerage fees are insane. Apparently FedEx is better, but it sounds like you're best off if you can receive something via trackable/insurable USPS.

 

[Fresh Prince]

Forget about that, I just checked it out. The rebate is kinda cool. Now I can get it for 315 CAN plus taxes. Which would probably be the same price I'd pay if I ordered it from the US. That's kinda cool.

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