Canadians! Where is the best place to buy?

[CJL]

If anyone is from Nikon and reading this - and dares to admit they are reading this - if I switch to Canon for my next digital SLR, the number one primary reason for the switch will be be cause of your warranty stand.  And that's form a "Nikon man" going back over 25 years.

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Same here...

I've been patiently waiting to upgrade from my D300 and DX glass, but the neither the D3 or any of the key pro lenses are in stock anywhere in Canada, and my local dealer has huge waiting lists for all of these items.  So essentially, Nikon won't let you buy the gear here in Canada, but won't touch it when you're forced to buy it somewhere else...

[mahleu]

Personally I don't buy Canadians, I find it better to rent until I see one I like more.

[joneil]

Same here...

I've been patiently waiting to upgrade from my D300 and DX glass, but the neither the D3 or any of the key pro lenses are in stock anywhere in Canada, and my local dealer has huge waiting lists for all of these items.  So essentially, Nikon won't let you buy the gear here in Canada, but won't touch it when you're forced to buy it somewhere else...
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  Do  you find this with accessories too?  When I first bought my D40 back in Feb, nobody in Canada had spare batteries in stock.  Everybody was on "backorder" and nobody knew when they would be on hand.   I ended up buying spares from the USA.

   They are in stock now, but the sad thing is, the exact same, Nikon branded battery is $80 Cdn at Henrys, and $40 US at B&H.   I'd gladly pay $50 cdn, even $60 to support local merchants, but double the price is just pushing it too far.  

   Isn't this how this thread all started?
 

[scubastu]

Let's see, I just bought a Canon EF 85f1.8 from Allens Camera in Levittown, PA (www.allenscamera.com).  I was down in the US for a 3 day business trip so had a $400 exemption.  I paid U$340.00 shipped to me, since the value of the lens was under the exemption, it was brought in duty and tax free....but even if I had paid GST & PST (BC) on it, that's 12% or $369.60, shipping would have added maybe $10 more if it was sent USPS....grand total about $392.00 tax paid, to me.  Visa on the day I ordered was at par on the exchange, so no problems there.  Oh, forgot the $8.00 Canada post charges, so an even $400, delivered.

Henry's has the same lens for C$549.00, Camera Canada is $542.00, add taxes then they're $ 614.88 and 607.04 respectively, not to mention the shipping, so another 20-30 bucks on top of that?... so why would any reasonable person be willing to spend the extra $225-300 to support their local merchant?  I'm most of the way to almost buying another 85mm f1.8 for that price difference!

Yes, body prices are comparable, (not when I got my 10D & 5D, was close on the 40D),    but for the most part, US prices are so much lower than our's that it makes no economic sense to buy locally.  I have to sell a lot more images to make up that price difference, money I could easily spend on other things..like diapers and baby wipes for my new son!  

The only break I ever got buying Canadian was my Z3100ps, at the time of purchase (unfortunately before that huge price drop), I got mine for about $2000 below what it was selling in the US.

S.

[Mark D Segal]

Henry's has the same lens for C$549.00, Camera Canada is $542.00, add taxes then they're $ 614.88 and 607.04 respectively, not to mention the shipping, so another 20-30 bucks on top of that?... so why would any reasonable person be willing to spend the extra $225-300 to support their local merchant?  I'm most of the way to almost buying another 85mm f1.8 for that price difference!

Yes, body prices are comparable, (not when I got my 10D & 5D, was close on the 40D),    but for the most part, US prices are so much lower than our's that it makes no economic sense to buy locally.  I have to sell a lot more images to make up that price difference, money I could easily spend on other things..like diapers and baby wipes for my new son!   


S.
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The responsibility for these differences is Canon's, not the retailers. I brought some of these price differentials to the attention of the President of Canon Canada in a letter with an attachmenmt showing a good number of comparisons between Toronto and B&H back in November 2007, and of course never received a reply. Obviously they don't consider it discourteous to not reply - which I find strange, because in Japan etiquette is taken so seriously. Anyhow, at least they are one company that's good enough to honour a North American warranty. We do need to acknowledge that some price difference should be expected because it is inherently more expensive per unit of product to run an operation like Canon's in Canada than in the USA for a number of reasons, but there's a limit. So yes, beyond a certain price difference it only makes sense to buy in the USA and get it serviced here, if ever needed.