i'm a patriotic canadian but..THIEVES!

[tenax]

now that things have worked out, i can smile and rant at the same time..just wanted to comment on the "joke" that we call canadian pool stores...lousy websites, high high prices. while as a radio station manager, i prefer to support local businesses and am willing to pay say 10-20% more for items, there can be price differences that can't be ignored..case in point without naming names:

zeobrite- same price about as u.s. , but 100 dollars for shipping! (versus 6.99 from the online store in u.s. that is fast becoming a favorite of mine..i'm 3 orders deep with them and order 4 is on the way..they don't disappoint)

pool vac- 500 bucks- same one 145 (ok it was ebay..but still)

pool pump- 600 bucks- again, ebay for 145 (almost my best find this summer) but even so, 300 to 350 for the same pump from u.s. online supplier.

pool cover, reel and casters- 700- got for 400 from my favorite us online store.

pool heater- 2400 plus 200 freight for a jandy 2 lite from both local pool stores. 1100 including shipping from an online us store.

chlorinator system- 1200- 700 from u.s. online store.

i know that in my area of the country, there isn't a huge call for pools but there is for spas and that's where they make tons of money. they don't advertise anywhere cause they are the only game in town..another pet peeve of mine...so i was quite happy to tell them where to go when they quoted me the book price on the pool heater.

small profit is still better than no profit. i've spent almost 3000 u.s. in the past 2 months to change out almost everything in my system and they didn't get a sniff of it locally except for the replacement piping and connectors i needed. would have cost me 5600 to buy locally!

i don't know the profit margin on the above, but it has to be minimum 20% for the local guys. so..600 cash in pocket..to bad, so sad.

[sevver]

That is the way, hit them in the pocketbook. If only everyone else would do it too. I try to never buy retail, always used, free or ebay. Craigslist is nice too. At the very least shop around for the best deal.

[tenax]

it's what i love about the net..i buy most things i buy xmas gifts, home products almost exclusively online now..we are much more educated buyers thanks to the web...it was time well spent and sure feels good when you know with a few hours work you've saved a bunch of coin.

[matt4x4]

The web has changed the way we do business, many people still fear the web, guess it's the old "afraid of the unknown" syndrome.
Some people juts gotta have it in their hands right away, where if I can save a good chunk, I'll get it off the web any day!
another tupe of store I like are stores like "excess cargo", who sell factory seconds merchandise. Many don't know this, but factory seconds in most cases does not mean anything anymore. In most cases it's where a big box store received a shipment that got damaged in transit, they flat out refuse the entire shipment, the manufacturer then ships it to a breakdown center where the skid gets ripped down, the damaged goods thrown away and the remaining 90% of undamaged goods go on an auction block to the highest bidder such as excess cargo - sometimes they go straight to the auction and they'll bid on a guestimate of good items left in that set. Usually it's bought for cents on the dollar. Sure, that item may have a couple more shipping miles on it, but well worth it to you and I the consumer.
The reason they can't resell to another big retailer is because teh goods were allready considered sold once, so a discounter gets them.
I purchased a 400 digital camera for 90 bucks that way - never once gave me a problem, same with my camcorder and a few other things.
That's probably how half of ebay works too.

[joliecharlie]

at least prescription drugs are cheaper in Canada!!! (Guess that is still the case!)

[jenpen400]

I have no choice but to get the most for the money. We have a family of 4 I'm a stay at home mom and hubby is an aircraft mechanic and makes half what he did pre 9/11. I shop gas this way too. I search for the best price online in my area then tell all my friends. At least this forces them to be fair. Now every one has to make a living and I really tried to buy my pool equiptment locally. I knew what I wanted I knew they had it. I asked for it and they tried to sell me something else. So I left and saved money on the net.

Keep them honest

jennifer

PS I do like spend my out to eat money at the local mom & pop Mexican restraunts in San Antonio!