How to Shop and Shopping in Canada

When you travel to different cities or countries you have to buy or rent almost everything. You can only pack and bring a certain amount of personal products, clothes and electronics. When you travel - eventually you have to purchase food, accommodation, transportation, and other products and services. This is some shopping information to help you when you travel to Canada and have to shop. There are links to additional "How to shop articles" to help you make purchase decisions when shopping in Canada.

The Canadian dollar has jumped up from .63 USD to par value with the US dollar. This has caused several pricing problems for shopping in Canada. Many products have been priced to reflect the traditional 25 to 35% discount to the US dollar.

Many Canadians and visitors to Canada have compared prices in Canada and the border US retailers and using US dollars saved from 15 to 25% shopping in the USA.

Some Canadian retailers (2013) have lowered their prices and it is comparable to shop in Canada or USA. For big ticket items (over $500) use the internet to compare USA and Canada prices for the same products at the same retailers to calculate which is the best location to buy.

How to Shop in Canada

When shopping in Canada remember the price you see is not the final price! In Canada there are two taxes the GST (Federal Government Goods and Services Tax) and the PST (Provincial Sales Tax). The GST is the same rate all over Canada, the PST is the local rate for the province and yes they are all different.

Many provinces have recently adopted both taxes together as the "HST" Harmonized Sales Tax.

As an example if you see something like a pen in a dollar store the sticker price will show the price as 1 dollar. When you go to the clerk at the cash register and the item is "rung up on the till" the price will be the 1 dollar plus the two taxes and you will have to pay the total amount. In Ontario the Federal GST is 5 percent and the PST is 8 percent so the total price of the pen is 1.13 with the added taxes.

In Canada there are different government taxes that are added to alcohol, gasoline, tobacco, hotel rooms and other targeted consumables. Always ask what taxes are included and what taxes are added for the items you wish to purchase. This will help you avoid final price surprises.

In Canada some restaurants, bars and hotels add a service fee to the final bill. This fee can be 10, 15, 20 or 25 percent and can shock shoppers if you were unaware of this additional service fee. Always ask if there is a service fee and what is the rate.

When shopping in Canada you have to compare prices as tax in or out and with or without a service fee. If you want a coffee and see 2 prices ($1.25 all in from shop A) and you see a price of ($1.00 from shop B) you have to ask questions before buying your coffee.

A - $ 1.25 final price

B - $ 1.00 - plus service fee .20 plus GST .06 plus PST .09 final price $ 1.35

In Canada ask what taxes and service fees are included or added to the final price.

Buying junk to save a few dollars is not a good idea.

In Canada there are real name brand products, fake name brand products and cloned products. In Canada it is illegal to sell pirate goods however many fast-buck operators sell these goods to try and make profits from the good reputations of the legitimate high-quality name-brand products.

If you are shopping in a dark basement or buying from someone's car or a flea market - then your chances of buying the real new un-used name brand product are close to zero.

If you buy a fake product from a pirate and this product causes an allergic reaction, or falls apart or causes an accident then obviously you are to blame - you are the stupid one. Buying junk to save a few dollars is not a good idea.

Using consumer reports to evaluate products

In Canada shoppers have the opportunity of using consumer reports to evaluate products. There are many books by non-profit testing organizations that test new products every year. The books are even available free at many libraries across Canada.

In Canada there are many specialty magazines that perform their own in-house technical evaluations and conduct user surveys from their subscribers about the products for sale.

Using the product reports from the independent testing organizations and the specialty publishers can give you an extensive list of available products, average performances, user satisfaction, and some sort of product ranking for price or performance. These lists can act as your base information when you start to shop for any products in Canada.

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