Buying Software in Canada? U are robbed

Today, I took a look at Amazon, as they have some good prices for Leopard. I saw that .Mac 5 lists for $74.99. On the Amazon Canada site, it lists for $129 (Remember that the Canadian Dollar is now worth more than the US Dollar) Naturally, I decided to save myself the significant $54.01 and proceeded to enter my order at Amazon USA. Lo and behold, when I selected my shipping address in Canada, the system told me that they could not ship there.

So, here in Canada, we have to pay over 40% more for the same software?

I would send feedback to Apple. I think the pricing must come from Apple. Look at the Apple.ca webpage, there is a link at the boytom for Contact Us. Once on that page, on the right sidebar there is a section for feedback. Select what you think is closest to what you want to say.

When I renewed my .Mac account it cost me $160CAN with taxes so I sent them feedback on the .Mac service for the price. It might not change anything but at least they'll know how we feel about this ludicrous situation.

I think recently, Apple has been adapting the Canadian Pricing to reflect the exchange rate. I especially noticed this with the new iMacs.

I remember the old 24" iMac used to cost $2399 MSRP... The new one with better specs is only $1899.

Not sure about the software side.

Wait till it is actually in stores and buy it off Ebay out of the States for much less. That Amazon "can't sell to your address" stuff drives me nuts. It's all to do with manufacurers warrenties only being valid in the US even though it is the exact same product.

This problem isn't exclusive to Apple. It's a growing price-gouging scandal in Canada with goods from soup to nuts.

Lawsuits are beginning here against manufacturers, car makers included. Cars made in Canada and shipped to the U.S. can cost up to $10,000 or more in Canada. At least one manufacturer won't allow U.S. dealerships to sell cars to Canadians, the basis for one lawsuit. This is also the case with Bombadier's Ski-Doos, made in Canada, with identical machines that cost $3,000 more in Canada than in the US. As well, any warranty on a Ski-Doo purchased in the U.S. is rendered void in Canada.

It's price-gouging, pure and simple.

Funny I was just at the University Computer store and pre-purchased Leopard for $69.99 plus taxes.

That's the Edu price, not the regular price.

Canada .Mac pricing. Remember our $'s exchange rate is higher than the US...

MacHeadCase said:

That's the Edu price, not the regular price.

Canada .Mac pricing. Remember our $'s exchange rate is higher than the US...

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its even worse for books.
i was in Chapters book store in Calgary last week. they even had a sign in the door stating why we couldnt pay US prices on books when they are a lot less but the CAD$ is worth more.

for example one book was $35CAD, $24USD.. and that was printed on the cover! in the same store!!!

they said its cos the prices are set by publishers 6 months before sale. so cannot keep up with recent currency changes.

nokialed said:

they said its cos the prices are set by publishers 6 months before sale. so cannot keep up with recent currency changes.

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But they keep up with it when the dollar falls with an ultra-low-tech split-second fix. They paste a sticker with a higher price over the old one.

There's a natural law, like that of gravity, that says this can't work the other way; it would be a reversal of entropy.

Last night on the news they were telling that a lot of retailers (they only mentioned Walmart and Zellers I think) are and have been changing thier pricing to reflect the Canadian dollar.. and they promise more to come.

I contacted both Amazon and Apple. Haven't heard back from Apple yet.

Amazon told me that Amazon Canada buys from a different supplier than Amazon USA. Don't know if that makes sense, who would they be buying .Mac from other than Apple? Whats really galling here is that there is almost zero cost here to Apple as this is a subscription, its not even software.

I don't believe that response. There just can't be that large of a discrepancy in prices. I encourage everyone here to write to Apple and Amazon Canada, so they hear from more than 1 person.

naftalim said:

I contacted both Amazon and Apple. Haven't heard back from Apple yet.

Amazon told me that Amazon Canada buys from a different supplier than Amazon USA. Don't know if that makes sense, who would they be buying .Mac from other than Apple? Whats really galling here is that there is almost zero cost here to Apple as this is a subscription, its not even software.

I don't believe that response. There just can't be that large of a discrepancy in prices. I encourage everyone here to write to Apple and Amazon Canada, so they hear from more than 1 person.

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the problem is amazon canada hardly stocks anything.. like the USA and UK amazon stores both stock ipods, and lots of other electricals. amazon canada doesnt. but then amazon USA wont deliver to Canada!! its so annoying, one of the few things i miss from the UK now i live in Canada...

amazon.ca is crap for anything other than books and music really.

I ordered .Mac 5 from Amazon USA with a shipping address in the USA. Today I got this email from Amazon, even though this product is listed as in stock on their site. The conspiracy continues.

Hello from Amazon.com.

We're writing about the order you placed on October 20 2007 08:50 PDT
(Order# 104-8877300-XXXXXX). Unfortunately, we are unable to ship the item(s) as soon as we
expected and need to provide you with a new estimate of when the item(s) may be delivered:

"Apple .Mac 5.0 [DVD-ROM]" [DVD-ROM]
Estimated arrival date: 10/24/2007 - 10/25/2007

We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this delay.

leopard is listed on the canadian apple site as 129 (the same as the US price) and i'm pretty sure that's how much i payed when i pre-ordered it.

Yes, Apple is selling it at the same price, but not other retailers. Aside from that Apple is saying, hey you can buy it from us at $129.00 or $54.00 cheaper at Amazon, but not if you are in Canada. I mean Amazon would not be selling at that price if Apple didn't want them to.

ki99 said:

leopard is listed on the canadian apple site as 129 (the same as the US price) and i'm pretty sure that's how much i payed when i pre-ordered it.

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ki99 said:

leopard is listed on the canadian apple site as 129 (the same as the US price). . . .

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Picking nits, it should be $126.22 Canadian.

Amazon USA shipped my .Mac order, so its doable with a bit of effort. Now I have to get my niece to ship it to me in Canada. Now I hope that Apple doesnt refuse the subscription cuz it was purchased in the US.

You wanna see burnt - try buying anything Mac on Mud Island (UK) - Now that hurts.

Sipper

Yeah. I'm really cheesed off. On the Canadian Apple store, The 17 in MBP is $3099, while on the US Apple store, it's $2799.

This is in spite of the fact, that at this particular moment in time (probably won't be for long) the Canadian dollar has a higher value that the American dollar.

All Canadians know how frustrating it is that for the past how many years, we always have to pay more to buy anything made in the US. I was hoping that for ONCE I would pay less for something. So finally, our dollar goes up, and WE CAN'T EVEN REAP THE BENEFITS!!

musicvortex said:

Yeah. I'm really cheesed off. On the Canadian Apple store, The 17 in MBP is $3099, while on the US Apple store, it's $2799.

This is in spite of the fact, that at this particular moment in time (probably won't be for long) the Canadian dollar has a higher value that the American dollar.

All Canadians know how frustrating it is that for the past how many years, we always have to pay more to buy anything made in the US. I was hoping that for ONCE I would pay less for something. So finally, our dollar goes up, and WE CAN'T EVEN REAP THE BENEFITS!!

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the CAD $ is going to go even higher and then stay there till at least 2009 according to all the best business reports..