Wednesday, February 08, 2006

...Number Crunching...

There is one thing I dislike living up here in the north..well other than being chase by polar bears in winter and chase by beavers in the summer is the fact that most of the stuff I buy from the internet is ship from the states. When it crosses the border, I have to pay 5 dollar customs PLUS tax. I thought there was free trade. Lastly, some of the good deals like shipping free from amazon.com, they won't ship it up here. We ain't that far away. I ain't. Well what can I do?

I don't enjoy hunting for deals and what not. I do, however, do it b/c of necessities. I realize buying from performancebike.com, they don't charge me custom nor tax. Up here, we pay 15% tax. That's a lot (we must be using that money to raise an army of beavers or something).

When I got my Clif Bars, I didn't got charge customs or tax. After converting the cost, breaking down the shipping and what not, it comes to $1.20 (CDN) total for each bar. This is compare to some stores here that sell $1.80 before tax (so after 15%, it is about $2.00). That's saves about 80 cents for a bar.

I am thinking a way around this customs and tax bit. If the package is ship as a gift, then it is not taxed. I have an aunt that works down in Texas. I figured I can buy from amazon.com, ship it to her for free and have her USPS up here as a gift. I will pay for the shipping. Ship with USPS it shouldn't be too expensive. I need to get another pair of runners (Asics Gel-1100). Amazon.com sells them for $59.99 US (about $71.98 Canadian with a 1.20 conversion). At a runner room store, it sells for $129.99 + 15% = $149.49 CDN. I could get two pairs for the same price.

Even if I ship it straight up from amazon.com, i am sure one pair will be cheaper after customs, taxes and shipping fee. This is probably the only one reason I want to live down the states (and of course the warm weather).

This morning I woke up 30 min late and didn't have time to do my long run. I will do it tomorrow morning. I woke up and start data entry all my food intake and my exercise for the week. I am enjoying how much I have consume everyday. :) Tonight after work, bike drills and swim drills before I hit the church for a prayer meeting.

12 comments:

Battman said...

I'm pretty sure I know why you woke up late; you dreaming of tax schemes weren't you...There a 1040 with my name on it coming your way. Should I send it to your aunt first?

Trisaratops said...

Man...that army of Canadian Beavers has me worried....hee hee!! :)

Hey, if it makes ya feel any better, we just got 7 inches of snow today!

William said...

Yeah, I agree Cliff. It always seems like such a hassle getting stuff here. And our amazon store SUCKS compared to the US version.

Dawn - Pink Chick Tris said...

The polar bears wouldn't chase you if you stayed in your igloo, eh *wink*.

qcmier said...

You could get the Beaver army to build a land brige across Lake Erie. Then every other week I will send you what you want via deer courier service.

Anne said...

I am totally with you - the tax and shipping issues are a big pain. Also, since I live a bit further from the States than you do, I get to wait a looong time for stuff to actually arrive. :-(

I really should move back to sunny California... *sigh*

Joyce said...

ah i feel your pain too! i get some things from the states and it stinks to have to pay soooo much in duty fees! if you figure it out, let me know!

i had no idea amazon sold shoes? i thought you were talking about books... i was gonna say try chapters lol, but i doubt they'd have shoes :P

Sixteen Chickens said...

I like the way you think Cliff. Way to get around customs and taxes... now just hope big brother isn't watching you. ;)

Chris said...

Just make sure you keep your Canadian citizenship for perscription drugs. I think lots of folks in the US buy their drugs from up there because they're so much cheaper!

Rae said...

Wow, 15% is a lot of tax. Do you have income tax like we do or is all through sales tax?

Do you seriously have polar bears? Crazy!

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