In the last few weeks, I've had some questions about the pricing of items at Slot Car Corner Canada compared to the pricing at Slot Car Corner (US). The introduction of the Piranha motor last week (US$8 and CA$10) brought out some more questions. Here's a quick explanation from the Great White North!
Most distributors are in the US. That means that most products I buy are paid in US dollars and are shipped from the US (a lot of distributors have some kind of free shipping program when a reseller buys more than $XX in merchandise; this free shipping thing very rarely applies for Canadian resellers). When a commercial shipment goes across the border, there are also customs brokerage fees to be paid (on top of the usual taxes, which I'm not even considering here).
And of course, the currency conversion also takes place. PayPal, credit card companies and the banks always add a 2.5 to 3.0% fee on the exchange rate.
So, let's do some quick math. :twocents-mytwocents:
As of this morning, the exchange rate is 1.1265 (12.65%). Add 2.8% for the bank conversion fee (15.45%). Then, shipping from the distributor adds (on average) 5% to the total amount of the order (20.45%). And the brokerage fees are also around 5% (25.45%).
So, for all purposes, every item that I buy as a reseller here in Canada is costing me around 25% more (in CA$) than the cost of the same item in US$. For the Piranha motor, that's where the difference between US$8 and CA$10 is coming from.
Now, for most other items, the pricing difference on the website is only 10% (all Slot.it parts, Quick Slicks tires, etc.). And for some other items, the difference is even less than that. That means that buying most items from SCCC in Canadian dollars costs less than buying the same items in US dollars. What's not to like? 8-)
Of course, the exchange rate is always a moving target (moving down more than up these days! :( ) and obviously, pricing on the website can't be adjusted daily. So, I always do things so my customers are on the good side of the equation... it's not easy being a Canadian slot car retailer. But I'm having fun anyway! :lol: