A Cheaper Way to Buy C.Crane products in Canada

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A Cheaper Way to Buy C.Crane products in Canada

Postby jon » Tue Jun 23, 2015 4:13 pm

I'm not sure how long this has been happening, but Amazon is now selling C.Crane radios. My Mother wanted a new radio, and she really likes my CCRadio-EP, so I gave her mine and was looking for the cheapest way to replace it for myself.

I compared buying direct from C.Crane and having it shipped to Canada, buying it from amazon.ca, and buying it from amazon.com. Although the purchase price of the Radio is pretty much the same, the difference in Shipping and other charges is significant. Amazon.com was, by far, the cheapest.

Directly from C.Crane, it is $126.05 U.S. funds plus whatever Canada Post charges me, if anything, for GST, Admin Fee and Duty.

From amazon.ca, it is $166.68 Canadian, and very likely subject to GST, Canada Post Admin Fee and Duty.

From amazon.com, it is $98.31 U.S., of which up to $4.25 may be refunded to you, depending on how things work out at the Border. The magic words appear to be "Fulfilled by Amazon", as I was able to order another non-Crane product at the same time and Amazon.com combined shipping, cutting over $5 off the normal shipping cost of the second item.

The list price of the radio, before shipping, is $84.95 U.S.
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Re: A Cheaper Way to Buy C.Crane products in Canada

Postby Mike Cleaver » Tue Jun 23, 2015 7:37 pm

Amazon pisses me off because they charge shipping for Canadian orders when US orders usually include free shipping.
Living just 30 minutes from the border, we order everything from Amazon.com and have it shipped to a parcel drop in Blaine, WA.
No shipping charges and the drop costs us $12 a year for unlimited shipments.
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Vancouver, BC, Canada

54 years experience at some of Canada's Premier Broadcasting Stations
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Re: A Cheaper Way to Buy C.Crane products in Canada

Postby jon » Tue Jun 23, 2015 8:03 pm

Those of us several hours drive from the border don't have a lot of options. Though I know a few guys here who drive 16 hours round trip to Montana to pick up Car Parts at a U.S. P.O. Box.

Amazon.com has improved their Shipping deals to Canada tremendously in the last year. Depending on what the item is, the costs can be as little as one-third the costs to ship that they were before the change. More important, their shipping includes Border Brokerage, so there are no unpleasant surprises like there used to be whenever Canada Customs snagged your parcel. So far, I've been getting well over half of the Import Fees refunded that Amazon.com withholds during Checkout.

Surprisingly, amazon.ca can be cheaper than amazon.com, though not as much now that the Canadian dollar is around 80 cents U.S. Even Canadian Marketplace sellers occasionally have better prices than their American counterparts.

As for U.S. companies that offer free shipping into Canada, there are a few. Unfortunately, the one that really interested me was B&H PhotoVideo, and they were true to their word. Shipping is free on orders of $99 or more, but all the other charges really add up. I recently looked at a $140 item. Shipping was free but:
Details of Duty Charges

Duties:$8.34
GST:$6.95
Brokerage:$1.56
Disbursement:$0.46
Security & Handling:$10.15
Total:$27.46
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Re: A Cheaper Way to Buy C.Crane products in Canada

Postby jon » Sat Aug 01, 2015 11:45 am

The CCRadio-EP seems to be an anomaly. I just checked some other CCrane products and they are cheaper on amazon.ca.

For example, the CC Skywave is currently $115 Canadian with no GST and free shipping on amazon.ca. xe.com says the exchange rate is currently 76.388 cents per dollar, which makes that $115 turn into $87.85 U.S.

Amazon.com currently has it for $89.95 U.S., which is also the list price at ccrane.com.
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