My folks are snowbirds who spend 4 months down in Texas every year and I'm very tempted to take advantage of the high Canadian $ and low U.S. prices on PJ's. I also want to make sure that I have my bases covered and know what I'm getting into. So, if I have a US model in Canada, what concerns should I have? Can I get the US warranty extended into Canada? Are there any other concerns I should think about???

Bottom line -- If I continue to see the price discrepancies that I'm currently seeing where some PJ's (e.g. Marantz 4001, Mits HD1500) are getting heavily discounted down south but not up North, I will likely buy from the U.S., even if it means a potential warranty headache.

I am looking at the same situation, only I am looking into online shops, and it seems a majority of them don't ship to Canada.

Hi Keith,

The price difference might be becoming somewhat less. Look at what Epson Canada has done in the last few weeks. The price on the HC1080 and PC810 are now within $100 of the US price. Optoma dealers are already selling pretty much at par. I think the only holdout will be Panasonic.

Both Epson and Mits are controlled channels up here. Now that Epson has taken this step, I'll bet that Mits is not too far behind.

Jonathan

I bought a Panasonic projector from the US. Their warranty is no good in Canada. I'd have to ship it back to the US if I needed warranty work.

I don't think you'd have to pay duty crossing the border, but you do have to pay taxes. If you ship it, brokerage charges are hit and miss. It depends on the shipper, and the specific shipping method. Usually, air shipping includes the brokerage fees, but not always. Usually ground shipping does not include the brokerage fees, but not always. Strangely enough though, even though I got my projector weeks ago, I still don't know the various fees since I have not yet been billed for that stuff.

Often times the tax/brokerage/duty bill comes weeks later. Once in a while you don't have to pay any of those, but for a 4-digit priced projector, don't count on that happening.

I bought a Panasonic projector from the US. Their warranty is no good in Canada. I'd have to ship it back to the US if I needed warranty work.

I don't think you'd have to pay duty crossing the border, but you do have to pay taxes. If you ship it, brokerage charges are hit and miss. It depends on the shipper, and the specific shipping method. Usually, air shipping includes the brokerage fees, but not always. Usually ground shipping does not include the brokerage fees, but not always. Strangely enough though, even though I got my projector weeks ago, I still don't know the various fees since I have not yet been billed for that stuff.

Often times the tax/brokerage/duty bill comes weeks later. Once in a while you don't have to pay any of those, but for a 4-digit priced projector, don't count on that happening.

I know that this is somewhat underhanded but what if I had my parent's receive it in Texas and ship it to me in a different box (without the receipt). Would this work around some of those customs issues?

If they drive it back across when they come back, I doubt it would even be noticed (I presume they pack a good amount of stuff when they go). I'm fortunate in that I work in the US but live in Canada, so I simply had mine shipped to my office and drove it across (no hassles at the border as I was prepared to call it a "work tool" if anyone asked--no one did).

Keith,

What projector are you considering?

Jonathan

I know that this is somewhat underhanded but what if I had my parent's receive it in Texas and ship it to me in a different box (without the receipt). Would this work around some of those customs issues?


It can be shipped as a gift...there will be no extra charges...

It can be shipped as a gift...there will be no extra charges...

Very interesting!

As to which PJ, I'm not entirely sure right now. My parent's head down in January and come back in April. All I can say is that if during that time we see another deal like we have now with the Marantz 4001 ($1,500 in the U.S. and $4,500 in Canada), I will likely take advantage of it.

Seriously though -- My hope is that Canadian retailers get their act together and start competing at the same level as US retailers. With the Canadian dollar reaching par and expected to continue to climb, there is absolutely no reason why a PJ should cost $.01 more in Canada than the U.S. ... let alone $100's to $1,000's more.

There's more to it than currency exchange rates. If your position were true, then everything in the UK should cost exactly, in pounds, half the numerical value of the US dollar cost (in June 2007, when the exchange rate was just about 2 for 1). It doesn't work that way.

We should see prices become a lot closer over the next year or so (provided currency rates remain stable) but unless the US dollar goes below 90 cents Canadian and stays there for awhile, overall costs of doing business in Canada will prevent the "exact price" you seem to believe should be in place as a general rule. It may happen with specific items, but the economy is far too complex to arrive at a simple "it shouldn't cost one penny more in Canada", even with money at par.

I know that this is somewhat underhanded but what if I had my parent's receive it in Texas and ship it to me in a different box (without the receipt). Would this work around some of those customs issues?
Maybe, maybe not. The risk here is having your projector held up at customs while they investigate your false claim.

I would just pick a good shipping method which includes brokerage, and then just pay the tax like you're supposed to.


It can be shipped as a gift...there will be no extra charges...
Not really. Canada Customs is more than willing to charge taxes on "gifts" under certain circumstances.

Furthermore, the gift method wouldn't be direct from the retailers, since most respectable retailers wouldn't be stupid enough to label something as a gift when it isn't.