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Canadian Sony Market Failure

post #1 of 9
8/3/07 at 5:06pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,

This is my first post. Not sure if price talk is considered vulgar here, but I am really peeved about the horrible position of the Canadian consumer who would like to purchase an SXRD set (such as myself).

I'm not talking about the fact that the A3000 is not coming (according to my local Sony store) but just the prices. The 55" A2020 is the best example given the available data although I'm actually looking to buy a 50" before the new TV season.

55A2020
US MSRP: $2299
Circuit City: $1999 - major retailer selling below list.

Canadian MSRP $2999 - which equals about $2850 US.
Canadian Sony store $2999 (of course)
Canadian Best Buy $2999
Canadian Sears $2999
The Bay $2999
Canadian internet vendors: none that I know of.
Also, Cdn MSRP for 50" = $2699.
Noticing a pattern here? Sony MSRP is hugely inflated in Canada and unlike the US no one is challenging Sony and selling below MSRP - market failure. Sony is free to charge almost anything here.

Does anyone know of a way to get a deal in Canada - meaning anything below MSRP or any reason to predict a decent price drop before October?

CB5
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post #2 of 9
8/3/07 at 7:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CB5 View Post

Hello,

This is my first post. Not sure if price talk is considered vulgar here, but I am really peeved about the horrible position of the Canadian consumer who would like to purchase an SXRD set (such as myself).

I'm not talking about the fact that the A3000 is not coming (according to my local Sony store) but just the prices. The 55" A2020 is the best example given the available data although I'm actually looking to buy a 50" before the new TV season.

55A2020
US MSRP: $2299
Circuit City: $1999 - major retailer selling below list.

Canadian MSRP $2999 - which equals about $2850 US.
Canadian Sony store $2999 (of course)
Canadian Best Buy $2999
Canadian Sears $2999
The Bay $2999
Canadian internet vendors: none that I know of.
Also, Cdn MSRP for 50" = $2699.
Noticing a pattern here? Sony MSRP is hugely inflated in Canada and unlike the US no one is challenging Sony and selling below MSRP - market failure. Sony is free to charge almost anything here.

Does anyone know of a way to get a deal in Canada - meaning anything below MSRP or any reason to predict a decent price drop before October?

CB5

As a fellow Canadian I am peeved too. You think the pricing of the A2020 is inflated, then don't even look at the XBR2 pricing. You would think we still have a 60 cent dollar the way Sony prices their electronics here.

You can find stores that will sell below list though. One I found is EastHamiltonRadio in Hamilton.
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post #3 of 9
8/3/07 at 9:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CB5 View Post

...Sony MSRP is hugely inflated in Canada ...Does anyone know of a way to get a deal in Canada ...

Economists predict par before the end of the year and if this happens I think that consumers are really going to revolt. It's not only HDTVs, it's cars and lots of other goods too. The only way I can think of to force the issue is to simply refuse to buy from a Canadian retailer - either wait or do cross-border shopping. I was going to buy a 2008 car this fall but now I'm going to wait for this robbery to stop (or I might buy in the U.S.).

Oh yeah don't buy into this crap about Canada being a "smaller market with higher costs". Rubbish. Canadian cities are as big as many U.S. population centers.
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post #4 of 9
8/4/07 at 7:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by davegow View Post

Economists predict par before the end of the year and if this happens I think that consumers are really going to revolt. It's not only HDTVs, it's cars and lots of other goods too. The only way I can think of to force the issue is to simply refuse to buy from a Canadian retailer - either wait or do cross-border shopping. I was going to buy a 2008 car this fall but now I'm going to wait for this robbery to stop (or I might buy in the U.S.).

Oh yeah don't buy into this crap about Canada being a "smaller market with higher costs". Rubbish. Canadian cities are as big as many U.S. population centers.

Actually bigger. The GTA area I believe is the 5th largest in North America. They have no excuses.
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post #5 of 9
8/4/07 at 9:17am
What will Sony say when It comes to warranty coverage?
Quote:


Oh you live in Canada and bought the TV in the US?

Now I don't know what Sony thinks of Grey Market buying, But If You don't want to pay Sonys inflated pricing in Canada, Keep looking and Good Luck.
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post #6 of 9
8/4/07 at 10:00am
Thread Starter 
Sony warranties don't apply in Canada if bought in the US. When I inquired about the A3000 at the Sony store they said that would be the result if I bought in the US. In fact, even if the A3000 was in Canada the warranty on an American-bought A3000 would not be honoured. One way around this might be to buy a US Circuit City (or Best Buy, etc) extended warranty. The fine print on the CC one says it does not apply to equipment outside the US unless you bring it back to a store. So you could just drive back to the states if you had a problem.

I think the worst players in this are the retailers. They're complicit in the overpricing by not selling below MSRP - but if they can get away with making a few hundred more per TV why wouldn't they?

Also, does anyone know where these sets are made? If they're made in the US there would be no duty coming across the border (NAFTA) but just GST and probably PST.

CB5
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post #7 of 9
8/4/07 at 6:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CB5 View Post

... does anyone know where these sets are made? ...

I think most are made in either Asia or Mexico.
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post #8 of 9
8/5/07 at 1:07am
I bet, Sony will catch on to us Canadians being discontent, and just stop displaying the cdn MSRP on the website, rather then give us fair pricing!
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post #9 of 9
8/5/07 at 4:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ^Gremlin^ View Post

I bet, Sony will catch on to us Canadians being discontent, and just stop displaying the cdn MSRP on the website, rather then give us fair pricing!

The only kind is discontent they care about is the dollar. As long as their HDTVs sell at inflated prices they will happily rake in the cash. The only way to force the issue is for people to stop buying but it isn't going to happen. Their sets are good and Canadians will keep on rewarding them for their piracy.

Inflated prices or not if I was in the HDTV market right now an A2020 would look awfully tempting. They know that which is why they're in no hurry to introduce fair prices. And you know what? To be honest if I was in their shoes I'd probably feel the same as they do.

Looking ahead my guess is that they'll delay introducing the A3000 so they can use the Canadian market to dump left over 2020s which will get discounted substantially towards the end of the year. Then when they do introduce the A3000 up here there will be some price reduction relative to the U.S., although fat chance it will be anything close to fair.
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