Hey Canada! Quit Getting Ripped Off!

I’m tired of getting ripped off and you should be too!

Why are products so much more expensive in Canada compared to the United States? At the time of writing, $1 US dollar was worth $1.0275 Canadian dollars meaning that a $100 USD item should be fairly priced at $102.75 CAD. Have you ever noticed that books, clothing, cars, homes, fruit, vegetables and pretty much everything is considerably more expensive in Canada vs. the United States?!? I’m sure you have but, as Canadians, our nature is to be polite, pay the inflated price and then say “sorry, eh”. Kidding, but no… seriously? Why do we put up with it?

Well, I’m here to tell you that YOU DON’T HAVE TO! There is a better way to buy the exact same items from the US and save a lot of money! To prove it to you I’m going to detail the process from start to finish for a product that I’m buying from amazon.com rather than amazon.ca so I can save a lot of money.

So, how much am I going to save?

21%! Don’t forget, this 21% savings is on the exact same product, the only difference is one is purchased on amazon.com and the other is on amazon.ca.

That product is the [easyazon-link asin=”B001R76D42″ locale=”us”]Samson Go Mic Compact USB Microphone[/easyazon-link]. I have a ton of great video guides on how to access Pandora, Hulu, US Netflix and other great sites and services that are otherwise unavailable to anyone living outside of the United Sates. I’ve been waiting to unleashed these videos because the audio quality I’ve been getting from the microphone on my laptop is terrible.

I need a better mic to give these videos the audio quality that they deserve. Plus, I want these videos to be extremely helpful to you and, trust me, you wouldn’t want to listen to the snap, crackle, pop from my built in computer mic.

I did quite a bit of research and have decided that the Samson Go Mic is the mic that fits into my lifestyle the best. I travel a ton for work and I have to pack my office essentials into my computer bag and the Samson Go Mic is extremely small. It’s a plug-and-play USB mic and has amazing audio quality for a mic of this size.

I plan on writing a full review of the mic after I receive it and test it out so stay tuned. For now, I’m just going to focus on the process of buying it for much less from the States compared to what I can get it for here in Canada.

Here is the proof:

(click on either image for a full sized image)

I can almost hear most of you saying right now “amazon.com charges an arm and a leg to ship to Canada!” My answer to you is “we’re not going to have amazon.com ship this to Canada!” Before you get mad at me because you don’t have anyone to ship to in the USA… you’re going to ship this to your own personal US shipping address! Hear me out.

I have been using an amazing US mail forwarding service that has been rated #1 by the BBB, the US Government, Industry Experts, and – most importantly – customers around the world since they launched their business in 1997. As a happy customer I can confirm that they are top rate and their service and shipping speed blew me away.

So How Does Having Your Own US Shipping Address Work?

Once you sign up for a US shipping address with MyUS they will provide you with your own personal address in Florida. They assign you a private suite number where you and any additional names that you authorize will receive packages. MyUS will accept shipments on your behalf and then, based on your wishes, either store your item for up to 30 days or send it right away.

The fact that they will store it for up to 30 days can save you even more money since you can order multiple items and then MyUS will consolidate all of your items into the smallest package possible and send you one shipment saving you more money. Who doesn’t like to save money?

Save Up To 80% On Shipping

Since MyUs sends so many packages they get unbelievable discounts on shipping rates. I consider this icing on the cake! To get this mic sent using DHL overnight shipping from the USA to Canada is only going to be $26.83. When have you ever seen the cost of an overnight international shipment for under $50? Yeah, before MyUS, I hadn’t seen one either. Again, here is the proof:

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Here are the final numbers showing the 21% savings on the exact same items. The only difference was I’m having the item shipped to my personal US mailing address and then the item is going to be forwarded to me up here in Canada. Okay, here are the numbers:

The Bottom Line

As Canadians, we’ve been getting ripped off too long. It’s time to start using the tools that we have at our disposal to take advantage of the strong Canadian dollar and the deals available south of the boarder. I personally use MyUS.com and cannot be a happier customer.

Click here for more info

Update: Based on Mel’s comment below we wanted to provide an update. She asked “If I import an item to Canada via MyUS.com, I will still be paying local customs duty in Canada right?”. Here is the best answer we can give you:

Please note: The following answer is not to be considered to be advice or a recommendation in any way. How you decided to have your packages shipped to you is at your sole discretion. We cannot take responsibility for anything that comes from your decision.

It all depends on how you request your package to be shipped from MyUS.com. When you request a package to be forwarded to you MyUS.com gives you three options in the “Commercial Invoice Options” section of the forwarding request. They are:

1. “Mark items “for personal use only”
2. “Mark items as gift”
3. Leave both of those options unchecked and send as is

As can be seen in the image below:

Choosing either of the “for personal use only” or “gift” options from above might mean that you will not have to pay any import or duty on your shipment. But then again it also might not and you will be assessed duty and taxes. There is no real way to say for sure and we have heard of both outcomes occurring no matter what option was selected.

Remember, if an item was manufactured in Canada, the USA or Mexico it is protected under NAFTA and is not subject to any duties, only GST will apply.

So, if you want to factor in the potential cost of taxes and duties that would be prudent. If you are still getting a great deal, which most times you will be, then it still makes sense to purchase these items from an online retailer in the USA and use MyUS.com to accept your delivery and forward it to you up here in Canada.

Thanks for the question Mel!

Savings, Savings & More Savings

To show you the power of having your own US mailing address here are just a handful of items that you can save big time by shopping in the USA.

Save $130 (16% Off!) on Photoshop

(Proof: amazon.com| amazon.ca )

Save $400 (27% Off!) on a MacBook Pro

(Proof: amazon.com| amazon.ca)

Save $24,918 (25% Off!) on an IWC Portuguese Watch

(Proof: amazon.com| amazon.ca)

Save $66 (20% Off!) on an iPod Touch 32GB

(Proof: amazon.com| amazon.ca)

Save $522 (41% Off!) on a Bugaboo Cameleon Stroller

(Proof: amazon.com| amazon.ca)

Click here for more infoTrust us when we say that this list could literally go on forever. Stop by amazon.com and search the listings and compare them to the items on amazon.ca.

For the benefit of all Canadians (and anyone outside the USA really) please post the products that you find that you can buy at a big discount simply by having a US mailing address.