Shopping from Canada...

MadCat2099

Distinguished
Nov 16, 2004
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Hi there!

Do any of you guys out there know of good online stores with reasonable shipping rates to Canada? I'm trying to buy a video card, but the only real Canadian hardware retailer is TigerDirect, who's prices are significantly greater than most US stores.

So far, I've only found two stores that ship to Canada, ZipZoomFly and ComputerHQ. However, ZipZoomFly has extortion rate S&H charges, usually charging around $80-100 US!!! I'm sorry, but that's just @#$%ing ridiculous! My Dell 8400 PC that was shipped from Mexico cost $169 CAN (about $135 US) and it's size and weight is ten times that of a measley video card (actually it only cost $10 CAN because I got it on promotion, but otherwise it would have been $169 CAN)!

ComputerHQ has much more reasonable shipping rates. That is, of course, as long as you're not buying an nVidia 6600 GT. For some reason, all the shipping charges for any 6600 GT video card come up as $200 US!!! (and yes, the card is available in-stock)

Really, like what the @%#@ is going on with these shipping charges? If someone in the US buys a product from a Canadian store, they only have to pay like $5-10 CAN more for US shipping. If it's the other way around, the US stores seemingly DOUBLE their shipping charges just to cross a border. What gives? It's not like you're sending it to the moon!

eBay has much better and more consistent shipping charges, but the problem with them is availability and price; few people sell the cards I want (a 6600 GT or an X800XL) and so far no one has sold it for cheaper than what I find at the stores.

So, can anyone help me out? I've already checked places like NewEgg and GameVE, but neither of them ship to Canada.


Mad Cat
:D
 

cleeve

Illustrious
http://www.ncix.com/ is decent, and in canada.

Honestly, your best bet is to buy from Ebay - lots of retailers there with very high ratings.

The key is to get them to ship via USPS (the US postal system) and NEVER ship via COURIER.

USPS will cost a few bucks more to ship, but there are no brokerage fees. Sure, you might be charged a 10% duty on the goods, but in most cases it's still lots cheaper than buying it in Canada. And many times, they don't bother charging you duty (especially if the seller is nice and marks the package as a "gift").

Couriers, on the other hand, charge insane "brokerage fees"... ON TOP of duty. Brokerage fees for something $50 US is something crazy like $25 Cdn, for stuff $100 US it's even more rediculous.

I bought my 9700 PRO on ebay months ago for $120, back when they were still $200 US new. I buy hardware on ebay all the time, as long as you're dealing with a reputable seller, you save like stink.

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