Hmmmm....I wonder what this is all about.

 

 

The Canadian dollar briefly became more valuable than a US dollar yesterday and then today it was left sitting pretty well at par.   Rumors have it that the US dollar will continue to fall against most major currencies.  The last time this happened, I remember just getting in my car with a bunch of friends and headed to Seattle to shop.  It was kind of neat getting a nickel back for every dollar I spent.   A Canadian dollar was actually worth about a nickel more than the USD for a brief period in history back then.   So it's been one and a half generations since this happened and here we have a whole bunch of young Canadians who have never experienced this phenomenon.  

 

As hordes of Canadians cross the 49th to shop in a market where the selection is far greater and the prices are now far less expensive, Canadians should remember to support their local economy also.   The local retailers in Canada should (and most won't) move quickly to adjust their pricing accordingly as currently most Canadians are paying far more for goods than they should while the retailer rakes in the profits caused by the currency swing.  They need to remember that when the Canadian dollar was falling, they did not hesitate to raise prices accordingly.   So let's see you adjust your prices now.   I am in the need to buy a car and right now, I would be paying about $3000 to $5000 too much for one.    Another example is when I bought a part for my MINI for $20US from the MINI dealer in Portland.  I had called their 800 number to confirm pricing.  So with exchange, I picked it up for $21 CDN and thanks to a member of the Vancouver MINI Cooper Club, he did me the favor of picking it up for me.   My local MINI dealer was willing to sell the exact same part to me for $75.00CDN.  That's more than exchange rate + shipping.  On top of that, there would still be sales taxes.  So do Canadians get ripped?  For this matter, I would say yes.

 

This is a good time to buy up US dollars.   My guess is (and when did anybody take my investment advice seriously?) the US dollar should recover a bit not too long after the US presidential elections....next year.  

 

 

 

 

 

It's September.  I planned to be really quiet for awhile.  Just too many things to do and I seem to be losing interest in adding to this blog.  However, something happened yesterday that gave me something to rant about so here goes.   When ordering stuff from the internet, or mail order for that matter, you need to put up with shipping charges and then wait for the delivery.  That's why the internet will NEVER replace the good ole bricks and mortar store.   What the internet does bring is the ability to buy things you would not normally be able to buy locally.   Only to be clobbered by shipping charges, customs brokerage fees, delays in shipping.  

 

Many internet businesses are just start-up home businesses.  So staff is non-existant and when you call, you are sometimes calling the owner's cell phone or home.  My recent experience is with buying a pair of grill badges to be affixed to my car.   I thought I would order from motorswag because Jeff had just designed a few badges that were quite attractive and since it was a new venture, he offered an introductory price.    Jeff has a day job so he does this business as a labor of love "in his spare time" and hopefully makes a small profit out of it.  However, if he breaks even, he's happy for now.  But the business grew faster than he expected and he has had teething problems.  For one, the badges were not up to quality he expected so he emailed me and told me there would be a delay while he redid them.  After about a month, I received one of the two badges and a note apologizing that the second badge would be delayed a further two weeks.  About a month later, I received an email apologizing that there was yet another delay due to unforeseen circumstances.   My last correspondence regarding this matter was at the end of August.  The order was placed on June2.  Finally, I got frustrated enough with the delay and emailed an angry sounding note that I felt I was ripped off and that I would no longer be doing business with Jeff.   Well, yesterday, the badge did arrive.  It was gorgeous.  A nice brushed aluminum look.  All's forgiven.   However, a look at the post date on the envelope and it said July 19.  That means it took 2 months from when Motorswag dropped it in the mail.   It took two weeks for the first one to arrive. 

 

I'm not sure what's going on with the post office but at my office, I also received a call from a vendor asking why I didn't pay my June statement yet.   My June statement just arrived this morning. 

 

Thanks for reading.