Now that the Canadian dollar is practically the same as...

We have different taxes in Canada that make the prices higher.B_MacDonald

Actually, when our dollar was lower, the prices were higher because of it. They just haven't changed it since our dollar went back up, and I can't imagine it happening any time soon. We're used to paying more, and they're used to charging more. They don't want to lose the $10 per game sold just because our dollar is at par with America.

I know what you mean though, when I heard the dollar was equal with America's, my first thought was "I hope they lower the prices of games." Then I remembered how business works, and all hope was lost.:(

the American dollar. Why the price of Wii games are still $8 more expensive??!!! :cry: A game is like 58 + tax, that gives us $63. Wii's in most places is 289, cost 300 something with taxes.... That's unfair, I don't get it.vnc20100

your canadian than youd agree with me nhl 08 should be on the wii i love hockey give it to me!!

Games are actually 10 more expensive here. It's $49.99 in America and $59 over there, plus the tax....ugh. Yeah, it's unfair, but the prices will probably go down if the Canadian dollar stays this way long enough.theweakbear

I hope lol

the American dollar. Why the price of Wii games are still $8 more expensive??!!! :cry: A game is like 58 + tax, that gives us $63. Wii's in most places is 289, cost 300 something with taxes.... That's unfair, I don't get it.vnc20100

Don't Canadians get free health insurance? If that's true, we can call it even.

We have different taxes in Canada that make the prices higher.B_MacDonald

[QUOTE="vnc20100"]the American dollar. Why the price of Wii games are still $8 more expensive??!!! :cry: A game is like 58 + tax, that gives us $63. Wii's in most places is 289, cost 300 something with taxes.... That's unfair, I don't get it.The_Gr8_Leon

Don't Canadians get free health insurance? If that's true, we can call it even.

I know in most provinces there's health insurances. In Quebec, we have the RAMQ. It's the governement that pays when we're going to hospital.

If we live in Canada, I'm thinking of heading to Buffalo for a new flat-screen TV, a 360, a Wii, and a NVIDIA 8800 GTX. Maybe some nice clothes as well, and an ipod. As a fellow Canadian, I'm pretty ticked off as well because of pricing inbalance. But those guys are going to lower prices soon (imagine the outrage and business lost to their neighbours to the south). For now, throw a boycott in Canadian shopping and head over to the States.

Oh and BTW, sale taxes and GST aren't included in the tag.

I heard america only has like 2% tax, while we in canada (not all of canada) have 14%..Haziqonfire

U.S. sales tax is different in each state like in my state of Washing Sales tax is about 8.8%, but in Oregon own neighbor to the south there is no sales tax (lucky). But don't complain it's logical that tax is higher in Candian beacause of your free health care.

At least you guys get free healthcareLProjektST

I heard america only has like 2% tax, while we in canada (not all of canada) have 14%..Haziqonfire

That's incorrect states and cities determine sales tax. I have to pay a little under 9% sales tax because my state's tax is 6.5% plus my city's tax which is 2%. Now I know of at least one state that has ZERO sales tax and that's Oregon.

The major reasons prices aren't dropping is because the business in question already payed a tariff for those products, businesses rarley drop prices to match inflation, and they already bought those good a while back when the Canadian dollar wasn't so strong.

[QUOTE="Haziqonfire"]I heard america only has like 2% tax, while we in canada (not all of canada) have 14%..Cowmanik

That's incorrect states and cities determine sales tax. I have to pay a little under 9% sales tax because my state's tax is 6.5% plus my city's tax which is 2%. Now I know of at least one state that has ZERO sales tax and that's Oregon.

The major reasons prices aren't dropping is because the business in question already payed a tariff for those products, businesses rarley drop prices to match inflation, and they already bought those good a while back when the Canadian dollar wasn't so strong.

I heard america only has like 2% tax, while we in canada (not all of canada) have 14%..Haziqonfire

Depends on the place. In chicago sales tax is 10%, some places have 0 tax. I think my friend said where his relatives live in Kansas, he gets 0 tax.

My friend said there's 20% sales tax in Ottawa, Canada.

Ah i see, so each state and city has its own percentage of tax. Thats kinda cool..

Haziqonfire

I kind of like it, I like options.

Remeber if your going to buy American products it's good to know what states and cities charge what.

It isn't apples to apples...

Taxes play a big part (and that includes tariffs and other import costs) and in general the Market has proven that it will bear that price.

A cost reduction won't occurwhen the dollar has strengthened because even though the dollar is stronger when compared to other country's fiscal format, the cost of the infrastructure as a whole hasn't changed. It will be a while before the extra buying power causes a big enough impact on imports to cause a major price change and exports will become less feasible because it takes more of the foreign currency to reach the canadian equivilant.

I know that the Canadians have had trouble with their currancy value, but this isn't going to erase the problems that were caused. It's all part of the nature of economics. It's unfortunate because I am canadian (hehehe...Molson) and part of the family business is in Canada. I've been naturalized as American though and although I love Canada...the USA has better fiscal policies overall. Sorry to all the Canucks...

Tss 14% is nothing. In Sweden we all have an income tax around 30%. The sale tax is usually 25%.

A Wii costs about 2600 SEK ($380).

Thats what you get in order to have "free health care" and other great social programs. A CT scan is free but a fish sandwich is $18...

You pay for the CT scan...you just never see a bill. In essence...you pay for a part of all the CT scans, bonemarrow grafts, heart transplants, STI tests, mammograms, pap smears, on and onand on regardless of whether you are the ones getting them or if you are actively taking steps to maintain your health.

The extra cost added in taxes plays havoc on the economy because the cost of an actual item is inflated without really getting anything in the product itself. So the cost of living is driven up and prices are inflated and your #5 combo with a side of skin biopsy is the result. Because of these inflated costs, demand for products go down from hindered consumer confidence making it more costly to fund new business ventures further hindering the economy.

I know that it's cold and heartless and the majority of people hate me for it, but social programs are a temporary solution and a damn good way to get votes. They do more harm than good over a long term, and create dependency in the citizens for government intervention.

I am in favor of helping people. I'm opposed to throwing it onto the governments shoulders while we complain about high taxes, slow government action, misuse of funding, and the continued plight of the poor. When people vote for candidates that increase handouts for unemploymentand offer crappy health coverage to people who have no interest in maintaining their own health, they become enablers and reinforce that behavior. You basically pay the government to cover up the problem.

Sorry for the rant. Nobody will read the whole thing anyway!

Thats what you get in order to have "free health care" and other great social programs. A CT scan is free but a fish sandwich is $18...

You pay for the CT scan...you just never see a bill. In essence...you pay for a part of all the CT scans, bonemarrow grafts, heart transplants, STI tests, mammograms, pap smears, on and onand on regardless of whether you are the ones getting them or if you are actively taking steps to maintain your health.

The extra cost added in taxes plays havoc on the economy because the cost of an actual item is inflated without really getting anything in the product itself. So the cost of living is driven up and prices are inflated and your #5 combo with a side of skin biopsy is the result. Because of these inflated costs, demand for products go down from hindered consumer confidence making it more costly to fund new business ventures further hindering the economy.

I know that it's cold and heartless and the majority of people hate me for it, but social programs are a temporary solution and a damn good way to get votes. They do more harm than good over a long term, and create dependency in the citizens for government intervention.

I am in favor of helping people. I'm opposed to throwing it onto the governments shoulders while we complain about high taxes, slow government action, misuse of funding, and the continued plight of the poor. When people vote for candidates that increase handouts for unemploymentand offer crappy health coverage to people who have no interest in maintaining their own health, they become enablers and reinforce that behavior. You basically pay the government to cover up the problem.

Sorry for the rant. Nobody will read the whole thing anyway!

effthat

I agree with you on the social program problem. But on the topic, the games are already 58 to 60 WITHOUT taxes, cost 65 something with taxes. That's too expensive

Shut up!

In norway Ps3 costs 6000 kroners.

1 dollar equals 5,7 kroners.

That's over 1000 bucks for a Ps3.

Still, I got my Wii for 1500 (280 dollars)

While X360 sells for 300 dollars (Only cores as far I've seen)

And most games cost 100 dollars!

I buy my games in Spain though. Costs 65ish dollars

We have different taxes in Canada that make the prices higher.B_MacDonald

No that's not it. Well, in a way, yes, but the price without the taxes is still at least 10-15% higher than in US. I'm alright with the 13.5% of taxes and the high income taxwe have to payin Québec because health insurance and free education sure cost a lot of money but the gross price should now be the same as in the US.

your canadian than youd agree with me nhl 08 should be on the wii i love hockey give it to me!!Gally66

That would be a dream come true

thing is that we have sales taxes, but those dont show up on the sticker price, so video games should have roughly the same prices. Canada and US are in the same economic area, it costs the same to ship to both countries, and so I dont see why stuff should cost more here.

I live in alberta, and we have no provincial sales tax, just the 6% federal tax, so I dont know if that shows up on the price tag or not. I assume not, since I dont remember it from my trips out of province.

[QUOTE="effthat"]

Thats what you get in order to have "free health care" and other great social programs. A CT scan is free but a fish sandwich is $18...

You pay for the CT scan...you just never see a bill. In essence...you pay for a part of all the CT scans, bonemarrow grafts, heart transplants, STI tests, mammograms, pap smears, on and onand on regardless of whether you are the ones getting them or if you are actively taking steps to maintain your health.

The extra cost added in taxes plays havoc on the economy because the cost of an actual item is inflated without really getting anything in the product itself. So the cost of living is driven up and prices are inflated and your #5 combo with a side of skin biopsy is the result. Because of these inflated costs, demand for products go down from hindered consumer confidence making it more costly to fund new business ventures further hindering the economy.

I know that it's cold and heartless and the majority of people hate me for it, but social programs are a temporary solution and a damn good way to get votes. They do more harm than good over a long term, and create dependency in the citizens for government intervention.

I am in favor of helping people. I'm opposed to throwing it onto the governments shoulders while we complain about high taxes, slow government action, misuse of funding, and the continued plight of the poor. When people vote for candidates that increase handouts for unemploymentand offer crappy health coverage to people who have no interest in maintaining their own health, they become enablers and reinforce that behavior. You basically pay the government to cover up the problem.

Sorry for the rant. Nobody will read the whole thing anyway!

vnc20100

I agree with you on the social program problem. But on the topic, the games are already 58 to 60 WITHOUT taxes, cost 65 something with taxes. That's too expensive

Dude, you are so right. I can't give an educated opinion, but I'll say that Macro and Micro economics are totally different. Currency rates fluctuate, and effects foreign investment, but the U.S is going into a recession right now with the geniuses at Washington cutting interest-rates which is a quick fix to the real-estate bubble that just poped. The U.S economy is far bigger than the cannadian economy. The current exchange rates will not effect our economies any time soon.

Taxes don't directly drive up the cost. I haven't checked figures but I imagine that Canada has stiffer tarriffs than the states andmore red tape to import products.

The overall economic effect of heavy social programs is that the cost of an item is artificially inflated, so the demand is lower, but the cost of bringing it in is more or less the same. The retailers can't sell more, so they're forced to make a higher margin in order to maintain profitability. Not to mention the cost of fuel and energy to heat builds for 8 months a year. The long term effects compound and lead to higher cost of living andinflation rates.

The rise in currancy value isn't a factor in internal factors because even as your buying power gets stronger, the cost of doing business is rising. Nobody is gaining value any quicker than anyone else so there isn't an issue. The only real people who need to look at that are imports and exports or people who trade in money for a living (stocks, bonds, CD's).

Importing isn't always an option because you have to think about the cost of currancy conversion and then you have to declare the items. It takes a larger margin than 10 bucks to really come out ahead on 12 games.

I understand the Us real-estate issue. I work in construction. Since we're heading into an election year, the government is going to patch up whatever it can to raise popularity (including increase social programs). I think the interest rates aren't just a quick fix though. Moving product and lowering the houses available is a big issue and lower interest rates generally promote investment in housing. Futhermore, refinancing at a stable rate is going to stem the increase of supply.

The big problem is that people think that people were making a lot of money flippin' houses, so jim nobody decides to get in on the action and gets the low teaser rate with an increase in 2 years. The bottom finally drops out when the most people are involved and all of those special rates come up for renegotiation.

People tried to make money that wasn't there. You can't make an exceptional amount of profit without doing something exceptionally well.

Selling off what is on the market and making it harder to build is what is going to balance the supply and demand. In the mean time, the burst bubble will suck up all the business that aren't specifically geared to housing. The jim nobodies don't have a real business plan and don't have the cashflow or inventory or economies of scale to survive. When the demand and supply reach a lowered equilibrium, the amount of competitors is significantly reduced to the proper levels. Those business then see stability and work towards growth (or let everyone else around them take their market share).

Sorry for the long posts. I'm a business major and really get into this sorta thing.

I heard america only has like 2% tax, while we in canada (not all of canada) have 14%..Haziqonfire

Another thing to consider is the saturation of Unions in European countries. I've seen tables that show that Americans have the lowest amount of paid vacations and government enforced employment policies. The cost to employ a staff is higher in other countries. I'm not talking the amount paid. The wages are only a fraction of the cost of employment. So product must be sold for more to make up for the extra costs.

I know it's hard to see people buy the smae stuff for seemingly cheaper, but it happens with everything. It isn't some grand scheme to gouge certain countries that firms don't like or to keep the little people down.

To be honest, the fat and greedy business owner is more or less a myth in today's world. Perpetuated by lawyers, unions, and banks. The best practices show that it is more profitable to take care of your employees. The government keeps a handle on continued competition and requires availability of financial information from publicly traded stock (the majority of big companies fall into this category). Being a business owner doesn't mean that you don't work. On the contrary, the probability of a heart attack rises in CEO's which may be linked to increased stress.

Another pet peeve of mine is when people get this idea that it's so much better at the top of the corporate ladder. Like they've been maligned by some big universal power out of spite. I know...I know...I'm heartless...

[QUOTE="Haziqonfire"]I heard america only has like 2% tax, while we in canada (not all of canada) have 14%..Benno2000

The taxes in US vary from town to town. When I was in college, prepared foods were taxed 11%. It all depends on the location and the needs and the product. In the case of prepared food; it was a college town, college kids tend to eat out more. The city was basically siphoning off funds from people visiting. It's kinda rough to think about going out for adinner and a few drinks and getting 11% tax and then gratuity on top of that usually being 12-18% so you end up getting close 25% increase from the menu price.

This is one of the extreme cases that I've seen, and I've been to places with 0% sales tax before. So you can't hear what one person is taxed on a particular product in a particular location and then think that is a proper representation of the entire country.