Shopping in US or Canada

We're visiting Alberta and Montana in the summer with two teenage girls.
Flying to Calgary and travelling down to Yellowstone via Glacier NP and
back. Is it cheaper to shop in the USA or Canada?

Paul

"Paul Harrison" wrote in message
...

We're visiting Alberta and Montana in the summer with two teenage girls.
Flying to Calgary and travelling down to Yellowstone via Glacier NP and
back. Is it cheaper to shop in the USA or Canada?

It depends on what you're buying. A friend from California found some good
deals here in Montreal a while ago, but the USD/CAD exchange rate has
significantly changed since then.

If the girls are looking forward to shopping, you might want to take a bit
of time to go to Edmonton while you're in Alberta. The West Edmonton Mall is
bigger than any shopping centre you'll find in Montana, or the entire US,
for that matter.

Richard

Hello you might want to compare prices from a major retailer that has stores
in the US and Canada
Sears US - www.sears.com
Sears Canada - www.sears.ca

We have relatives from britain who find outdoor wear and equipment very
favourably priced (see www.mec.ca for a major store in Calgary)

Our Canadian dollar is hovering around the 80 cent US mark.

If you choose to shop in the US, Great Falls will probably be your best bet
given your itinerary. Calgary has close to a million people so you should be
able to find pretty much whatever you want here.

Have a great trip. If you have time, a stop at Waterton Park is worthwhile.
It's the Canadian National Park that sits on the border with Glacier in the
States.
"Paul Harrison" wrote in message
...
We're visiting Alberta and Montana in the summer with two teenage girls.
Flying to Calgary and travelling down to Yellowstone via Glacier NP and
back. Is it cheaper to shop in the USA or Canada?

Paul

"Paul Harrison" wrote in message
...
We're visiting Alberta and Montana in the summer with two teenage girls.
Flying to Calgary and travelling down to Yellowstone via Glacier NP and
back. Is it cheaper to shop in the USA or Canada?


Paul;

You won't find much selection in Montana as there are no sizable "cities",
like Calgary. If the girls are going to be looking for "fashion", Calgary
will have the best selection you are going to see on your route.

I won't suggest that you drive 3 hours north from Calgary to visit a mall in
Edmonton, like the other poster does - Calgary has almost 1 million
residents and you can find whatever you want there. For some reason,
Edmontonians take some strange pride in having the world's biggest mall in
their midst. Hey, why do all the trees in Calgary bend north? Cause Edmonton
sucks! Guess which two cities have BIG rivalry :-)

Having said that, there will likely be some things that you can find cheaper
in the US, if you are thinking of standard Wal-Mart type fare. The $CAN has
appreciated almost 20% against the $US in the last 2 years - I think the
Pound and Euro have done similarly, making more and more things in the US a
bargain for Canadians.

If you want to do some pre-trip research, check out www.Walmart.com prices
online and compare them to www.hbc.com (The Hudson's Bay company - which
operates The Bay, and Zellers, Canada's premier regular, and economy,
respectively, department stores - for similar items. Or, you could try
www.sears.com (US) vs. www.sears.ca (CAN)

Do remember that Alberta has no provincial sales tax, so the only tax will
be the 8% GST.

Have fun - Glacier is beautiful. Remember that it is a trans-border park
with Canada's portion called Waterton Lakes Provincial Park.

Waterton/Glacier will be much less crowded than Jellystone (sorry, but I
love Yogi Bear cartoons!), so look for your "peaceful" time there.

Paul Harrison wrote:

We're visiting Alberta and Montana in the summer with two teenage girls.
Flying to Calgary and travelling down to Yellowstone via Glacier NP and
back. Is it cheaper to shop in the USA or Canada?

It depends a lot on what you are buying. A lot of things have the same
sticker price. The US dollar is worth more than the Canadian dollar, so that
makes them cheaper in Canada, though the difference is not as big as it was
a year ago.

Paul Harrison:
We're visiting Alberta and Montana in the summer with two teenage girls.
Flying to Calgary and travelling down to Yellowstone via Glacier NP and
back. Is it cheaper to shop in the USA or Canada?

I'm not a person who pays a great deal of attention to prices, but as
a rule I expect things to be somewhat cheaper in the US, except if they
were made in Canada in the first place. However, Calgary is a much
larger city than any place else on your route, so depending on what
sort of "shopping" you have in mind, it may be the only place that your
group will *want* to do it.

Note that in most places in the US and Canada, the prices you see marked
in stores have sales tax added to them when you pay. However, you are
traveling in a district where these taxes are relatively low compared
to other states and provinces. According to the first web site I found
listing US sales taxes, Montana has none at all, while Wyoming is at 4%,
Idaho 6%, and if you get over into Washington it's 6.5%.

Alberta has no provincial sales tax, but the Canadian federal value-added
tax (called GST) of 7% is added to the price you pay in the same way.
But keep your store receipts, because when you leave the country you can
apply for a GST refund on purchases you export with you, and I believe
also on your hotel room costs in Canada.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | "What Europe needs is a fresh, unused mind."
| -- Foreign Correspondent

My text in this article is in the public domain.

I'm assuming you comming from the UK based on your email. Somethings will be
cheaper in Canada and other things cheaper in the US. Everything will be a
lot cheaper that the UK, I doubt you'll care once your here.
Happy shopping.

Dwayne

In article ,
"Paul Harrison" wrote:

We're visiting Alberta and Montana in the summer with two teenage girls.
Flying to Calgary and travelling down to Yellowstone via Glacier NP and
back. Is it cheaper to shop in the USA or Canada?

Shop for what?

IMPORTANT: TAX REFUND IN CANADA
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4031/rc4031-e.html



On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 15:14:55 -0500, "Richard" wrote:

"Paul Harrison" wrote in message
...

We're visiting Alberta and Montana in the summer with two teenage girls.
Flying to Calgary and travelling down to Yellowstone via Glacier NP and
back. Is it cheaper to shop in the USA or Canada?

It depends on what you're buying. A friend from California found some good
deals here in Montreal a while ago, but the USD/CAD exchange rate has
significantly changed since then.

If the girls are looking forward to shopping, you might want to take a bit
of time to go to Edmonton while you're in Alberta. The West Edmonton Mall is
bigger than any shopping centre you'll find in Montana, or the entire US,
for that matter.

Richard

"Henry" wrote in message
...
Claim Guy wrote:
Others have pointed out that some products are cheaper in Canada while
other things are cheaper in the US. Leaving that comparative pricing
issue aside, however, and just looking at how to take maximum advantage
of _spending power_, it would seem that the pound should go further in
the US rather than north of the border.


A fine technical point, but comparative pricing is where it counts.

Who cares if they have gained a few more points in purchasing power vs. the
US buck if the pants actually cost less in Canada?

Your analysis will work as a general rule only if their was relative
equality in the net value, to a UK purchaser, of the items at the beginning
of your valuation analysis period.