Amazon.ca is Slipping

I’m curious as to why you don’t use amazon.com. I have only bought one thing from amazon.ca and it was a book that was significantly cheaper on .ca than .com. On the other hand, I have probably spent well over 10k at amazon.com. The selection is amazing and the prices are super cheap. I’m not sure why they even have a .ca, I didn’t think anyone used it.

I’ve always used the .ca booksellers because I figured that I would have to pay import duty like everything else I buy from the US.

Some companies mark the value of the goods being shipped to Canada as being $10 which prevents me from having to pay duty. How do you get around this with Amazon.com or do you just pay the extra tax?

I’ve never had to pay duty with Amazon.com, but you will have to pay shipping, which can be expensive. How are Chindigo’s prices compared to Amazon? I’ve previously found them quite expensive.

Right now, with the dollar wobbling, I’ll have to keep away from Amazon.com for a while!

Amazon.ca/com or chapters.ca what every you wnat to call it, they SUCK! I’ve ordered a few books from them and I have always had problems. I waited 3 months for a book and then they told me after e-mails and a call that the warehouse did not have any in stock, I was ready to cancel my order when somehow the guy on the phone told me they had some in another warehouse! Two days later I had two copies of the same book because the messed up my order form. When I called back what to do the customer service rep said I had to go to the nearest Chapters and return it myself. So I did and the lady behind the counter thought that was strange that I had to be my own personal delivery boy. End result I got the book for free minus the shipping cost. I think I’ll just give up on reading!
JB

JB, I won’t tell anyone that you are a teacher.

The best thing about chapters.indigo.ca is that I can go into a Chapters bookstore, find the book I want, leaf through it and order it online for 30% cheaper every time.

James is right, there is no import duty on amazon.com. Shipping can be pricey but I usually order multiple items to reduce the per item charge. Besides, amazon.com’s selection is so good that I wouldn’t be able to find the books I want anywhere else or anytime soon (they get computer books immediately, it can take chapters months to get them) . The 30% they knock of the price is usually enough to cover the shipping. When the dollar was at parity I was in book heaven. Now, not so much.

Hey Jay,

Sounds like you got a hot topic here.

I’ve had the same problem with Indigo. They don’t have books in stock and the shipping/restocking period indicated on their web site is ridiculous.

I order most of my books through Amazon.ca. I have always found what I was looking for and they were delivered in a much shorter time span than what is indicated on their web site. Orders that were going to take 3-4 weeks arrived in 3-4 days. And this has been consistent.

What really annoys me about Indigo’s Rewards Program is that even though they have my purchase history in their database they do not use it to target emails. I get “mass” batch and blast emails that are completely irrelevant. That’s lame. At least Amazon leverages my purchase history to target emails and even bundle offers.

I guess it depends who you talk to.

Amazon.com is the leader in personalization with email blasts and with browsing through their site. It sounds like they have the best overall selection too.

Without having to pay for duty I will likely start purchasing from Amazon.com instead of Amazon.ca or Indigo.ca (provided they are cheaper.