Wtf ???

That's exactly it. All you need to do is make it so it isn't worth importing them ourselves. Now, can you get a hold of KMR uppers with pencil barrels? I'm having a hard time locating one.
 
IMHO,
After paying duty, taxes, exchange rate and shipping you don't save that much with Brownell's, in fact it can cost you more sometimes.
In the past I ordered parts due to the lack of availability but many CDN dealers have caught up and have lots of stock.
I rather support local dealers and not worry about $5-$10 difference....also if you have a warranty issue it can be taken care of locally and no worrying about shipping parts back to the US.
 
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There is often at the very least a 30% price difference per item you purchase. One example; I bought the Apex FSS aluminum kit at 129$ + 10$ shipping when our exchange rate was at parity with USD and Canadian suppliers were selling the same thing for something like 230$ + shipping and taxes. Nationalism goes both ways too. Aberrations like that generally aggrevate relations with local customers who don't appreciate being taken advantage of.
 
bought the Apex FSS aluminum kit at 129$ + 10$ shipping when our exchange rate was at parity with USD and Canadian suppliers were selling the same thing for something like 230$ + shipping and taxes.
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In some cases there are no actual direct Canadian dealers/distributors with the US manufacturer.

What happens is Canadian dealers might have to go through a couple of US suppliers which does allow them to get the product, but usually purchased at or just barely below US retail.

Hense why you get US retail plus 30% or so for the price up here.
 
Farmboy said:
In some cases there are no actual direct Canadian dealers/distributors with the US manufacturer.

What happens is Canadian dealers might have to go through a couple of US suppliers which does allow them to get the product, but usually purchased at or just barely below US retail.

Hense why you get US retail plus 30% or so for the price up here.
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Makes sense
 
The $500 ITAR limit is great for shooters in Canada - hell I take advantage of it sometime when there's a killer dealer.

But here's some math

Brownells has cheap shipping for small items, BUT at $500 your not going to be at a flat rate box - Brownells charged me $35.00USD for the last USPS Priority Air Package

At $500 you WILL get nailed by CBSA for the $9.95 handling fee and GST on the package

This is $25.00 in GST ($500 @ 5%) + $9.99 CBSA = $35.00CAD Extra

So $500US + $35US Shipping = $535 US (@1.101 Exchange) = $589.04 CAD

+ CBSA and Canada Post Fees ($35.00) = $624.04

So a $500 US item from Brownells really cost you $625 Canadian

That's a 25% mark up from the US dollar "deal"

This is also not including the 2.5% foreign exchange fee that most Canadian credit card charge

Yes, I am aware that sometimes CBSA doesn't charge you, the dollar fluctuates and that there are Canadian credit cards that don't charge you an exchange fee (like the Amazon.ca Visa).

It's really up to you at the end of the day who has the better deal.
 
ogradyrw said:
IMHO,
After paying duty, taxes, exchange rate and shipping you don't save that much with Brownell's, in fact it can cost you more sometimes.
In the past I ordered parts due to the lack of availability but many CDN dealers have caught up and have lots of stock.
I rather support local dealers and not worry about $5-$10 difference....also if you have a warranty issue it can be taken care of locally and no worrying about shipping parts back to the US.
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^^ Agree,unfortunetly todays consumers like to complain about lack of availability/prices for product but then dont want to support the business that do bring those items to market. I manage a business in a remote location (closest major centre is 500km away) I might be 5% higher on some items than the city, but people will still make the trip to the city because they think they save money. Its funny when they need parts or warranty for the item and I direct them back to the city ;) I prefer to support Canadain dealers!
 
Farmboy said:
In some cases there are no actual direct Canadian dealers/distributors with the US manufacturer.

What happens is Canadian dealers might have to go through a couple of US suppliers which does allow them to get the product, but usually purchased at or just barely below US retail.

Hense why you get US retail plus 30% or so for the price up here.
Click to expand...

The middle men kill you. It's a shame. You have great deals on the MOD2 SR-15's. I third party imported mine and I payed the same thing.

ctcs said:
The $500 ITAR limit is great for shooters in Canada - hell I take advantage of it sometime when there's a killer dealer.(...)

Brownells has cheap shipping for small items, BUT at $500 your not going to be at a flat rate box - Brownells charged me $35.00USD for the last USPS Priority Air Package

At $500 you WILL get nailed by CBSA for the $9.95 handling fee and GST on the package

This is $25.00 in GST ($500 @ 5%) + $9.99 CBSA = $35.00CAD Extra

So $500US + $35US Shipping = $535 US (@1.101 Exchange) = $589.04 CAD

+ CBSA and Canada Post Fees ($35.00) = $624.04

So a $500 US item from Brownells really cost you $625 Canadian

That's a 25% mark up from the US dollar "deal"
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We are in total agreement. Brownells works for small parts and you don't get harassed by CBSA when the total is under 100$. I learned that the hard way when my order total was 250$. I got nailed and paid 50$ in import fees. Now I bring orders up to 100$, if they are more, I split them into two orders and the shipping is 20$ for both small boxes. I have never paid import fees for anything under 100$. More expensive parts are too much hastle to import directly. I find that 3rd party importation with IRG works well so there's a variety of COA's for consumers. I go with whatever the best deal is at the time, no favourites.
 
North60 said:
yohann160 said:
The middle men kill you. It's a shame. You have great deals on the MOD2 SR-15's. I third party imported mine and I payed the same thing.

So you PAID the same but Forfeited the warranty for savings :stirthepot2:
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The warranty is still valid, his rifle would need to go back to the US for servicing. Can be a PITA, but it's not a canned warranty.
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BenL said:
The warranty is still valid, his rifle would need to go back to the US for servicing. Can be a PITA, but it's not a canned warranty.
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There was a recent thread that had an extremely short half-life. In that thread, Kevin B from KAC essentially said that anything of theirs brought into Canada other than from their licenced importer (aka osts) KAC would not warranty so I think North60 is correct. That is not to say a 3rd party importer like irunguns wouldn't look after you somehow but when asked point blank if there would be a KAC warranty on items imported via irunguns, the answer from KAC was no.
 
If you think bringing magpul into canada now is a farce, you haven't seen the amount of stupid to bring magpul ak-->m4 adapters and grips into the EU.
 
The odds of needing to warranty a KAC rifle are pretty slim. I can live with those odds, otherwise some prominent figure has some explaining to do. Their warranty is in their QC and their E3 bolt and hammer forged barrels. If I bought a Nork, then I'd concede the point.
 
We had a person who "blew up" a Triple Tap. It was 3rd party imported and would not be warrantied by us or KAC.

It's not always about the QC of the product but what's done to it after it's put into use.
 
How did that happen? I bet his story sounded like a patient trying to explain how an object was imbedded into his posterior to a proctologist: "It was a one-in-a-million shot, doc. One-in-a-million!"
 
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