>I have been checking through the Lee Valley website and I don't know if anybody else has noticed, but their prices are far cheaper if you are buying in US dollars. I get the feeling that us Canadians are being ripped off! Just about everything I checked was cheaper. Here are some examples:
Backsaw 97T20.10 is $22.95 Canadian which converts to $18.23 American; but the American price on their site is $17.50 US$.
Starret Vernier 88N16.00 is $169.00 Canadian which converts to $134.21 American; but the American price on their site is $115.00 US$. Ouch!!
Veritas No.4 plane 05P26.01 is $245.00 Canadian which converts to $194.57 American; but the American price on their site is $175.00 US$
>I think you'd been a lot better of titling your thread with something like, "Hey Rob Lee, what's up with this", and than based on his reply see if he's ripping of Canadians. I highly, highly doubt this is the case and is probably more in line with some International Commerce deal, of which I know nothing about.
not intended as a flame Marc, just hate to see a good mans besmerched by cicumstancial evidence at this point.
Perhaps the choice of title could have been a little less strong. To bring up your point, I definitely didn't want to mention any peoples' names as this was not meant to be a personal issue. I am against flaming. However, as a Canadian, I do feel hurt by what I see in their pricing structure.
>Mark . . . . The Exchange Rate for USD and other currencies is constantly changing, and results in the perceived disparities you call attention to. I am somehow surprised you remain unaware of this.
If you can control exchange rates - or even predict them - then you're a better man than I am...
We print our prices once per year - and stick with 'em. The USD continued to lose value during the year - to the point where we're not making what we should in the US market...
In Canada (where prices dropped AGAIN this year) - we're at normal margins.
If you look at product "new" to the catalogue - you'll see we're at a more current exchange rate.
I also have to admit that I personally find it disappointing that the assumption is that someone is being "ripped off". I suppose that it's just a sign of the times that consumers no longer have confidence in basic business ethics. I'd much rather be replying to a " hey Rob - you guys are gettin' hosed in the US" thread, than the one that this post is in...I guess it all depends on your outlook - or frame of reference.
LV is the MOST honorable company I have dealt with
Roger Myers
>LV leads the gang in terms of customer service, fair play, and honor... characteristics which are becoming more uncommon in todays world.
Every, and I repeat, every, experience I have had with them has been outstanding!! I've never met Rob in person, but would consider it an honor to meet him or his father...
International commerce is challenging, both buying and selling, and foreign currency exchange can cause huge pricing swings...LV has chosen to have stable, transparent pricing, even when it costs them.... and when there have been price changes that benefit the consumer, they often, unsolicited, pass them on.
Many companies could learn a lot about customer service, quality, and business excellence from LV (and I do consider myself a subject matter expert in this...it has been the major part of my day job for 30+ years).
No affiliation with LV other than I am proud to be one of their customers.
>I much rather have the opportunity to spend my weekend at a Lee Valley store in Toronto picking out tools than having to order my goods shipped stateside (with postage and the wait). I'm not going to defend Rob, he's shown he's more than capable of that. It's rare, certainly stateside, to see a company that keeps the profits in Canada (and North America) and sticks by their prices even when they take a financial hit. If next year, I pay more than you, I might gripe, but I know for sure my money on a Veritas tool goes to someone's paycheck in North America.
>Yep always someone who finds the grass greener somewhere else. I for one am mighty thankfull that LV is building a large portion of their tools right here in Canada and have a nice store close by. Exchange rates go up and down but the service at LV never changes it's the best I've come across.
Now that the price difference has been explained to you,don't you think you might owe Rob an apology for the subject line of your thread?Will you be posting a thank you to Rob if our dollar heads south again and LV's prices are cheaper here?
>Just read the LV catalogue further, and found that the catalogue and prices come in August.
Using the same three examples, the back saw price is approx in line with the exchange rate in July/Aug 2004. However, with the two big ticket items, the Vernier would have been approx $14 cheaper and the No 4 plane would have been approx $11 cheaper using the July/Aug 2004 exchange rates.
>I'm a new LV customer and have bought items 3 times in the last month. The service is immpeccable, the shipping fast and the people I've talked to on the phone are friendly and helpful. Good service like that is hard to find and I really appreciate it. It's almost like going into my local hardware store where everybody knows your name.
>No explanation has been provided, Brent. If you look at the exchange rates in Aug when the catalogue came out and the exchange rates as they stand now, there were still large discrepancies in price.
>You are quite right! No one is questioning the service LV offers. The issue here is the price descrepancy between the US and Canadian prices posted on their site.
>Marc...You have to realize that though the catalogue came out in August,LV's purchase orders for stock and raw materials were probably finalized long before that.As Rob pointed out,no one can forsee where the market is going to go.It could have just as easily gone the other way and the Americans would have been paying more than us.
If you compare LV prices against prices in US catalogues,I've found that LV's prices here in Canada are usually cheaper than the US catalogues(just check their prices on Taunton books for instance).
I think that Rob and company do a great job of supplying us Canadians with top quality at reasonable prices and fantastic customer service.That's why I take exception to your thread heading.
TO Rob.....Keep on keeping on!!(and if you can find a way to open in Montreal even better)
>OTOH, it's easy enough to incorporate a dynamic exchange rate in the site, particularly important at order time. You just need a note that the price may fluctuate with the exchange rate. Most people expect that these days anyhow. I nominate that as your next web project.
>OK, but I still think an apology to Rob is in order. It's way too strong to accuse him of ripping off Canadians. His company is one of the most honorable vendors in existence. I wish I needed/could buy more tools so I could send more business his way, whether I lived in Canada or the US.
>Complainig about prices... Bah, you should pay $20 something for overseas shipping (which is low) and try to skip the customs with some excuse (not always successful). How it sounds a 25% customs tax for hand tools to you?
Also, there is the usual flea market with waaay low prices.
