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Quote:

Originally Posted by thechris

I know I whine and complain a lot about the price gouging we Canadians suffer at the hands of America but by golly, it sucks! I finally found something reasonably priced on Toywiz of all places, the figure is only $16.00. I went through the checkout and when it came time to sort out shipping, they want $39.48 to ship the item!! It's a small 3.75 action figure!! What the hell, toy shops? It doesn't cost that much to ship here! You're losing customers with this B.S. Do you realize that the volume of your sales are going down the tubes? How is it some people on eBay can afford to ship out 4 or 5 MOC action figures to Canada from the US for say $9.99 at most, registered, insured, includes tracking ID, I don't pay a cent of duty when it comes through, where as a company like Toywiz charges nearly $40 on the shipping of ONE 3.75 action figure, when it arrives, I STILL get charged duty??

While I fully understand your frustration, companies are free to charge what they like when it comes to shipping and handling. But it's that second part that most people seem to gloss over: the handling. Handling could cover everything from locating the item in the stockroom, wrapping/boxing the item up, the materials used for packing (box, bubble wrap/paper, invoices, labeling, etc), to the salaries for all the personnel involved with completing that task. And that's before it even leaves the company's front door.

Some companies can get really shady with the types of things that they lump into that "handling" part while others are very reasonable. As for the discrepancy with shipping prices on Ebay, I think it really depends on what company they use for shipping and how the package is labeled. And that's not even counting those who use flat rate shipping costs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiberius

I don't think your gripe is with Americans, as your title says, but with Toywiz. I think your going to offend a lot of people with this, at least with the title. I am as annoyed as you with the price gouging, but we Canadians don't only suffer. Imagine how the Europeans feel? Probably a lot more pissed than you or I. The problem comes down to Hasbro distribution issues, and I hate to say it, but even Mattel has done a better job thus far and their products are crap in comparison to Hasbro. I don't see how much harder it is to ship something a bit more north, honestly. It's all a game to these companies, and they KNOW people with money to blow will most likely pay over top dollar for the figure. God knows how much I want the SHS Beast, but refuse to pay 30+ dollars for it, give me a break, its a piece of plastic! I guess it all comes down to what you are willing to pay, and some people do pay a STUPID amount of money on this stuff. All in all, I'm sticking to BBTS, set my pre-orders and just wait it out, god knows we will NEVER see any of these new figures in Canada.

Once again, Hasbro does NOT control retail distribution - even in Canada. If you want to blame someone, blame the retailers for A) not buying the product, or B) not stocking the shelves with said product. At best, regional Hasbro reps can ask local store managers about toy lines or displays. But they can't force the manager to stock a particular product any more than we can.

As for a solution to ridiculous shiping/handling prices, be patient, be knowledgable and be willing to look elsewhere. It's only price gouging if you're forced to pay that amount.