US vs. CDN dollar, Supply Prices for Archery

[curtisb]

Looking for a little input...

The way I understand it is most of the supplies we as arhers buy regularily (arrows and broadheads are a prime examples) are purchased in the US. The retail price we pay for these items is reflected in what the supplier pays in US prices at the time of purchase.

This being said we are paying high prices for current stock right now, based on roughly 15-20cents on the dollar difference at the time of purchase.
Now that our dollar is back on par... the archery shops should be ordering and purchasing their stock for the busy season (going into the fall).

I understand that the prices have to stay where they are for the time being for the suppliers to clear current inventories and still make a buck. I remember the last time this happened, the prices never really were adjusted. I am not the smartest guy around, nor am I going to pretend to be, but I know I was getting screwed last time around. The archery shops where making what I would guess would be 15-20% of additional profit on a lot of their inventory.

If our dollar stays on par (which it most likely will), can we not expect lower prices in late summer and early fall???

[Rackmastr]

I doubt they'll change prices much. Our dollar has been close to par for a very long time now and most prices havent been adjusted much in many industries. Still crazy the differences in pricing up here vs down there....

Maybe thats just the pessimist in me talking....lol

[Trav]

Originally Posted by Rackmastr

I doubt they'll change prices much. Our dollar has been close to par for a very long time now and most prices havent been adjusted much in many industries. Still crazy the differences in pricing up here vs down there....

Maybe thats just the pessimist in me talking....lol

The problem with ordering stock is that most shops order and pay for the stock either end of Dec, or first Part of the new year, the prices are reflected on what time things are on order. If a shop waits until the prices are on par they will not have anything in stock for the upcoming year.

My brother owns a shop

he orders from his distributors early in the year. The distributor has usually allready ordered from his supplliers months in advance. by the time the stock is cleared out and restocked with the cheaper stuff could be 6-8 months or more so it takes a long time to see any kind of a diff in price. usually by the time the cheaper stuff comes back in the dollar has lost again.

[Rackmastr]

No doubt that has something to do with it Trav, but a guy doesnt have to look far to realize that the exchange hasnt been at .60 for a long while now. In fact, its been hovering quite close to par for about 2 years now, up and down with fluctuations. You can see if you look back that it was at .95 in December of last year. Over the past 2 years it hasnt fluctuated much more than 10-15% over a long period. Occasional dips and rises here and there....

Bottom line, is there is still some pretty bad price variations up here that cant really be accounted for ordering/shipping only. I am lucky enough to work in an industry that sees the differences of costs, exchanges, shipping costs, etc. and for the most part there is still some bad price variation for no solid reason.

Yes, prices have come closer in the past few years, but it will be interesting to see what happens with the pricing if the CDN dollar stays at or above par for a long period of time.

I will say, that there are some very good shops out there competing and following hte market and the exchange rates, but there are still some big-box stores that really like pricing things with a .60 exchange rate in their mind....

[lbarcher]

The dollar at par pricing is a bit unrealistic in my opinion.

Just imagine you own a retail operation.
Your overhead is a fixed cost that depends on your margin.
If, all the sudden, you are forced to reduce your prices by 25% you then need to sell 25% more product to cover overhead.
Never mind taxes.

There are many reasons for prices to be what they are. Among them is wages. The average American is probably not getting paid the same as the average Canadian. Goods tend to be priced in proportion to wages.
I would not like to see anyone take a pay cut so that prices of goods could be reduced.

Just food for thought.

[Rackmastr]

All really good valid points lbarcher. The only hitch to that is when there are hundreds of thousands of dollars of goods being just bought across the line rather than the local businesses being supported. Not a very good thing in terms of business for the locals, which is a shame. Unfortunatly, a large number of buyers look only at the pricing when selecting.

[curtisb]

I understand that the cost of living is higher here. Average salaries are higher. Therefore the concept that recreation is also more expensive makes sense also.

If I buy something for 100 dollars and it cost the supplier 80, I understand that the whole 20 dollars is not the profit margin. It has to cover over head, taxes, etc. as mentioned above. Basic buisness.
But as the dollar comes to par, it costs the supplier 65 or 70 dollars, I am getting screwed... at least in my opinion. Inflation or increased tax are not factors, nor is the cost of living in a given area.

I wasn't aware that these shops ordered their product annually. I suspected that they would place quarterly orders or something along that line.

Maybe the price won't change, or isn't likely to... I guess we're getting the shaft.

[sealevel]

And add in shipping. in canada its ridiculous. US do`s not seem to have the building code`s we have . So rent on the building is likely less . And stuff has gone down from last year . We sell pse bows for about 50 bucks less then last year. Rifle ammo is down about 20% from last year.