Hello fellow Ozbargainers,
As title suggests, my wife has a trip to Canada soon. I was wondering what sort of things are normally cheaper in Canada compared to Australia, so I would ask my wife to buy those of which I might need in the near future.
I don't need anything in particular at the moment, but I just thought it would be a good opportunity to buy things cheaper while she is there.
Any advice on ANY cheaper item is appreciated :)
Cheers,
some electronics, particularly dell computers. Camping gear (assuming they can get REI from across the border)
hmmm, good idea about Dell …tx
Any other ideas? :)
pure maple syrup. Everything else is easily obtained via the internet
Isn't all maple syrup pure by definition, unless it's the clearly labeled imitation syrup made from sugar and flavour?
Pure maple syrup is easy to find at woolies. In the baking section where you find that chocolate syrup stuff. There is a syrup there that is from the same region where i grew up in Ontario. Oh and Costco. Big huge bottle there is about $10.
Edit - All maple syrup is not the same. Maple syrup comes from a tree and goes through a boiling process. Different regions will have different tastes and hues. Maple flavour syrup is just liquid sugar. I recommend Google for this as there is a fair bit with the world of syrup. Pure fresh syrup is quite a treat though!
Nothing is really cheaper in Canada as most Canadians will just head across the border to shop.
Baked beans in maple syrup. The best combination with bacon and eggs.
Bilberry products: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccinium_myrtillus
Bilberries are similar to the common blueberries we're familiar with, but the flavour is much more intense. It's difficult to get bilberry products here. The only one I've seen was a Polish jam at a dedicated foreign food importer/wholesaler.
Blueberry products are unfortunately commonly mislabeled with words like 'wild blueberry' so there's confusion between the two, but bilberries are superior.
Sunglasses, computer components, books, movies (BD-rom), clothes.
Let me qualify this a bit. This is a non-exhaustive list off the top of my head.
Sunglasses: Most of the more decent brands have a ridiculous markup in Australia. E.g. I bought two Ray-bans aviators for <$300 that would have costed me $530 here in Australia.
Computer components: High end computer components like expensive mobos, GPUs and CPUs have a significant price difference. Makes sense getting those in US/Canada.
Audio gear: If you're into hifi audio, you can definitely expect to find stuff a fair bit cheaper than Aus. Especially in the high-end category.
Books: There is a reason why the local Aussie book retailers are all dying. Moreover, variety in fiction and non-fiction is much more vast.
Movies: cheaper (although region may be different so you work around that). Again variety.
Clothes: You have heaps of choices; some of the things that I'd get (personal pref):
- Footwear esp sneakers and speciality (sport) footwear.
- Compression and sports wear like underarmor
- Casual and formal wear: I find that the quality of most decently priced shirts (even brand-names) are not comparable to their counterparts in US/Canada or even Europe. Moreover, the range of styles and sizes are (again IMHO) quite vast in comparison.
Lastly, there's a whole bunch of stuff that I really miss (most of my cousins live in Canada) and tubs of peanut butter and jelly is one of them. :)
a box of
Dentyne Fire "Spicy Cinnamon" Mints, (Not gum)
They are amazing…
Canada isn't really that cheap. Things may look cheap but prices don't include all the taxes. My family is from there and I get back every few years.
Get her to hop across the border to the USA and it is much cheaper.
Skechers shoes, they have half sizes and the wide option, also A LOT more designs. From the boutique, prices are 10-15% cheaper (incl. tax) after conversion. Also other sneakers probably. I didnt bother with food but their honey is good. If you like sweet whites, ask her to grab some icewines.
Perhaps medicine (over the counter). While living in the states i heard medicine was cheap from Canada. Maybe not load up on it but buying a bottle/box of antihistamines or pept-bismol for stomach problems. Seriously the best stuff ever.
Maple syrup!