If the Canadian dollar is so weak why don't we see a ton of Canadian sellers?

[Captain Canuck]

The problem is I am not aware of too many Canadian venues for art and comics that can match what I can get from American dealers. Also, most artists deal in American dollars, which makes reasonable art prices now out of the ball park. E.g. I am not saying this is reasonable, but a basic Byrne commission with backgrounds is $1500, but with let's say a 1.34 exchange rate, unless you have an American bank account and no conversion fee credit card is now $2010 CDN minimum, with Amex it can range to $2070 on the high end. To me that is well beyond something I would entertain and with the dollar continuing to drop it will only get worse.

[thehumantorch]

The Canadian Dollar has really cut back my buying on auction.

after your upcharge at Heritage Plus your exchange plus shipping it almost makes it impossible to buy on auction..

 

However buying locally has been great . Buying at small shows has been wonderful while also being able to sell off afew books here and there in USD is perfect !

 

There are 3 shows coming up in alberta in the next few months. All will have some deals in Canadian dollars. Buying in a low dollar local environment has been very very good. For any Yanks interested shows like Edmonton will have some decent deals as will the smaller Calgary shows and lethbridge shows.

 

My strategy has been ..

Buy some decent books in Canadian funds then sell off half of them in USD and pay for the entire load of books.. (But keep the nice ones for me )

 

links for Calgary -->

http://www.comicandtoy.ca/

 

Hope to see you both at the Red and White. Dinner and drinks?

[rodan57]

 

Right. Its a GREAT TIME to liquidate if you're done with comics, but rising replacement costs pretty much nullify any other profits unless you can buy other items you want from Canadian venues.

 

Quite true. In addition, to be able to use exchange rates in one's collecting favour, there would need to be times wherein the Canadian dollars trades significantly above the US dollar.

[gosensgo93]

30% more to pay is def not good no matter how u look at it.

[gosensgo93]

Hopefully our dollar will bounce back. That way it's better for us

[Bronty]

What we really need is oil to bounce back. Drives gains in both our dollar and our economy

[romanheart]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

[Arkham]

Most canadian sellers use US post offices because Canada Post is more wildly_fanciful_statement then the low dollar.

 

I know Canada Post has a shocking reputation, but I buy keys and rad books from Wall-Crawler on a fairly regular basis and Canada Post has been landing the slabs in my lap (here in Australia) faster and cheaper than USPS does, let alone that monstrous Global Shipping Program!

 

 

we all know those government agencies in 'Former Team UK' countries treat each other better than they do everyone else. You can ship overnight Toronto to Hong Kong for $4CDN but its 3 weeks from Vancouver to Seattle for $40CDN.

 

 

*numbers and shipping times in the above example may be slightly exaggerated for effect.

 

He's onto us!!!

[CAMPER49]

Low oil prices

Low nickel/copper prices

Low lumber/pulp and paper/forestry prices (mostly)

Poor Canada

[VintageComics]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

[Captain Canuck]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

 

I don't think the housing market is going to crash. There be a slight correction, but I think the prices we are seeing are here to stay. Just look at the rising condo prices in Toronto and the glut of them on the market or being built. It is a sellers market. In regards to comics, at this point I rather deal and stay in Canadian dollars, what is a good place for buyers to find OA and vintage back issues? I find a lot of the local shops in Toronto don't have much and at the cons, e.g. FanExpo there is not tons and what there is (OA and back issues) is inflated to help cover the cost of the tables.

[romanheart]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

 

That's what I mean. They tank the interest to stoke the housing, but we don't grow. Instead we go in recession. They go to the old models of rekindling the economy and it isn't working. So what do they hope for... oil to climb again and revenue to come back. They need to think outside the box and earn their money. Things have changed and they haven't caught on.

[Wall-Crawler]

Most canadian sellers use US post offices because Canada Post is more wildly_fanciful_statement then the low dollar.

 

I know Canada Post has a shocking reputation, but I buy keys and rad books from Wall-Crawler on a fairly regular basis and Canada Post has been landing the slabs in my lap (here in Australia) faster and cheaper than USPS does, let alone that monstrous Global Shipping Program!

 

 

we all know those government agencies in 'Former Team UK' countries treat each other better than they do everyone else. You can ship overnight Toronto to Hong Kong for $4CDN but its 3 weeks from Vancouver to Seattle for $40CDN.

 

 

*numbers and shipping times in the above example may be slightly exaggerated for effect.

 

He's onto us!!!

 

Thanks for the shout out Dan!

 

I sell mostly to fund my collecting habits primarily through selling on eBay and here occasionally the boards (gotta ramp that up) and through a few repeat customers. I price items in USD and keep my PayPal as my USD 'reserve' so the fall of the loonie has not quite impacted my collecting habits that much yet.

 

However, and it could just be what I have up lately, but I have noticed my eBay sales to fellow Canadians has fallen off a bit...Now it could be due to con season or what I have been posting is just not what buyers have been really after (no NM #98 or Batman Adventures #12 ), but regardless, I have noticed a slight dip which I *think* the slipping loonie could be a factor. How much though is anyone's guess.

 

I know it has impacted my local LCS and and they JUST raised their prices on new books to account for it. I know lots of shops that pretty much have always taken the exchange into account when pricing their items...I wonder if this will be the new trend if some larger Canadian sellers/stores will just up the price in Canadian dollars to account for the exchange?

 

As for our economy, well, we definitely need to shift away from a resource based economy. A lower dollar is generally considered "good" but too low...Not so much.

 

Great discussion!

[Captain Canuck]

Based on current projections the lower dollar will stimulate manufacturing which is what they are hoping for. The problem is the American companies and others that they are trying to attract to purchase and invest have already looked elsewhere because our dollar was to high to make it profitable for themselves. It will take another 2-3 years before they start coming back. As mentioned our economy needs to diversify and not be so reliant on 1 or 2 export goods.

[VintageComics]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

 

That's what I mean. They tank the interest to stoke the housing, but we don't grow. Instead we go in recession. They go to the old models of rekindling the economy and it isn't working. So what do they hope for... oil to climb again and revenue to come back. They need to think outside the box and earn their money. Things have changed and they haven't caught on.

 

I'm not sure I follow.

 

They tanked rates in 2008-09 (7 years ago) to stimulate the economy when Wall Street crashed due to the mortgage/debt crisis. Rates have been extremely low ever since.

 

In the mean time we boomed for years while the rest of the world reeled in crisis. And we boomed at least partially because the oil industry took off in Canada.

 

Our GDP contracted between 2009/10 and then we exploded again after that.

 

I'm not too worried about the dollar / US exchange...it helps some industries and hinders others. It's all cyclical, so for now it's just another adjustment after being at near par for so long.

 

Like I said, we manufacture, we design, we're big on tech, we have near unlimited resources, tons of land and an ever growing population. We have the ability to do anything we really want in house and we're growing and people will want what we have. We're in good shape over all.

 

 

[VintageComics]

It will take another 2-3 years before they start coming back.

 

Yup, cyclical.

 

As mentioned our economy needs to diversify and not be so reliant on 1 or 2 export goods.

 

Yup! But live and learn. We diversify as we mature as a country.

[N/A]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

 

I've had so many people try to answer that question over the last 5 years. I'll stick with my variable at well under 2%.

 

I'm all for a financial collapse and zero interest rates. It's been a long time coming.

[VintageComics]

I'll stick with my variable at well under 2%.

 

I've been on a variable mortgage (and dropping) since about 2000 after my 5 year locked came up on my first home purchase.

[CAMPER49]

Our mortgage is due in November, good timing to renew!

[N/A]

What we need is a better gov not so reliant on oil profits, a sinking dollar, lower interest, and a booming housing market as the only strategy to return to growth.

 

And when the housing market corrects people will say just the opposite. It's all cyclical.

 

BTW, you can lock in a 5 year mortgage for well under 3% right now. How can interest get any lower??

 

That's what I mean. They tank the interest to stoke the housing, but we don't grow. Instead we go in recession. They go to the old models of rekindling the economy and it isn't working. So what do they hope for... oil to climb again and revenue to come back. They need to think outside the box and earn their money. Things have changed and they haven't caught on.

 

I'm not sure I follow.

 

They tanked rates in 2008-09 (7 years ago) to stimulate the economy when Wall Street crashed due to the mortgage/debt crisis. Rates have been extremely low ever since.

 

In the mean time we boomed for years while the rest of the world reeled in crisis. And we boomed at least partially because the oil industry took off in Canada.

 

Our GDP contracted between 2009/10 and then we exploded again after that.

 

I'm not too worried about the dollar / US exchange...it helps some industries and hinders others. It's all cyclical, so for now it's just another adjustment after being at near par for so long.

 

Like I said, we manufacture, we design, we're big on tech, we have near unlimited resources, tons of land and an ever growing population. We have the ability to do anything we really want in house and we're growing and people will want what we have. We're in good shape over all.

 

 

Are you including the 320 million Americans we need to support with our resources?