Are the Canadian buyers back??

[kimik]

The exchange rate has not affected my buying habits, and at the local shows collectors expect to pay it as well on back issues. It is not as much of an issue as the state of the economy is. That being said, there are more comic stores in Edmonton and Calgary now than there have been since the early 90s. If they can survive in the current down economy it will be interesting to see how the do when things pick up again.

[gyro-1]

Selling to the USA = positive

Buying from USA = negative

Buying from the UK = neutral

the UK sellers seem very eager to sell http://www.ebid.net/ca/perl/main.cgi?go=1&mo=search&category=&type=keyword&words=comic+books+&categoryid=

 

[the blob]

I'm talking about getting some package valued at $10 on the customs form that would have nothing due and the agent decides this is a $150 item and $15 is due (I don't know what the numbers actually are). I'm guessing opening it up, deciding it is undervalued, filling out the paperwork, getting the person to pay the fee, etc. etc. costs far more in agent time/benefits/overhead than what is collected.

 

1st off, it's a branch of law enforcement. So they're not only looking for revenue, they're looking for illegal stuff. But if it wasn't able to be profitable, do you think they'd continue to do it?

 

How long does it take to open a box and inspect it, click, click, click on some software, print out an invoice and done? A couple of minutes?

 

I work in a government bureaucracy. so my estimate is 90 minutes.

[VintageComics]

[comicquant]

I work in a government bureaucracy. so my estimate is 90 minutes.

 

Now that is funny!

[the blob]

You guys are looking at it from the perspective of how fast you would do something if your livelihood depended on it.

 

Wrong!

 

View it from the perspective of someone who has absolutely no incentive to get this done quickly, someone who would like to enjoy their Tim Bits and coffee for the next 5 hours before clocking out at 3 to drag their kids to some junior hockey tornament, maybe take a nap after checking out a few boxes of porn from the states. It's cold outside for criminey sake and that Justin Trudeau is just too damn sexy! (Ok, that last part has nothing to do with anything, but its better than my usual references to igloos and sled dogs)

 

[jjonahjameson1]

On a related collectibles topic, I've decreased my original Art purchases considerably recently as a direct result of the exchange rate and so have several of my OA collecting friends here in the greater Toronto area. The timing is awful because I've seen a marked increase in the quality of items offered, but I need to show fiscal restraint due to the 35% currency bump on the price.

 

I'd like to be positive and say that now is a great time to sell, but that would go against the general auction results. Don't get wrong wrong, exceptional pieces are always in demand and command premium prices, but average, runs of the mill stuff isn't getting much love.

[Cyrax]

I pretty much only buy from canadian sellers now on ebay. The exchange rate is simply killing me. It's also slowing down my cgc submissions.

 

 

[VintageComics]

For people who buy and sell, I've never understood why you don't have a US account so that you don't have to pay the conversation every time you buy or sell something.

[N/A]

For people who buy and sell, I've never understood why you don't have a US account so that you don't have to pay the conversation every time you buy or sell something.

 

Bloody expensive conversations.

[CAMPER49]

I do have a US account at the RBC Royal Bank....however PayPal will not recognize a US account at a Canadian Bank (ripoff).

I don't live anywhere near the US border so I can't open a PO Box to get deliveries there.

So the exchange rate sucks (sitting around 1.37 CDN if I'm buying and 1.30 CDN if I'm selling my duplicates).

And if I'm buying, add the Global Shipping Program (ripoff) from most US sellers. Huge Ripoff.

So my buying habits from the US have decreased to almost nothing.

 

[roach04]

I do have a US account at the RBC Royal Bank....however PayPal will not recognize a US account at a Canadian Bank (ripoff).

I don't live anywhere near the US border so I can't open a PO Box to get deliveries there.

So the exchange rate sucks (sitting around 1.37 CDN if I'm buying and 1.30 CDN if I'm selling my duplicates).

And if I'm buying, add the Global Shipping Program (ripoff) from most US sellers. Huge Ripoff.

So my buying habits from the US have decreased to almost nothing.

 

Not sure if I"m allowed to post or not...but my US $ account (and credit card) are both with Royal as well -- and this solution still works:

 

http://travelblogbreakthrough.com/canadian-paypal-users-transfer-usd-bank/

 

 

[VintageComics]

I do have a US account at the RBC Royal Bank....however PayPal will not recognize a US account at a Canadian Bank (ripoff).

I don't live anywhere near the US border so I can't open a PO Box to get deliveries there.

So the exchange rate sucks (sitting around 1.37 CDN if I'm buying and 1.30 CDN if I'm selling my duplicates).

And if I'm buying, add the Global Shipping Program (ripoff) from most US sellers. Huge Ripoff.

So my buying habits from the US have decreased to almost nothing.

 

Not sure if I"m allowed to post or not...but my US $ account (and credit card) are both with Royal as well -- and this solution still works:

 

http://travelblogbreakthrough.com/canadian-paypal-users-transfer-usd-bank/

 

 

Right. The difference is that you need a US account on US soil from a Canadian bank, and most if not all the US banks offer them.

 

The only problem you will run into is that you if you are moving a lot of money in or out they may eventually ask you to move your transactions into a business account rather than a personal account. Even if it's just a hobby for you the bank will consider it a business if there is lots of in and out funds going on. That's due to new banking and anti-money laundering legislature. Opening up a business account is an entirely different can of worms. They make you jump through hoops for that one.

[roach04]

I've never had problems with my US account at the Canadian bank in Canada. Mind you, I'm only moving thousands of dollars (not the 10s of thousands that trigger the AML audits!)

[KEY ISSUES Comics]

I LOVE buying local collections. I get to benefit from selling the pricier books with the exchange rate to buyers local and abroad, while selling the common stuff without the exchange rate plus a discount. My U.S. clients just gobble up the stuff from the second category and my local clients can still afford it.

 

Works for me.

[CAMPER49]

I do have a US account at the RBC Royal Bank....however PayPal will not recognize a US account at a Canadian Bank (ripoff).

I don't live anywhere near the US border so I can't open a PO Box to get deliveries there.

So the exchange rate sucks (sitting around 1.37 CDN if I'm buying and 1.30 CDN if I'm selling my duplicates).

And if I'm buying, add the Global Shipping Program (ripoff) from most US sellers. Huge Ripoff.

So my buying habits from the US have decreased to almost nothing.

 

Not sure if I"m allowed to post or not...but my US $ account (and credit card) are both with Royal as well -- and this solution still works:

 

http://travelblogbreakthrough.com/canadian-paypal-users-transfer-usd-bank/

 

 

Awesome, thanks for the info.

I'm going to try this.

[COI]

The exchange rate is currently a few percent lower than the average rate for the last 25 years. The only buyers who believe the rate is so bad are those who convinced themselves the dollar is supposed to be at the historical high it was 4-5 years ago.

 

Maybe some Canadians took advantage of the high dollar and moved on. I don't see why anyone buying for more than the last 5 years would have stopped. They also may have purchased more when they had more power via the exchange to do so.

 

Yep.

 

I'm not really upset at today's rates, but I regret not buying more a few years ago.

[roach04]

 

Yep.

 

I'm not really upset at today's rates, but I regret not buying more a few years ago.

 

Same. I got some sweet art when the dollar was at (or over for awhile) par circa 2007/08 but wished I'd bought more. I know all opinions differ but mine's been that the sweet spot for the CDN dollar should be in the 80-85 cent range. That's enough to keep exports to the States flowing and still provide a good currency discount to the Americans and enables easier cross-border shopping for us up here.

 

Too far either way and too many issues arise. (Although, it was really sweet to buy $1000 USD for $940 CDN while it lasted )

[CAMPER49]

Let's wait and see what tomorrow's US election does to the value of our beloved Loonie.

[Ken Aldred]

Let's wait and see what tomorrow's US election does to the value of our beloved Loonie.

 

I hadn't bothered thinking about its effect on the pound sterling because the currency's screwed anyway. Completely forgot about that.