On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 14:04:16 GMT, lucretia borgia muttered something like:
She may not have realized that UPS levies the higher customs/duty fees. I didn't know better the first couple of times I sold things through ebay to Canadian buyers; if I ever list anything again that gets won by a Canadian, I'll send it USPS so they don't get hit with the high rates.
Although if a site makes international shipments regularly, it kind of falls to them to do a little research on what happens at the receiving end.
I remember being very exasperated some years ago when an exchange was being set up in a stitching chat group, and someone insisted several times that I could "always" pick something up at (a number of US chains which do not operate in Canada) or order a $5 item from Herrschners (the calculation was pretty much like your $5 chart.)--the person involved would not acknowledge the existence of the border (soon to be The Fence?????). I have been pointed to things like the free kits on the Janlynn site which Canadians cannot access (only in the continental USA). Actually, I have had better service from UK websites, who were quite happy to mail in plain envelopes at surface rates. Dawne
The prices given were 34, 50 and 72. I understand it's an assumption on my part, but clearly, many LNS stores have huge mark-up prices. I find it hard to believe the price break is that steep at wholesale. There is a margin of discrepency where the comparison is made between USD and the Canadian dollar, but when something is TWICE the price of the box stores there is definitely some hanky panky going on.
I do buy floss at Walmart when I need a few skeins and I'm already there for something else. That doesn't put the LNS out of business. Where I live, there is ONE LNS and I will never set foot in there for the rest of my life. Why? I used to sell my laying tools there. Many here have those tools and know what they look and feel like. I was selling them "wholesale" to Ginger for ten dollars and she doubled the price for retail. One day I'm in there and she's selling them for 22. So, next batch I tell her they are now 11 dollars and she told me she wanted to make the extra dollar. I walked to the counter, asked for every piece of wood in there which was mine and walked out. Not only did I sell them to her for a very fair price, it was on consignment and she'd hem and haw to pay it.
So, now I buy my floss at Hobby Lobby, JoAnne's, or Michaels, and I buy designs wherever I find them. Ginger's is a bustling store. Her prices do not reflect that of a bustling store. She is a rip off. She charges 9 dollars a yard for calico! And she is nowhere near going out of business.
So this very well be sour grapes on my part, I do concede on that point.
I don't think this is sour grapes at all, but an ethical decision on your part not to deal with someone you thought made an undue profit from your work (undue is the key word) The LNS is not a sacred space. Some are wonderful, and really work to provide their customers with what they need at a reasonable price. A few aren't, and judging by the horror stories that turn up here once in a long while, either get very clique-y and snobby (the previous owner of the store I now love was like that) or else take advantage of a captive market and charge waaaay too much. Personally, I avoid the big box stores, but if those were the only stores near me, it would be different. Dawne
No, she knew about it but seemed to think the chart might get bent or somesuch if it went in the mail. Even if it did, worst case scenario, replacing a five dollar chart here and there, would be better than turning customers off with nearly $15 added to the initial cost.
Now, whatever I look at online, I always cut through to the end and see how they are going to ship, how much 'handling' they charge, and then decide whether to order based on the final price. Sometimes discussion is good. My club ordered (I did the ordering) name pins in the shape of a bridge hand, from the US. We discussed shipping and he said he went fairly frequently to visit someone in Canada. If we were not in a rush and didn't mind a two or three week delay, he could mail in Canada. We jumped at the chance and he has made lots of other sales with us now, based on a mail when he comes up here order. That's what I call really good business, keeps him going and keeps us happy lol
I don't know what Wartmart sells floss for here, nor do I care. I consider it unpatriotic to even enter their doors. They are a predator store.
If you read the book about Old Sam you will find that his kids are not even living by his original concept of having stores with low prices that would keep US small manufacturers going. His kids buy cheapest offshore and single-handedly have f****d small American manufacturers. They also have the worst reputation as employers.
I miss the "Made in the USA" sales pitch. My current battle with my father has to do with the "support the troops" car magnets. I won't have one because they are made in China and I seriously doubt China supports our troops.
Of course accord> I don't know what Wartmart sells floss for here, nor do I care. I
I don't know if they are better employers in the States but up here it is estimated they don't even pay a living wage. They work people in different shifts so that they wind up not even qualifying for unemployment if the worst comes to the worst.
I also dislike the 'check you as you leave' policy, hate 'greeters', it's all so insincere. Do they really believe that the checking is 'to make sure you have everything you paid for' ? So I just feel if I stay away from Wartmart, they probably don't miss me but I don't give myself the hassle.
I also live in Canada. I have a friend who used to work for Sears, and now works for Walmart. She is making more money at Walmart and has better benefits. As for whacky shifts...all the retailers put you on different shifts...even management, but it doesn't effect EI, at least none of my co-workers that have been on EI have ever said it does. I really don't *get* why so many people knock Walmart when other retailers are just as bad or worse.
I've never heard of the 'check as you leave' policy at Walmart, it doesn't happen at our local Walmart.
Here in Maryland, the legislature passed a bill last year that's become known as "The WalMart bill", and the governor vetoed it. The bill exacted a tax/fee (I'm not sure which, officially) on any employer of more than 10,000 people in the state who did not pay a significant part of company payroll in health care benefits (I think it was at least 8%). There are only four employers that have that big an employee base, WalMart being one of them, and the other three *do* meet (and exceed)those guidelines. (the others are Johns Hopkins, the university/medical center; Giant Food, a supermarket chain; and ??)
WalMart is crying fowl and threatening to pull out of a planned distribution center that would provide a lot of jobs in an economically depressed area. Meanwhile, the legislature is due to meet in January, and one of their first points of business will be to try to override the governor's veto. WalMart has hired a slew of highly paid lobbyists to stop that from happening.
The logic behind the legislature's action is that if WalMart doesn't give employees health care benefits, the state's taxpapers are footing the bill for those employees through their increased enrollment on state-funded insurance plans and state-funded medical care at clinics and hospitals.
Stay tuned...there's quite a battle brewing. And whatever happens here, it will have national ramifications.
The problem is, nothing is Made in the USA any more. You can shop till you drop, and you won't find an American-made TV, or toaster, or ...
I've heard from people who work at WalMart, and I've heard from people who work at other discount stores. Pay and conditions at WalMart are no worse than they are at any other discount store.
They make a big deal about WalMart signing their employees up for Medicaid. What they don't tell you is that other retail employees are also eligible for Medicaid, but THEIR employers don't help them with the paperwork. For someone who is working retail because they're semi-literate and can't get an office job, the Medicaid forms can be daunting; better to have someone who reads well to help you fill it out.
It happens at *some* of our Walmarts, but not all. The ones in the poorer sections of town do it. Since I'm a white woman who exudes Quality Breeding, I get waved right through, or if they take my receipt, they barely glance at it. I've seen other people's bags gone through in detail.
And what about all those other employers who don't offer health insurance? Their entry-level employees don't wind up getting state-funded medical care?
Trust me, the number of employees in the county below the poverty level is several times higher than the number employed by WalMart. And the number of employees in the county without health insurance is orders of magnitude higher than the number employed by WalMart.
They did a survey here a few years ago, and determined that "living wage" based on the cost of living was somewhat in excess of $12/hour for those jobs that didn't include health insurance. A couple months after the survey results came out, I was interviewed for a part-time paralegal job at $10/hour, no benefits. I told him Living Wage was $12/hour for a FULL-TIME employee, and if he wasn't willing to pay Living Wage even part-time for a job that required education and experience, he could shove his job. He plead poverty. Sorry, I don't buy that a rich lawyer can't afford to pay his staff decently. Where's the legislation demanding that every lawyer in town must give all employees Living Wage and health care benefits?
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