|
Author
|
Topic: canadian dealers and scg
|
thebagman
New Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 05:50 AM
      
hi,just got back from 2 weeks in quebec city,charlottown,sydney etc.I have a few observations on the canadian magic market.On the whole the dealers are friendly,knowedgeable and happy to trade with americans but everyone of the 7 dealers(stores) i dealth with all used scd for pricing..why because it's easier no motl or tcg player.I questioned this policy but no one gave me a real answer(maybe sell price high and buy price low) who knows?For those who don't know the minimum wage in the provinces are 10-11 /hour equates to higher prices for singles but that's where i had a hard time figuring their pricing.At almost every store prices were 20-25% higher then in the states plus they nail you for 15% tax on top of this.As an example the cheapest fow was $70 ..pack fresh was $80 not counting the 15% tax.I am not berating the dealers in canada since they have to pay more for the cards but do players in canada actually buy these cards or buy them from the USA.JTMS currenly sells for $70 at 2 of the dealers which seemed high to me plus $15%.At the biggest store in quebec city from the vault realms was selling for $100 plus 15% and they could"nt keep them in stock..On the whole the experience was fantastic and being a dealer we worked on a lot of trades(everone was satisfied) but i spent no money but got great trading stock..It seems that the majority of the play is standard with a little modern and legacy thrown in.. i really liked the layout of the stores and as i said before the dealers were great and we exchanged business cards etc .The majority of the dealers had a fantastic selection of cards but at higher prices but still the selection was there if you had the money..Hoping to hear what other people have to say about my observations
  |
Volcanon
Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 06:15 AM
Learn about this thing called paragraphs and spacing.Yes, there are some terrible dealers in Canada, as everywhere. Just don't buy from them. Minimum wage being so low (but slightly higher than the US), doesn't mean anything to card prices. They charge what they think they can get. There's lots of people from Canada on MOTL. And we play all formats. If you want to see Standard-exclusive countries go to Asia.
|
wayne
Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 08:29 AM
 
quote:
Originally posted by Volcanon:
Learn about this thing called paragraphs and spacing.Yes, there are some terrible dealers in Canada, as everywhere. Just don't buy from them. Minimum wage being so low (but slightly higher than the US), doesn't mean anything to card prices. They charge what they think they can get. There's lots of people from Canada on MOTL. And we play all formats. If you want to see Standard-exclusive countries go to Asia.
I think Modern is picking up, at least in my Asian country.
|
Mr.C
Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 09:45 AM
quote:
Originally posted by wayne:
I think Modern is picking up, at least in my Asian country.
You guys are just a city, doesn't count  But yeah, prices here are high, yes, people pay them. There are not many Canadian magic stores, and the American stores charge exorbitant shipping to Canada. And please, use paragraphs and spacing. That was nigh unreadable.
[Edited 1 times, lastly by Mr.C on September 27, 2012]
|
WeedIan
Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 09:55 AM
Face To Face is about the only good large scale dealer in Canada.__________________
Member Since 03/28/2001
12000+ posts
1st in posts in Ontario
2nd in posts in Canada
10th in posts on MOTL
5th in Refs in Ontario
Pushing to get to top 100 in MOTL Refs
[Edited 1 times, lastly by WeedIan on September 27, 2012]
|
Mr.C
Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 10:06 AM
quote:
Originally posted by WeedIan:
Face To Face is about the only good large scale dealer in Canada.
"Good" is relative. One of their employees was quite rude to me at GP Vancouver (don't know his name). Their prices, however, were pretty good. The owner is a bit, uh, eccentric.
|
Akarius
Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 11:51 AM
quote:
Originally posted by thebagman:
I am not berating the dealers in canada since they have to pay more for the cards but do players in canada actually buy these cards or buy them from the USA.
Welcome to Canada...where you can buy any crap rares at $3 + taxes in store.
I'm from Quebec City. The best way for us to get our cards is here! 
Those who don't know the market prices of cards buy from those stores though, not at their advantage.
Which one is the "biggest store" in quebec city?
The taxes in Quebec is separate in two parts: the goods and services tax (GST), which is calculated at a rate of 5% on the selling price and the Québec sales tax (QST), which is calculated at a rate of 9.5% on the selling price plus GST (so cumulative), for a total of 14.975%.
|
airwalk
Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 04:13 PM
Hey man, hope you had a good trip! As far as where we typically get our cards (in HFX), I would have to say most people get much of the 'bigger' cards from the Internet/Ebay. I still buy from Monster Comics even though their prices can be higher than what I could get online, as I buy packs and crack them for a hoot and impulse buy singles I randomly want.And yeah, the tax sucks almost everywhere in Canada. Alberta would be the place to visit as it only has a 5% tax rate, IIRC.
|
TimeBeing
Member
|
posted September 27, 2012 11:20 PM
Sounds like all the "dealers" you went to are stores. I know a lot of stores who charge SCG prices and sell may cards. It's called over head, and people like to support the FLGS
|
Heresy19
Member
|
posted September 28, 2012 06:12 PM
Weird, my 4 LGS don't charge taxes on singles. I'm the supplier for one of them and they resell the stock at SCG prices (sometimes lower if I got them a REALLY good deal) without taxes.I know of store in the Gatineau district of Gatineau (yeah...don't bother) who sells singles at SCG prices + 5% to make up for the Canadian dollar. .. ... isn't the Canadian dollar worth as much as the USD nowadays? Anyways, Cartamagica and Face à Face are prolly the 2 best stores for singles at big events in the Québec province.
|
Volcanon
Member
|
posted September 28, 2012 09:27 PM
In nearly a decade of playing magic, I've bought singles from a store less than five times. And each time it was because the single was underpriced.I just buy stuff here or on eBay.
|
gaeacradle
Member
|
posted September 29, 2012 07:36 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Volcanon:
In nearly a decade of playing magic, I've bought singles from a store less than five times. And each time it was because the single was underpriced.I just buy stuff here or on eBay.
Likewise. But I have bought more than 5 times. Bob for $10 (when it was $20), or Braids of Fire/Firestorm in the uncommon box (so 25 cents each).
|
airwalk
Member
|
posted September 29, 2012 01:50 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Heresy19:
Weird, my 4 LGS don't charge taxes on singles. I'm the supplier for one of them and they resell the stock at SCG prices (sometimes lower if I got them a REALLY good deal) without taxes.I know of store in the Gatineau district of Gatineau (yeah...don't bother) who sells singles at SCG prices + 5% to make up for the Canadian dollar. .. ... isn't the Canadian dollar worth as much as the USD nowadays? Anyways, Cartamagica and Face à Face are prolly the 2 best stores for singles at big events in the Québec province.
They do charge tax on singles, it's built into whatever price they sell you the card for. It's not like they take the listed price then add 15% to it when you go to the register. Just because you don't see the tax doesn't mean you're not paying it 
[Edited 1 times, lastly by airwalk on September 29, 2012]
|
sys41o
Member
|
posted October 01, 2012 06:09 PM
quote:
Originally posted by thebagman:
hi,just got back from 2 weeks in quebec city,charlottown,sydney etc.I have a few observations on the canadian magic market. Stuff.
You structure is not worth repeating. The prices are a bit higher because that is what they figure they can get for it. Why it would be based on SCG I'm not sure why but if I were to guess then the demise of Scrye and Inquest some years ago forced them to select a resource to avoid doing the footwork for pricing. SCG is pretty much the leader of the online store front so their prices influence the industry standard significantly. Most of the stores have a minimum price so each rarity will always be set to a certain price regardless of how bad the cards are. This affects what the good rares are priced. Two out of three stores I deal with have this structure with the better cards being priced at SCG prices. The third store I deal with, the one that I deal with most frequently is a bit different because the owner (who is a nice guy anyways) and one of the staff members are both players so they know what is hot and cold. Also he has a list of buyers, who have lots of money, that don't play tournaments. When the store gets a card that is highly sought after he just sets a price and goes through his list until he finds someone that will pay it. He doesn't charge extortionistic rates but he makes money ... that's what he is in business for. Do I like paying $75 for a FOW or $120 for a Underground Sea? Heck no but this is Canada. First of all supply and demand. Plus everything is more expensive because the cost of doing business. Natural gas (especially in the winter), electricity, taxes, shipping, and all the other expenses that go into running a business are more in Canada because we don't have the scale of economy nor the population to force the cost of doing business down through competition. Postage and shipping are brutally expensive so online order is always more expensive. I would like to support the local stores more but a combination of exchange rate and poor business practices means (minimum rates for rarity?) that I buy from MOTL and eBay a lot more then I want to. However I am a consumer so I go with maximum value for the budget that I have.
|
Volcanon
Member
|
posted October 02, 2012 06:03 PM
When I get quoted a dollar each for commons not played anywhere, then it's eBay Time(TM).
|
Lord Crovax
Member
|
posted October 02, 2012 06:26 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Volcanon:
When I get quoted a dollar each for commons not played anywhere, then it's eBay Time(TM).
Ouch...most places around here don't even charge that for tier 1 modern/standard commons, won't go above a buck unless your talking legacy stuff.....ABU aside of course, but they overcharge on everything so *shrugs* __________________
I shall have the souls of all who defy me. "Lord Crovax"
|
Heresy19
Member
|
posted October 03, 2012 05:55 PM
quote:
Originally posted by airwalk:
They do charge tax on singles, it's built into whatever price they sell you the card for. It's not like they take the listed price then add 15% to it when you go to the register. Just because you don't see the tax doesn't mean you're not paying it
Their singles are not in the store's system. The only thing they have that is taxable are all the stuff with a CUP bar code on it.
|
Volcanon
Member
|
posted October 03, 2012 10:30 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Heresy19:
Their singles are not in the store's system. The only thing they have that is taxable are all the stuff with a CUP bar code on it.
That just means they are cheating the CRA.
|
Mr.C
Member
|
posted October 03, 2012 10:41 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Volcanon:
That just means they are cheating the CRA.
Not necessarily, unless we are talking cash sales.
|
airwalk
Member
|
posted October 04, 2012 04:41 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Heresy19:
Their singles are not in the store's system. The only thing they have that is taxable are all the stuff with a CUP bar code on it.
Better hope they don't get an audit then.
|
Heresy19
Member
|
posted October 04, 2012 06:43 PM
Heh, I better check with them before they get in trouble :P
|
mm1983
Member
|
posted October 08, 2012 01:04 PM
I sell to numerous Canadian buyers when I list common and uncommon playsets on ebay. I do free shipping within the US and $1 shipping to Canada. I would have to guess that a $2 common or uncommon playset in the US that I sell to Canada for $3 costs more than that from the local game store in Canada to have repeat business from some of the same Canadian buyers.
|
Magic Online Trading League Bulletin Board
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone! 
