I can think back to the days when the Canadian Dollar was very weak, I can easily recall when we hit par and beyond. These days bring back weak-dollar memories and how it affects the hobby north of the border.
Back in the 90’s and early 2000’s the Canadian dollar was very week compared to the US dollar. Unfortunately, for this hobby, the major distributers were and are located in the lower 48 states. This meant that you would take the MSRP price in the Walther’s Catalogue and mutlitply by 1.8 to get the Canadian price. This was reality, and this is how we coped for many, many years persuing our Model Railroading dreams.
This persuit resulted in a few Canadian MFGs cropping up. This included Miniatures by Eric, Silvan Models, Athatbasca Scale models and the like, Their purpose was to deliver Canadian-specific content that filled huge modeling voids in the Canadian MR’s needs. Most of these companies are still around and still offer quality products at good prices.
In the past few years, the Canadian Dollar shot up against the US dollar. Even to the point when we were at Parity with the US dollar. That was a big day for Canadians, because as consumers, there we no longer a reason for us to pay much more than our American cousins for the same items. Even when the dollar was stronger than the US dollar, we never saw such a situation. This, of course, exsisted beyond our hobby in any items imported from the State and we continued to pay much, much more than we should have. Now, this can be attributed to many things, but there is one factor that we thought would be removed; the border.
In Sweden we are experiencing something similar. The dollar used to be very high. Then for a while we have been fortunate to have the dollar between 6 and 7 SEK per dollar. But these last few months the dollar has gone from 6 to 8 SEK. That is a huge difference.
This will definitely effect my hobby spending from the US. If the SEK drops back to the level around 2000 which was nearly twice as high as it was this summer the shopping spree will be over. Plus that just as our Canadian friends we pay taxes on everything. 25 percent on top of the purchase price plus shipping on everything.
So this currency roller coaster is definitely an issue. Especially considering the new higher prices that most items seems to have(Walthers NYC cars!?).
The only “levy” I’ve seen on model railroad products coming into Canada from the US is the application of the GST (5%) and our BC PST (7%) plus whatever brokerage charge is applied ($5 by Canada Post, higher by DHL or UPS).
The tax rates are the same as I would pay in a LHS for the same item, whether made in China, Korea, the US or Canada.
I agree with you the fluctuating exchange rates can be a big hit. I’m currently considering canceling a reservation as the net cost is now much more than when I put my reservations on and the Canadian dollar was hovering around $0.95.
However, for model railroad items anyway, these things are not essential and I can slow down and work with what I’ve already got if I have to.
I agree with David’s experience. Fortunately for me, in a way, Sunset has postponed production of the Selkirk 2-10-4 indefinitely. When I placed the order in June, the exchange was a few cents, maybe six. Now, had it been ready for payment, my price would have jumped by nearly $150!
Instead, I found a Bachmann Class J 4-8-4 that came with an auxiliary tender (yippee, now I have one for the Y6b!) for about 50% off…that I could afford. And, as others have found, it is now time to stop buying and to begin building…adding details, making trees and planting them, fixing known problems…etc.
Try going from 96 cents 2 months ago to 60 cents a few days ago… Everything just got 50% dearer and it isn’t the Australian economy that is in the toilet. All my MR purchases are postponed until some sense returns.
Another down side to the economy is the number of people that are getting out of the hobby or are just not buying anything from the LHS’s. I just picked up a Walthers 130’ RTR turntable and a Walthers Roundhouse kit with a 3 stall extention for 160 bucks Canadian from a guy that has to move because of the economy. I already have that turntable and a large roundhouse but I couldn’t pass up the price. The turntable was opened but never used as was the roundhouse kit. The extention still had the wrap on it. I almost felt bad for buying it but the guy needed the money and I was at the right place at the right time, my LHS. He has a bunch of Proto Heritage Steam loco’s as well that he has to sell so he invited me to his house to look at them first before he sells them. I’m going over on Sunday. He said he wants around 500 for all ten of them, 4 of them have sound, 3 of them are 2-8-8-2’s I think he said. For once I was at the right place at the right time.
What’s this about the Selkirk being effectively cancelled? I was hoping to get one. Even discussed this with a dealer a few weeks ago. Still shows up on their website, but very short on details!
When it comes to exchange rates, I am glad I ordered a video card a few weeks back. Only paid 1.07 for a US dollar at the time. Sure beats what it was a week ago. It’s at 0.8302 right now, or $1.20 for a US dollar.
Most of my purchasing is done for now. Just need a Micro Tsunami for my CPR 2-10-2. One cannot have too much sound equipped motive power. Hence the need for a Selkirk.
I got a PM from someone who was also waiting for one, and who knew I was in line. He told me that he had learned that the production was cancelled. I sent an email to Sunset and got a reply within a couple of days saying, “We have no plans for production of this model.”
I can think back to the days when the Canadian Dollar was very weak, I can easily recall when we hit par and beyond. These days bring back weak-dollar memories and how it affects the hobby north of the border.
Back in the 90’s and early 2000’s the Canadian dollar was very week compared to the US dollar. Unfortunately, for this hobby, the major distributers were and are located in the lower 48 states. This meant that you would take the MSRP price in the Walther’s Catalogue and mutlitply by 1.8 to get the Canadian price. This was reality, and this is how we coped for many, many years persuing our Model Railroading dreams.
This persuit resulted in a few Canadian MFGs cropping up. This included Miniatures by Eric, Silvan Models, Athatbasca Scale models and the like, Their purpose was to deliver Canadian-specific content that filled huge modeling voids in the Canadian MR’s needs. Most of these companies are still around and still offer quality products at good prices.
In the past few years, the Canadian Dollar shot up against the US dollar. Even to the point when we were at Parity with the US dollar. That was a big day for Canadians, because as consumers, there we no longer a reason for us to pay much more than our American cousins for the same items. Even when the dollar was stronger than the US dollar, we never saw such a situation. This, of course, exsisted beyond our hobby in any items imported from the State and we continued to pay much, much more than we should have. Now, this can be attributed to many things, but there is one factor that we thought would be removed; the border.
For me, layout expenditures have never been a problem because I built a small HO layout back in 1997 and I’ve still got it. Locomotives are my primary interest in the hobby, and when the dollar was high I bought lots of them. I now have a locomotive ‘library’, and I never get bored when I decide to run trains. The lower dollar would influence any future purchases, no doubt, but as of late I’ve run out of space to store equipment and that’s also given me enough reason to curtail spending on the hobby.
It looks to me like Dave has said something I figured out a while ago…CANADA IS NOT HONORING THE NAFTA AGREEMENT!
Don’t worry about our dollar. Tell your government to honor the treaty and everybody wins…
Regarding the Selkirk, this is the letter I received after inquiring about the delivery date back in September. Brent “Our builder is scheduling this project after other projects. Delays in those projects cause delays in starting the Selkirk. Sorry, I don’t have a definite answer as to when, except that it will probably be in mid 2009 now. Scott”
Just to clarify these points, under the NAFTA agreement, any goods made in a NAFTA country can move duty-free among NAFTA members, and that includes model railroad products. Of course, if a Canadian hobbyshop purchased U.S.-made goods while the Canadian dollar was weak, the Canadian price would be proportionally higher. Canada does slap the GST onto imported NAFTA goods, though. A sore point among many Canadians was the disparity in cover prices for magazines - my latest copy of RMC shows a cover price of $4.99US and $6.99Canadian, while the Winter 2008 issue of Classic
the aus dollar is around 68 cents us not so long ago the aus dollar was near parity at 98 cents us… i managed to order 30 decoders and around 15 locos ( broadway / kato)
the reason that the aus dollar is in trouble is because investors are taking back any investments in the aus dollar the aus dollar is verrrry strong the aus economy is very strong we are an exporting nation coal, iron ore,etc etc … we do not have money problems as a nation… big companys tied to the american economy have taken a huge hit… bhp, rio tinto, and peabody have all lost 50% to 80% in share price companys like telstra ( a phone company) only lost 15%
when the aus dollar goes back up i will be ordering from the american discount hobby shops again… i just save my money
Here’s another thing to add to the bottom line -and My Own Opinion. If the US banks wouldn’t have allowed ANYONE with the wages of a paper route or hot dog stand to buy a million dollar house. The world wouldn’t be in this mess with their money. They created the instability and mistrust of their banks by handing out mortgages to anyone without collateral. Now the world suffers with uncertainty.
