Buying From USA? It’s Gonna Cost You More!

If you are like so many millions of us who tend to buy their products online, and do so from the States, you might want to take into consideration that the cost to do so is now going to be higher than it was last summer.

The value of the Canadian dollar has continued to drop due to the ongoing political spat with Saudi Arabia, trade wars, and the rising strength of the U.S. economy.

To compound on this, Canada’s retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports, worth more than $16.6 billion, is now in effect. This will now bump up many retail prices on imports by as much as 10 percent through duties.

As such, U.S. goods now cost more than Canadian ones.

So, although advertised U.S. good prices might seem lower when shopping online from USA stores, you must make sure to consider things like how the exchange rate and hiked duty charges will impact your final cost.

Here are some valuable advice:

Use excellent online resources like Google’s Currency Converter and The Final Cost to get an idea of the true price tag that you can expect.

Open a U.S. account at your local bank and buy U.S. dollars regularly throughout the year so as to build up a stash of cash to use later, which will lessen the impact of a poor exchange rate.

Look to credit cards that don’t have the ridiculous hidden foreign exchange fee, which is attached to virtually all credit cards at a staggering 2.5% or more. Some cards like the Home Trust Premium Visa card does not have this fee. This can save you a lot when buying over the border.