C $74.89 for 3 bags of chips?

[cha-1494]

Today, I stumbled on a U.S. seller who sold 3 bags of chips for C $41.93 plus C $32.96 shipping to Canada!  It makes me wonder if transactions like these are legitimate.  My first thought was that it could be some kind of money laundering scheme.  As I digged further, it appears to be the seller's business model.  I know people love their snacks, but this seems excessive.  Couldn't Canadians get the same item much cheaper from Walmart.ca or Amazon.ca?  Can someone enlighten me on this topic?

[cha-1494]

262 views and counting, 0 comments.  Hmm... do I need a secret password to get in that I don't know about? 🙂

[reallynicestamps]

Well it's one am Monday morning here on Vancouver Island.

Does he sell elsewhere?

There is a Canadian seller who will ship Canadian goodies (Coffee Crisp, ketchup chips, Hickory Sticks) to expats.

Her prices are reasonable-- the shipping is killer.

But when you have the munchies......

There is a US seller who will ship two specialty pineapple candies from Hawai'i. She also sells boxes of them . The shipping on the the samples is killer.

And then there is the legendary US Army wife,stationed in Germany,who learned that Secret deodorant was a cult item among German women who could only buy it at American base PXs. When she got back to the States she was selling Secret into Germany. When she got an order she just dropped in to the nearest drugstore. No need to hold inventory....

If the item is in demand, the price will be right.

[cha-1494]

Thanks for responding.  The seller is based in U.S. and sells worldwide.  I know people love their snacks, but it is still a bit shocking to me that a buyer would drop about C $75 for 3 small bags of chips that he could probably finish in one sitting on a binge.  When I checked the Walmart.ca website, the same item sells for $3.  I guess that many people live too far away from a Walmart store to pick it up.  I had always assumed that many popular American snacks and products are common in Canada.  It appears that I may be wrong. 

I've never thought about selling outside of U.S. before, but this is something I should look more into.  I agree with you that shipping cost is a killer. If I plan to ship to Canada, the item has to be 4 pounds are less, so that it could qualify for USPS first class international rate. The question is what American products do Canadians demand that are not readily available that I could ship easily.  If anyone have suggestions or ideas, feel free to message me.

[reallynicestamps]

Well, at the Science Fiction conventions I attend, the Sunday Cartoon sessions are popular.

The attendees come in their pyjamas. Cartoons from the 80s are played. And a plethora of sugary cereals that were never available in Canada are on the breakfast bar-- cocopuffs, count chocula, frankenberry.

Some BBQ and hot sauces would perhaps be a more sustainable product.

And local specialities. Like craft chocolates.

[pjcdn2005]

I would be surprised if anyone would pay that for chips.  I wouldn’t even pay the $41 without shipping for just 3 bags.  Is it possible that they are out of stock and just temporarily raised their price?  

For the shipping portion...many US sellers don’t realize that first class package has delivery confirmation to some countries so they insist on using Priority intl which as you know, is very expensive. (Or the gsp)

I have seen some brands of chips and chocolate bars in the US that aren’t available here but I don’t remember the brands and don’t know if they would be in demand here.

[reallynicestamps]

Ah yes, the infamous Out Of Stock pricing.

Which is a forbidden practice.

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/listing-no-item.html

Listings that are out of stock but left active, often with a drastically increased price to prevent purchases. (See the out-of-stock option for Good 'Til Cancelled listings.)

[cha-1494]

Thanks for your great suggestions, reallynicestamps! I appreciate it! There is a very popular chain of grocery stores with an almost cult following called Trader Joe's. I wonder if Canadians are familiar with it.

[cha-1494]

Thanks for chiming in, pjcd2005. According to the sales record, the seller had close to 150 transactions.

[cha-1494]

It does not appear to be out of stock pricing. The record shows all of them were sold at the stated listing price of C $31.80.

[newandretrogames]

Do you know for sure it was sold to a Canadian? Sold listings will show the shipping cost to your location, not the location of the buyer. What's the shipping cost to the US?

[cha-1494]

The seller ships to U.S. and world wide. You are right. I don't know for certain if they were sold to Canadians. It was an assumption on my part. It appears the seller has set a fixed shipping fee of $25, because the rate didn't change when I entered different U.S. zip codes. I can assure you that all of his sales are from outside of the U.S. No one in the U.S. would pay $56.80 for 3 bags of snacks they can purchase down the street for $6.69 at Walmart.  I made an educated guess that the buyers were Canadian, because the shipping cost seemed to be  in line with what it would cost to ship to Canada with the seller making a few extra bucks as a "cushion".  If he had shipped it to Europe, I think he would have asked for a higher shipping fee.

[ypdc_dennis]

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@cha-1494 wrote:

The seller ships to U.S. and world wide. You are right. I don't know for certain if they were sold to Canadians. It was an assumption on my part. It appears the seller has set a fixed shipping fee of $25, because the rate didn't change when I entered different U.S. zip codes. I can assure you that all of his sales are from outside of the U.S. No one in the U.S. would pay $56.80 for 3 bags of snacks they can purchase down the street for $6.69 at Walmart.  I made an educated guess that the buyers were Canadian, because the shipping cost seemed to be  in line with what it would cost to ship to Canada with the seller making a few extra bucks as a "cushion".  If he had shipped it to Europe, I think he would have asked for a higher shipping fee.

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All you know is the shipping rate for the USA when you check a US zip code.

It is easy enough to check other countries. You pick a listing, switch your shipping location to say the Canada or France or some other country when checking shipping. This will give the shipping cost for that country. Be sure to switch back to your own location after you are finished checking.

Walmart does not ship to all parts of the USA.  Nor is it located everywhere (although it might feel that way).  Plus over 10% of internet impluse sales in the USA are made while drunk or substance impaired.

But most likely these are out of USA sales primarily to homesick Americans living abroad (for work or education).

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