ABSURD SHOE PRICES IN CANADA

Any business where unionized laborers deal with the public = crappy service.

Try going to Ikea and getting help. The f@#$ing Teamsters have everybody there wired to think that helping anybody is outside their contract. They stand around talking about taking coffee breaks, while people are waiting to ask them questions.

Should I go on?

Tom Longboat wrote:

Any business where unionized laborers deal with the public = crappy service.

Try going to Ikea and getting help. The f@#$ing Teamsters have everybody there wired to think that helping anybody is outside their contract. They stand around talking about taking coffee breaks, while people are waiting to ask them questions.

Should I go on?

sorry, i thought you were referring to poor customer service somewhere in the running industry.

Dont get me started on unions...

If you understood how the shoe market works then you would know why they are the price they are.

Firstly the shoes you are buying for 69.95 are probably the previous years models which retailers can buy for a discounted price off of wholesale, these savings are transferred to you the customer as high gross margin is not the objective of a shoe of this price point.

Keep in mind that the size selection is often not very diverse by the time a shoe becomes an old model. Distributers will discount the retailers wholesale price to liquidate old stock. MSRP (suggested retail price) in Canada is higher than in the US this is determined by the shoe company/distributor.

Depending on how much you pay depends on how much profit the retailer wants to make. If Gel Kayanos cost the retailer 110 bucks wholesale. Then they cant go and sell it for 69.95 can they. Often big box stores Dicks etc, can cut the retail price because they make profit via volume not quality.

Also, Asics for example has no Canadian running division. Therefore distributors must acquire them from another source i.e Asics USA or Japan. Then the retailer pays the increased wholesale due to the distributors increased price to acquire.

So next time you see that cheap shoe ask yourself if its an old model, where you are buying it from and that countries have different prices because of the way the market works.

Oh yeah, and go support your locally owned specialty running shop!

Moorezy wrote:

Oh yeah, and go support your locally owned specialty running shop!

These are the worst of the lot. "Specialty running shops" get away with selling snake oil and bad self-serving advice because of their status. As a consumer, be smart, understand what you need and don't need. Then find it on the internet.

I would love to support my local running store - but I refuse to pay $160 for a pair of shoes, especially when my husband can pick up the same pair for 70-80 on trips to the US.

I would love to support my local running store - but I refuse to pay $160 for a pair of shoes, especially when my husband can pick up the same pair for 70-80 on trips to the US.

And now you are going to get rid of the penny!! That is going to jack up the price more as the round up to the next nickel!

Well, yes, we can blame the retailer. Most running shoe retailers in Canada don't even bother trying to discount a new shoe from the manufacturer; they sell it for the same price or more. And most shoe companies do have Canadian branches, so there certainly is a wholesale price that retailers buy it at, but don't feel like they should pass on some of that to the buyer. There are exceptions.