Cross-border shopping offers tempting opportunity
There was a time when I was critical of cross-border shopping, believing that gas consumption plus exchange rate differences made buying in the U.S. not practical. However, it seems that the present value of our dollar isn’t being recognized by local merchants. This is especially noticeable in new car buying and certainly seems true in imported food costs.
Even the president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada criticizes Canadian merchants for not adjusting their prices fast enough or accordingly.
Still, I’m not sure I want to wait for two hours to reach a customs booth with my motor running. Although I no longer fault those who do. If only they would install a stop-light system in the wait line so that we can turn off our engines while waiting to move up. But maybe our oil industry would veto that.
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