My 'Canadian' rant for the day...

[alyaz]

While I am proud to be a Canadian, I sure do get tired of getting overcharged by Canadian solar suppliers for products.  Example... A Midnite Graphics Display can be had in the US for $160.  Our dollar is a par so basically I pay taxes (which I'd pay up here anyways and out the door for $160 plus tax).  Buy it from a Canadian wholesaler and they'll charge you $267.  Over a hundred dollars more just because we're north of the border.  While I have a great installer who often will allow me to purchase my own stuff (yes I know how lucky I am) when I do have him purchase stuff for me, the prices are staggering.  Canadian businesses have suffered by cross border shopping but at no time do they ever realize they drive the Canadian consumer across the border for realistic prices.  When will they smarten up and realize they are gouging their Canadian customers. 

Yes, I'm waiting for someone from a Canadian solar wholesaler to give me their lame excuse for the gouging.  I've run a business in Canada and know the prices some of the businesses charge is not justified.

[Vern Faulkner]

Yep. I hears ya. What I wanna know is how come a box of chocolates, made in St. Stephen, NB, costs $5.99 in St. Stephen, NB, but when I go over the border to Calais, Me., which is literally 100 metres away, across a river, the same box of chocolates costs $4.99?

[Westbranch]

Try this web site for prices, can virtually  match US prices  including shipping and  the  gouging ''CROSSING the Border - paperwork Fee" by UPS and DHL etc
http://cdnsolar.ca/

[alyaz]

     And another thing that shows how we get hooped is when you see something made in Canada, that you can buy cheaper in the US even with shipping included...  Yikes.  Bend over and smile!

[Vern Faulkner]

Try this web site for prices, can virtually  match US prices  including shipping and  the  gouging ''CROSSING the Border - paperwork Fee" by UPS and DHL etc
http://cdnsolar.ca/

$435 for a 245 watt panel? My local guy can source a 235 watter for $300, and I can find a 245 watt panel in the 'States for $330...

Price on the Midnite line is better, tho.

[Westbranch]

Not bad, mainly I looked at the CC's and MN products...for large Panels I looked locally and the prices are similar yours,   kicker is the freight on those large panels. 
I got 2 pallets of 140W for ~ 85 cents delivered, just have to wait for snow to go for access, so I can get them up..

[SolarMusher]

If you stay in Canada, PM me and I will do my best.
But unfortunately, you have to know that I could never compete with US prices even on a Canadian product sold in US... 
Erik

[Robin]

I do not know what to say about this issue. I have been in the middle of it ever since founding OutBack. I do not understand why this happens either. Canadian distributors get the same price as US distributors. I think there is an extra tax, but you will have to pay that when bringing US purchased products into Canada too. Are these extra taxes being considered or are you just looking at advertised prices? The Canadian distributors do tend to take care of warranty issues too. It is very expensive to ship broken stuff back and forth over the border. Seems like when we screw up it isn't in California or some other state close to home. We screw up in Canada, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Mars etc. Your distributor or dealer can potentially save you big bucks (at his expense) if there are problems. Check on the policy of the local dealer to see if there is any kind of benefit there. We like to think that our stuff is so solid it won't break, but let's face it, this is power electronics. There will be failures at some point. It doesn't matter what model of manufacture you buy, there can always be failures.

[dgd]

I do not know what to say about this issue. etc...

I know what to say.
Open a Midnite online store. Sell direct at a competitive price (not RRP).
If you still think supporting a distributor network is essential to Midnite's commercial success then give them a slight margin over your online store pricing.
This would soon sort out price scamming distributors who use their exclusive  supply advantage to gouge on pricing.

The solution lies with Midnite, sort it out...

dgd

[Halfcrazy]

DGD
That is pretty much already the case just not actually run by MidNite. A couple of our Distributors do just that and ship world wide. They also have lower pricing than I would expect so there is a solution and I know a lot of customers in Australia buy from them. Look over Alt E store and Northern Arizona wind and sun.

Not sure is selling direct could help anything other than upset the distributors.


Ryan

[Vern Faulkner]

Woody at Fundy Solar (near the New Brunswick/NS border) was the vendor for my Midnite 150, and he actually beat the U.S. MSRP ...