We do we Canadian Allow Retailers to Rip Us Off?? | Your stories | Discussion forum

I'm glad you pointed this out, Mary. I've observed Canadian Tire to be one of the more egregious abusers of their pricing power for in-house store brands. They build awareness for and adoption of their private-label brands, some of which they've bought outright now (i.e., Paderno), then jack up the price at or near equal to the price of brand name products. To be sure, the quality of some brand name products has come down due to outsourcing of manufacturing operations to third parties, many of which make the same private-label products owned by major retailers, but there certainly seems to be a problem. 🙂

All I can suggest is try and support brick & mortar retail as much as possible else we further become a bunch of shut-ins watching courier vans and trucks shuttle our packages and purchases down streets and highways in communities void of most storefront commercial businesses. Find a price for a comparable product on Amazon.ca (other Canadian e-commerce retailer), bring it in-store, show how it's the same or very similar and ask for a price match. If they refuse saying they "don't carry that brand," then say, "I realize that, but thought I'd give you the opportunity to compete for my business. I will help you out if you help me out. Want another shot at it? Feel free to consult with a supervisor/manager if need be" If they still say, "no can do," then say, "OK, you can't say I didn't try, three times no less, guess I will buy on Amazon.ca. Thanks for the lack of being able to do business with you."

Cheers,
Doug