International Shopping - what to be aware of

The internet has opened up the world as our market place. We no longer have only local options, but can "shop on-line" and this is awesome because we can get things we may not have access to in our village, town or city, however there are things to be aware of when buying from somewhere else!

Sometimes we can see a product on-line and think "What an amazing price." and before thinking any further we click the "Add to Cart" and complete our purchase. We wait excitedly for delivery and sometimes we wait and wait and wait. The product arrives and it's perfect...or not. But most importantly is the arrival of our Credit Card Statement and discovering what we really paid for that item.

Always check the value of the foreign currency before you press that "Buy Now" button! Always, Always...Always!

This is especially important when you live in Canada but also when you live in other countries. Right now the Canadian dollar is pretty much at an all time low as far as "value compared to other currencies" and this means you will pay a lot more than you expect when ordering from another country.

Here's an example to make this a bit more clear...and a bit scary!

Let's say I want to order a 12" busk.

A US source has them for $13.50 USD
A UK source has them for    7.60 British Pounds
A Canadian source            $16.20 CAD

Well, it seems pretty obvious that the UK price is the best! But..."google" the term Currency Convertor and you'll get something that looks like this:

1 Canadian Dollar equals

0.71 US Dollar

Disclaimer

Canadian DollarUS DollarAfghan Afghani (1927–2002)Albanian LekAlgerian DinarAngolan KwanzaArgentine PesoArmenian DramAruban FlorinAustralian DollarAzerbaijani ManatBahamian DollarBahraini DinarBangladeshi TakaBarbadian DollarBelarusian RubleBelgian FrancBelize DollarBermudan DollarBhutanese NgultrumBitcoinBolivian BolivianoBosnia-Herzegovina Convertible MarkBotswanan PulaBrazilian RealBritish PoundBrunei DollarBulgarian LevBurundian FrancCambodian RielCape Verdean EscudoCayman Islands DollarCentral African CFA FrancCFP FrancChilean PesoChinese YuanColombian PesoComorian FrancCongolese FrancCosta Rican ColónCroatian KunaCuban Convertible PesoCzech Republic KorunaDanish KroneDjiboutian FrancDominican PesoEast Caribbean DollarEgyptian PoundEritrean NakfaEstonian KroonEthiopian BirrEuroFalkland Islands PoundFijian DollarGambian DalasiGeorgian LariGerman MarkGhanaian CediGibraltar PoundGreek DrachmaGuatemalan QuetzalGuinean FrancGuyanaese DollarHaitian GourdeHonduran LempiraHong Kong DollarHungarian ForintIcelandic KrónaIndian RupeeIndonesian RupiahIranian RialIraqi DinarIsraeli New SheqelItalian LiraJamaican DollarJapanese YenJordanian DinarKazakhstani TengeKenyan ShillingKuwaiti DinarKyrgystani SomLaotian KipLatvian LatsLebanese PoundLesotho LotiLiberian DollarLibyan DinarLithuanian LitasMacanese PatacaMacedonian DenarMalagasy AriaryMalawian KwachaMalaysian RinggitMaldivian RufiyaaMauritanian OuguiyaMauritian RupeeMexican PesoMoldovan LeuMongolian TugrikMoroccan DirhamMozambican Metical (1980–2006)Myanmar KyatNamibian DollarNepalese RupeeNetherlands Antillean GuilderNew Taiwan DollarNew Zealand DollarNicaraguan CórdobaNigerian NairaNorth Korean WonNorwegian KroneOmani RialPakistani RupeePanamanian BalboaPapua New Guinean KinaParaguayan GuaraniPeruvian Nuevo SolPhilippine PesoPolish ZlotyQatari RialRomanian LeuRussian RubleRwandan FrancSalvadoran ColónSamoan TalaSaudi RiyalSerbian DinarSeychellois RupeeSierra Leonean LeoneSingapore DollarSlovak KorunaSolomon Islands DollarSomali ShillingSouth African RandSouth Korean WonSpecial Drawing RightsSri Lankan RupeeSt. Helena PoundSudanese PoundSurinamese DollarSwazi LilangeniSwedish KronaSwiss FrancSyrian PoundSão Tomé & Príncipe DobraTajikistani SomoniTanzanian ShillingThai BahtTongan PaʻangaTrinidad & Tobago DollarTunisian DinarTurkish LiraTurkmenistani ManatUgandan ShillingUkrainian HryvniaUnited Arab Emirates DirhamUruguayan PesoUzbekistani SomVanuatu VatuVenezuelan BolívarVietnamese DongWest African CFA FrancYemeni RialZambian Kwacha (1968–2012) US DollarAfghan Afghani (1927–2002)Albanian LekAlgerian DinarAngolan KwanzaArgentine PesoArmenian DramAruban FlorinAustralian DollarAzerbaijani ManatBahamian DollarBahraini DinarBangladeshi TakaBarbadian DollarBelarusian RubleBelgian FrancBelize DollarBermudan DollarBhutanese NgultrumBitcoinBolivian BolivianoBosnia-Herzegovina Convertible MarkBotswanan PulaBrazilian RealBritish PoundBrunei DollarBulgarian LevBurundian FrancCambodian RielCape Verdean EscudoCayman Islands DollarCentral African CFA FrancCFP FrancChilean PesoChinese YuanColombian PesoComorian FrancCongolese FrancCosta Rican ColónCroatian KunaCuban Convertible PesoCzech Republic KorunaDanish KroneDjiboutian FrancDominican PesoEast Caribbean DollarEgyptian PoundEritrean NakfaEstonian KroonEthiopian BirrEuroFalkland Islands PoundFijian DollarGambian DalasiGeorgian LariGerman MarkGhanaian CediGibraltar PoundGreek DrachmaGuatemalan QuetzalGuinean FrancGuyanaese DollarHaitian GourdeHonduran LempiraHong Kong DollarHungarian ForintIcelandic KrónaIndian RupeeIndonesian RupiahIranian RialIraqi DinarIsraeli New SheqelItalian LiraJamaican DollarJapanese YenJordanian DinarKazakhstani TengeKenyan ShillingKuwaiti DinarKyrgystani SomLaotian KipLatvian LatsLebanese PoundLesotho LotiLiberian DollarLibyan DinarLithuanian LitasMacanese PatacaMacedonian DenarMalagasy AriaryMalawian KwachaMalaysian RinggitMaldivian RufiyaaMauritanian OuguiyaMauritian RupeeMexican PesoMoldovan LeuMongolian TugrikMoroccan DirhamMozambican Metical (1980–2006)Myanmar KyatNamibian DollarNepalese RupeeNetherlands Antillean GuilderNew Taiwan DollarNew Zealand DollarNicaraguan CórdobaNigerian NairaNorth Korean WonNorwegian KroneOmani RialPakistani RupeePanamanian BalboaPapua New Guinean KinaParaguayan GuaraniPeruvian Nuevo SolPhilippine PesoPolish ZlotyQatari RialRomanian LeuRussian RubleRwandan FrancSalvadoran ColónSamoan TalaSaudi RiyalSerbian DinarSeychellois RupeeSierra Leonean LeoneSingapore DollarSlovak KorunaSolomon Islands DollarSomali ShillingSouth African RandSouth Korean WonSpecial Drawing RightsSri Lankan RupeeSt. Helena PoundSudanese PoundSurinamese DollarSwazi LilangeniSwedish KronaSwiss FrancSyrian PoundSão Tomé & Príncipe DobraTajikistani SomoniTanzanian ShillingThai BahtTongan PaʻangaTrinidad & Tobago DollarTunisian DinarTurkish LiraTurkmenistani ManatUgandan ShillingUkrainian HryvniaUnited Arab Emirates DirhamUruguayan PesoUzbekistani SomVanuatu VatuVenezuelan BolívarVietnamese DongWest African CFA FrancYemeni RialZambian Kwacha (1968–2012)

See the two boxes...enter the amount of the item you want to purchase in the top box, then using the drop down menu (that shows "Canadian Dollar" in the image above), chose the Country that you are ordering from. Then use the drop down menu for the second box and find your own currency, click on it. The amount in your home currency will change...to reflect an estimate that is close to what you will pay...but not exactly, what you will pay.

The currency exchange rate is constantly changing and this is why you will only get an estimate. The exact rate of exchange will be determined by the Credit Card company at the moment they process the transaction.

The results today, for the sample product above were:
A US source has them for $13.50 USD                           = $18.50 CAD
A UK source has them for    7.60 British Pounds            = $15.58 CAD
A Canadian source            $16.20 CAD                           = $16.20 CAD

So, it looks like the UK option is still the best deal...but now you have to add shipping to wherever you are. How do you get this amount...go through the ordering process until the Shipping Fee comes up and then plug the amount into the currency convertor and add the calculated amount to your product cost in your own currency.

Then of course...you don't know if the items from each company are identical in quality...and that too determines "a good deal".

World currencies have widely varying values - always  use a currency convertor...ALWAYS