PhotoPrice.ca Silenced for Canon Products

March 24th, 2012

Dear PhotoPrice.ca users,

Over the last five years, we've been proud to help Canadians find the lowest prices on camera equipment, considering sources from both the US and Canada. But today we have been silenced for Canon products -- we're forced to remove the largest (and cheapest) US store from our Canon product price comparisons. [Update March 29th: We've now had to remove listings for a total of three major stores.]

It's a growing opinion that Canon no longer wants US stores to market to Canada. Why? Most Canon products (most lenses) are still priced higher in Canada, and they would rather Canadians buy from the local distribution chain. I'm all for supporting local retailers, but it is the competitive pressure from the US (same product, same warranty) that keeps both stores and Canon Canada honest in their pricing. Over the last five years, we've seen the average pricing gap between US and Canadian pricing shrink from 19% down to 3%. Could this have been due to pressure from sites like PhotoPrice.ca?

Because US stores are no longer allowed to advertise Canon products to Canadians, some stores have asked us to remove all of their Canon products from our listings. Unfortunately, when they ask, we must comply. These US stores still sell and ship to Canadians. We're just not allowed to tell you about it, or compare their prices. Not only are we unable to show you the best price listings, we also take a large financial hit as those listings generate revenue that support and pay for this website.

I feel strongly that all Canadians should have the right to choose where to buy, and we shouldn't let ourselves be blindfolded by large multinational corporations trying to optimize their global profit.

I welcome your comments below, and appreciate your continuing support.

Gordon Chiu
Founder, Editor
www.photoprice.ca

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