Observations about Canadian vs US pricing at Nordstroms.

Just for interest... since a lot of us Canucks are gulping madly at the prices of cross border shopping these days.

I just tried on the Paul Green peep toe sandal that Angie mentioned in her Comfy Sandal post. At Nordstroms. On the website, they are $349 US, and sold here for $389 Can. If you go the Nordies site, the price converts to $478... PLUS duties. And shipping. A phone call to Nordies would get you the shoes sent to you for free shipping. And I'm pretty sure free returns as well.

So Canadians, write down that product number and give Nordstroms a call if you are interested in ANYTHING. If it's not part of the Canadian inventory, you are out of luck, but definitely worth a shot. Oh, and if they are out of stock in Canada, but it's part of their inventory selection, they will get it from the US and absorb the duties.

So maybe the prices aren't so bad, if you go to a little bit of effort?

Nordstrom

'Cayanne' Leather Peep Toe Sandal (Women)

$349.00

View Info

Top Pick

8 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Wow! That is quite a difference!

Of course, you could always enlist the help of a US Fabber…

Roxanna

@elizabeth p, I'm not quite getting you - do you mean that on the Canadian Nordstrom site they are $389, but in the US Nordstrom site they are $478? Which Nordstrom do you call for the free shipping?

Elizabeth P

Sorry Roxana. On the Nordstroms site, they are $348US, which is $478 Canadian. But at the STORE, they are $389. So if you see something on the Nordstrom site you like, you can call a Nordstroms store in Canada, and can get it sent for free, at the Canadian price. Which appears to be considerably less (with the current exchange rate). Is that clearer?

Janet, it's still much cheaper to buy from the Canadian stores, if they have the item. But I know all about enlisting help of a fabber if it's an item we don't have... (wink wink) That does avoid the duties, but we still get nailed with the crazy exchange.

WOW! That's a great top! I've been avoiding Nordstrom all this time bc of the ridiculous exchange. I will try that! Thanks for sharing Elizabeth!

Anonymous

Thank you! I've been wondering whether Nordstrom absorbs some of the price for us, just like BR and a few other places. I will definitely give them a call (right now!) to see whether they have my shoes.

I've been meaning to go to Nordstrom to check things out but I hate having to pay for parking just to window shop.

I noticed this pricing discrepancy on just about everything in Nordstrom some time ago, and it still mystifies me. Things in the Cdn Nord stores are far cheaper than they are online . Really odd. I keep saying this every time someone posts those sandals, and I'll say it again ....I fondled them lovingly when I saw them back in February but didn't even try them on as I was pretty sure I'd love them and want them. For some reason , the $400 price point is a deal breaker on shoes for me - funny though, as it's not for some other items of clothing if I think it will be something of an i"investment" piece. But they are gorgeous shoes that would go with just about every single thing in anyone's wardrobe. Did you buy them?

No Lisa, I didnt. They were lovely, and very comfortable, but... I found last year my black peep toe booties had a very limited season, as when real summer hit, I wanted something with more skin exposure. Mind you they are black, so heavier looking, but I think it was more the airiness I wanted. So I questioned how much I'd really wear them. And for that price, I didnt want any questions whatsoever. Plus I'd bought a very expensive pair of sandals the day before :). I'm very proud of myself!

Smittie, give it a try sometime. The customer service is really wonderful.

Sound decision - I think

Keix

I tried those sandals on last month and had the same reaction as Lisa (except my *gulp* price point for shoes is $300). I've paid more than that for a leather jacket that gets only occasional wear, but my feet are so finicky that I'm more wary of shoes not being comfortable enough than I am of changing size (I'm lucky to wear a relatively stable size across 10lb weight fluctuation).

Suz

Oh my heavens. I HAVE to get to a Canadian Nordstrom's store!! I still haven't managed to do that!! This is a fantastic tip, Elizabeth -- thank you so much. And how I wish we were able to be shopping together this weekend.

Sal

That makes sense, because it looks like Paul Green is a German brand made there.

Interestingly those sandals cost 135 euro on his website, which converts to $199 Canadian dollars and $154 USD (and $225 NZD).

This website only ships within Europe by the way.

I get a markup, we all have to make money, but US companies are marking up by more than the currency conversion online when they sell to Canadians it seems.

Well that's interesting isn't it Sally... quite a mark up! And actually I think it's the opposite - there's this observation with Nordies and I'm pretty sure I've also seen that Gap/BR are cheaper for us to buy here than the US sites, converted. The difference isn't as noticeable with the BR sites.

I wonder if what we are seeing in the Nordstroms online prices are how they pay for free shipping and free returns... it's gotta come from somewhere!

And yes Suz, maybe next year! This year my mission was bras, so you didn't miss much Although of course had you been available I'd have changed my plan. Great to get that done though - man they have so much more selection than well, anywhere else I have access to!

It sure is a markup!

I checked my calculations on the currency converter but always possible I stuffed up.

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