Yep.....there is most definitely a Canadian Rewards program. Just got my statement this morning. The first time I made a store purchase they set me up. Every time I make a purchase they ask for my phone number and all my info comes up.

Thanks, Marilyn. I am going to ask the SA how to get hooked up for that and hopefully she will do it retroactively on the purchases I'm making. Crossing fingers for that because they're bigger ticket items.

The Canadian rewards system works. Like Marilyn says, you just give the SA your phone number when you purchase. You get one $20 note for every $2000 you spend. I just got a note and I used it at the store in Vancouver with no problem. I'm not sure if you can use Canadian notes for online purchases though.

I find that the Canadian store prices are still a good deal on some items. What I mean by that is that the Canadian price is a bit less than what you would pay if you were buying the item in a US store and converting from US $ to Can $. I lucked out last week getting a beautiful rag and bone wallet that was $295 USD in Chicago but only $360 Can in the Vancouver store. Not a big savings but every dollar counts.

Thanks, Lisa.

I should probably clarify that I began shopping this sale back in the glory days when the exchange rate was relatively low and the dollar was almost par. Alas. Can't imagine when that's going to happen again...

However, we pay more for clothing up here, period, and that's just how it is. So a sale price is a sale price and if you want or need the item anyway but would be dissuaded by the higher (non sale) price tag, the sale's the time to buy. I find it especially useful for hard-to-fit-or-find essentials (like bras, for me, and tall boots) and for designer level stuff that does not go on sale here or doesn't go on sale in my size.

I think I read up thread Suz that items we order through Canadian Nordstrom are free returns? Thanks!

My interest in going this extra mile (km ) to source it in Canada is to get a better price (I think the price in the CDN store is usually less than the exchange price on the US website) and to get free returns. It is such a cost/nightmare returning to the US from here.

I could just be patient and wait for NAS next year when there will be 3 Nordstroms in Toronto. But I'm not patient!!!

Kerry.....I had an item shipped from Vancouver to Ottawa and it came with a return shipping label like we get from Banana Republic. They use Canada Post.

And yes, the CDN store price is less than the exchange rate price online. One example would be a Simone Perele Bra that I know is $119 here in store and it's $129 CDN online (before shipping + duty). You will always get a better price buying here.

That's great to know, Marilyn. I guess it's economies of scale on the duty or something. When the SA quoted me the CAD prices for these items the other day, I was looking at the USD amount on the online site to compare. Naturally, the CAD price she quoted was much higher than the USD price. But pretty much just the exchange difference -- no duty, it seemed.

If all of this works out, I will do an informational comparison later on.

Could be helpful to us all.

Kerry, that's right -- they told me free shipping and free returns as long as the item is carried in Canada. Which is pretty good.

I can't wait for next year's sale. I plan to make a trip to one of the Toronto stores!

Thanks Marilyn!

Thanks Suz!

What Suz describes is what soured me on ordering online from Nordstroms during NAS, especially when the exchange rate changed drastically. I realized that NAS Angie Pick acrylic sweater which was costing me close to $120 CAN was the same acrylic sweater the US YLF group saw as a $80 US acrylic sweater, discounted to $45 US during NAS with free shipping and returning privileges. It finally dawned on me there were hundreds of acrylic sweaters in similar styles in Canadian shops and boutiques to choose from if I was willing to spend up to $120 for an acrylic sweater. What was even more jarring was realizing Canadian stores often featured the same "name" brands like Vince, Rag and Bone, Eileen Fisher, etc, as did Nordstroms--and PUT THE ITEMS ON SALE--in $CAN funds, no less!

I think shopping NAS makes sense under the conditions Suz explains-- hard-to-find sizes, a highly specific item in a particular colour, or living far away from major centers and wanting an item badly enough to incur the extra costs. But, in my experience, shopping NAS for Canadians isn't about saving money.

I debated whether or not to be such a downer, and I wish all of you Canadians who plan to shop NAS success, but I'm with Lisa in waiting on the bench until this annual frenzy dies down.

Gaylene, in future, now that we have actual stores in our midst, I might sit out the presale, but get to know a SA in Ottawa or Toronto and send her my list of "wants" -- sort of what I'm doing now, come to think of it. And simply get it all from Canada.

You're right that in the major centres some of these brands are available at Canadian stores. I don't even look at Topshop stuff at NAS, for instance, because some of it will be available at the Bay. It's a cheaper, trend-driven line anyway so I'd probably ignore it during the sale regardless.

It's true that the retailers in Canada carry some of the big name stuff and will put some of the designer brands on sale in CAD. Of course the CAD price is a whole lot more than the US price to start with. And by then, my size is almost always gone. I say "almost" because I just got some Citizens of Humanity jeans at the Bay on sale, which was a really nice surprise, and I'm eyeing a few more items there. The website is an horror, but if you can get past that aggravation they actually carry a lot online that is not available in store.

I'm a big researcher, mostly online but also in store when I have time. The items I look for at NAS are items that can't find from a Canadian retailer or can't find the colour/size.

I might find, after all this, that Nordstrom Canada has the same limited stock as all other Canadian retailers. I hope not, we'll see.

Kerry, that's my question, too. Will they have a selection? It seems from what I gathered that one of my four requested items would be in Ottawa. The others may have been available there but not in my colour or not in my size, so they would be ordered from Vancouver or Calgary. But all of the four were in the Canadian system.

However, they are all higher end designer items. I don't know if our chances are better or worse with "regular" stuff.

I do think we'll be able to get more of the Halogen brand stuff. But I wonder about sizes. Will we be able to get petite, for instance? And take that great sweater that interests you (and me, too, by the way, despite the drape I love it!!) Will we get to choose this interesting colourway, or will we be confined to tan and charcoal?

Suz, not sure if you've seen/read this.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/de.....conditions

Thanks, Kerry. I hadn't seen it. I will discuss with the SA I spoke to and ensure I get the Canadian points. She now has my address and phone number and email, etc. so it's probably good to go. Yippee!

Mind you, I still have $100 in notes on the US system to spend. So I still have to do some US ordering anyway!

Wait a second... Suz... are you accessing NAS early prices at Canadian stores, because you have a US credit card that you can't use here?

Elizabeth...I think the answer is SORT OF.

What I did was call up and ask if four specific items were on the computer to be offered for the sale in Canada. I gave the item numbers. All were in one department. The SA was able to tell me whether they would be part of the sale in Canada, and which store would have the item in my size.

She said she would put a "hold" on the items that would be available in the sale in her store to ship to me. If I understood her correctly, she was going to order the other items from the other stores and would ship to me as well. And I will get the sale price.

She's not able to complete the order until the sale begins, if I understood her properly. But I'm ensuring that my size is there.

I might call her back today because I think I need to change the size on the vest I ordered. I can try to get clearer info then.

I'm also going to try to see if she (or someone) can look up the other items that interest me.

Does that make sense, Elizabeth?

ETA, Kerry seems to be doing something similar. She has emailed her SA with a wish list. Check her thread.

Yes, perfectly. I thought you'd already managed to buy them. Thank you!
I wonder if I should do the same, based on the intel I'm getting here

Well, I did buy them, in a way. I gave her my credit card info and everything and she is going to put it through as soon as she can.

If I understood what she was saying, the stuff in her store she has put on actual hold for me and will send immediately when the sale opens.

The stuff that is in my size in other Canadian stores, she can't actually order in until the sale begins.

Suz......I can't speak for the other stores but Ottawa does not carry petites. I was quite disappointed to learn this when the store first opened.

Also, what is available in store is a drop in the bucket compared to what's online.

What they need to do is make online shopping better for Canadians. They should take a page from J Crew and show CDN prices up front, no extra duty, reasonable flat rate shipping and in store returns. All of these stores that use Borderfree should be able to offer the same services as J Crew and it baffles me as to why they are not. My Borderfree returns at JC are ridiculously easy. I just hand them the item and the RMA and by the time I get home I have an email saying it's been processed.

You mean you can return in store to J. Crew? Le sigh.... I don't have a J. Crew store locally and have to return by mail -- and it costs.

I guess I was lucky with the items I checked on. All should be available in Canada as part of the sale (though not all in Ottawa).

I agree with you, though -- it should not be so difficult to shop online here and I don't really understand the problem. They obviously have it well set up in the US already so it should be relatively easy to do what J. Crew does and simply "welcome Canada" and you go to the Nordstrom's Canada site.

No wonder most of my clothes are from J. Crew and BR and Zara.

Suz, you're on the ball. I'm going to call too, but am waffling a bit on what I want.

Gaylene, you're right about this sale maybe not being as great as it seems. I looked up these La Canadienne boots and, when you factor in the exchange rate, they're only 15% off the price on the L.C. Website.

But still, I'm having a lot of fun virtual shopping NAS with the YLF gang, so not getting things on super sale is not that big a deal. But it does put things into perspective for me: Do I really want those boots if they're only 15% off? Maybe I can pay 15% more and get the ones I really really want.

That's right, Smittie. I've been doing calculations, too. What I like about the in-store ordering is free returns.

What I have liked in the past when I've been able to bring things back without paying duty is...well...not paying duty and taxes!! That does make it worthwhile, even with the exchange. But I can only do that if someone in my family is spending some time in the US.

Although, truthfully, sometimes I come back and tell them: "I bought a dress, price was $150," or whatever, and they just let me through with no questions. I might, or might not, have a leeetle bit more than the dress.

I know, right? Even without online shopping, how easy would it be to put a little Can flag next to the item to tell you it's part of the Can inventory so make the call? Maybe they just don't have/want the staff to handle people knowing about this little trick, all those that haven't been to the store and been told. Or who read YLF

When I was talking to someone in Ottawa, they did tell me that online shopping was going to come, maybe once the Toronto store(s) are open? I can't remember. I think they are just taking their time getting going here... don't want another Target!

Well, they'll be a lot less likely to be a TARGET of the wrong kind if:

a). they offer the same great stuff as available in the US instead of a woefully pale imitation of it.
b). they allow us to shop online for it!!

Elizabeth, I'm pretty sure I was the first person to call; the SA seemed surprised but more than willing to oblige. The thing is, unless you have access to the pre-sale you don't know the item numbers and calling is tougher. We are a rarefied breed here at YLF, I suspect!

Actually you can click on the "sneak peek" part of the website and get in to see everything, just no ability to order. I just found this

Ha!! Very good finding. Well, if sneak peek gives item numbers, then we're all good.

I have been following this thread with great interest. Thanks to everyone who is contributing here. I have loved the anniversary sale for a few years now. I always bought a bit too much, and for the last two years I was lucky to have been in Chicago on business during the sale, so I could shop in person. I also ordered a few things online for delivery to Canada when the exchange rate was more favourable than it is now. But this year I am in Saskatoon, so no access to a store, and even though I have a Nordstrom card, I can't order during early access for delivery to Canada. I'm thinking about all the work Suz and some of you are going through to call Canadian stores to try to get access to the sale, and for the first time I am wondering if this is all worth it. As son of you have pointed out, there are good sale to be had from other vendors. I'm also fortunate that I am going on a european vacation in august, so maybe I should just hold onto $$ now and hope to find something special in London or elsewhere.

Maybe Nordies will come up with something really special for us Canadians on the 22nd. I hope so.

Yes, I discovered you can "sneak peek" if you enter for US shipping. If you enter as a Canuck it's blocked. Strange, eh! LOL

And yes Suz....J Crew does online returns in store now. You have to email for an RMA (and tell them it's an in store return so they remove the DHL freight cost). Print off the paperwork and head to the store. So, if you know you're going to be in Toronto or Ottawa.....or even if someone you know is going. They don't need a credit card or anything from you.

Marilyn, thank you -- that's great news. I am in Toronto less than I was but we do still go on occasion and I can time my orders once in a while.

Lisa, I think it's only worth it for some of us. Those who live near a store (or happen to be visiting a city with a store), those who live near the border, those who travel often to the US, those who are crazy!

I have to say that in my first few years of shopping the sale I made a lot of mistakes. Luckily the dollar was stronger then so I didn't lose as much money. But I didn't know the brands or fits, and didn't have a good sense of my own needs, either. I had to make many returns, and only a few of the items I kept became sure winners.

By the second year, I was getting cannier, and I also had Sveta's help. Then I had a trip to the US in the winter and ordered stuff at the half-yearly sale. That was a HUGE success; I found some of my favourite items ever. That sort of got me hooked!

Last year was my most successful year. I confined myself mostly to higher end stuff I couldn't get elsewhere. Meaning, *I* couldn't get. But I live in a town with few options, it's hours to the closest reasonably sized department stores or decent boutiques, and I often exhaust my online options elsewhere.