Breaking the Bank in Canada

[JohnMeadows]

Thanks Matt! I will investigate further over the next few days and post my findings here.

[JohnMeadows]

I agree that $50 is gouging; I suppose one option is getting it mailed to a friend in Buffalo and driving down ... but gas ain't cheap either :-(

I just wish there were more Canadian retailers for this kind of thing. :-(

[peeniwali]

John I feel your pain. I recently bought out of the US, paid $55 to ship $250 worth of supplies. I now find I have a FedEx bill over and above this for $42. Unfortunately, this FedEx bill came 6 weeks later and I have placed a similar order in the meantime and expect the same treatment again from FedEx. I too wish I could buy locally. If I do buy local it is from Beau Photo in Vancouver and I ship ground to Calgary.
As an aside, if you are looking to buy chemicals that cannot be shipped direct from the US Beau will bring in ORMD stock from Photographers Formulary, add a handling fee and ship to you. Speak to Dennis.

-Dave

[JohnMeadows]

Thanks Dave!

Sometimes I wonder if there is enough demand in Canada to make a business of this ...

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Postal Stamps are the true indicators of how an country handles the art. I am collecting them with best possible examples. After 70s , you can see how art modernised and lost the creativity , expressness.

I listened many unheard canadian jazz rock groups and they play like a devil until the 80s. Than they all dissappear. Now , Canadian Post prints peoples own digital files as stamps , dog , cat , your new car , your new lover. Unbeliviable.

Look at Rush at 70s and 00s. What a hell of difference.

I dont think , at any part of Earth , people are dying for to see a BW print.

[peeniwali]

John,

When I lived in Vancouver and a small BC town near the border I would have US goods shipped to a place on the other side of the line. When it suited me I would drive across, do my thing, pick up my stuff and go home. This may or may not work for you. You may also consider finding like minded folks in your area who are willing to share the cost of shipping across the line. If I knew folks like that in Calgary I would try and order a large parcel and split the shipping and brokerage costs by weight.

My 2 cents.

-Dave

[lal350]

Rant/Frustration begins:

Is it possible to do pure alternative process (e.g. no digital negatives) in Canada without breaking the bank? The pain point seems to be getting the proper film stock for creating the enlarged digital negative. I was all set to buy 50 sheets of some 8x10 direct positive film from a supplier in the U.S. until I found out that the USPS delivery charge would turn my $50 order into a $100 order

Does anyone know of a source in Canada that sells the appropriate sheet film?

In the meantime it's back to the Hybrid process with Pictorio ... with the prices I am facing I can't afford to maintain pure analog karma.

I think you are referring to UPS or FedEx brokerage charges, if the supplier will ship USPS (United States Postal Service), there will be no brokerage or "extra" charges, except possably HST coming into Canada (up to customs). I do this all the time, just confirm with the supplier that they will ship USPS only!.

[JohnMeadows]

I know all about the UPS brokerage charges, trust me :-( The $50 was for USPS, which is completely crazy.

[JohnMeadows]

I think what I may do is post something in the appropriate regional forum here to set something up; I can't be the only one feeling gouged!

[JohnMeadows]

There are still good Canadian bands; you just need to know where to look :-)

We can't give up; maybe we need a "show someone a real print" day, to prove that pixels on a screen does not = silver in your hands :-)