What are membership scams?
Membership scams come in different shades of gray, ranging from plain lousy deals to truly malicious with fraudulent intent. In a nut shell, they can be defined as clubs that use deceptive tactics to enroll members and which offer benefits that are less valuable than what the membership costs. A good friend of mine (well respected guru in the online deal hunting community) recently fell victim to a best value program from a certain US based discount book sale site, mistakenly signing up to pay $19.95 a month for something that he feels is nearly worthless.

Nothing is really free
One way to recognize these types of memberships is to understand that nothing is totally free. Businesses are run by humans, humans need food, and food cost money (unless you are a farmer, but then you need machines, fertilizer and other stuff that still cost money). While you may not be the one who personally foots the bill, someone eventually will have to in the end. If a site is offering a service or product for free and no one is paying, then red flags got to go up. Like the old saying, if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

Read the fine print before you click
The too good to be true rule works most of the time, but it isn’t always good enough. One of the reasons why our deal hunter was fooled was that the bait didn’t seemed too good to be true. It was only a small discount off the regular price of the book. Thus, the most important rule is to understand all of the terms and conditions before giving away your financial information, especially on un-trusted sites. To help provide a safer environment, Wishabi deploys a team of secret shoppers to evaluate the policies of partnered stores (The Source, Canadian Tire etc…) and would never showcase offers with deceptive practices.

What to do if you fell for it
All hope is not lost if you mistakenly signed up for membership that you’ll regret. First, contact the company that is sponsoring the club and tell them firmly that you want out and your money refunded. Most of the time, they are well aware of their practices and would rather pacify you than to let the situation blow out of hand. No matter what they say, be sure to follow up by a call to your credit card company and let them know that you’ve been deceived. They’ll open their own investigation and initiate the charge back process. The above two steps usually guarantees that you’ll get your money back, but if you want more, consider contacting BBB and law enforcements to force the company to change their practices.

What happens to returned items?
Some such as intimate apparel or perishables will end up quickly at the dumps, while different fates await the others. The largest merchants often have agreements with manufactures which will “buy back” any returned inventory from the store. Other merchants may sell the returned item (at a lower price) back to their customers or clearance houses as an open box, as is, or refurbished item. Only in very rare cases will a returned item be back on the shelf in brand new condition at the original price.

The cost of restocking
There is a real cost for every returned item since it usually cannot be resold at the original price. What differs is whether everyone pays, or just the person doing the returning. The larger retailers (and manufactures), often bundle the cost of returns into the price of each item, causing everyone to pay a little bit more. This however, is often not an option for smaller operations or low margin businesses as returns by a few individual would make prices uncompetitive for everyone and drive the store out of business. In these situations, stores often enforce a restocking fee which is deducted from the amount given back to the returning shopper.

Return policy variance
We Canadians are fortunate to have a shopping climate where returning is an accepted norm, but this policy is not uniform and can differ greatly between stores, or even between different type of products within the same store. Consider the following:

• What return policy applies to this item I am buying?
• How long do I have to return this item?
• Can I return the item even if it is used or opened?
• Is this an in kind refund or store credit only?
• Are there restocking fees?

To help you make the most informed decision, Wishabi’s team of secret shoppers and analyzed each store for their return policies and other merchant attributes. To see them, mouse over the icons next to their offers or visit their store page on Wishabi.

Returning items is a unique privilege that give Canadian shoppers great peace of mind. However, it should be not be abused, as it has a real cost and we’ll ultimately pay for it in the end.

Get a US dollar account in Canada
One thing we can do to smooth out the bumps is to open a US dollar account in Canada and deposit money into it whenever the exchange rate seems favorable. An example of such an account is the “borderless” account in TD Canada Trust. These types of account allow you to store US dollar and give you a fairer exchange rate compared to your credit card company or even the regular teller counter. No one can predict the future, but having this type of account allow you the flexibility to take advantage of rates whenever they are good without having to make purchases right away.

Pay attention to store rates
Individual retailers near the border often post their own Canadian exchange rates for their store. These rates generally fluctuate with the market but are not always up to date. Just the other day, I found a Wal-Mart in the Buffalo NY area offering to take Canadian dollar at 98 cents US even though the fair rate is only 93 cents. A smart shopper could have paid with Canadian dollar instead of USD and pocket the difference.

Don’t worry, be happy
The last strategy is just simply don’t worry about the volatile exchange rate and shop for things because you like them. Ask yourself why you are shopping in the States, is it just because of lower prices, or is it because you can get stuff that you cannot closer to home? If it isn’t all about the prices, then don’t worry, and just go ahead and buy what you want, in moderation of course.

Last but not least, be sure to check out the best cross-border deals for Canadians at Wishabi.ca

Yes you can return it… most of the time
Most products purchased online can be returned, but the policies vary greatly and it is important that you understand exactly what you are dealing with before purchasing. Some stores such as Costco offer truly no hassle returns and will even pay for return shipping. Other stores may be more restrictive, only allowing returns on certain items within a tight time frame and/or charge you a restocking fee. To make things easier, Wishabi’s teams of secret shoppers have evaluated the return policies of top merchants serving Canada. Their policy details are displayed on their sale finder page and also with each deal.

Things to watch for

• Time frame – You can typically return an item within a certain time frame. Check if the clock starts ticking when you submit the order, when it is shipped, or when it arrives at your door.
• Return restrictions – Some stores may have return restrictions on certain product category, or will only accept returns for unopened items. Check this carefully if you are unsure of your purchase.
• Form of refund – Will the return be in the form of cash, store credit or exchange only?
• Restocking fees – This is a cost you pay for the return and will be deducted from the refund. Not all merchants charge a restocking fee, but it is more common for smaller electronics retailer.
• Do you need an RMA? – You may have to contact the merchant to get what is known as a return merchandise authorization (RMA) before you can return the product.
• Shipping cost and fees – Check if the refund will include just the base item cost or if the shipping cost will be refunded as well. Some merchants with superior return policy may refund shipping and fees paid both ways.
• Return location – Some merchants such as The Source will let you return a product purchased online at a physical store, while other will insist you mail it back to their warehouse even if they have retail locations next door.

Weapon of last resort
No matter what the stated policies are, they are administered by people, not robots. If you’ve purchased a product that is not as described, contact the merchant and explain your situation. More likely than not, a favorable outcome can be reached. In the rare cases where the merchant refuses to budge, you can request the help of your credit card company by issuing a charge back for a product that is not as described. This would start a cascade of events which will ultimately refund your money if you are indeed unfairly treated. While justice will prevail, a charge back can take time and should only be used as a means of last resort.

What are extended warranties?

Extended warranties, also referred to as service agreements, service contracts or maintenance agreements, are prolonged warranties offered to consumers above and beyond any warranties that are included by default with the purchase of a product. These warranties cover for mechanical or electronic failure (usually consumer electronics), and tend to cover the cost of repair, or replacement in the event that the product is deemed too defective for repair.

These types of warranties can be offered and underwritten by retailers, manufacturers or third party warranty administrators – so it’s really important that consumers read and understand the fine print in the terms and conditions of the sale agreement.

Are they any benefits to be had?

Well, it depends.

Extended warranties cost extra, and are usually computed as percentage additional cost of an item’s selling price. According to the CBC, extended warranties in the consumer electronics market can cost up to 20 to 30 percent of a product’s retail price – upping the bottom line on your check-out bill. Take into consideration that sales associates can pocket up to 15 percent commission on a sale of extended warranties at certain stores, and you can tell there’s a direct incentive to market these extended warranties for their own sake.

Extended warranties vary greatly, so it’s important to read the fine print instead of trusting what the sales people tell you. Some warranties may not cover the costs of product accessories, wear and tear, damage by malicious software, normal maintenance (such as software updates) or accidental damages, so the margin for claiming the benefits of an extended warranty can be much slimmer than it seems. Again, the need to read the terms and conditions at the point of sale cannot be underlined enough.

To answer the question, from a monetary point of view, extended warranties aren’t usually worth buying. However, like insurance policies, some may prefer to pay a bit extra for the peace of mind that comes with it. According to most experts, the two things that you may want to consider purchasing extended warranties for are projection TVs (including frontal projectors) and digital cameras, as both products tend to have a higher upkeep than normal products. In these cases, purchasing a good extended warranty may be worth the accompanying peace of mind.

Tips:

• Read the fine prints before purchasing to ensure that it covers what you want and the exclusions are acceptable.
• Ask questions about the performance of the warranty. What it specifically covers is one thing, but how you actually get it fixed is another. Will the store replace the item right there on the spot with a new one? Or will they have to send it back to the manufacturer or even a third party repair shop,  and have you wait weeks before it comes back?
• Consider whether the default warranty that comes free with the product is sufficient. If you need more coverage, only then buy an extended warranty. You can use Wishabi’s sale finder pages to get a feel for the warranty policies of various retailers.
• What is the item’s replacement cost a few years down the road? How does that compare to the cost of the extended warranty? For some tech items, it may be cheaper to buy a new unit in 3 years time than to pay for the full cost of the extended warranty up front.
• The cost of extended warranty offered by retailers is often negotiable, so don’t be afraid to ask for a lower price or concessions.

What is the Sales Finder?
The Sales Finder is a tool that helps you discover sales from your favorite brands, stores, and categories. Think of it as a custom flyer generated just for you and updated in near real time. It shows you all the stuff that are really on sale and allows you to slice and dice them in different ways to find the sale that you are looking for. You can filter by discount level, deal rating, brand, category and keywords. Logged in users can even like or hide items to improve future sale recommendations.

An example of The Source’s Sales Finder. You can see all the best deals The Source has to offer and filter them in a variety of ways. On the right, you will see other recommended Sales Finder with similar products to this store that you can continue to explore.

How can I find the Sales Finder?
The Sales Finders are built in to Wishabi. There are three types of Sale Finders, one each for categories, stores, and brands. You can directly access the sale finder through the shop by drop downs at the top of the page. Alternatively, when you are viewing an item on Wishabi, related Sales Finder will be shown on the right side for your convenience.

We hope you like the new Sales Finder. The team here is constantly hard at work improving the shopping experience for Canadians and would love your thoughts on what we can do next – feel free to leave us a comment on this post and let us know what you think.

This new version of Wishabi is our 5th design iteration. It represents the culmination of over two years of hard work by our team. We’ve launched several features to help make it easier for us as Canadians to shop and research online:

• Deal Intelligence – We’ve updated our site to provide even deeper consumer insight so you know when to buy and when to hold. We’ve made significant changes to our data systems that analyze over 3 million items from 450 merchant partners across USA and Canada to help you make an more informed purchase decision. Check out the new Deal Genius commentary and value maps as you compare and shop for your favorite products.
• Sale Finders – This had been on our wishlist for quite a while, and we’ve finally launched the first version of our Sale Finders. Sale finders help you quickly filter and sort through thousands of items from your favorite brands, stores and categories to see what’s on sale and what you might want to buy.
• Personalized Shopping – Version 5 brings us a much more refined personalized shopping experience. Build a shopping profile of the things that matters to you and the shopping stream will do the rest to give you the best deals and recommendations, all analyzed through the Wishabi deal genius technology.

These features represent the tip of the iceburg as to what we have planned for Wishabi and for Canadian online shopping. You’ll be seeing more exciting features and announcements in the upcoming months as we continue our quest to provide the best online shopping experience for Canadians.

Thanks again for your support and for using Wishabi!
-Wehuns

So what are the implications for Canadians as a whole?

Cross-border shopping

Despite its attractiveness, it’s important to remember that parity is not a significant increase in the value of the loonie from the 95-cents-U.S. rate that it was hovering around for the last 6 months. This change in exchange rates won’t discernibly change your total shopping bill from what it’s been over the past 6 months. Rather, what will matter now is which side of the border you happen to find yourself A.P. (After Parity).

While you may not have noticed, the Canadian dollar has been steadily rising for past 2 years, increasing the gap between retail prices in the U.S. and Canada. Parity will only embellish this ongoing trend. The Retail Council of Canada announced this morning that retailers in Canada would be forced to match prices with the U.S., but this may not happen for months, meaning that cross-border shopping will be a great way to take advantage of a stronger dollar and its increased buying power. However, you need to be wary of the hidden fees and charges that can quickly make a great deal in the U.S. turn sour – Wishabi can help you bake in all those hidden taxes, duties and shipping fees smoothly into the final price so that you don’t receive any surprises.

Investment

If you’re planning to buy vacation property down in Florida or buy shares in American companies, a stronger dollar makes now a great time to invest. If the stab at parity this year didn’t make that much of a difference to your everyday weekend shopping, you will notice a difference with property and other capital good investments. The dollar parity gives you access to more choice at relatively lower prices than, say, a year ago.

Interest rates

With a strong dollar meaning that Canadians can now get more for every dollar they spend, inflation (a general increase in the price of goods and services in a country) will be kept stable, meaning that the Bank of Canada will not be quick to up its interest rates (the key lending rate for you business junkies out there). This means that you can now take out bank loans for big investments at lower interest rates than you’d normally expect.

Travel

As it happens, a strong Canadian dollar will be great for people looking to travel abroad for the Easter break, or perhaps that early summer break that we’d all welcome around this time of the year. A stronger Canadian dollar can be stretched more, so you get more “bang for your buck” whenever you make purchase using Canadian dollars. So regardless of whether you’re buying money (on the foreign exchange) or other products, this means you can buy more souvenirs in Italy, buy better wines in France and hit London’s nightlife for relatively less than it would have cost you a few months ago.

Importers

Good news for these guys. Again, like tourists buying souvenirs in Rome to take back home, importers can afford to buy greater quantities more cheaply, and sell them for relatively less in though here and now. Retailers that depend heavily on foreign imports to stock their shelves might even find themselves tempted to rollback prices on certain products in Canada – but don’t take our word for it.

Exporters

As luck will have it (or lack thereof), Canadian exports backed by a stronger dollar will become more expensive outside of Canada, having cost relatively more to produce (because the dollar is now worth more in other currencies) than comparable products made outside of Canada. Now less competitive than before, expect exporters to try and shift away from older markets towards newer less competitive markets, or to markets where the barriers to entry are not as prohibitively expensive.

What is Price Matching?
Price matching is the practice of offering to sell a product at a reduced price due to competition. Some stores will match their own price and offer you a partial refund if the item goes on sale. Others will match a competitor’s price, and still others will beat a competitor’s price by an advertised percentage. No matter what’s the flavor, price matching schemes are meant to give the impression that that a store has the best prices available.

Why Price Match?
If it is cheaper elsewhere, why not just buy it there? As we all know, there is more than to value than just price. Perhaps a store offers superior customer service and return policies, allows you to earn points, or is just a place you prefer. Price matching allows you to get the lowest price from one store and enjoy the benefits of another.

How to Price Match
The actual policies of price matching vary greatly between stores (sometimes changing with the mood of store manager). Price matching erodes profit margins, and therefore it is only feasible because it rarely happens. Here’re a few tips on successful price matching:

• Qualified competitor – A few stores will match the prices of almost any other store, some will exclude online merchants (or force you to add next day shipping charges), while others will only consider select local competitors. Check this carefully to ensure that your store qualifies.
• Exactly the same item – Usually, the item has to be exactly the same, not just basically the same. It must be in the same condition (new vs refurb), packaging (OEM vs retail) and the same bundle if applicable. Some larger retailers may get their own model numbers for the exact same item. While this will make price matching more difficult, it may still be possible if you can bring proof that it is indeed the same product with a custom MPN.
• Proof of pricing and availability – The item has to be in stock and available for immediate purchase at the price that you are claiming. Usually, the store manager would call and verify, but it may be difficult to get the cooperation of a rival retailer, especially if it is a smaller independent shop. Instead of being turned down here, a strategy is to actually go and purchase the item from the other retailer, and then bring the item with receipt as proof for price matching. This way, there is no doubt that they have the exact same item in stock at the price you are claiming.

Price matching can be very rewarding as it allows you to enjoy the benefits of one store while paying the lower price of another. Policies vary greatly and it may not always be easy to pull off. To make things a bit easier, Wishabi has surveyed the price matching policies of various stores and made it available as part of the store value icons. Good hunting!

Original Equipment Manufacture
OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer, and OEM items are sometimes referred to as bulk. It is most commonly seen in computer parts and software. OEM products are meant to be purchased by a system builder instead of the final retail consumer. For example, a computer shop would buy OEM parts (hard drives, operating systems, CPU etc…) and put together complete systems for retail sale to the public. Despite its original intentions, OEM products are frequently available to the consumer who wants to build or upgrade their own systems. OEM software usually has restrictions that it can only be purchased with a computer system, but some retailers may not enforce this requirement strictly. Here’s an example of an OEM Windows 7 vs a retail version of the same Windows 7.

Difference between OEM and Retail
Unless otherwise specified, an OEM product is usually brand new and exactly the same as the retail version. However, since it is not meant for the end consumer, it will likely be without fancy packaging and may be missing instruction manuals or the necessary accessories. For example, OEM CPU typically does not come with the cooling fan, and OEM hard drives do not include the interface cable. OEM items usually have similar warranties as their retail counterpart, but you may have to deal with the manufacture instead of the store, so double check just to make sure.

What does this mean for Canadian shoppers?
OEM products are usually priced less than the retail version, though more a refurbished item. If you are familiar with the product and already have the right accessories, it is often a great alternative when getting a brand new item instead of paying the full retail price.