There is a prevailing belief at the consumer level that specialty shops like Grand River Outfitting & Fly Shop are, on average more expensive than box stores or the ever popular “cross border” shopping.  This can be true in some cases and with some isolated product but if your local fly shop is doing a good job, stays in touch with exchange and shipping races, there is no reason that they cannot remain competitive.

Scott, Tania and I have been spending a great deal of time shopping online and comparing what we are doing in terms of pricing with where our competitors are at and honestly, we are very pleased with our findings.

   Of course you would have to come in for a visit to see for yourself but overall, our pricing is very competitive with several big ticket standouts actually coming up less expensive that the largest box stores.  When our prices are higher, it is well within the acceptable range.

In terms of cross border shopping via on line stores, I’ll go out on a limb and say that 90% of the time if one is comparing apples and apples (or product price at the respective Canadian v. US msrp) by the time you get it to your door, you will end up paying marginally more buying it in the US than you will from your local fly shop.  Simply, by the time you factor in duty, shipping and exchange, that same item is available in this country for 5 to 15% less.

Some things to consider.

• Bass Pro Shop pricing on the Canadian on line shopping website is in US dollars.
• Canadian/US exchange rate is as high now as it has been in several years.
• Duty is often not factored into price until the delivery man is at your door.

We guarantee that no one wants your business more than the specialty shop and in more cases than not, the service available through the smaller pro shops cannot be compared.