Why is online shopping in Canada so poor?

July 17, 2007 11:28 AM

Why is online shopping so poor in Canada? Know of any good men's online shops?

It strikes me that online shopping in Canada is abysmal. Why? Regulatory hurdles? Lack of consumer interest? Lack of entreprenurial spirit?

I'm trying to find higher-end mens clothes, modern stuff, young/urban/professional etc... and I can find almost nothing beyond the crap that the Bay and Sears sell. This is not what I'm looking for. I found a couple of t-shirt shops, but that's about all. Can anyone point me to some great websites that I'm missing?

(I know I can order from some places in the U.S., but duties often make it a less-than-good deal).

posted by modernnomad to shopping (9 comments total)

Since Canadians generally speak the same language as their 10 times more populous, generally less thrifty economic powerhouse of a neighbor, it makes more sense for people with e-commerce savvy in Canada to set up stores that cater primarily to Americans. Canadians are okay with importing stuff across the border, Americans are less so, so it all makes sense.
posted by wackybrit at 11:35 AM on July 17, 2007

Just White Shirts may have what you want (along with a business lesson: don't choose a name that makes you look dumb when you expand your product line :-)
posted by winston at 11:44 AM on July 17, 2007

Because CanadaPost is quite a lot more expensive than the USPS and offers much poorer service. The same is true for most courier services, as well. It's a big, underpopulated country so shipping ain't cheap.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:15 PM on July 17, 2007

Also, buying clothes online (unless you have bought that exact item in bricks-and-mortar before) is something of a crapshoot. The measurements may be right, but you may well find out that the way the seams are structured make your ass look even bigger than it actually is, dammit. No, I'm not talking form personal experience at all, why do you ask?
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 12:32 PM on July 17, 2007

Yeah, its a bit of a risk, but I've had success when I've ordered from American shops online and it it delivered to friends who live there so I can pick it up when i visit...

I'm thinking things like zappos.com, bluefly.com, etc... Hell, even amazon.com in the US has a massive variety of goods avail for purchase compared to amazon.ca which is still only dvds and books... it's frustrating is all!
posted by modernnomad at 1:08 PM on July 17, 2007

Canada is 5000 miles long and two inches high. It's not just online shopping that's worse—bricks-and-mortar shopping suffers as well.
posted by oaf at 1:45 PM on July 17, 2007

jacquilynne has it. And many people buy from US sites, not realizing how expensive the import duties and brokerage fees will be until their purchase arrives from the US.
posted by LobsterMitten at 5:16 PM on July 17, 2007

I've read newspaper articles claiming Canadians prefer to touch and see stuff, actually like malls, etc. Sounds like crap to me; I'd love, among other things, a drugstore.com.

Right now UPS has lost something I ordered from the US, need fairly urgently, was about to pay $80 duty on, so I'll Nth 'shipping sucks.' (Yesterday it looked like they'd found it -- could I pick it up from them? -- sure; 1hr drive away...)

Anyway, a bit random, but get some magazines and browse for ads. Canadian ones for the 'young/urban/professional' -- TO/Van/Mtl-specific ones, maybe; decorating/fashion ones, you get the idea. I had decent luck finding decent maternity clothes stores on-line by paying attention to URLs in ads in the right sorts of magazines.
posted by kmennie at 5:37 PM on July 17, 2007

Freeds in Windsor is one of my favourite places to buy clothes when I'm in that part of the country, especially at their Easter sale. Haven't ordered anything online though.
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 9:03 AM on July 18, 2007