Topic: glass cleaning

[CanuckG35]

Stoners is now on sale at eshine.ca if anyone is interested.  http://www.eshine.ca/stoner_invisible_glass_wsprayer_22oz-3240.php

$7.59 for shipping!!  So  $12+ a bottle!  No thanks!!

Not a big deal if you are picking up other detailing products. 

[No H2O]

Stoners is now on sale at eshine.ca if anyone is interested.  http://www.eshine.ca/stoner_invisible_glass_wsprayer_22oz-3240.php

$7.59 for shipping!!  So  $12+ a bottle!  No thanks!!

Not a big deal if you are picking up other detailing products. 

Which is what I do, except I'll place a stocking order with someone like AutoGeek. I checked out eshine when I was buying, but they were over the top, price-wise. The dollar is at par!!!

[CanuckG35]

Stoners is now on sale at eshine.ca if anyone is interested.  http://www.eshine.ca/stoner_invisible_glass_wsprayer_22oz-3240.php

$7.59 for shipping!!  So  $12+ a bottle!  No thanks!!

Not a big deal if you are picking up other detailing products. 

Which is what I do, except I'll place a stocking order with someone like AutoGeek. I checked out eshine when I was buying, but they were over the top, price-wise. The dollar is at par!!!

I used to buy all of my business supplies from www.detailedimage.com out of NY state however I stopped as the international shipping costs and sporadic customs charges were getting over the top.  I buy in large quantities for my business and eshine offers free shipping for orders of $150 or more so it's actually cheaper for me than going south of the border. 

[No H2O]

I used to buy all of my business supplies from www.detailedimage.com out of NY state however I stopped as the international shipping costs and sporadic customs charges were getting over the top.  I buy in large quantities for my business and eshine offers free shipping for orders of $150 or more so it's actually cheaper for me than going south of the border. 

Some things are close...at best. Plus I'm sure you get better prises that most of us would. 

But many products are at opposite ends of the price range.

For example, I bought a 32 oz bottle of Meguiar's #205 Ultra Finishing Polish...
AutoGeek sale priced ran me CA$20.31 with an rate of 7%...it is now 0%.
eshine price: CA$38.49....come on, thats almost double the price.

Then my Flex XC 3401 VRG dual action polisher. For $30 less than the price of the polisher alone at eshine, I got the polisher, 3 Lake Country 6.5 CCS pads, Pinnacle XMT Series pad cleaner, Pinnacle XMT Series pad conditioner and a very nice Flex padded bag for the polisher and accessories. Or if you want to compare the polisher alone; $310 vs $375....helllooooo...the dollar is at par, eshine!

I know you can alwys find that "one item" that'll be cheaper here, but I am talking about on a whole.

[CanuckG35]

I used to buy all of my business supplies from www.detailedimage.com out of NY state however I stopped as the international shipping costs and sporadic customs charges were getting over the top.  I buy in large quantities for my business and eshine offers free shipping for orders of $150 or more so it's actually cheaper for me than going south of the border. 

Some things are close...at best. Plus I'm sure you get better prises that most of us would. 

But many products are at opposite ends of the price range.

For example, I bought a 32 oz bottle of Meguiar's #205 Ultra Finishing Polish...
AutoGeek sale priced ran me CA$20.31 with an rate of 7%...it is now 0%.
eshine price: CA$38.49....come on, thats almost double the price.

Then my Flex XC 3401 VRG dual action polisher. For $30 less than the price of the polisher alone at eshine, I got the polisher, 3 Lake Country 6.5 CCS pads, Pinnacle XMT Series pad cleaner, Pinnacle XMT Series pad conditioner and a very nice Flex padded bag for the polisher and accessories. Or if you want to compare the polisher alone; $310 vs $375....helllooooo...the dollar is at par, eshine!

I know you can alwys find that "one item" that'll be cheaper here, but I am talking about on a whole.

Yes, wholesale pricing is definitely a plus. 

From my personal experience buying from the US is that the shipping charges are very high and you can get nabbed for customs charges as well.  Between the higher shipping charges and sporadic customs charges it got to be a real PITA for me and I now purchase approximately 90% of my supplies from Canadian companies. 

[No H2O]

From my personal experience buying from the US is that the shipping charges are very high and you can get nabbed for customs charges as well.

Customs charges? You might be thinking about brokerage charges if you are using a shipper like UPS.

The only actual "customs charges" are PST and GST, or HST which a consumer is going to pay even if they shop at home. And for every $100 I save by shopping stateside, I am also saving $13 in taxes. 

Between the higher shipping charges and sporadic customs charges it got to be a real PITA for me and I now purchase approximately 90% of my supplies from Canadian companies.

Maybe in your case because you're not close to the border, but there is a reason why many shop stateside. Even dealing with on-line auto parts outfits up here is a total waste of my time. They use the "on-line" image to give you that warm and fuzzy feeling that you're getting a good deal. 

The parts I'm picking up tomorrow...$161.48 on-line in the US vs $317.53 on-line up here. I've got better things to do with that extra $156.05 (plus tax) than to give it to some fat cat up here who probably lives better than I do.

[CanuckG35]

From my personal experience buying from the US is that the shipping charges are very high and you can get nabbed for customs charges as well.

Customs charges? You might be thinking about brokerage charges if you are using a shipper like UPS.

The only actual "customs charges" are PST and GST, or HST which a consumer is going to pay even if they shop at home. And for every $100 I save by shopping stateside, I am also saving $13 in taxes. 

Between the higher shipping charges and sporadic customs charges it got to be a real PITA for me and I now purchase approximately 90% of my supplies from Canadian companies.

Maybe in your case because you're not close to the border, but there is a reason why many shop stateside. Even dealing with on-line auto parts outfits up here is a total waste of my time. They use the "on-line" image to give you that warm and fuzzy feeling that you're getting a good deal. 

The parts I'm picking up tomorrow...$161.48 on-line in the US vs $317.53 on-line up here. I've got better things to do with that extra $156.05 (plus tax) than to give it to some fat cat up here who probably lives better than I do.

Yes brokerage fees is what I meant when I stated customs charges.  Though I am very close to the border (about 60mins), it doesn't make financial sense to drive there for the relatively small savings on the size of my order.  In fact, it would cost me much more to drive there and pick up my supplies than to have them shipped right to my door free of cost.  For the average customer it might be worth it, but certainly not for me. 

[No H2O]

For the average customer it might be worth it, but certainly not for me.

For the average customer, it certainly is. In my case, to the tune of 43% according to my Excel spreadsheets (I stopped keeping receipts a long time ago).

Your time, since you run a detailing business is worth more. Furthermore, your costs are rolled into the price of doing business.

Now off on a relaxing drive to pick up those overpriced distributor caps and rotors. Well at least they're not the doubly overpriced items I would get up here. 

[KGCCS]

Or......... you just wait for everything to go on sale 

Canadian Tire and Walmart have good deals on certain cleaning products sometimes... same with Parts Source (and oil, etc too!)

[No H2O]

Or......... you just wait for everything to go on sale 

The one thing I've noticed is that stores like Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart and others up here can have sales where things are seriously marked down. That tells you how marked up they are in the first place.

At a Wal-Mart in the US (I've just been), you won't find Mobil 1 marked down 25% simply because they price things lower to start off with and have less room to move on price.

BTW...

A 4.4 liter jug of Mobil 1 goes for $45.99 (it went up in price) at CTC and goes on sale for 25% off.

A 4.73 liter jug (5 US qts) of Mobil 1 goes for $24.50 at Wal-Mart in the US and never goes on sale, though the regular price goes up and down within a year (as low as $22.00 to as high as $26.00).

I just picked up three Mobil 1 jugs at $19.00 each at Wal-Mart in the US. They won't be carrying the 15W-50 grade anymore and were clearing it out.

Canadian Tire and Walmart have good deals on certain cleaning products sometimes... same with Parts Source (and oil, etc too!)

They have the consumer line which after seeing my friend use the Meguiar's line in the red bottles, I was not impressed.

[KGCCS]

Our local Canadian Tire carries some of the professional series products as well as the consumer products. That being said, they are way over-priced and I'm sure there are better deals to be had in the US and/or through specialty retailers/websites, etc. Eshine.ca has been pretty good and my experience/dealings with them have always been trouble free!

[No H2O]

Our local Canadian Tire carries some of the professional series products as well as the consumer products.

They were priced well when they were clearing out stock of the tan bottled Professional line. I bought a few bottles. Of course, they no longer carry that line at my local stores.

[No H2O]

Stoners is now on sale at eshine.ca if anyone is interested.

$7.59 for shipping!!  So  $12+ a bottle!  No thanks!!

If you happen to go stateside as I did today  , Wal-Mart has Stoners Invisible Glass in a large spray pump bottle for $3.47. I also bought a spray can there some time ago, but I prefer a spray pump.

[RX7heaven]

While vinegar contains 10% weak acetic acid with a ph of 2.4 it is unlikely to etch glass when diluted. Car care products work but may contain ammonia, formaldehyde, and other carcinogens - wear gloves and avoid the fumes! Green glass cleaners often contain vinegar because it is safer. Avoid working in the sun and clean well - wax buildup from commercial products can streak.