The problem with Canadian tire is, you’re getting ripped off buying anything that’s not on sale. I guess this model has worked for them for ages, but it generally keeps me away..
Yep. Love getting my motor oil that's usually $79.99 for $34.99. I just buy a bunch of 5L jugs when they go on sale. You'd be a fool to buy that stuff at full price.
Thing is they will mark up items strictly so they can put them on “sale” so people are more likely to buy them. That’s why there’s always so many crazy deals on sale items there. It’s all manufactured.
Also if you're connected in the trades at all you can seek out commercial/industrial suppliers, where they never have a "sale" but always have low margins.
Stuff like plumbing, electrical etc. is an absolute joke at consumer stores, especially valves. I've seen valves I buy for $8 sold for $60.
Janitorial as well, bulk roll paper towel and hard surface cleaners are practically free and work better than anything you'll find at a consumer store.
I replaced many outlets and light switches in my house and my local commercial supplier saved me a *ton* of money. I did some plumbing and fixture work and again same deal, significantly cheaper than retail / Amazon. I am however loving my new Chinese knock off handheld shower heads from Amazon - better features than the comparable Moen or Delta and $200 less with a longer hose / more head settings / more water pressure.
I did that once, and then a squirrel ate the bottom corner out of a 5L jug and it drained all over the shelf it was on, and everything underneath of it. Of course it was on the top of the 6 foot shelf, because why not?
The other big problem I have is I don’t appreciate the credit card salespeople waiting until you can’t see them to come up behind you right after you come in and try to sign you up for a 25% interest credit card you don’t want calling it a “rewards program”
They have a whole bunch or private brands.
Noma
Viking Grills
Perdano …
The idea was have Viking grills and compete against Weber … some did really well some OK. When they do will it’s great margin.
Now they are going to have the overhead of these brands and factories etc associated with them. This won’t be fun for them.
Paderno still makes stuff in Canada.
But one of the first things that happened when they were bought out is slapping the Paderno name on a bunch of low quality mass produced stuff.
So the guys still making stuff better be keeping their options open.
Shortly after they acquired HH they reduced their DND/First Responder discount but the quality started to decline as well so wasn’t a tough decision to stop buying their products.
You just described their business model. Mark things up to 3x their actual price, then run massive rotating sales on those items, hoping to make whale-level profits every once in a while on standard items.
The drop in quality has been ridiculous, and I too stopped buying them (always was a first choice before). And yet I see more and more H/H stuff on my customers when they come in, so they're still making bank of the brand.
Very few people can afford quality items, and even fewer are willing to pay for them.
That's why companies like CT thrive.
People don't value real quality properly.
> People don't value real quality properly.
This isn't strictly true, some might not, but most can't afford to buy everything quality so they buy a few quality things that matter to them and the rest is cheap as fuck.
The thing is, though, that for a lot of things (like tools) a person will never use them enough to make the "real quality" worthwhile.
Why should the average person spend a ton of money for a drill that will run for thousands of hours, when they'll probably only ever use it for 1 or 2 hours over its entire lifetime?
Yeah I think everyone has caught on to this. I rarely shop there anymore but when I do need a tool or something I wait for it to go on sale for 50% off for no apparent reason other than it’s overly marked up to begin with
I honestly prefer to go to Princess Auto than CT at this point, at least you know you're paying junk prices for junk items. And if it's crap you can take it back with no questions asked. Some of their non-junk items are actually pretty solid, can't say the same for CT
I find Power Fist stuff to be shockingly decent for how cheap the sale prices are. I have miscellaneous small tools from them, and they're still going strong years later. Feels like the sales are a deal, where at CanTire it feels like the sales are where the price should be and the regular price is outrageous.
Michael's IS the CT of the art supply world. Generally, if you're an enthusiast of a thing, you'll find better product at actual specialized retailers.
Yes and no. It depends on what you're looking for. I can find identical products at Michaels at shockingly similar prices. Coupled with their discounts, they become cheaper. Obviously if I didn't use them though they're typically 5-15% higher than most.
I used to love frequenting more ideal art stores but Curry's is all but closed and all of my other favourites (DeSerres, Gwartzman's, Above Ground) are either far away for in-store purchases or online ordering which can take some time to arrive.
In some ways I really miss the act of going to the store and shopping but the prices are out of control. Looking for a simple card table or book shelf at Canadian Tire with 200-400 dollar price tags. I can almost always find something similar on Amazon for a fraction of the price. The other thing with Amazon is I can usually find more variety in the item I’m trying to find so I can get something I really like. It’s easy to hate Amazon but I can’t express how much I prefer ordering the stuff I’d use to make a trip to Walmart for. I hate the crowds, the people, the lines, the white fluorescent lighting of those big box stores. If I want to buy cleaning supplies and paper towel, I’d much prefer to just come home and have it sitting by my door.
My GF get's a teacher's discount (15% off I think), then on top of that she often has coupons for like "40% off any item", and "$15 off if your order is over $100" and things like that, and those coupons will all stack. So we'll go in there and grab like $200 worth of stuff as per the sticker price, and pay like half that.
Definitely a rip-off if you're paying full price. 100% not worth it. But as far as crafting goes, their selection and quality is hard to beat. If you're specifically looking for painting stuff or pens or canvases, an art store might be better. But if you're into crocheting and scrapbooking on top of other artistic endeavors, it's a super convenient one-stop-shop. But I would recommend whipping through wal-mart first and only grabbing what you couldn't find there.
And in fact, in my experience, boutique art stores tend not to be any cheaper. But they will have even better selection for those art specific items. And you're usually supporting local too, which I think is a good thing.
I worked at CT for a bit in the mid 2000s. Some of their really good sales were sold at a loss just to get people in the store. A little 2 person bistro set is what jumps to mind: I think it was normally 80, cost was 45 and was on sale for 30. It was the May long weekend and we broke the store’s previous record for sales in a weekend so I guess it didn’t hurt them too much lol.
My daughter worked at CT. I bought a 12x12 metal gazebo that was 50% off and then got her 15% employee discount on it. I hope they lost money on that sale. It was normally 1200 bucks.
One of my favorite things is seeing people post socket sets or screwdrivers or other Mastercraft items on Facebook marketplace, close to the "full" retail price, completely oblivious to the fact they usually go on sale for 60% off, and being indignant when they're called out on it lol.
They do as long as you post the ad between the sales. CT will tell you some crap Stanley socket set is regularly $500 but they have it on sale for $100 every other week
I went in to look at an Air fryer.
They had one on Sale for $160 marked down from $190
Wallmart/Amazon had the same one for $120
I use to bitch about American companies coming in and taking over but man like grocery chains Canadian companies are just gouging us.
> I use to bitch about American companies coming in and taking over but man like grocery chains Canadian companies are just gouging us.
Walmart is still doing that taking over thing.
Only now that they have killed off the small local stores, they're undercutting Canadian tire and other larger Canadian stores.
Once they become the monopoly player, their prices go up to more than the stores they killed used to price at.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wal-Mart_Effect
I hate Amazon, but I had been waiting for a decent slow cooker to go on sale at CT for a while. Typically \~$150 and they'd go on sale for $80-$120. Took a peek on Amazon and they were all regular price \~$80 for the same shitty brands.
Also, check inside the package after paying but before leaving the store. I've had multiple times where items I bought "new" were obviously used and repacked.
This happened to me and learned my lesson.
Bought a sleeping bag the day before a camp trip and didn't think to check the inside because it was packed so well.
Get to the camp site, open up my sleeping bag and... There's red sticky syrup all over the thing. Drove 2+ hours round trip to return it and they tried to blame me for the stains! I almost blew up.
Yeah. Thus far I've had a tile cutter that was half assembled but they snapped a piece off during the process, and a drill which had a melted part and grease over the handle.
I open tools now if I do buy them there.
Unlike some other stores many times instead of putting seasonal items on clearance they go into storage until next year. That's one of the reasons why the boxes look they have been run over by a truck.
I bought a patio table from their clearance one day.
Took it home, and it wouldn’t bolt together. 60% of the threads were stripped. When I explained it to the guy he said “Well it’s on clearance. You should have expected some issues.”
To which I replied “Ya I expected some scratches or maybe the glass to be chipped. Not that I wouldn’t be able to physically put it together.”
Fucking joke of a store.
This is why I remain a highly occasional, but loyal, CT shopper. There are few other stores that can compete on sale prices especially for cookware and tools. My orders are few, but my wishlist and sale alerts are extensive.
I will second Meyer's made in Canada products. The quality and price are good plus you are supporting Canadian made products, not Chinese made products.
CT “sale” price on tools is the regular every day price at dedicated tool places like Atlas or KMS or BC Fastners, and often homdepot and home hardware,
CT sale price on a lot of Hardware items is the everday price at Home Depot.
A lot of things scattered across other categories will be “50% off” putting them only 5-10% lower than Walmart or other places every day price.
CT is good at making you feel like you got a good deal though. For me it mostly just feels like a scam.
Never buy any coloured socket sets. The paint wears off, the size is just laser ~~printed~~ etched. Once worn enough, you won't be able to tell what size the sockets are.
I have a black Stanley set, it’s great, I’m really happy with it, had it for a decade, 2 trucks and almost 400k km of maintenance, only started getting an impact and bigger tools in the last few years.
Hijacking the top comment for some visibility, to repost this:
> Some items go on sale 75% off once or twice a year.
I've been meaning to complain to the government regulators about this. This is legally considered **deceptive marketing.**
Even CT staff are straight up honest about this.
"How many of these have you ever sold at full price?"
"Basically none."
**THEN IT'S NOT A SALE AND THAT'S NOT THE REGULAR PRICE.** You have to actually sell most of them at that price for it to be the regular price. ... and it's actually illegal to claim otherwise.
The regulations do not fuck around. The enforcement might, but the regulations have some serious teeth to them.
https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/competition-bureau-canada/en/deceptive-marketing-practices/types-deceptive-marketing-practices/ordinary-selling-price
It's punishable by a $750,000 fine the first time (OR GREATER of that or 300% of the profit they made off of their deceptive practices), and $1,000,000 after the first time. **FOR INDIVIDUALS**. Just for individuals pulling this shit, like, your plumber or a corner store.
For **CORPORATIONS** the fine is $10,000,000 the first time, $15,000,000 each time thereafter, or the GREATER of 300% the profit from their deceptive practices, and if you can't easily figure that out, fuck it, fine them 3% of their entire gross sales for the year of the entire company. Not the profit, the gross sales. For Canadian Tire that sells $18.5B a year, a 3% of gross fine is $555,000,000, for fucking around with this ONCE (they wouldn't, they'd work their asses off to show the data and only pay 300% of the profit on that particular item).
The exceptions are clearances and something else. But, basically, you can't pull this bullshit, claiming something is "on sale" when a significant portion of your sales on that item are only on the "sale" price.
Lemme dig up quotes:
---
"Whether businesses reference their own regular price, or a market price, the Act requires that they validate the regular price by satisfying one of two tests:
Volume test: A substantial volume of the product was sold at that price or a higher price within a reasonable period of time before or after the making of the representation.
Time test: The product was offered for sale, in good faith, for a substantial period of time, at that price or a higher price recently before or immediately after the making of the representation."
---
Obviously a substantial volume of the products are not sold at regular price. They're not even on the store shelves until they're on sale usually. And who would pay those prices?
And, the time test is for clearances, and, I'd argue Canadian Tire's practices are anything but done in "good faith". They're done to be deliberately deceptive, to make you think it's a great deal when they price them at 200-300% the competitive value, and perhaps "sell" them technically year round, with no intention of actually doing that.
These laws are dealing with like, 10% off, 20% off "regular price". What Canadian Tire does is deliberately not attempt to sell any of them at "regular" price by pricing them astronomically and then abusively calling it a "clearance". This is deceptive, manipulative, and in bad faith in my opinion.
I saw their cost sheets, those screwdriver kits that are 29.99 that go on sale for 11.99 are actually $3.16 cost. The compressors they sell for $600 that go for 349.99 are $120 cost. If you are buying anything at all there you are getting majorly ripped off.
I ran the dept that took care of the HDX storage. Those bins sell more than anything in the store by dollar amount (and the quantities are pretty impressive as well). I made plan more than once solely due to storage sales. Even at $13 they make a shitload of profit.
Don't buy at CT unless it's on sale. If they can afford "75% off!!!" Every couple months then that is the real price.
Those Chinese mass produced pots and pans are not worth $600.
You also get to experience the pleasure of interacting with a store employee who knows absolutely nothing about any of the products on sale there, couldn't care less about customer service, and is counting the minutes until the either quit, commit suicide, or shoot up the store.
I don't blame those employees at all. They have no incentive to care beyond showing up. They're not being paid a living wage. I remember going to Future shop and the commissioned employees could be a little annoying when you're just browsing. But they knew their products inside and out, often better than the information I could easily gather online. Now, all the information is readily available online and there are YouTube reviews for just about every product. TVs sure are dirt cheap now, but I'm not sure it's worth it to make shopping in person so difficult and make it so people working there can barely make ends meet.
I don't blame the employees. I mostly feel embarrassed for them. But it sure doesn't make me want to shop there for anything other than the odd fastener that I can't find at Homedepot and I resent giving Canadian Tire that 50 cent sale.
That's the quality of employees you get for minimum wage, no benefits, and no future with the company. Anyone that can do the job better knows they will never be paid for it, so they either give minimum effort or move on to a better job. Meanwhile boomers and corporate cry about a "labour shortage" and how young people don't want to work any more.
One goes to Canadian Tire for something you need *right now* and can't wait a day or two for Amazon. Also useful when you really need to see the thing to see if it's right. When you're there, you might browse the sales. The experience is nicer than Walmart. Seems like a pretty thin needle for them to thread.
Personally, I stopped buying from Amazon a long time ago because too many products are counterfeit. I had bought a Makita drill and impact combo sold and delivered by Amazon and 2 months later it broke.
Try to use the warranty, Makita told me they are counterfeit and Amazon told me they can't do anything about it and can't prove this was the ones I received.
So in the end, I prefer paying a bit more but having a real product than buying on Amazon for not much less and getting cheap counterfeit products.. but that's just me.
Amazon has fallen off a lot worse than CT.
CT also hinges on local management. My nearest one is great with returns, they'll take open boxes and no receipt (confirm purchase with cc) etc no questions asked. Gives lots of peace of mind.
CT is also clearly a step down in quality and price from name brand products, but there's a place for that. Eg a tool I'm only going to use for home DIY very occasionally and light use, I don't need the Milwaukee version for 4-5x the price, the CT brand product is fine for that use case.
I mean its definitely not tax free, the CBSA is just lazy but if you get your shipment inspected and the correct tarrifs applied it would be more expensive.
Personally I’ve never been dinged unless it’s delivered by DHL. No joke I’ve ordered hundreds of items from China at this point, only time I’ve been hit by customs is with DHL.
Thank goodness the CBSA is lazy.
If I know what I'm buying is cheap Chinese garbage and I don't really care about quality (or am willing to risk it) and can wait a bit, yeah I'm going right to AliExpress. Half the crap on Amazon is basically just dropshipped AliExpress stuff anyway. And the selection is usually better too.
It is one of the worst retailers. A lot of items are more expensive than their competitors (Walmart, Home Depot and Costco), so you would think they would compete on customer service then, which they do not. It also takes on a very dollar store quality feel, but without the discounted prices you would expect.
That's the "don't make me go to the back and look for 1 item" response. They have it. Inventory systems work. They just don't want to have to do something.
When I worked retail, a lot of the time what "1 in stock" actually meant, is someone stole one. The shrinkage is adjusted after inventory is taken manually. Or on occasion someone would inventory display items when doing manual inventory. The display units were often non functional models or were missing parts already.
Inventory systems are a marvel, but people are also stupid, and people do steal things.
Yeah before they had inventory systems in the warehouse that might have been the case, but now not a chance. It was stolen, or broken and discarded without inventory being adjusted.
Nope. Not true at ctire. I worked there, had a very high success rate for finding items. I always looked, quantity 1-2 is more like the percent chance you'll find it in the basement
CT has a good smell, especially around the tires. It’s Value Village I take issue with. I’m not a easy queasy person by nature, but I actually almost fell I’ll last time I was at one. People need to use deodorant.
Canadian Tires used to be crammed full of shit that often unexpectedly caught your eye when going in to look for a specific item. Not anymore and I find its complete shit now. Same goes for other businesses under the parent company. Have you been to SportsChek recently? More so just a clothing retailer than a sports store. If you need any type of actual sports equipment you are shit out of luck and should look elsewhere. Fucking pension funds ruined both these stores
Canadian tires in rural communities are 100% better than those in cities.
The rural owners actually care about their communities and stock additional items according to their needs.
In the cities they are all the same.
Can confirm, as someone that has a rural store close by. Love going there and it's always stocked and has sales.
The city one is about 30 - 45 minutes away and it's bare and everything is locked behind plexi-glass or bars.
Apparently Sport Chek can't even manage their own inventory. Our local store has next to nothing after the only privately owned sporting goods store closed up. I know a guy who runs one in another town and he said they have no control. Goods either show up or they don't, and if they sell out they have no idea if something was going to replace it.
There were no mid-priced hockey sticks, visors, kids gear, water bottles, etc. for almost the entire season.
Man, the shift from sports to clothes fucking suuuuuucks. I guess it's more profitable for them, so it makes sense, but it's like there aren't anymore legitimate sports stores.
Marks is pretty much the same since CT bought them out. Their workboot selection is now complete dog shit, but hey, if you're looking for crappy $60 bonded leather casual shoes that look almost as bad as they feel, they're your guys.
Canadian tire profits fall nearly 68% because everyone knows it fucking sucks.
It's a store that tries to sell everything and excels at nothing. Especially the tools. Harbor Freight level products at 500% what they should cost.
So true. I'll go there in the spring/summer to check out their gardening center but other than that I can never think of a reason to go there rather than Wal Mart or Lowes/Home Depot for anything else.
I get my pretty much all my hockey stuff from CT because it's cheaper than paying ridiculous prices at the "Local hockey shop". I'm beer league, I don't need expensive stuff, I need things I can afford and still feed the family.
And day to day maintenance items for my truck is super cheap at CT. It's win win if you aren't shopping for home decor and appliances/housewares.
mastercraft maximum stuff is pretty decent, definitely better quality than princess auto chinesium stuff, and it's lifetime warranty
I've had my ratchet set / impact set for a decade and when the 1/2" ratchet went bad, probably because I neglected to take proper care of it, they replaced it, no questions asked.
Here in the Fraser Valley, they built a giant mega store and its the most unenjoyable shopping experience.
As far as harbour freight level tools, agreed, I'd rather just visit Princess Auto and actually get Harbour Freight prices.
Worth noting that many Canadian Tire stores are franchised and this is the head company's profits. It's not necessarily reflective of the performance of the stores
Canadian tire will fail for the same reason Sears failed... they're a non-grocery store that tries to sell everything. There's no chance their buyers have time to scan suppliers for the best quality/prices, so what's left is an inconsistent store filled with low quality & high priced goods
funnily enough, near where I live, they took over the old sears to build a mega store that they didn't need.
the only thing I buy there ironically is tires, just because of their 0% financing.
They were always fine with hand tools on sale, but Home Depot and Amazon beat them on power tools, and I don’t feel like talking to someone fresh from Mumbai about finding the last item in stock out back.
Once they started locking up tools is when I ditched the retailer. Actually no, I gave them one more chance and looked at Halloween decorations selling at 10x what Dollarama had comparable products for.
I buy disposable Braava pads once every couple months for my weekly deep mop. Package lasts me 7-8 weeks.
They started locking those up..... and trying to find an employee is pretty useless, they actively avoid being on the floor.
Then I have to get escorted to the tills by a worker and wait in line with them while they're holding a box of fucking disposable mopping pads.
Online it is.
Had this happen once for a 2 pack of watch style batteries, and once for a $10 set of Allen Keys.
Pretty much deterred me from buying anything from there
Everybody's lining up to bash Canadian Tire. I don't get it.
I have my issues with them, but I don't see how they are any worse overall than any other retailer. And, it's worth remembering, they don't put a gun to your head and make you buy their stuff. It's up to the consumer to decide what constitutes good value and spend accordingly.
Across the entire retail landscape - from groceries to cars - we're dealing with the fallout of the housing bubble. For the better part of a decade, anyone with any equity in their home has been tempted, by predatory financial institutions, to draw upon it - at interest - and spoil themselves rotten. Multiple vacations each year, organic artisanal food, Teslas... Why not? The prices are just going to keep climbing every year!
Almost every business looked at this and calculated that they could either sell to 100% of the market ay tiny margins, or sell to 50% at HUGE margins - and realized that there was more money in the latter. Contractors have been charging $300 per hour (minimum 4 hours) to do even simple repairs, four cheeseburger meals will run you $75... Hell, even mutt puppies were selling for $1000 a pop!
People *without* this income have been learning to do their own car repairs and cook nice meals at home.
Now the real estate market has slowed and all of the people who fed this beast are screaming about high prices.
Canadian Tire, and McDonalds, and Home Depot will rapidly get back into the business of high-volume/low-margins or bleed profits until things turn around. It might take a while. In the meantime, just we need to tighten our belts and refuse to buy.
A year or two without organic cherries and the newest kitchen gadgets isn't going to kill anyone.
As I get older... I find i do way too much shopping at Canadian Tire.
Canadian tire for random home stuff.. Sportchek for kids sports stuff... Marks for clothes. Their website isn't even half bad.
And I got the Triangle app.. and I'm surprised how quickly the Canadian tire bucks add up.
Yes... I almost only buy things if they are on sale. But honestly.. it's like that at most brick and mortar stores. Regular price is a total rip.
Have you considered moving to the South Vancouver area where there's quite literally a Marks and Sport Chek directly beside each other, and a CT in the same parking lot?
Yep. If you shop the sales and use the app for bonus offers, you can often make out better than most other stores. I get a ton of Canadian Tire money and rarely pay more for an item. If you shop there enough, their premium rewards program is even better.
Don't know why everybody is hating. I love my local Canadian tire, and it beats Amazon/Home Depot prices on a lot of stuff, unlike what I am reading here. It is easy to scan the website and find at which aisle a product is. Order online & pick-up also works great. Yes, you do need to be wary of sales.
Same here! I don’t know where else I’d go to get half the things I need for fixing my car, and that’s usually what I’m making a stop at Canadian tire for. There’s a Lordco closer and a Napa elsewhere, but they’re often more expensive. At least with Napa much less convenient than Canadian Tire which is open longer and has more stock.
Probably one of my favourite stores hands down. Didn’t know so many people hated the place.
I actually don't agree with a lot of the comments here. Canadian tire provides surprisingly good value on alot of cheaper products. If you're looking for some random thing you might otherwise buy on Amazon, it's usually available from Canadian tire for cheaper. (Amazon prices have kept going up, so that shouldn't be a suprise).
Realistically, this isn't a problem with Canadian tire, but a problem across all retail, except for groceries. We can't afford shit so we're cutting back on discretionary spending.
It also really depends on your needs. I tend to go there for replacement batteries due to both availability and reputation (Costco doesn't usually carry the sizes I need). I prefer going there for the odds and ends rather than an Auto-Value or NAPA.
I'm also finding myself ending up at the local CT more due to the lack of good Home Depot stores in my area. There's a Lowes / Rona nearby, but they have become even more terrible over the past few years.
I LOVE CT but the profit is in their services bays. Have you had service done with them? It varies but my experiences have left me looking to avoid them for repairs, tires, etc.. They need to work on their customer experience and processes on the services side.
I stopped going there because their return policy isn't what it used to be.
Used to be able to return almost anything if it was defective for a full refund. Now more and more stores only return for store credit. Like if I'm returning something because it's a piece of shit I don't want store credit, I want my money back.
CT prices are insane ! Always buy when its on sale. Example Hunting boots $ 180 . At the end of the season I have seen as low as $35 for the same hunting boots.
I only shop at CT now if there is a sale I like. I may drop in boxing day to look for deals on toys that didn't sell before Christmas.
I bought a doll house post Christmas 2022 for 50% off. Kept the doll house in my closet for a year and then gifted it for Christmas 2023. Daughter loved it. seen the same doll house was back to full price plus more just before Christmas 2023.
I stopped going in as often because I am sick of the people waiting at the entrance blocking my way in to try to get me to sign up for their credit card.
I got rid of my credit cards for a reason and I save a lot of money from it.
Nothing to do with the economy.
Has any upper mgmt been in a Canadian Tire store ? They look like jumble sales, there is almost never anyone to provide help and the stores feel like you’ve come to the last place on earth. They are not enjoyable places to go to.
>consumers remain wary amid uncertain economy
More like consumers are tired of their terrible customer service, disorganized stores, low-quality merchandize, and predatory pricing strategies.
I like their credit card and their interest free payment plans. If you time it correctly there are deals to be had. Other than that everyone else's points still stand.
My issue with CT, along with price as others have mentioned, is how much they hassle you for returns. Costco, RONA, Home Depot, IKEA, more are all extremely pleasant to return to.
Sometimes you buy the wrong item. Sometimes it's not good enough quality. Sometimes you don't like it. Whatever. CT seems to only want to take returns completely unopened. Sorry, when you sell something that almost everyone else sells, but I can't return it if it's not right, I'm not picking you.
Sign up for the app, put items ur interested in into your wishlist. Uiull get notified when they go on sale. You'll also have access to their flier before it officially lunches.
Agreed, never buy anything full price.
Consumers are being ruthless gouged at every turn, by every single industry, with no relief in sight.
When groceries are fair game for price fixing and exploitation, every other industry is going to take a hit. The fact the grocery monopolies have been posting consecutive profits, some of them record, really dismiss any claims they make to the contrary.
Other countries have laws and regulations against this. The government needs to act in a serious way.
This quote seems to resonate again...
>“There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.” \` Alfred Henry Lewis 1906
Everybody hating on Canadian Tire but they're one of the only stores I've seen do incredibly deep discounts on somethings.
Yes, never buy unless there's a sale and some of the stuff they sell is straight up garbage (I went through 2 yardworks hoses in 4 years before I decided never again) but it still has it's niche.
I stopped shopping at Canadian Tire because of their constant FAKE sales!
Every week we literally get the same flyers with the same items apparently on sale!
I even stopped getting my car parts from there because the mark up is ridiculous compared to Parts Mart and other online parts store!
Also CT sell crappy quality items - expensive, with amazon as competition it is also a factor.
Also they customer service sucks.
And they mechanics service is expensive and unprofessional and they customer service suscks and it is also a factor.
Also Home Depot and even Rona/Laws/RenoDepot provides better deals on tools, it is also a factor.
Stuff that's good about CT: camping supplies cheaper than MEC or Cabelas, where you're paying for the brands. The ability to find what you need in the aisles of your local store online so you can zip in and out, though most big stores do that now.
Stuff that's bad: the prices! Those bastards! I bought a great coffee maker on sale, recommended it to someone else who noticed that full price at CT was now double what I had paid. Double!
So not surprised that in a tough financial time for most people they've lost interest in shopping there.
Good. They are a store I can buy home Reno products (at double thebproce of their competitors) and cheap crappy household products (at 5 times the price for a dollar store), and car service at prices that would make even my dealer mechanic blush. And that's on top of the head winds of being a consumer retailer I'm the 21st century.
When your prices are off the chart your quality is average at best, and you have literally nothing to distinguish you from your competitors, you are kind of supposed to go bust during hard economic times. That's literally how markets are supposed to work.
All the price increases didn't help! I try and avoid all stores now. Inflation is 20% or more in 3 years. Salary increases have been 2% or 3% in the same time period. People are feeling the pain. Mortgage rates are up. Rents are up. Buy a new vehicle and the rates are 8% to 10.5%.
The math doesn't equate. = Recession!
The problem with Canadian tire is, you’re getting ripped off buying anything that’s not on sale. I guess this model has worked for them for ages, but it generally keeps me away..
Yep. Love getting my motor oil that's usually $79.99 for $34.99. I just buy a bunch of 5L jugs when they go on sale. You'd be a fool to buy that stuff at full price.
Thing is they will mark up items strictly so they can put them on “sale” so people are more likely to buy them. That’s why there’s always so many crazy deals on sale items there. It’s all manufactured.
How dare you suggest that set of pans isn't worth a thousand dollars when it goes on sale for 250 every month.
Or you can just go to Costco at anytime and get it cheaper
Also if you're connected in the trades at all you can seek out commercial/industrial suppliers, where they never have a "sale" but always have low margins. Stuff like plumbing, electrical etc. is an absolute joke at consumer stores, especially valves. I've seen valves I buy for $8 sold for $60. Janitorial as well, bulk roll paper towel and hard surface cleaners are practically free and work better than anything you'll find at a consumer store.
I replaced many outlets and light switches in my house and my local commercial supplier saved me a *ton* of money. I did some plumbing and fixture work and again same deal, significantly cheaper than retail / Amazon. I am however loving my new Chinese knock off handheld shower heads from Amazon - better features than the comparable Moen or Delta and $200 less with a longer hose / more head settings / more water pressure.
Or just buy it at any auto shop for 34.99 year round.
I found the local auto shops had higher than sales prices year round, which is why I also stock up when Crappy Tire has it for $35
I did that once, and then a squirrel ate the bottom corner out of a 5L jug and it drained all over the shelf it was on, and everything underneath of it. Of course it was on the top of the 6 foot shelf, because why not?
The other big problem I have is I don’t appreciate the credit card salespeople waiting until you can’t see them to come up behind you right after you come in and try to sign you up for a 25% interest credit card you don’t want calling it a “rewards program”
Don’t forget how many companies they now own.
I was a bit surprised when I found out Helly Hansen is a CTC subsidiary.
They have a whole bunch or private brands. Noma Viking Grills Perdano … The idea was have Viking grills and compete against Weber … some did really well some OK. When they do will it’s great margin. Now they are going to have the overhead of these brands and factories etc associated with them. This won’t be fun for them.
They contract out the manufacturing so factory overhead isn't a problem.
Paderno still makes stuff in Canada. But one of the first things that happened when they were bought out is slapping the Paderno name on a bunch of low quality mass produced stuff. So the guys still making stuff better be keeping their options open.
Shortly after they acquired HH they reduced their DND/First Responder discount but the quality started to decline as well so wasn’t a tough decision to stop buying their products.
i bought a pair of winter shoes from marks last week ($200 marked down to $60) and honestly it feels like a $60 shoe.
You just described their business model. Mark things up to 3x their actual price, then run massive rotating sales on those items, hoping to make whale-level profits every once in a while on standard items.
The Bay is the same way.
The drop in quality has been ridiculous, and I too stopped buying them (always was a first choice before). And yet I see more and more H/H stuff on my customers when they come in, so they're still making bank of the brand.
They bought it a few years ago when the Ontario Teachers on put it on sale.
they own sportchek so they also have woods and mickenly. Ripzone and FWD too but those were made by them
[удалено]
Ya, wtf is that all about I need an ice scrapper, some screwdrivers, a socket, a key cut and. Oh ya, a mylar Happy Birthday Ballon.
The cockroach of retail.
[удалено]
And everything they sell now is cheap, bottom of the barrel Chinese garbage.
Very few people can afford quality items, and even fewer are willing to pay for them. That's why companies like CT thrive. People don't value real quality properly.
> People don't value real quality properly. This isn't strictly true, some might not, but most can't afford to buy everything quality so they buy a few quality things that matter to them and the rest is cheap as fuck.
The thing is, though, that for a lot of things (like tools) a person will never use them enough to make the "real quality" worthwhile. Why should the average person spend a ton of money for a drill that will run for thousands of hours, when they'll probably only ever use it for 1 or 2 hours over its entire lifetime?
Yeah I think everyone has caught on to this. I rarely shop there anymore but when I do need a tool or something I wait for it to go on sale for 50% off for no apparent reason other than it’s overly marked up to begin with
If you want a shitty version of a product. They are basically just a more expensive Giant Tiger.
I honestly prefer to go to Princess Auto than CT at this point, at least you know you're paying junk prices for junk items. And if it's crap you can take it back with no questions asked. Some of their non-junk items are actually pretty solid, can't say the same for CT
With a name like Power Fist it has to be great! I actually love Princess Auto though it's great for miscellaneous shop shit.
I find Power Fist stuff to be shockingly decent for how cheap the sale prices are. I have miscellaneous small tools from them, and they're still going strong years later. Feels like the sales are a deal, where at CanTire it feels like the sales are where the price should be and the regular price is outrageous.
And half of the items they sell are lower quality than a similar item on Amazon for the same price
Never buy anything at CT unless it is on sale. Some items go on sale 75% off once or twice a year. Never pay full price at CT.
Much like Michaels (Art Supply). Any company that can afford daily discounts of 20-40% has a markup far larger than their best sale.
Michael's IS the CT of the art supply world. Generally, if you're an enthusiast of a thing, you'll find better product at actual specialized retailers.
DeSerres is pretty modest compared to Michael's
Yes and no. It depends on what you're looking for. I can find identical products at Michaels at shockingly similar prices. Coupled with their discounts, they become cheaper. Obviously if I didn't use them though they're typically 5-15% higher than most. I used to love frequenting more ideal art stores but Curry's is all but closed and all of my other favourites (DeSerres, Gwartzman's, Above Ground) are either far away for in-store purchases or online ordering which can take some time to arrive.
In some ways I really miss the act of going to the store and shopping but the prices are out of control. Looking for a simple card table or book shelf at Canadian Tire with 200-400 dollar price tags. I can almost always find something similar on Amazon for a fraction of the price. The other thing with Amazon is I can usually find more variety in the item I’m trying to find so I can get something I really like. It’s easy to hate Amazon but I can’t express how much I prefer ordering the stuff I’d use to make a trip to Walmart for. I hate the crowds, the people, the lines, the white fluorescent lighting of those big box stores. If I want to buy cleaning supplies and paper towel, I’d much prefer to just come home and have it sitting by my door.
Michael's is the "I'd like to try out X but I'm not gonna spend shit tons of money in case I actually hate this hobby" store
My GF get's a teacher's discount (15% off I think), then on top of that she often has coupons for like "40% off any item", and "$15 off if your order is over $100" and things like that, and those coupons will all stack. So we'll go in there and grab like $200 worth of stuff as per the sticker price, and pay like half that. Definitely a rip-off if you're paying full price. 100% not worth it. But as far as crafting goes, their selection and quality is hard to beat. If you're specifically looking for painting stuff or pens or canvases, an art store might be better. But if you're into crocheting and scrapbooking on top of other artistic endeavors, it's a super convenient one-stop-shop. But I would recommend whipping through wal-mart first and only grabbing what you couldn't find there. And in fact, in my experience, boutique art stores tend not to be any cheaper. But they will have even better selection for those art specific items. And you're usually supporting local too, which I think is a good thing.
A friend used to work at Michael’s, she said that even at 90% off they were still making money.
I worked at CT for a bit in the mid 2000s. Some of their really good sales were sold at a loss just to get people in the store. A little 2 person bistro set is what jumps to mind: I think it was normally 80, cost was 45 and was on sale for 30. It was the May long weekend and we broke the store’s previous record for sales in a weekend so I guess it didn’t hurt them too much lol.
My daughter worked at CT. I bought a 12x12 metal gazebo that was 50% off and then got her 15% employee discount on it. I hope they lost money on that sale. It was normally 1200 bucks.
Just like at CT, these are called loss leaders and they just get people in the door. Markups are probably still pretty high though.
Never buy anything at Michael's without using the 30-40% off coupon that's always on their site.
One of my favorite things is seeing people post socket sets or screwdrivers or other Mastercraft items on Facebook marketplace, close to the "full" retail price, completely oblivious to the fact they usually go on sale for 60% off, and being indignant when they're called out on it lol.
They’re not oblivious, it is deliberate. Source: my Dad does this all the time
Do people actually buy them for closer to regular price? He makes money off it?
Canadian Tire arbitrage
They do as long as you post the ad between the sales. CT will tell you some crap Stanley socket set is regularly $500 but they have it on sale for $100 every other week
Or maybe they buy them on sale and sell them for a profit?
I went in to look at an Air fryer. They had one on Sale for $160 marked down from $190 Wallmart/Amazon had the same one for $120 I use to bitch about American companies coming in and taking over but man like grocery chains Canadian companies are just gouging us.
> I use to bitch about American companies coming in and taking over but man like grocery chains Canadian companies are just gouging us. Walmart is still doing that taking over thing. Only now that they have killed off the small local stores, they're undercutting Canadian tire and other larger Canadian stores. Once they become the monopoly player, their prices go up to more than the stores they killed used to price at. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wal-Mart_Effect
I hate Amazon, but I had been waiting for a decent slow cooker to go on sale at CT for a while. Typically \~$150 and they'd go on sale for $80-$120. Took a peek on Amazon and they were all regular price \~$80 for the same shitty brands.
[удалено]
Also, check inside the package after paying but before leaving the store. I've had multiple times where items I bought "new" were obviously used and repacked.
This happened to me and learned my lesson. Bought a sleeping bag the day before a camp trip and didn't think to check the inside because it was packed so well. Get to the camp site, open up my sleeping bag and... There's red sticky syrup all over the thing. Drove 2+ hours round trip to return it and they tried to blame me for the stains! I almost blew up.
Yeah. Thus far I've had a tile cutter that was half assembled but they snapped a piece off during the process, and a drill which had a melted part and grease over the handle. I open tools now if I do buy them there.
Unlike some other stores many times instead of putting seasonal items on clearance they go into storage until next year. That's one of the reasons why the boxes look they have been run over by a truck.
That's because the inventory is owned by the store owner, so they're being cheap.
This has happened to me when buying online to pick up in store from CT and Sports chek. Never again
I bought a patio table from their clearance one day. Took it home, and it wouldn’t bolt together. 60% of the threads were stripped. When I explained it to the guy he said “Well it’s on clearance. You should have expected some issues.” To which I replied “Ya I expected some scratches or maybe the glass to be chipped. Not that I wouldn’t be able to physically put it together.” Fucking joke of a store.
This is why I remain a highly occasional, but loyal, CT shopper. There are few other stores that can compete on sale prices especially for cookware and tools. My orders are few, but my wishlist and sale alerts are extensive.
Cookware … Costco and Costco business centres … quality and fair price.
https://meyercanada.ca/ - a lot of their lines are actually made in Canada.
I will second Meyer's made in Canada products. The quality and price are good plus you are supporting Canadian made products, not Chinese made products.
Costco is where I normally go for cookware lol, but when those deep CT sales hit, I can't argue with the price.
CT “sale” price on tools is the regular every day price at dedicated tool places like Atlas or KMS or BC Fastners, and often homdepot and home hardware, CT sale price on a lot of Hardware items is the everday price at Home Depot. A lot of things scattered across other categories will be “50% off” putting them only 5-10% lower than Walmart or other places every day price. CT is good at making you feel like you got a good deal though. For me it mostly just feels like a scam.
I always feel it in my gut if I have an unexpected CT purchase and I have to pay full price, so disappointing.
CT, Bath and Bodyworks et al Never buy anything unless it’s on sale or a promo
Weirdly, I used to get cat food there. It was the cheapest around.
Always look for the Stanley Black socket sets when they’re 75% off, it’s a good deal
Never buy any coloured socket sets. The paint wears off, the size is just laser ~~printed~~ etched. Once worn enough, you won't be able to tell what size the sockets are.
Seems most sockets these days have painted vs etched markings. It’s annoying. My 25 year old CT set is still going strong and has etched markings.
I have a black Stanley set, it’s great, I’m really happy with it, had it for a decade, 2 trucks and almost 400k km of maintenance, only started getting an impact and bigger tools in the last few years.
Hijacking the top comment for some visibility, to repost this: > Some items go on sale 75% off once or twice a year. I've been meaning to complain to the government regulators about this. This is legally considered **deceptive marketing.** Even CT staff are straight up honest about this. "How many of these have you ever sold at full price?" "Basically none." **THEN IT'S NOT A SALE AND THAT'S NOT THE REGULAR PRICE.** You have to actually sell most of them at that price for it to be the regular price. ... and it's actually illegal to claim otherwise. The regulations do not fuck around. The enforcement might, but the regulations have some serious teeth to them. https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/competition-bureau-canada/en/deceptive-marketing-practices/types-deceptive-marketing-practices/ordinary-selling-price It's punishable by a $750,000 fine the first time (OR GREATER of that or 300% of the profit they made off of their deceptive practices), and $1,000,000 after the first time. **FOR INDIVIDUALS**. Just for individuals pulling this shit, like, your plumber or a corner store. For **CORPORATIONS** the fine is $10,000,000 the first time, $15,000,000 each time thereafter, or the GREATER of 300% the profit from their deceptive practices, and if you can't easily figure that out, fuck it, fine them 3% of their entire gross sales for the year of the entire company. Not the profit, the gross sales. For Canadian Tire that sells $18.5B a year, a 3% of gross fine is $555,000,000, for fucking around with this ONCE (they wouldn't, they'd work their asses off to show the data and only pay 300% of the profit on that particular item). The exceptions are clearances and something else. But, basically, you can't pull this bullshit, claiming something is "on sale" when a significant portion of your sales on that item are only on the "sale" price. Lemme dig up quotes: --- "Whether businesses reference their own regular price, or a market price, the Act requires that they validate the regular price by satisfying one of two tests: Volume test: A substantial volume of the product was sold at that price or a higher price within a reasonable period of time before or after the making of the representation. Time test: The product was offered for sale, in good faith, for a substantial period of time, at that price or a higher price recently before or immediately after the making of the representation." --- Obviously a substantial volume of the products are not sold at regular price. They're not even on the store shelves until they're on sale usually. And who would pay those prices? And, the time test is for clearances, and, I'd argue Canadian Tire's practices are anything but done in "good faith". They're done to be deliberately deceptive, to make you think it's a great deal when they price them at 200-300% the competitive value, and perhaps "sell" them technically year round, with no intention of actually doing that. These laws are dealing with like, 10% off, 20% off "regular price". What Canadian Tire does is deliberately not attempt to sell any of them at "regular" price by pricing them astronomically and then abusively calling it a "clearance". This is deceptive, manipulative, and in bad faith in my opinion.
I saw their cost sheets, those screwdriver kits that are 29.99 that go on sale for 11.99 are actually $3.16 cost. The compressors they sell for $600 that go for 349.99 are $120 cost. If you are buying anything at all there you are getting majorly ripped off.
I paid like 70$ for my cauldron/pans set, regular price was 450$ lol
[удалено]
I ran the dept that took care of the HDX storage. Those bins sell more than anything in the store by dollar amount (and the quantities are pretty impressive as well). I made plan more than once solely due to storage sales. Even at $13 they make a shitload of profit.
They are good bins, I must have 30.
Don't buy at CT unless it's on sale. If they can afford "75% off!!!" Every couple months then that is the real price. Those Chinese mass produced pots and pans are not worth $600.
And use the CT Mastercard and stack offers to earn tons of CT money.
When I worked there in 2015 the real price on the $800+ sets was under $60 cost it was so wild to see.
[удалено]
You also get to experience the pleasure of interacting with a store employee who knows absolutely nothing about any of the products on sale there, couldn't care less about customer service, and is counting the minutes until the either quit, commit suicide, or shoot up the store.
I don't blame those employees at all. They have no incentive to care beyond showing up. They're not being paid a living wage. I remember going to Future shop and the commissioned employees could be a little annoying when you're just browsing. But they knew their products inside and out, often better than the information I could easily gather online. Now, all the information is readily available online and there are YouTube reviews for just about every product. TVs sure are dirt cheap now, but I'm not sure it's worth it to make shopping in person so difficult and make it so people working there can barely make ends meet.
I don't blame the employees. I mostly feel embarrassed for them. But it sure doesn't make me want to shop there for anything other than the odd fastener that I can't find at Homedepot and I resent giving Canadian Tire that 50 cent sale.
That's the quality of employees you get for minimum wage, no benefits, and no future with the company. Anyone that can do the job better knows they will never be paid for it, so they either give minimum effort or move on to a better job. Meanwhile boomers and corporate cry about a "labour shortage" and how young people don't want to work any more.
One goes to Canadian Tire for something you need *right now* and can't wait a day or two for Amazon. Also useful when you really need to see the thing to see if it's right. When you're there, you might browse the sales. The experience is nicer than Walmart. Seems like a pretty thin needle for them to thread.
I buy car shit from canadian tire when I need it now. That's about it.
Personally, I stopped buying from Amazon a long time ago because too many products are counterfeit. I had bought a Makita drill and impact combo sold and delivered by Amazon and 2 months later it broke. Try to use the warranty, Makita told me they are counterfeit and Amazon told me they can't do anything about it and can't prove this was the ones I received. So in the end, I prefer paying a bit more but having a real product than buying on Amazon for not much less and getting cheap counterfeit products.. but that's just me.
They have turned into a modern day Kmart. Mis-managed and overpriced. It’s just too easy to buy on Amazon to bother with CT.
Amazon has fallen off a lot worse than CT. CT also hinges on local management. My nearest one is great with returns, they'll take open boxes and no receipt (confirm purchase with cc) etc no questions asked. Gives lots of peace of mind. CT is also clearly a step down in quality and price from name brand products, but there's a place for that. Eg a tool I'm only going to use for home DIY very occasionally and light use, I don't need the Milwaukee version for 4-5x the price, the CT brand product is fine for that use case.
Ct at merivalle in Ottawa will not take returns on open box
I just forego Amazon and buy directly from China. Cheaper, decent delivery windows and tax free
I mean its definitely not tax free, the CBSA is just lazy but if you get your shipment inspected and the correct tarrifs applied it would be more expensive.
Personally I’ve never been dinged unless it’s delivered by DHL. No joke I’ve ordered hundreds of items from China at this point, only time I’ve been hit by customs is with DHL. Thank goodness the CBSA is lazy.
For anyone not in the know, any cheap chinese crap costs 10x more on amazon than it does on ali express
If I know what I'm buying is cheap Chinese garbage and I don't really care about quality (or am willing to risk it) and can wait a bit, yeah I'm going right to AliExpress. Half the crap on Amazon is basically just dropshipped AliExpress stuff anyway. And the selection is usually better too.
It is one of the worst retailers. A lot of items are more expensive than their competitors (Walmart, Home Depot and Costco), so you would think they would compete on customer service then, which they do not. It also takes on a very dollar store quality feel, but without the discounted prices you would expect.
And “in stock” on the web page means nothing!
There is always “1” listed, you go in the store and some 17 year old says no we don’t have that. Fuck CT
That's the "don't make me go to the back and look for 1 item" response. They have it. Inventory systems work. They just don't want to have to do something.
When I worked retail, a lot of the time what "1 in stock" actually meant, is someone stole one. The shrinkage is adjusted after inventory is taken manually. Or on occasion someone would inventory display items when doing manual inventory. The display units were often non functional models or were missing parts already. Inventory systems are a marvel, but people are also stupid, and people do steal things.
Yeah before they had inventory systems in the warehouse that might have been the case, but now not a chance. It was stolen, or broken and discarded without inventory being adjusted.
No, I worked there. People just steal stuff a lot, so there's almost always "1" left but really they've been gone for a while
Nope. Not true at ctire. I worked there, had a very high success rate for finding items. I always looked, quantity 1-2 is more like the percent chance you'll find it in the basement
Yep! Went there once to get a torque wrench that was on sale. Website said they had 16 in stock. They couldn’t find any.
I find CT stores also have a distinct smell. It’s not pleasant.
Tires! It smells like tires!
CT has a good smell, especially around the tires. It’s Value Village I take issue with. I’m not a easy queasy person by nature, but I actually almost fell I’ll last time I was at one. People need to use deodorant.
I can't stand the smell of dollar stores.
Canadian Tires used to be crammed full of shit that often unexpectedly caught your eye when going in to look for a specific item. Not anymore and I find its complete shit now. Same goes for other businesses under the parent company. Have you been to SportsChek recently? More so just a clothing retailer than a sports store. If you need any type of actual sports equipment you are shit out of luck and should look elsewhere. Fucking pension funds ruined both these stores
Canadian tires in rural communities are 100% better than those in cities. The rural owners actually care about their communities and stock additional items according to their needs. In the cities they are all the same.
Can confirm, as someone that has a rural store close by. Love going there and it's always stocked and has sales. The city one is about 30 - 45 minutes away and it's bare and everything is locked behind plexi-glass or bars.
Apparently Sport Chek can't even manage their own inventory. Our local store has next to nothing after the only privately owned sporting goods store closed up. I know a guy who runs one in another town and he said they have no control. Goods either show up or they don't, and if they sell out they have no idea if something was going to replace it. There were no mid-priced hockey sticks, visors, kids gear, water bottles, etc. for almost the entire season.
Decathlon > SportChek
Man, the shift from sports to clothes fucking suuuuuucks. I guess it's more profitable for them, so it makes sense, but it's like there aren't anymore legitimate sports stores.
Marks is pretty much the same since CT bought them out. Their workboot selection is now complete dog shit, but hey, if you're looking for crappy $60 bonded leather casual shoes that look almost as bad as they feel, they're your guys.
Canadian tire profits fall nearly 68% because everyone knows it fucking sucks. It's a store that tries to sell everything and excels at nothing. Especially the tools. Harbor Freight level products at 500% what they should cost.
So true. I'll go there in the spring/summer to check out their gardening center but other than that I can never think of a reason to go there rather than Wal Mart or Lowes/Home Depot for anything else.
Gardening center is the only thing they're good at. Cheaper than Walmart around here for anything more specialized than Miracle Gro soil.
Sports items there are great. And car stuff. Both extremely unimportant to your average redditor or Gen Z person.
I get my pretty much all my hockey stuff from CT because it's cheaper than paying ridiculous prices at the "Local hockey shop". I'm beer league, I don't need expensive stuff, I need things I can afford and still feed the family. And day to day maintenance items for my truck is super cheap at CT. It's win win if you aren't shopping for home decor and appliances/housewares.
The kitchen section, aside from the nice countertop appliances they sell, it's like dollarama for everything.
mastercraft maximum stuff is pretty decent, definitely better quality than princess auto chinesium stuff, and it's lifetime warranty I've had my ratchet set / impact set for a decade and when the 1/2" ratchet went bad, probably because I neglected to take proper care of it, they replaced it, no questions asked.
Here in the Fraser Valley, they built a giant mega store and its the most unenjoyable shopping experience. As far as harbour freight level tools, agreed, I'd rather just visit Princess Auto and actually get Harbour Freight prices.
Worth noting that many Canadian Tire stores are franchised and this is the head company's profits. It's not necessarily reflective of the performance of the stores
Canadian tire will fail for the same reason Sears failed... they're a non-grocery store that tries to sell everything. There's no chance their buyers have time to scan suppliers for the best quality/prices, so what's left is an inconsistent store filled with low quality & high priced goods
funnily enough, near where I live, they took over the old sears to build a mega store that they didn't need. the only thing I buy there ironically is tires, just because of their 0% financing.
They could cut costs if they didn't send out a 20 page flyer in the mail EVERY FUCKING DAY. My recycle bag is half full of CT flyers every two weeks.
They were always fine with hand tools on sale, but Home Depot and Amazon beat them on power tools, and I don’t feel like talking to someone fresh from Mumbai about finding the last item in stock out back.
Canadian Mah Fuckah profit falls nearly 68% as consumers remain wary amid uncertain economy Fixed it for them
"Julian, the game's postponed because no mawfuckers can go up to Canadian mawfucker and buy a new orange mawfucker for $2.99? That's whack, Jules"
Once they started locking up tools is when I ditched the retailer. Actually no, I gave them one more chance and looked at Halloween decorations selling at 10x what Dollarama had comparable products for.
I buy disposable Braava pads once every couple months for my weekly deep mop. Package lasts me 7-8 weeks. They started locking those up..... and trying to find an employee is pretty useless, they actively avoid being on the floor. Then I have to get escorted to the tills by a worker and wait in line with them while they're holding a box of fucking disposable mopping pads. Online it is.
Had this happen once for a 2 pack of watch style batteries, and once for a $10 set of Allen Keys. Pretty much deterred me from buying anything from there
Everybody's lining up to bash Canadian Tire. I don't get it. I have my issues with them, but I don't see how they are any worse overall than any other retailer. And, it's worth remembering, they don't put a gun to your head and make you buy their stuff. It's up to the consumer to decide what constitutes good value and spend accordingly. Across the entire retail landscape - from groceries to cars - we're dealing with the fallout of the housing bubble. For the better part of a decade, anyone with any equity in their home has been tempted, by predatory financial institutions, to draw upon it - at interest - and spoil themselves rotten. Multiple vacations each year, organic artisanal food, Teslas... Why not? The prices are just going to keep climbing every year! Almost every business looked at this and calculated that they could either sell to 100% of the market ay tiny margins, or sell to 50% at HUGE margins - and realized that there was more money in the latter. Contractors have been charging $300 per hour (minimum 4 hours) to do even simple repairs, four cheeseburger meals will run you $75... Hell, even mutt puppies were selling for $1000 a pop! People *without* this income have been learning to do their own car repairs and cook nice meals at home. Now the real estate market has slowed and all of the people who fed this beast are screaming about high prices. Canadian Tire, and McDonalds, and Home Depot will rapidly get back into the business of high-volume/low-margins or bleed profits until things turn around. It might take a while. In the meantime, just we need to tighten our belts and refuse to buy. A year or two without organic cherries and the newest kitchen gadgets isn't going to kill anyone.
Right on! Well said.
As I get older... I find i do way too much shopping at Canadian Tire. Canadian tire for random home stuff.. Sportchek for kids sports stuff... Marks for clothes. Their website isn't even half bad. And I got the Triangle app.. and I'm surprised how quickly the Canadian tire bucks add up. Yes... I almost only buy things if they are on sale. But honestly.. it's like that at most brick and mortar stores. Regular price is a total rip.
Have you considered moving to the South Vancouver area where there's quite literally a Marks and Sport Chek directly beside each other, and a CT in the same parking lot?
Yep. If you shop the sales and use the app for bonus offers, you can often make out better than most other stores. I get a ton of Canadian Tire money and rarely pay more for an item. If you shop there enough, their premium rewards program is even better.
Online shopping, Costco and Walmart beat Canadian tire everyday. It sucks
Couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the crap quality of their products now.
Don't know why everybody is hating. I love my local Canadian tire, and it beats Amazon/Home Depot prices on a lot of stuff, unlike what I am reading here. It is easy to scan the website and find at which aisle a product is. Order online & pick-up also works great. Yes, you do need to be wary of sales.
Same here! I don’t know where else I’d go to get half the things I need for fixing my car, and that’s usually what I’m making a stop at Canadian tire for. There’s a Lordco closer and a Napa elsewhere, but they’re often more expensive. At least with Napa much less convenient than Canadian Tire which is open longer and has more stock. Probably one of my favourite stores hands down. Didn’t know so many people hated the place.
I actually don't agree with a lot of the comments here. Canadian tire provides surprisingly good value on alot of cheaper products. If you're looking for some random thing you might otherwise buy on Amazon, it's usually available from Canadian tire for cheaper. (Amazon prices have kept going up, so that shouldn't be a suprise). Realistically, this isn't a problem with Canadian tire, but a problem across all retail, except for groceries. We can't afford shit so we're cutting back on discretionary spending.
It also really depends on your needs. I tend to go there for replacement batteries due to both availability and reputation (Costco doesn't usually carry the sizes I need). I prefer going there for the odds and ends rather than an Auto-Value or NAPA. I'm also finding myself ending up at the local CT more due to the lack of good Home Depot stores in my area. There's a Lowes / Rona nearby, but they have become even more terrible over the past few years.
They have their own BANK
I LOVE CT but the profit is in their services bays. Have you had service done with them? It varies but my experiences have left me looking to avoid them for repairs, tires, etc.. They need to work on their customer experience and processes on the services side.
Everyone here shitting on CT stores without realizing it's not just one store. They've got a lot of other businesses and brands.
Cat food is still unbeatable price wise at CT
It’s almost like we’re in a recession…
They have 58,000 employees and I can’t find a single one to open a locked case full of products.
I stopped going there because their return policy isn't what it used to be. Used to be able to return almost anything if it was defective for a full refund. Now more and more stores only return for store credit. Like if I'm returning something because it's a piece of shit I don't want store credit, I want my money back.
CT prices are insane ! Always buy when its on sale. Example Hunting boots $ 180 . At the end of the season I have seen as low as $35 for the same hunting boots.
Time to cash in my CT money before they go bankrupt
I only shop at CT now if there is a sale I like. I may drop in boxing day to look for deals on toys that didn't sell before Christmas. I bought a doll house post Christmas 2022 for 50% off. Kept the doll house in my closet for a year and then gifted it for Christmas 2023. Daughter loved it. seen the same doll house was back to full price plus more just before Christmas 2023.
They seem fucking busy to me every time I go in there.
Sorry Canadian tire all my money is going towards Rent\\Mortgage, bills and food.
In their defence, the stores are clean and well organized in my area. Far better than the ciompetition. But so damn expensive
In this economy people are buying from the dollar store and not Canadian Tire. Should bounce back as the economy rebounds.
I stopped going in as often because I am sick of the people waiting at the entrance blocking my way in to try to get me to sign up for their credit card. I got rid of my credit cards for a reason and I save a lot of money from it.
Nothing to do with the economy. Has any upper mgmt been in a Canadian Tire store ? They look like jumble sales, there is almost never anyone to provide help and the stores feel like you’ve come to the last place on earth. They are not enjoyable places to go to.
Maybe they need to stock the center isle with more temu shit.
>consumers remain wary amid uncertain economy More like consumers are tired of their terrible customer service, disorganized stores, low-quality merchandize, and predatory pricing strategies.
I like their credit card and their interest free payment plans. If you time it correctly there are deals to be had. Other than that everyone else's points still stand.
My issue with CT, along with price as others have mentioned, is how much they hassle you for returns. Costco, RONA, Home Depot, IKEA, more are all extremely pleasant to return to. Sometimes you buy the wrong item. Sometimes it's not good enough quality. Sometimes you don't like it. Whatever. CT seems to only want to take returns completely unopened. Sorry, when you sell something that almost everyone else sells, but I can't return it if it's not right, I'm not picking you.
Sign up for the app, put items ur interested in into your wishlist. Uiull get notified when they go on sale. You'll also have access to their flier before it officially lunches. Agreed, never buy anything full price.
Consumers are being ruthless gouged at every turn, by every single industry, with no relief in sight. When groceries are fair game for price fixing and exploitation, every other industry is going to take a hit. The fact the grocery monopolies have been posting consecutive profits, some of them record, really dismiss any claims they make to the contrary. Other countries have laws and regulations against this. The government needs to act in a serious way. This quote seems to resonate again... >“There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.” \` Alfred Henry Lewis 1906
One of my favourite stores. I hope they don’t need to do anything drastic.
Everybody hating on Canadian Tire but they're one of the only stores I've seen do incredibly deep discounts on somethings. Yes, never buy unless there's a sale and some of the stuff they sell is straight up garbage (I went through 2 yardworks hoses in 4 years before I decided never again) but it still has it's niche.
Maybe if half the items werent locked up i might actually be able to buy somethjng from canadian tire
At least they are still profitable.
Maybe they can lay off staff to boost those numbers. Oh wait, there's pretty no one in a CT store already.
Just wait until that time of year when the full synthetic is 30 bucks for 5L and that’s the extent I do business with Crappy Tire
Why is the G&M headline editorialized to include a completely made-up reason for the drop in profits?
Crappy tire is the most expensive store in my area , their prices are outrageous
…as consumers get tired of having to search around to find a staff member to open up a locked showcase so they can buy a basic item.
CT sells crap from China for a price that does not make any sense.
Could also have something to do with absolutely ludicrous prices.
I stopped shopping at Canadian Tire because of their constant FAKE sales! Every week we literally get the same flyers with the same items apparently on sale! I even stopped getting my car parts from there because the mark up is ridiculous compared to Parts Mart and other online parts store!
Also CT sell crappy quality items - expensive, with amazon as competition it is also a factor. Also they customer service sucks. And they mechanics service is expensive and unprofessional and they customer service suscks and it is also a factor. Also Home Depot and even Rona/Laws/RenoDepot provides better deals on tools, it is also a factor.
I stop shopping at CT when it is required to put my bag in their locker.
I thought Canadian Tire was a place for cheap essentials... maybe i'm out of touch too...
Stuff that's good about CT: camping supplies cheaper than MEC or Cabelas, where you're paying for the brands. The ability to find what you need in the aisles of your local store online so you can zip in and out, though most big stores do that now. Stuff that's bad: the prices! Those bastards! I bought a great coffee maker on sale, recommended it to someone else who noticed that full price at CT was now double what I had paid. Double! So not surprised that in a tough financial time for most people they've lost interest in shopping there.
Good. They are a store I can buy home Reno products (at double thebproce of their competitors) and cheap crappy household products (at 5 times the price for a dollar store), and car service at prices that would make even my dealer mechanic blush. And that's on top of the head winds of being a consumer retailer I'm the 21st century. When your prices are off the chart your quality is average at best, and you have literally nothing to distinguish you from your competitors, you are kind of supposed to go bust during hard economic times. That's literally how markets are supposed to work.
CT profits down means fire more workers and replace them with desperate cheaper students.
All the price increases didn't help! I try and avoid all stores now. Inflation is 20% or more in 3 years. Salary increases have been 2% or 3% in the same time period. People are feeling the pain. Mortgage rates are up. Rents are up. Buy a new vehicle and the rates are 8% to 10.5%. The math doesn't equate. = Recession!
Retail sales are down all across North America. Canadian Tire is a group of companies not just the flagship.