Note to FTD....

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Mikey the Flower Guy

Mikey the Flower Guy

It's a GREAT DAY to live, and love!
Nov 10, 2002
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Dundas, Ontario, Canada
www.hamiltonflorists.com
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Ontario
to Mike S, and Frank S.

this is NOT meant to be an incendiary message for you guys!!
We are losing orders going to the US from our direct clients as a result of the current exchange rate between Canada and the US. Our customers have really wised up as to how the "system" works, and are unwilling to fund the "system" exchange rate, and the true current rate differential.
We therefore, from here on, will be sending ALL our US and US required currency orders shop to shop direct until this issue has been resolved!!
ALSO, as a SIDE NOTE, also please be advise that as of July 1st, 2006, our GST tax rate drops from 7% to 6% and we hope you are prepared for the rate change as of that date!!
thanks for listening...hope you respond when you are able, asap....
Your friends, and business partners,
Mikey & Sandie
 
When I send orders to you up in Canada I assume you correctly deduct the GST from the order.. so the fact that it is dropping should be of no concern to me,, right?? I tell my customers that the Canadian taxes will be deducted from the order dollar amount (but I do not do the math) so they need to send a little more money.. But as of July 1st you guys will deduct 1% less from my orders...right?
 
Also if they can teach US shops on how to send canadian it would help also. Some are clueless.....
Luc
 
Luc said:
Also if they can teach US shops on how to send canadian it would help also. Some are clueless.....
Luc
Click to expand...
Meaning?? Is it a spelling thing...color=colour ;)

Seriously, I have never had a complaint, and far as I know even an ASK for more money on an order to Canada...what does $55.00 (inc del) get us "clueless" US shops (just pok'n ya Luc, but serious on the dollar amt)
 
Mikey the Flower Guy said:
55.00 US + current FTD exchange, less GST
Click to expand...
So the answer would be that you would be :) with that amount?
 
the current ACTUAL...

exchange rate is now HALF of what FTD is using as their base exchange rate, and my customers are not willing to "subsidize" the difference between 20 % (FTD's current rate) and 10% which is now the actual rate.
Am I happy.....you mean when I lose business??...ummmmmm:hammer:
 
Actually, Mikey, it's currently 12.3% - but that's list rate, so a realistic amount from a bank or credit card would be around 15% give or take a bit. The average for past few months has been about 15%.

Live mid-market rates as of 2006.06.17 19:31:53 UTC. 1.00 USD
United States Dollars = 1.12285 CAD
Canada Dollars 1 USD = 1.12285 CAD
1 CAD = 0.890591 USD
Click to expand...
 
It's the shop that sends me a order in US dollar for a codified item and they base their selling price for the us amount. By the time you do the exchange, take out the GSt and delivery, the amount is below the SRP in canadian dollars. And when you call these people espicially HQ, they do not have a clue on what you are saying or asking. I tell them to read up in the membership book but they think you are jerking them around.
I get many US orders and as long as I have enough the orders get filled.
Luc
 
ok....give me an easy example

I sell roses for out of town for a total of 74.99 US...it is going to Canada....what do you guys "get" from that.
Or a spring vase for a toal of 50...maybe a picture in the workbook....we sell it to our customers for 50 including del...so what do you need....just the facts Jack..all this tax and stuff is too confusing...
Would it work to just ask for ten bucks more for an order going to ya???
Sher

ps: Your tax situation is a nightmare....how do you stand it???
 
Sher,
In New Brunswick, Nova Scotia & Newfoundland & Labrador there is HST (15%) instead of GST (at 7%) so I'll use these 3 Provinces for the example.

If you send an order of US$ 50.00 inc del via FTD (20% re Mikey) it goes like this. 50.00 x 1.2= C$ 60.00 - 18% (this 18% is shown in the front of the FTD directory and is decided by Revenue Canada to be equivalent to 15% because of what amount they use as a base!!??)=49.20 - delivery 6.00 (ours) = 43.20.

If you sent me the same order on a credit card (for comparison we'll ignore any discount) I would charge you 43.20 + del 6.00 = 49.20 + HST 15%=56.58 in C$ and your credit card company will charge you card in US$ approx 51.00 depending on what exchange they use.

Since we're no longer in FTD or TF we just charge the price less any discount plus del plus 15%; very simply from our point of view!

The other provinces are different with some requiring collection of provincial tax in addition to the GST of 7%.

For anyone in a WS it is confusing but everyone involved should use the tables in the front of the directories to be on the same page.

Rock on.................

PS Sorry about the facts Sher ! :)
 
Sher said:
I sell roses for out of town for a total of 74.99 US...it is going to Canada....what do you guys "get" from that.
Or a spring vase for a toal of 50...maybe a picture in the workbook....we sell it to our customers for 50 including del...so what do you need....just the facts Jack..all this tax and stuff is too confusing...
Would it work to just ask for ten bucks more for an order going to ya???
Sher

ps: Your tax situation is a nightmare....how do you stand it???
Click to expand...
Adding to Sher (but not reading the second page yet), if a shop is codified in the books for roses at $79./doz arr...is that Canadian price or US price?
How much more confusing can we get? Which is why I have called Hugh directly!!
 
Rock, If I'm reading your numbers correctly, orders from the US to those Canadian provinces (Nova Scotia & Newfoundland & Labrador) currently cost slightly less if purchased from FTD.com or a US affiliate here than if bought direct from a shop in the province. This appears to be due to the tax issue (15% - yikes!) and FTDs conversion chart being out-of-sync with real-time currency conversion numbers.

The opposite, FTD Canadian affiliates comparing unfavorably to direct purchases made in the US (also because of the out-of-sync currency conversion), places members there at a disadvantage. Is that also correct?

If the numbers are so unfavorable, why are there so many Canadian OGs targeting US consumers for US fulfillment? Do they get different treatment than most shops? Do they gain an advantage if their sites are priced in US dollars?

Do more orders flow into or out of Canada from the US via FTD?
 
Many OG's clear CC in US funds, and have US sending numbers.

Ryan
 
Rock said:
Sher,
In New Brunswick, Nova Scotia & Newfoundland & Labrador there is HST (15%) instead of GST (at 7%) so I'll use these 3 Provinces for the example.

If you send an order of US$ 50.00 inc del via FTD (20% re Mikey) it goes like this. 50.00 x 1.2= C$ 60.00 - 18% (this 18% is shown in the front of the FTD directory and is decided by Revenue Canada to be equivalent to 15% because of what amount they use as a base!!??)=49.20 - delivery 6.00 (ours) = 43.20.


The other provinces are different with some requiring collection of provincial tax in addition to the GST of 7%.


PS Sorry about the facts Sher ! :)
Click to expand...

So... If I send a total of $50.00 US you figure you get $49.20.. well isn' t that close enough?? and that is assuming you are in a provence that uses the 15% tax as opposed to a provence that only has GST.(7%) (and didn't you just say that GST is going down to 6% next month?)

I understand you take out for delivery..but so do all the rest of us. So without getting a headache from all the math the easy answer at least for now is that if I send in US dollars an appropriate amount after all taxes are taken out the exchange rate gives you that same dollar amount in Canadian dollars.. right?.. and since we buy a lot of our flowers from Canada I am assuming your COGS at least for many flowers is lower than ours (because we must pay more freight)

I am not arguing that the FTD set rate of exchange is correct.. maybe they need to figure out a way to vary it as the exchange rate (daily??)changes..kind of like the CC companies do..but even these companies fudge a little..clearing the cards on the day that gives them the best rate.

I am only saying that if I give you $50.US.. you get pretty close to $50.Canadian and your COGS is not higher than ours so what is the problem??
 
Years ago, when the exchange rate was higher, when we received an order from the good old USA, we had extra money to cover easy the tax, extra delivery charged etc. Now because the exchange is so close to the real amount, we need to receive more to cover those expenses.
I will venture out that a lot of florist in the USA do not know about the exchange and tax table in thier directory.
My pet peeve is not with most florists, it is with the OG, or wire service.com orders that are at USA SRP. When they send those orders, even with little bit of exchange etc. they still do not meet their Canadian SRP. I had many orders where I would send for more money only to have the orders cancelled right away.
Luc
 
carol said:
So... If I send a total of $50.00 US you figure you get $49.20.. well isn' t that close enough?? and that is assuming you are in a provence that uses the 15% tax as opposed to a provence that only has GST.(7%) (and didn't you just say that GST is going down to 6% next month?)

I understand you take out for delivery..but so do all the rest of us. So without getting a headache from all the math the easy answer at least for now is that if I send in US dollars an appropriate amount after all taxes are taken out the exchange rate gives you that same dollar amount in Canadian dollars.. right?.. and since we buy a lot of our flowers from Canada I am assuming your COGS at least for many flowers is lower than ours (because we must pay more freight)

I am not arguing that the FTD set rate of exchange is correct.. maybe they need to figure out a way to vary it as the exchange rate (daily??)changes..kind of like the CC companies do..but even these companies fudge a little..clearing the cards on the day that gives them the best rate.

I am only saying that if I give you $50.US.. you get pretty close to $50.Canadian and your COGS is not higher than ours so what is the problem??
Click to expand...
Don't know what your freight rates are , but our freight works out to near 35% of the value of goods, especially on cuts which are all shipped by air. A couple of suppliers do us big favours on ground by only charging 10-15% , that includes FTD.
 
Shouldn't overhead be factored into the equation? Just curious.

V
 
I'll take Sher's math! (extra 25%) :)

CHR, you're correct that the money supplied would be about the same but there would extra cost to the consumer with the service fee through OG's of course. Shops in the other provinces would receive more (since their tax is 7% instead of 15%).

Infinite was correct with the emphasis on the Canadian OG is targeting US shops BUT charge in US $ not C$. Sorry I don't know the figures between Canada % the US.

Carol, the is no problem strictly with the dollar side EXCEPT that US shops assume that they should get more because of the exchange.

Now keep in mind every florists' costs vary, sometimes greatly, and those florists' costs outside Toronto area increase more of course as you go further away. We pay 30 - 40 % extra JUST to cover the freight on shipments from wholesalers in Ontario.

We buy alot of SA product through a broker so it lands in Miami, like yours, but is then trucked by reefer to Toronto (additional cost), and then shipped by air to us (BIG extra cost). So our COGS IS higher. The SRP's used by the WS's never took into account the difference in landed cost between Miami florists and those of us farther away and because once upon a time florists' margins weren't so pressured by various competition so it was easier to turn a blind eye every now and then.

Rock on..............
 
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