星报专讯/随着加元继续坚挺，有迹象表明，消费者开始转向购买以美元标价的商品，不管他们是在网上还是在商店出售。
加拿大电子湾公司(Ebay Canada Inc.)昨日表示，公司网站上以美元标价的商品销量上月增加23%。有些种类商品，如家用电器、医疗和美容品、电子游戏，其美元标价商品销量增幅更高。电子湾区域经理斯罗思(Andrew Sloss)昨日接受电话采访时说：“销售量大幅增加。加拿大人越来越喜欢用美元消费。”
与此同时，越来越多的加拿大零售商在最近几周宣布降价。德信证券零售业分析师豪利特( Keith Howlett)说，这显示自从加元汇率飙升后，加拿大商家的销售下降。他说，现在还不知道，商家降价对未来盈利有何影响，这取决于这些零售商是否已经和供货商达成了新合约。豪利特说，以加拿大轮胎(Canadian Tire)为例，他们似乎已经和供货商一起分担损失。但豪利特也指出，汇率并非加国商家销售量下降的唯一罪魁祸首，今年秋季气候比往年温暖，也伤害了服饰的销售。
到美购物是否划算受质疑
有些加拿大零售商指出，如果把税收、经纪费用和关税计算在内，到美国购物并不划算。不过，斯罗思就表示，电子湾没有把任何这种费用加给消费者。他还说，老练的消费者能弄清之间的区别，网站有很多访客是回头客。
另外，有些消费者昨日还抱怨，加拿大商家宣布的降价有许多附加条件，令人大失所望。瑞诺(Bill Reno)得知Chapters的任何书籍都降价10%后前往购物，但他发现打折需要符合严格的附加条件，十分失望。他说，结帐时他被告之，只有最贵的书籍才能打折，而且总购买额必须在35元以上。瑞诺提出以书籍上印刷的较低美元价格付帐，但遭到拒绝。
另一名消费者抱怨说，她在沃尔玛可以按照书籍美元价格付帐，但按加元付帐可以享受25%折扣，按美元付帐就没有，所以按美元付帐反而更贵。沃尔玛上周宣布，同时印有美元和加元价格的书籍、杂志、礼品包和礼品卡，顾客可选择用美元或加元付帐。
Manson’s Chandlery老板梅森(Lori Mason)说，如果加拿大零售商不立即降价，将失去顾客，最终会伤害到自己。梅森说，她为了留住客户，甚至按照亏本价格出售某些商品。她说，这样作只是想清空存货，然后以更好的新价进货。梅森已经向供货商施压，要求他们降价。不过供货商表示，他们的处境和零售商一样，都是在半年前进货，那时加元汇价低于美国，而且加拿大的商业成本也高于美国。
联邦财政部长昨日则表示，看到数家加拿大零售商开始降价，“倍受鼓舞”。
车行大减价免客南流
本田最多回赠5500元 福特更达7000元
明报/加拿大消费者抱怨零售商不肯降价，反映加元强势，不少人说要南下购物，抵制加拿大商人。加拿大福特(Ford)和本田(Honda)面对愤怒的消费者，决定大幅降价，顺应民意，减价高达7,000元。
加拿大福特公司及加拿大本田汽车公司有巨额退款，人们用现金买Pilot Crossover全功能车，可获回赠5,500元。本田家庭房车思域(Civic)，可获1,500元，Accord一些型号获回赠4,000元。
福特以退款方式降低售价，部分型号优惠最多7,000元。
两家汽车厂力图挽留加拿大消费者，公司代表均说，加币强劲，人们不满美国车标价，是降价的主要原因。
汽车业10月销售放缓，汽车生意欠佳，因为加元强劲，许多人暂停购车计划，似乎要等货劳税(GST)明年1月再减1个百分点。
加拿大零售商纷纷减价，财政部长费拉逖(Jim Flaherty)周一说，他很高兴几个加拿大零售商减价。
费拉逖不讳言加币升势未止，再次考验加拿大制造业，消费者不满在加拿大买美国货比较贵。他说最近政府已宣布减税，协助调整物价，走“正确方向”。
费拉逖又说，物价不由政府订定，但政府有要求零售商调整价格，反映加币增强的购买力。
加元兑107.18美仙 再创高峰
加元周一再上高峰，攀升0.14美仙，创美金107.18仙新纪录，比周五破50年的纪录更高。加币不断上升，主要推力是正面的经济数据、美元疲软。
加元强势 边境桥增减行车收费
此外，加、美边境桥梁行车收费有调整，反映加元升值强势。在尼亚加拉瀑布区，3条主要边境桥梁本月中旬更改行车费。
从11月15日起，民众经彩虹(Rainbow)、刘易斯顿－昆斯顿(Lewiston-Queenston)、漩涡急流(Whirlpool Rapids)等桥梁返回安省，过桥费调低25仙，从3.5加元减至3.25加元。过桥美金收费调高25仙，由3元增至3.25元。
纽约州水牛城(Buffalo)和安省伊利堡(Fort Erie)之间的和平桥(Peace Bridge)，收费暂时维持50仙差额，最少要到水牛城和伊利堡公共桥梁管理局(Bufffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority)的11月16日会议为止。
在安省西温莎－底特律隧道(Windsor-Detroit Tunnel)和蓝水桥(Bluewater Bridge)，收费已有调整，以反映加元更高的币值。尼亚加拉瀑布桥梁局(Niagara Falls Bridge Commission)的加拉格尔(Brent Gallaugher)说，调整收费率，要反映美元长久的疲态，美元兑加元一直下跌，现在加元和美元的兑换率超过1.06美元。
Delayed, rebuked for cross-border shopping trip, say Canadians
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 6, 2007 | 1:13 AM ET
CBC News
A group of Canadians say they were chastised and forced to wait for hours in a bus at a border crossing between Buffalo, N.Y., and Fort Erie, Ont., because they had spent the weekend shopping in the U.S.
The trouble for the shoppers, part of a group of 20, started when the bus arrived at the Peace Bridge border crossing on Sunday afternoon, said Angela Deason, a teacher from Barrie, Ont., who was on the vehicle.
“We had an amazing time until we tried getting back into our country. We were stuck at the border in excess of five hours and treated very badly,” said Deason.
The group, which had planned the trip months ago and included a pregnant woman, said they patiently waited in the bus as other vehicles passed by. Some of the shoppers snapped photos of empty lanes at the crossing.
After waiting five hours, Deason said she left the bus to ask a Canadian border guard about the delay. Deason said she was shocked by the response from the guard.
“He expressed very loudly, ‘It’ll take hours and hours and hours. Thank you for contributing to the U.S. economy, but I hope you got a good deal.'”
Some of the shoppers said they felt threatened.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong. We have a fair trade agreement,” said Deason.
“I felt targeted, in a way,” said Canadian shopper Jessica Gorr.
Border agency investigating
Officials with the Canada Border Services Agency said the bus was held for hours because of heavy traffic, including 65 buses filled with roughly 3,000 Canadian shoppers.
As well, border officials allowed 75 buses carrying Canadian NFL football fans home from a Buffalo Bills game to cross the border first because they had no purchases to declare.
The agency told CBC News it is investigating the delay, which it admits was longer than usual, and the guard’s comment, which it said was completely inappropriate.
Canadian shoppers have flocked across border crossings into the U.S. since late September, when the Canadian dollar reached parity with the U.S. greenback for the first time in almost 31 years. The dollar has continued to rise, closing at above $1.07 on Monday.
In a news segment recently aired on Buffalo’s WGRZ-TV, the station said Canadian shoppers have raised the region’s sales tax revenue by five per cent.
