(How badly) am I getting screwed ?

[JohnN]

Hi folks,

God's Pocket is on my bucket list to dive and slots are already filling up for 2017! An opening just came up in early October with a Seattle (Bellevue) based shop (they had a cancellation).

God's Pocket prices in $CDN (I checked), what is a fair (to both the dive shop and myself) way to handle the exchange rate. I appreciate that deposits have to be made in advance, and there are transaction and overhead costs associated with organizing any trip. On the other side, group organizers get a discount for filling the roster (and often a free spot).

For this particular trip the shop is pricing at parity ($1CDN = $1US) and insist they don't track exchange rates and have no idea what they paid and when

At today's exchange rate, the differential is > $US600

Should I just suck it up and pay?

 

[rhwestfall]

pay them in Canadian.....

 

[JohnN]

pay them in Canadian.....

I think it's going to come down to: "Their pool, their rules"

Time to just smile and pay the money. . .

 

[Jax]

Pay 'em by credit card. It's the best rate at the time.

However, with the strong US$, you are paying less.

 

[JohnN]

Pay 'em by credit card. It's the best rate at the time.

However, with the strong US$, you are paying less.

Sorry I wasn't clear. The US shop is the one doing the $1US = $1CDN. This is not on the folks at God's Pocket

 

[gcarter]

You are clearly, unequivocally, 100% being ripped off by the shop. That is not honest dealing by any stretch.

 

[Diver0001]

Hi folks,

God's Pocket is on my bucket list to dive and slots are already filling up for 2017! An opening just came up in early October with a Seattle (Bellevue) based shop (they had a cancellation).

God's Pocket prices in $CDN (I checked), what is a fair (to both the dive shop and myself) way to handle the exchange rate. I appreciate that deposits have to be made in advance, and there are transaction and overhead costs associated with organizing any trip. On the other side, group organizers get a discount for filling the roster (and often a free spot).

For this particular trip the shop is pricing at parity ($1CDN = $1US) and insist they don't track exchange rates and have no idea what they paid and when

At today's exchange rate, the differential is > $US600

Should I just suck it up and pay?

Shop around. If you think you're getting screwed then you probably are. The Canadian dollar is low right now so it's logical that you have to pay more but you shouldn't be paying more than an American would once you take exchange rates into account.

R..

 

[Hawkwood]

Sorry I wasn't clear. The US shop is the one doing the $1US = $1CDN. This is not on the folks at God's Pocket

Someone is making a good 35% plus on that deal. That is ludicrous. They either have no clue as to what exchange rates mean, or they are looking at making a buck.

Do they really understand what they mean when they say pricing is at par? I had a significant discussion with Tommy Bahama's last year when they promoted that their pricing was at par. Holy crap! I jumped at that one, only to discover that they "meant" they showed the prices the same. Very convoluted. I was able to explain to them that to say the prices are at par means something completely different.

I wonder if that shop would offer to sell gear to Canadians at "$1US = $1CDN". I'd fly down to buy stuff.

 

[Jax]

Sorry I wasn't clear. The US shop is the one doing the $1US = $1CDN. This is not on the folks at God's Pocket

You are clearly, unequivocally, 100% being ripped off by the shop. That is not honest dealing by any stretch.

Absolutely you are being screwed. Find Canadian money yourself and pay them.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Are they charging $2313 USD? If so it is a ripoff. You might be able to get in by contacting Bill at God's Pocket directly, but if the shop already bought all spots you're out of luck. I'm going back in August and also looking at trips for 2017 and 2018. We're dealing with Bill but will have to fill all the spots ourselves or have a shop buy the remaining spots in order to get the reduced rate.