Canadian, and Canadian Friendly Vendors

[Rick]

Hi all,

I'm located just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and wanted to know who you would recommend for a supplier to the Canadian marketplace.  I keep hearing "Groovy Game Gear" and "Ultimarc" bantered about quite regularly, and figured I'd just come out and ask the question.  I haven't got anything yet, and am looking for the best source (availability vs. quality vs. price) for everything I'll need to build my own cab.  (Looking for joysticks, buttons, spinners and trackballs, and possibly light guns and accessories, so don't rule that out.)

Is there anything one vendor has over another?  A product that you can't get anywhere else?  A recommendation of a better keyboard controller that I might want to buy from overseas, vs. locally?  I'm looking into all of my options, and appreciate the input!

Thanks.

Rick

[RayB]

You don't buy emulators. You get them free off the "interwebs".

As for parts, unless its general stuff like buttons, joysticks etc, you're stuck buying the unique items from the vendors who make them. ArcadeVGA video card for example is only sold by Ultimarc (in the UK).

There are a couple Canadian vendors who sell the general common items, but no one real "well established" (AFAIK).

[Rick]

You don't buy emulators. You get them free off the "interwebs".

Sorry.  I meant a keyboard controller.  OP modified.

As for parts, unless its general stuff like buttons, joysticks etc, you're stuck buying the unique items from the vendors who make them. ArcadeVGA video card for example is only sold by Ultimarc (in the UK).

There are a couple Canadian vendors who sell the general common items, but no one real "well established" (AFAIK).

Good info, thanks.

[RayB]

Oh I suppose I should at least list some recommendations before you make the newbie mistake of ordering from Happ Controls.

Every Canadian in this hobby needs to know to order from companies that ship using USPS (US Postal service). Avoid any company that uses UPS, as you will get charged unreasonable brokerage fees. (It's normal to have to pay taxes and a small broker fee on stuff valued over $20). If you order from Happ, and you select USPS, or DHL or whatever, they will switch to UPS, and not even bother to tell you. So avoid Happ.

I buy parts from The Real Bob Roberts, ArcadeShop, QuarterArcade, Ultimarc. I've heard good things about TwistedQuarter, and of course Groovy Game Gear.

If you live near a Starburst / Playdium Store location, you can save yourself on shipping if all you want are buttons, joysticks, power supplies, etc.

I thought we had a list on here already of Canadian sellers. Maybe CheffoJeffo will notice this thread and post a link.

[Rick]

If you live near a Starburst / Playdium Store location, you can save yourself on shipping if all you want are buttons, joysticks, power supplies, etc.

OMG, The Playdium Store.  I had no idea this existed.  It ... is about 45 minutes from my house.  I'm in that area twice a month.  I think I'm drooling.  Damn, I hope they have a 'store', or that I can order for pickup to avoid shipping charges.  I'm so excited.

 

Wow, what a sexy looking store.  I think my Family and I are going on a field trip this weekend.  Interestingly enough, however, they DON'T seem to have everything I would like - spinners, for example.  Beyond that, I think the prices are a wee bit higher, so I'd have to weigh the price of shipping and the wait times from other vendors vs. the convenience of picking stuff up.  (Of course, if I'm just building a basic cab with joysticks and buttons, then they're still an obvious contender.

[CheffoJeffo]

The only official list is the Vendors page in the wiki.

Everything RayB says is pretty much spot on.

Playdium store is the Canadian distributor for Happ, so anything you could get from Happ you can get from them. NOTE: Parts department is not open on the weekends, EXCEPT during auctions. I live about 10 minutes away, so can pick up stuff on your behalf if you can't get there during normal counter hours.

[Rick]

Playdium store is the Canadian distributor for Happ, so anything you could get from Happ you can get from them. NOTE: Parts department is not open on the weekends, EXCEPT during auctions. I live about 10 minutes away, so can pick up stuff on your behalf if you can't get there during normal counter hours.

Awesome!  I might just take you up on that.  Or, I might just have to take some much deserved time off work for a visit.

 

[lilshawn]

the only negative thing i can say about playdium is that if you are getting something shipped from them, they tend to drag their feet a bit before sending it out.

ordered from them a few times now since out distributer in van shut down. it seems to take weeks to get stuff out of them. 3 weeks to recieve an "in stock" golden tee live 2010 kit? c'mon now!

the last time (about a week ago now) we ordered 4 pinball machines from them, it was 2 weeks before they even hit the truck... and then when they showed up, we had to shop the hell out of them, so that's not even an excuse. 

4 pinballs boxed and on pallets? for one person i could do it in 4 hours. 2 weeks for a place THAT big? i dunno 

maybe it's busy or maybe they have a log jam of shipments... i don't know i'm not placing blame or trying to badmouth them or anything, but "weeks" is too long for anything.

[Rick]

Hmm...  It's actually looking pretty competitive.  I think (if my poor math skills serve) that I might just be going with GGG for my needs.  Considering I'm going to need a KeyWiz anyway, if I go with the buttons and joysticks from them, I believe it all evens itself out.  Playdium prices are a bit higher, while GGG are a bit lower, and with shipping, there's very little difference.  Now, do I need a spinner and a trackball?  Questions, questions.

 

[opt2not]

- if you need happs parts, go with divemaster127. I've bought a bunch of stuff from him, he's got great prices and he's pretty prompt with the shipping.

- Ultimarc is great, Andy ships his stuff out fast...and using DHL (imo the best carrier). Andy is also wonderful for tech-support.

- GGG is fine, haven't had a problem with them

- I buy from Lizardlick for my japanese parts, their shipping is also pretty good.

- Bob Roberts is ok, but he doesn't do credit cards or paypal...so you have to deal with sending money orders first before he ships (if you're a new customer). But he's mostly good for arcade restoration parts...

I don't usually buy from Canadian vendors as I find the Canadian shops tend up mark up their prices to compensate for importing goods, which now-a-days is higher than the paying the exchange rate!

[NoData]

I'm canadian too, and I know that you should read carefully before buying. Your order could came with some pretty bad custom fees.

UPS = Really bad trough any "ground" service! They clear the custom for you, they will deliver your order then charge you 5x the price of Canada Post plus GST. Any "air" service is fine because they have to clear the custom before the box can travel, so they cant charge you any extra fees except the GST.

USPS (United States Postal Service) = Best choice!   It's not really fast, but at worst you will end up with only $5 of fees plus the GST. I always use USPS when available since my order is transfered to Canana Post. I will choose a vendor over another if USPS is available.

DHL = Same crap than UPS.

FedEx = Best price for huge item (monitor).

For anything from Ultimarc, go with divemaster127 since the official store only offer DHL. divemaster127 carry most of the Ultimarc and Happ line, usually in stock, and offer fast shipping with USPS. Great service. I ordered twice for him. divemaster127 web site: http://arcadeemulator.net/

GGG great too, ship to Canada with USPS. Will probably ask you to send a proof that you hare the real owner of the credit card if your order is really big.

Lizardlick, good for buttons, joysticks, ect. They sale some spare parts. USPS available.

Good luck

[opt2not]

DHL = Same crap than UPS.

Uh, not even close.

DHL doesn't charge you extra fees for coming from out-of-country, or for transferring to another shipping hub, nor do they lose your order as much as UPS does.
In fact, DHL's customer service is light-years ahead of UPS. At least you can properly track your items, whereas UPS (and USPS) doesn't update the tracking after your package crosses the border.

I'm in western Canada, probably the furthest away from these suppliers than in Ontario, and I've only had problems with UPS and sometimes with USPS (though I still like USPS overall -- though slower). But DHL has been fool-proof, you can't go wrong.

I also have only had to pay duty on certain items, but most of the time the packages come duty-free from the US (and I've been ordering arcade parts for almost 10 years now).

btw,
You can also order from Arcadeshop.com, it's run by a very nice couple that do their business mostly over the phone, and they are receptive to Canadian-bound-orders. The only downside is they take credit cards only. No paypal.
They ship their stuff out fast too!


ps. I say do a forum search on this topic, it's been discussed many many times before in multiple threads.

[CheffoJeffo]

In fact, DHL's customer service is light-years ahead of UPS. At least you can properly track your items, whereas UPS (and USPS) doesn't update the tracking after your package crosses the border.

You are correct in that USPS doesn't update tracking when your package crosses the border -- at that point, both your package and the tracking are handled by Canada Post (use the same tracking number on the CP website).

[Rick]

Here's the trick:  USPS doesn't usually give you huge Duty or Brokerage Fees because they don't use their own company for clearing freight coming across the border.  Also, if you ship AIR using UPS (if the fees are 'moderately' different - if they're crazy high, don't do it) then you also won't get hit with Duty.

(p.s. Feel free to debate the above, but be advised, I work for Purolator.)

 

[RayB]

There's quite a bit of misinformation in this thread...

First of all, there's almost no "duty" on anything anymore if it's coming from US to Canada. That's what the free-trade agreement was for. "Duty" is like a penalty charged on specific items in order to discourage the importation of that type of item. This doesn't apply to most consumer goods the average person is likely to buy. But what you DO pay is:

GST
PST
Brokerage fee

Or as of recently, in Ontario and some other provinces:
HST
Brokerage fee

The brokerage fee is what screws people when using UPS. They charge TOO much in proportion to the value of the items, and you are forced to pay on delivery. Canada Post also charges on delivery, but charges something like $5 to $8 though costs could be more for really expensive or obscure items.  If an item is valued at $20 or less, you pay nothing. If it is $60 or less and is a gift, you pay nothing. Using UPS, they seem to not care if it's a low value item and will still charge you brokerage and taxes!

DHL: Opt2Not is wrong saying you pay nothing. Again the value of the item affects if/what you pay. If you DO owe taxes on the item, DHL will MAIL you an invoice.  So, Opt2Not, you likely haven't received your invoice yet, or the items were not subject to taxation.


Here is an informative summary of costs, why, when and how, written by an actual shipper/broker: http://www.cgcc.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7594

[opt2not]

DHL: Opt2Not is wrong saying you pay nothing. Again the value of the item affects if/what you pay. If you DO owe taxes on the item, DHL will MAIL you an invoice.  So, Opt2Not, you likely haven't received your invoice yet, or the items were not subject to taxation.

Hmmm, you are probably right. It's been quite a few months since my last DHL shipment, so far I haven't yet to pay a DHL invoice. But I never got anything crazy, mostly standard stuff.  Though, my loyalty still stands with them, their service is light-years ahead of the rest.

[RayB]

DHL: Opt2Not is wrong saying you pay nothing. Again the value of the item affects if/what you pay. If you DO owe taxes on the item, DHL will MAIL you an invoice.  So, Opt2Not, you likely haven't received your invoice yet, or the items were not subject to taxation.

Hmmm, you are probably right. It's been quite a few months since my last DHL shipment, so far I haven't yet to pay a DHL invoice. But I never got anything crazy, mostly small parts here and there.  Though, my loyalty still stands with them, their service is light-years ahead of the rest.

OH I agree, I forgot to mention that when they DO charge you, their fees are very reasonable, though I understand they may have been raised in the last year or two. I'd still use them over UPS any day.

FedEx I have no experience with. I have no reason to believe they'd be any better than the postal service.

Lastly, repeating my warning: If you order from Happ, and you select "DHL" as delivery because of what you read here, they will process your order, CHANGE it to UPS and ship your order. All without telling you or asking for your consent.

[Epyx]

As a fellow Canadian I have ordered from almost everywhere and you can't really go wrong. The prices at Playdium are really not bad and they ship very quickly, Ok maybe not as quick as Andy in the UK

But seriously, you can't go wrong ordering from anywhere when we live in Canada...I have ordered from the UK/Germany/US/Japan and it's all fine just do your research.

As Ray alluded to, it's more the shipping method than the vendor...just research your shipping method. I have found for example that coming from the US I prefer good ole USPS to Canada Post handoff for shipping etc. 

[deepblue]

Rick - I live in Burlington...I got all my stuff from GGG, divemaster and Lizard Lick. All Canada friendly, all fast shipping. I found Canadian suppliers didn't have the selection or good websites I wanted.

As mentioned, always ship USPS and you'll be fine.

[AndyWarne]

We ship to Canada pretty much on a daily basis via DHL and never received any complaints...

Some of our in-bound packages use UPS but their service is nowhere close to DHL.

Fedex are good but really expensive. We sometimes send Fedex when a customer requests billing to his account.
Last week our Fedex driver excelled even his usual fast response when he arrived 2 minutes after I booked a collection online!

[Eddie_Brock]

On the westcoast, there is no DHL anymore.
Where I live at least, Total Delivery has purchased them out and taken over their logisitics.

I've always found UPS to have higher rates, try and go with Canada Post if at all possible.

[nitz]

I'm Canadian, so I'll just jump in to confirm what others are saying.

UPS sucks, avoid if at all possible. They can hit you with ridiculous charges as others have said. And I've had problems when I wasn't home to receive the package. Like the last time (and it will be the last time) I had stuff shipped by UPS, they actually gave it to someone else who lives in my building. I don't think they're even supposed to do that unless you tell them to. Oh yeah, and they just left the slip on the wall in the front entrance, so anybody could have taken it, said they were me, and picked up the package from my neighbor. I was pissed because there are a few sketchy characters in my building and I was afraid of who I might have to talk to to get my package and that I may not even get it all. I got lucky and it turned out the person who had it was a nice older lady, so all's well that ends well I guess, but I will never deal with UPS again.

DHL is ok, never had any problems with them.

USPS handing off to Canada Post is my preferred method for ordering from the States. Price should be reasonable and should be hassle free.

I've ordered from divemaster, GGG, and Ultimarc and was pleased with the service from all of them.

I ordered from Playdium and while their prices seemed ok to me and their service was great, I thought the shipping was kinda high and they shipped UPS, so I won't order from them again.

To sum up, probably can't go wrong with any of the well known vendors around here, just make sure they're not shipping UPS!

[Epyx]

@Nitz,

Playdium will ship via Canada Post if you request it which is what I do when I order Happs from them.  But the bottom line is, living in Canada here we are truly blessed  with being both next to the States and Europe just being across the pond.

As a tip for fellow Canadians living near the border. Again, I live in the Greater Vancouver area and use a post office service in Point Roberts, WA USA and this saves me a *lot* of duty charges. If you can do something similar do it.  Also makes those Ship only to USA ebay purchases a lot easier. I just drive to Point Roberts (20 min drive from work and go at lunch). The border guards rarely ask me to pay taxes unless its several hundred dollars and even then I get lucky a lot...the WG D9800 I last ordered cost me nothing taxwise at the border...the guards eyes glazed over when she asked me what it was an the value and then she just signaled me through

[nitz]

@Nitz,

Playdium will ship via Canada Post if you request it which is what I do when I order Happs from them.

OK, cool, didn't know I could do that. Would definitely consider buying from them again in that case if they have anything I need. That's good, because I do like their store and service, but UPS would kill it for me. I love amazon.ca, but have stopped ordering from them because they use UPS now. I just go buy my DVDs, CDs, books wherever, even if I have to pay a couple extra bucks, it's worth it to avoid UPS.

[RayB]

I don't know if it's been mentioned but Playdium Store now sells Ultimarc products out of their Toronto and Montreal locations.

[Rick]

Been a while, looks like it's time for a BUMP! See my sig for a Canadian Source for all of your bartop, cocktail, full-size arcade and pinball cabinet needs! (Thanks to PL1's shoutout for the reminder this thread existed.)

[jennifer]

     Im a bit confused as to the whole glitch with this thread.... Canada is nice, but as far as venders go the whole WORLD is full of them, and I would feel cheated and robbed if I was deprived of my Aussie friends, Oh the UK, USA, Mexican... OMG where to stop (Sorry if Jennifer missed anybody  ) Point is maybe you don't want to put limits yourself and your projects.

[Rick]

I'm a bit confused as to the whole glitch with this thread.... Canada is nice, but as far as venders go the whole WORLD is full of them, and I would feel cheated and robbed if I was deprived of my Aussie friends, Oh the UK, USA, Mexican... OMG where to stop (Sorry if Jennifer missed anybody  ) Point is maybe you don't want to put limits yourself and your projects.

(In keeping with the whole "Jennifer likes to refer to Jennifer in third person" theme...) I think Jennifer missed the point.

People in the UK don't like paying for shipping parts "across the pond", so if they have a local supplier, they'd rather save some coin, rather than purchasing items from the U.S., Canada, or even Australia. Same thing goes for Canada. I know when I order parts in from the U.S., there's usually a nice and hefty duty charge, that makes it a bit disheartening.

If I have a local supplier in Canada, why not promote them to other Canadians?

[jennifer]

     No, the duty, shipping thing wasn't lost on me, but you do realize even a  Canadian supplier has to get some of there stock supplies from say Thailand and Texas.... And is going to pass the shipping cost down to you anyway right .... So now that's that's all cleared up, "Party on Wayne ".

[Rick]

No, the duty, shipping thing wasn't lost on me, but you do realize even a  Canadian supplier has to get some of there stock supplies from say Thailand and Texas.... And is going to pass the shipping cost down to you anyway right???

Absolutely! (I'm one of them.)

I totally get that the cost gets passed along. What I also know (being one of aforementioned suppliers) is that I can sell the parts I order and import from my Chinese suppliers for less than it costs for me to import them from the U.S. and still make enough profit to stay in business.

So... Advantage: Local.



Party on, Garth!

[yotsuya]

^^^^ Speaking of Made in Canada 

[Rick]

^^^^ Speaking of Made in Canada 

Yup. I could hop on my bike, and ride over to the house where Mike Meyers used to live.

[mike boss]

I think local sources for help, parts, etc is a great thing.
It can be hard to track down needed parts here in Canada.
And sometimes when you do shipping can break you.

Locally I have to say Rick is amazing to deal with.

I also like Adam from www.multicade.ca
- typical stuff, but he brings it in from China.
- good prices and good, fast shipping.

For artwork I'm a big fan of David at PrintShock.
I really cant tell you guys how good his service, product, and fast shipping are.
You guys can email him at support@printshock.com

[yotsuya]

I know Rick is a Canadian vendor, but he's not very friendly to Canadians. 

[Rick]

I know Rick is a Canadian vendor, but he's not very friendly to Canadians. 

That depends on your definition of friendly.

[opt2not]

     No, the duty, shipping thing wasn't lost on me, but you do realize even a  Canadian supplier has to get some of there stock supplies from say Thailand and Texas.... And is going to pass the shipping cost down to you anyway right .... So now that's that's all cleared up, "Party on Wayne ".

Sure, but shipping from Asia to Canada is the same as shipping to the USA. So even though you still have to pay for shipping from there, if you go with a States-side vendor you're still getting extra dinged by double international shipping costs.  Domestic shipping is much cheaper, and the overall cost would save you from buying from the States.

Then there is the whole issue of support. What happens when you receive a faulty item and the vendor asks you to ship the item back. Sometimes vendors make you pay for the return shipping, and personally I'd rather send it back to somewhere in Canada (for time, and cost) rather than "internationally" to the States.

For artwork I'm a big fan of David at PrintShock.
I really cant tell you guys how good his service, product, and fast shipping are.
You guys can email him at support@printshock.com

Oh dude, thanks! I'll check him out!

[mike boss]

Hey opt2not,

Please do contact David.
He printed my Punch-Out stuff and I'm thrilled with it.
He gave me the best quote (better than one from China!) and the art was all custom cut.
I needed to do nothing myself.
I'm thrilled with the service, product, & value.

(He's in Ontario and I got my art 2 days after it shipped. Not only that it only took him about 24/48 hours to get everything ready)
A+++

[dkersten]

I can't say exactly what the rules are, and it doesn't apply to Canada of course, but my last two orders from Ultimarc were over $500 each and shipping was something like $15 and made it to Montana from London in 3 days.  Took 2 more days to get an order from GGG, and 3 more days on top of that from arcadeemulator.net.  There were no extra fees or charges, and the product and support is top notch.

At first I bought more things from US providers, but once I realized that Ultimarc was faster to ship to me, the borders became irrelevant to me.  I am not even sure we have a DHL here, but I didn't see the truck pull up so I can't say for sure (receptionist signs for everything).  Looked like a UPS label on the box stuck over the top of the DHL label, but I would have to check to be sure.

On the other hand, these were all small items, and if I were buying a heavy flat package with wood inside, I probably would opt for a more local company.  My loyalty does lie with the best service/price/ship-time combination though, and so far that has been Ultimarc.

[mike boss]

Ordering off various US sites in the past I've got burned.
From what I've learned USPS is the way to go.
I've never had any brokerage or customs fees when ordering from the US with USPS.
Now could be because I'm doing more deals via PM, IE  - member to member, not a "company."
I've used Ultrimarc in the past, Andy is awesome, all I've got were my Aim Trak's and iPacs, shipping was reasonable, and I believe the brokerage was another $15 @ my door.

The odd thing is, way back when I used to order sneakers and clothing from China they would come via DHL (if memory serves me correct) and I only once got hit with customs, never any brokerage.

What sticks out to me was years YEARS YEARS ago I ordered a "Girls Gone Wild" DVD....yep, guilty as charged. Anyway that $9.99 DVD had about $12 in fee's when it arrived at my door. I think the shipper was UPS............so UPS is a no go for me ever again (as are GGW DVD's) !

[PL1]

I think local sources for help, parts, etc is a great thing.
It can be hard to track down needed parts here in Canada.
And sometimes when you do shipping can break you.

Locally I have to say Rick is amazing to deal with.

I also like Adam from www.multicade.ca
- typical stuff, but he brings it in from China.
- good prices and good, fast shipping.

For artwork I'm a big fan of David at PrintShock.
I really cant tell you guys how good his service, product, and fast shipping are.
You guys can email him at support@printshock.com

Basic pages for all three added to the wiki Vendors list.   

  Gameroom Designs Canada

  PrintShock

  Multicade Canada

LMK if there are any corrections for or additions to these pages.


Scott