Indeed good point, let the market decide prices. I was just quoted $400CAD for a $103US Kalash AK; I turned down the deal as I felt it was too much; hence the "free market" decided.

exactly, the invisible hand and all that good stuff, retailers that charge too much will often find that it is harder to generate revenue and be forced to bring their prices down in order to be competitive

I've been unable to compete with many HK retailers as they under price items but overprice on shipping making it looks like they are severely cheaper. I know exactly how much stuff costs to ship from HK to North America and Europe as i've run my own e commerce business from there as well. Not saying that this is the case all the time but please be aware of this situation as well.

This is an adjunct to the discussion but CAS literally has a monopoly over the Canadian market because they signed exclusive Canadian distribution agreements with KJ and G&G, pushing other retailers (like 007) out.

The Canadian prices are the fault of CAS's pricing floor which all the retailers have to start with even at wholesale because they set the prices and there is no other option since all the dealers have to buy from CAS. If only the asian websites started carrying some stock of Canadian legal airsoft, we might see lower prices.

we could also self import them cutting out CAS

But what's the minimum order direct from the manufacturer?

hope you have a mighty strong chequebook there junior, ordering cansofts isn't like ordering a vest or a battery, they won't deal with you unless you meet their MOQ

i mean't if the asian site carried the half clears the prices would be lower then cas prices basically cutting them out of the picture

For a GBB-R the price seems decent enough. However I foresee people bringing in their own mags I mean at $38 USD = $40 CAD + shipping (lets say $10-15 CAD so you could essentially save $20 per mag if you ordered from overseas). Heck if they made a 10 pack of these mags (and gave a "bulk discount") they would sell like hotcakes and you'd probably be saving $25-30/mag if buying a 10 pack.

CAS also known as BuyAirsoft was also reponsible two years ago for raising the prices of Chinese Airsoft guns when they entered the game, sellers used to sell them between the $180 - $275 range guys like BC Airsoft Supply, after BuyAirsoftjoined the prices jumped up into the $220 - $350 range mostly because they were ordering from American Distributors, so they were the ones who initiated the price hikes.

But the person most responsible would be Mark Anderson who realized that for every gun that arrived DOA would really set him back decided to increase up to the $300 - $450 range plus he was just greedy, especially with all the crappy Firepower shit he was getting from Palco Sports - keep in mind all the guns being sold by the sellers mentioned above were only about $60USD a piece from Asia almost double buying in the States.

Anyhow, Kokanee the reason why you are seeing $400 for these $103USD guns is cause the standard 2.3X pricing doesn't apply, shipping for china guns is the same as high end guns and in some cases sellers pay the same amount to ship
the gun as it is to buy it, then factor in the other costs and you realize these
guns don't make much $$ unless you can bring them in large quantities

Keep in mind guys that my hands are tied when it comes to setting prices on G&G / KJ products. None the less it is good to see more variety of LEGAL products available to Canadians :)

Here is a picture I took of the actual product to spice up to conversation:

http://www.007airsoft.com/products/p...ages/20084.jpg



Ken

Mind explaining why clear receiver guns are any more legal to the end consumer than an all black gun?

I'd like to hear that too. I'm hearing so many guys these days
"OMGZORZ Black gunz scary, you going to get arrested"

Sure it gets around the import stage, but past that.. Who cares?

Yeah I wanna hear the reasoning from someone who uses the term "Canadian Legal" the most (that I've seen) along with other misconceptions (such as saying you need a license for the black guns which is only a half truth). If a LE officer will have reason to do anything to you, I doubt a smoked receiver will change anything in his, the courts or possibly the medias eyes. If it has a barrel and a trigger your a bunny punting baby killer.

Just before someone spouts off, this is not mean to be antagonizing or anything. Just some free and open discussion between between retailer and the market.

The actual requirement for translucent/transparent receivers is stated in the actual CBSA policies, memos, and documentations if you guys want to read it. It is purely for importation purposes. Once the item is in Canada, it makes no difference whether or not it is clear, black plastic, metal, etc. That is already known to most experienced guys and that conversation belongs in the newbie tank, not here. "Canadian Legal" simply means it is legal for import into Canada and has no bearing on its status once in this country. Nothing more. The only laws that would apply to you afterwards are the ones that prohibit you from discharging an airgun within city limits unless it is on your own property, etc. I don't believe I've ever heard any retailer ever saying that you require a liscense to own black guns. That is your own misconception. You would require a business firearms liscense to concievably legally import them however.