How to avoid online shopping headaches this Boxing Day

EDMONTON – With Boxing Day right around the corner, some retailers have already launched sales on their websites, but consumers need to be wary before clicking ‘check out’.

‘Why do I have a $460 charge for Oilers tickets when I paid $320 for them?’

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Edmontonian Ben Ryan wanted to buy Oilers tickets for a Christmas gift, but wasn’t happy when it came time to pay the bill.

“At first I was confused, I was like… ‘Why do I have a $460 charge for Oilers tickets when I paid $320 for them?’ he said.

He went back to StubHub’s website to investigate and discovered he missed a critical piece of information in the fine print – the prices were in US dollars.

“For any venue or any event you’re going to in Canada, you would think StubHub would advertise in Canadian dollars. But I guess that’s not the case,” Ryan said.

Canadian blogger Tenille Lafontaine regularly shops online and has a few words of advice for anyone hoping to get a great bargain without ever leaving home.

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“When you’re looking for a deal online, you sometimes fail to read that small print,” Lafontaine explained. “Things like whether you’re shopping in Canadian dollars or U.S. or online shipping fees. Sometimes if you’re shipping from the U.S., you’re going to encounter customs and added taxes or things like that.”

The Feisty, Frugal and Fabulous blogger said there are a few ways to tell if a website is Canadian or if it will offer prices in Canadian dollars:

1. Look at the URL for .ca as opposed to .com
2. Look for a Canadian flag in the top right corner

“If the price looks really, really good and you kind of question it for a second, take pause and look for that small print. Because as always, if it looks too good to be true, even on Boxing Day, it might be too good to be true,” Lafontaine explained.

The blogger added with the exchange rate so skewed, the safest bet is to shop exclusively in Canadian dollars from retailers you trust.

“Go with a website or company that you know, especially on Boxing Day. That’s not the time to venture into a new website or company that you’re unsure of,” she said.

Service Alberta also has regulations about internet sales and websites that don’t comply could be investigated.