Canadian Tire

I learned something about Canadian Tire yesterday. They have a fantastic "price match" deal. Of course Americans can't take advantage of this unless they are visiting Canada, but for our Canadian readers, I hope you can benefit from our experience yesterday.

I went into Canadian Tire to buy one of those Thermacell mosquito repellant things that readers Karen and Steve told us about.

Thermacell has several different styles, but the only one in stock at Canadian Tire was the "lantern" model. But that was fine as it was probably the one I would have chosen anyhow. It was $22.99 which includes 1 butane cartridge and 2 pads that last for 4 hours each. The refill kits are $34.99 at Canadian Tire and include 4 butane cartridges and 12 pads.

When I got home, Ruth told me that Walmart has the exact same item in their flyer this week for $16.97. I drive by Canadian Tire every day, so yesterday afternoon I stopped in to see if they would price match the Walmart deal. Yes, that was no problem so she proceeded to refund me $6.02 plus tax. (You pay 13% tax here in Ontario!).

Now, for you Americans, Canadian Tire is known for having it's own paper "money". They pay you 4% in Canadian Tire money anytime you buy something there using cash or debit card. This money can then be spent on anything you want in the store at a future purchase.

Anyhow, when Canadian Tire does a "price match", they also pay you 10% of their original selling price as a bonus for coming in to buy the product from them!

So for this particular deal, I paid $16.97 plus tax for the Thermacell, and I also recieved $2.30 worth of Canadian Tire money! This would be a big deal if you were to do a price match on an expensive item. We are going to be more vigilant about buying at Canadian Tire if there is something they can price match that is cheaper at another store.

Now, when we actually try out the Thermacell, we will post a report on how it works for us. I hate mosquitoes!