Pain In The Tariff!
So, I was eying “Dexter’s Laboratory – The Complete Collection” at several retailers and had never considered that the tariffs would have a secondary effect on goods that are not tariffed so I didn’t expect sticker shock a few days back – The price of this DVD collection just skyrocketed, by $30 at some of these retailers.
Like CDs and vinyl, DVDs and Blu-rays are not currently included in the list of goods that are being subjected to tariffs. But I suspect their prices will go up in the states, well above the $20 postal importation exemption, which is rather annoying. And I presume any shipment from the states would be delayed going through customs because they’ll have more forms to fill out, unless Canadians just stop importing from the states via mail.
I did just order the collection from a Canadian seller on eBay for the amount I had encountered before the hike, preferring to avoid the American and Chinese sellers. And if need be I could always try the U.k and Europe for other releases as well.
I personally like Amazon u.k, Amazon France and FNAC for CDs and Region Free DVDs from Europe, and I do have a region free DVD player for some French films that never made their way to DVD in North America. But sometimes deals can be had for under $20 Canadian, not including shipping, and sometimes the shipping rates are acceptable.
I have emailed my local MP and several electoral candidates suggesting a $60 exemption for postal importations from Europe, the U.k and several more of our stable trade partners so I’m hoping we’ll be able to order more from those countries after the election is done.
If you want to support a $60 exemption for postal imports, which is long overdue, you can contact your local Member of Parliament via this form, after the election of course.
Hopefully we’ll be done with this tariff nonsense soon…
This Weekend’s Events
I have waited to post this entry to make sure none of the events in Eastern Canada were canceled due weather and it appears that none have been canceled:
The Vancouver Comic and Toy Show will be held at the PNE Forum on the 5th and 6th of April, 2025.
Tickets to this event can be purchased by clicking here and the venue is serviced by multiple routes on Translink, via bus stops 50951 and 52718.
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The Salon National des Collectionneurs will also occur on the 5th and 6th, but at Espace St-Hyacinthe.
The nearest bus stop the to venue is #506, which is serviced by Routes 50 and 70 on the St.Hyacinthe city transit system. And note that this event is predominantly in French.
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Back Issues Comicon will be held at the Christ Church Parish Hall on Saturday, the 5th of April, 2025, from 9am to 3pm and admission will be $3.
The nearest bus stop to the venue is 7389 which is serviced by Routes 54, 55 and 62 on Halifax Transit.
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The Stratford ComiCon appears to still be on for April 5th, 2025 at the Best Western Plus The Arden Park Hotel from 10am to 3pm.
Admission is $5 or free for kids 12 and under. And Stratford Transit offers on demand services to the venue and the Stratford Via Rail station is only a 3 to 4 minute taxi ride away from this hotel.
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The Woodstock Pop Show will be held on Sunday, April 6th, 2025 from 9:30am to 2:30pm at the Woodstock Fairgrounds Auditorium.
Admission will be $5 or free for accompanied kids 12 and under. And the venue is unfortunately not serviced by transit on Sundays but it is a four or five minute taxi ride away from the Via Rail station.
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And finally, the Guelph Record Show will occur on Sunday, the 6th of April, 2025 from 10:30am to 4pm at the Royal Canadian Legion.
Admission is $5 or $20 for early entry at 9am. And unfortunately there is no transit service to this venue on Sundays. But the venue is an eight minute taxi ride from the Guelph Go Train and Via Rail station.
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Please note that cash may be preferred at these events so keep an eye out for the ATMs near or in the venues. And although the Spring sale is over at Amazon.ca, you should probably check out their deals on music, DVDs/blu-rays, electronics and musical instruments.
This Weekend’s Events
There will be one record convention, in Stratford (Ontario), and four entertainment events through-out the country this weekend.
The first event this weekend will be the Island FanCon, which will occur from Friday the 28th to Sunday the 30th of March 2025 at the City Centre Park in Langford, British Columbia.
Admission information can be obtained by clicking here. And the venue is serviced by multiple routes via Bus Stops #101549 and #101556 on Victoria Regional Transit.
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The next event, the Atlantic Entertainment Expo, is also a multiple day event that will be held at the Prince Edward Island Convention Centre in Charlottetown PEI, from the 29th to the 30th of March 2025.
Admission information can be found by clicking here. And the nearest street to be serviced by T3 Transit is Water Street, by Route 4.
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The Collingwood Comicon will be held on March 29th, 2025 at the Collingwood Legion from 10am to 4pm.
Admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. And the nearest bus stops are 234 and 420 on the Crosstown Route and East Route on Collingwood Transit.
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The Stratford Record Show will be held on Sunday, the 30th of March, 2025 at the Army Navy & Air Force Veterans Banquet Hall from 10am to 3pm and admission will be a donation to the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans.
The venue is unfortunately not serviced by transit. But is still only a 4 minute taxi ride from the Via Rail station.
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And finally, the Angus Comicon will be hosted by the Angus Recreation Centre on Sunday, March 30th 2025 from 10am to 3pm.
Admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. But unfortunately, the venue is not serviced by transit.
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Please note that cash may be preferred at these events. And that The Big Spring Sale is active at Amazon.ca, on music, films and electronics until the 31st of March, 2025.
Enjoy.
Multiple Record Shows and More
The Hamilton Record Show will be held from 9am to 2:30pm at Bridgeworks on Saturday, the 22nd of March, 2025.
Admission is $5 or $10 for early admission at 8am. And the nearest bus stops to the venue are 2977 and 2984, which are 8 and 9 minute walks away, through Central Park. Those stops are serviced by Route 08 on HSR.
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The Guelph Record Swap & Sale will be hosted by the Red Chevron Club on Saturday, the 22nd of March, 2025 from 10am to 4pm and admission will be $2 or a free donation to the food bank.
This venue’s closest bus stops are 1404 and 1424, which are serviced by Route 14 on Guelph Transit.
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The Smiths Falls ComiCon will also be held on Saturday, the 22nd of March, 2025 at the Smiths Falls Legion from 10am to 3pm.
Admission will be $5 of free for kids 12 and under. And although this town doesn’t have public transit, the Via Rail station is a five minute drive away by taxi.
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The Sarnia Record Show will be held at the Sarnia Legion on Sunday, the 23rd of March 2025 from 11 am to 4 pm, admission being a $2 donation to the Legion.
This venue is a 6 minute walk from the Bayview Terminal, which is serviced by multiple routes on Sarnia Transit, Strathroy-Caradoc Transit and Flixbus.
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And finally, the Brockville Comicon will be hosted by the Brockville Memorial Civic Centre from 10am to 3pm and admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under.
There is unfortunately no transit service on Sundays in this community.
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You should note that cash may be preferred at these events and that you should probably locate the nearest ATMs to the venues hosting them. And note that deals may be had from March 25th to March 31st at Amazon’s Big Spring Sale.
Enjoy.
Cosmo Music Closing
Richmond Hill’s Cosmo Music will unfortunately be closing after 57 years in operation and will shortly be replaced by a Long & Mcquade location.
COVID had taken its toll on the music instrument retailer according to the farewell message posted to the main page.
This Weekend’s Events
The Yorkgate Mall Comicon has already begun in North York and will end on the 14th of March 2025, from 11am to 5pm every day.
Admission is free and the venue is serviced by multiple TTC bus routes from Finch West Station.
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The Toronto Comicon will occur from the 14th to the 16th of March, 2025 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Admission information can be found by clicking here. And the venue is accessible from Union Station, a major transport hub serviced by the TTC, Go Train, Union Pearson Express and VIA Rail Canada.
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The Calgary Comic Book Show will happen on Saturday, the 15th of March, 2005 at the Millican Ogden Community Association from 10am to 4pm.
Admission will be free and the venue is serviced by multiple bus routes on Calgary Transit via Bus Stop Numbers 5857 and 8202.
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The Owen Sound Comicon will be hosted by the Owen Sound Legion on Saturday, the 15th of March, 2005 from 10am to 3pm.
Admission will be $5 or free for kids 12 and under. The venue is serviced by the Brooke and Core bus routes on Owen Sound Public Transit, with stops next to the venue. This community’s bus terminal is also serviced by Flixbus and Grey County Transit.
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The London Record Show will again be held at the Centennial Hall, in the lower level, from 11am to 5pm on Sunday, the 16th of March, 2025.
Admission will be $5 and multiple bus stops and routes service this venue via London Transit, which recommends their Real Time App or Google Maps for additional information.
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Remember, cash may be preferred at these events so you may want to look for ATMs near these venues. And note that you may want to bring a mask and hand sanitizer because of the flu and other nasty viruses going around.
Enjoy and Be Safe.