So, yeah, I'm buying another digital camera. And I'm hot for the new Olympus offerings. And doing some online shopping before deciding which province (or state) to which I'll be planning a weekend vacation. Now, since Canadian retailers can't get their fuckin' act together and acquire the Stylus 810, I'm checking out lesser models and, woo-hoo!, take a boo at these price differentials:

Olympus Stylus 600 at BestBuy.com: $229.99 (US, or $268.05 Can)
Olympus Stylus 600 at BestBuy.ca: $349.99 (CAN, or $300.29 US)
(based on current exchange rates, 2 April 2006)

If BestBuy.ca can provide me with an adequate explanation as to why I should pay a 31% gouging and not slip across the border (as part of a weekend getaway) to make my purchase, I'd love to hear it.

I'd also appreciate some explanation as to how, in this day and age, the Canadian arm of a monster chain can carry such a vastly-inferior inventory to its home base without crawling into a hole in embarrassment. I can understand not carrying the complete product inventory, but to omit the top-of-the-line model? Is this how NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) serves Canadians? Our retailers keep crying the blues about declining business but it's simply not possible for me to care less about their inevitable demise.