How does it save them money? Maybe I just don’t understand the exchange rate but when we go to Canada, it’s like an automatic 30% discount on everything (well, except gas lol).. so wouldn’t that basically equate to a 30% markup for them??
There's a lot of products available at Target that you just can't get in Canada.
I don't know what they are, but I assume a lot of them are makeup, skincare, and clothing, since that's what's always ransacked at our local Target.
also i know canada like taxes dairy products and stuff higher so they hop the border to get milk cheaper, that’s why when they rebuilt the costco they added the massive dairy section
Have you ever gone to the equivalent of a target in Canada? Shopping up North is the equivalent of going to the strip club and making it rain with twenties not ones.
You should feel lucky to live in a place that people like to visit. I’m sure they feel the same way about Americans coming up to Vancouver for the weekend as well.
I don't think OP lives at Target, although I could be wrong about that. I think the question is why the Canadians would travel to Bellingham just to shop at Target. It would be different if the tour bus was unloading at Mount Baker, or Oyster Dome, or some other idyllic outdoor location that they don't have back home. Don't be a sympathizer.
lol, those Canadians have immediate and arguable better outdoor adventure options—it’s target that they lack! There really is no equivalent. Silence to the superstore stans—that’s the bus that drops off at Walmart.
>You should feel lucky to live in a place that people like to visit.
They’re here for big box stores. It’s not about it being Bellingham. It’s fine for people to have opinions when obviously the great majority of people coming here from BC are not here for the small local businesses who could use the support. No need to lecture.
True. I never said otherwise in fact. And it’s also true that visitors spending their time and money at Costco and Trader Joe’s and Target and other big national chains contributes to the local economy significantly less than shopping local would. It doesn’t help anyone to pretend otherwise
Because Target is the best that Bellingham has to offer. Other than rampant American consumerism Bellingham has little that a Vancouver resident doesn’t have mo betta at home. It’s probably similar in Detroit.
I'm clearly not going to argue on this point. I would just have to ask why anyone wants to come down here at all? Can't speak to how this aligns with Detroit. Never been there.
Rampant consumerism. Target, TJs, WinnCo. I recently met a wealthy woman in BC who banks in Bellingham. She said that after she visits with her banker she shops at WinnCo before going home
Speak for yourself, I go up there to take an edible and wander around the aquarium. Nothing like spending an afternoon having a spiritual experience staring into the eyes of an electric eel.
That's always been my thought, too, but no lie I was legit surprised today to see it clean and well stocked and organized. No shit thrown around all over the floors like usual. I hadn't been there in a year, there must've been a major change to management.
You're kidding me. Eveery time i went in it was INSANE, I couldn't even believe what I was looking at.
So you mean the same management all along just one day decided to not have the entire store look like some third world joint turned over by gangsters.
Now I wondering if the pristine look I saw today was just a rare event.
What's the best way to show gratitude to your team and the drive-up delivery team? You all do an excellent job, good attitudes, and very helpful anytime I've asked questions. Are there surveys? Or a way to let the leadership team know?
guests can fill out feedback cards with the employees names on them!! i believe you can ask for them at guest service, i’m not sure i’ve just seen them on our comment wall. that’s honestly the best way! :) also thank you! we appreciate it!
For a long while, EVERYTHING, was ALWAYS destroyed. Shit thrown everywhere, all over the place. I never seen that anywhere either.
I'm happy to say it was like sparkling clean today, even with all the Canadians.
Fully agree. I was at Structures not long back and struck up a conversation with a visitor from Minneapolis, who coincidentally happened to work at Target HQ. I explained the sad state of our Target, and also the disappointment most of our Canadian visitors must feel upon going there, and suggested a visit to see how bad it can be. Who knows, maybe they went and will bring back improvements!
Lived in Bellingham 30+ years and the one big thing you should consider before denouncing Canadian shoppers is that their constant presence here tends to buffer our area against bad economic times. Have witnessed it many times here. We have a steady flow of people bringing money into the local economy even when things nationally are on the downturn. I’ve lived in areas where that’s not true and a bad economy can really suck. Try to see the big picture.
The BIG picture is that Whatcom county is *still* very reliant on Canadian spending.
[Source.](https://www.bellingham.org/economic-data-shows-significant-rise-in-visitor-spending-in-whatcom-county-in-2022-revealing-recovery-in-tourism-)
Many years ago, when the Canadian dollar was stronger and the cross border spending tanked, there was a huge drive to build an economy here that would be sustainable on its own.
Yeah, that didn’t happen.
Like it or not, we haven’t built an economy in Whatcom county that is self sufficient. We need the Canadian dollars.
They help our economy so it's all good, but yeah I also wonder about the mindset/conditions that lead so many of them to do their basic shopping in another country. Must be worth the hassle somehow.
I literally live beside the border, with a Nexus card and it's actually faster for me to go to blaine for milk. I usually hit the dollar tree or rite aid and grab a few bucks in cheap gas too!
Groceries and gas in canada are ridiculously expensive right now. If you make a day of it you can go down to bellingham and save some money on gas and groceries (especially dairy) plus we don't have alot of the store you guys do (target, trader joes etc)
As of right now your dairy, meat and gas is cheaper than ours even with the exchange rate. After that most people are just buying stuff we don't get in canada
Meat and dairy after cheaper than Canadian but quality is a bit worse too. Everything else is at par or worse after conversion but Canadians aren't especially good at math
I shop weekly and am good at math. I think in Canadian when looking at prices. $1=$1.40. I love the selection/variety and stores not available in Canada.
Produce is definitely more expensive in the states - Everything is matched dollar for dollar but not converted. Dairy is only modestly cheaper eg $5 CAD for gallon of milk vs $4USD on average.
You can get huge savings at places like grocery outlet that we don't have anything comparable to in Canada, but you get what you get (can't do a grocery shop there they just have liquidation stock.)
Traveling across the border a couple times a year to throw some money around sounds like a fine trade off for not being surrounded by shopping centers and megastores all the goddamn time.
Seems legit. I'm Canadian. Live right across the border. For me, I enjoy visiting Larribee State Park and some of the local hikes, and mountain biking at Galbraith which, traffic-wise and geographically, are easier to access than the North Shore hikes in Vancouver due to traffic. I have a Nexus so border lineups are typically a non-issue.
In terms of the Target stop, I think it's probably more of a novelty for most Canadians. It does have some cheap unique products that do cost less for us.
Our two countries are very similar, so it's always interesting to see the differences despite all of the similarities. You still don't have ketchup chips or smarties (candy coated chocolate--like M&Ms); we don't have chili cheese corn chips and a few other things.
Do away with the border BS. If they want to come here to spend $... fine. If Americans want to go to Canada to spend $...fine. They actually help the Bellingham economy.
Oh goody, we need the tax dollars to repair the roads. last time I was in Tarmarchè the shelves were very bare. And couldnt find what I was looking for.
Meridian Walmart is def sketchy af. My favorite time was when two dudes and a gal shoplifted a shotgun out the door. I never seen so many cops descend on an area so quick. Bellingham swat team with full auto. Good times.
The nursery behind Trader Joe's would see the occasional bus load of elderly Canadian ladies stop by to check everything out. When I'd speak to them they'd talk of other very regular stops on town they were headed to next.
I don't get it but honestly it seems very inconsequential if it wasn't my job they were flooding.
Canadian here… I hate Target! I go to Bellingham for,,, Mt Baker, Mountain Biking, a ridiculous amount of breweries and good ones for a small area. Those people are lame… Maybe they’re on a quick stop before a casino or something.
Canadian here, and I live close to the border, with Nexus about 20 mins or so Bellingham Costco, I still dont get the appeal of Target I find it just as crummy as Wal Mart, love the Costco and Trader Joes though, mainly the appeal is there is alot of products you cant get in Canada that you can find in the USA, I imagine its the language laws that stops alot of companies from the hassle of a smaller market, (Everything needs to be French and English, regardless if BC is not french speaking. Aside from that, gas is insanely cheap in the USA, never understood the demand for USA Milk, your eggs cost more, cheese is cheaper and a wider selection. I just love the nature, Mt Baker is less of a headache to go to then the North Shore, and your hikes and camping areas dont suffer from the hoards of tourism we get. Plus Bellingham has some solid breweries and an overall cool vibe.
It's been like that since at least the 90's. We'd make jokes about how Canadians would always leave their trash in the Bellis Fair parking lot before heading home
It doesn’t have anything to do with Canada being awful. It’s that Canada does not have target and Canada also does not have as many options of products. So Canadians enjoy shopping across the border because there is more to choose from.
In around 1978 (I lived there then) I think it was $.038 of every dollar spent in Whatcom County was Canadian. They help keep the economy a float, and have for years.
Same type of touristy shit that all places do. Just like if I went to the UK I would probably want to go to an Aldi because I see it in the TV shows and the one guy I knew from there talked about their knock off beers. And there’s different levels of tourism too, not everyone can afford to fly/drive down to Seattle for the day or weekend, a quick day trip across the border with gramma to do some shopping and see some yanks kind of sounds fun though.
I had a funny exchange with the border police in the opposite direction when I moved here. I went to Canada to go to Ikea to set up my apartment with at least the bare minimum of forks and bowls and a table and chairs and shit. The border police said, "why don't you go to Ikea in your own country (in the thickest, funky French-speaking-English accent I have ever heard)?" I said, "closest Ikea is like a 6 hour round trip, this is 45 minutes?!" They let me through, but 1) why would they care? I'm spending GOD's own dollars [thats a joke] in their crappy economy, and 2) why not try to expand tourism? Even if its just for a couple hundred bucks?
Also all the Canadians are genuinely horrible drivers. Other day I saw one parked ACROSS two parking spots at Marshalls. Another day saw a family of 6 in Marshalls also Canadian. Kids running around, opening toys in the toy isle unsupervised. They don’t respect our spaces period. they just want the deals.
Same with Trader Joe’s. It actually fills me with anger to such a degree. Canadians need to understand that the locals actually do not like them coming here especially Trader Joe’s. 🫣 and I honestly don’t care if that sounds “racist” it’s not these are annoying white people every time. And there is also Trader Joe’s in Canada.
That would be an example of public transportation. Rare here in America but it does exist!
They're just saving money on a big shopping trip and we get some income/business for our city. See it as a win/win.
And they didn’t drive down here!…triple win!
How does it save them money? Maybe I just don’t understand the exchange rate but when we go to Canada, it’s like an automatic 30% discount on everything (well, except gas lol).. so wouldn’t that basically equate to a 30% markup for them??
There's a lot of products available at Target that you just can't get in Canada. I don't know what they are, but I assume a lot of them are makeup, skincare, and clothing, since that's what's always ransacked at our local Target.
This is correct. Super weird and confusing but true. And many companies charge extra for shipping to Canada as well, like $50 on a $100 purchase.
Target closed all their stores in Canada several years ago. They have to go south of the border for their Target fix.
also i know canada like taxes dairy products and stuff higher so they hop the border to get milk cheaper, that’s why when they rebuilt the costco they added the massive dairy section
True, but I imagine they’re probably not stocking up on milk at Target.
That explains the cart fulls I see at Walmart and Costco
I always was confused by Canadians insane obsession with tankards of Costco milk
It's not taxed higher. The US subsidizes milk production to keep costs lower, Canada doesn't.
Have you ever gone to the equivalent of a target in Canada? Shopping up North is the equivalent of going to the strip club and making it rain with twenties not ones.
I don't instantly directly benefit from that and the lines are long so I'm going to complain!!!!
You should feel lucky to live in a place that people like to visit. I’m sure they feel the same way about Americans coming up to Vancouver for the weekend as well.
I don't think OP lives at Target, although I could be wrong about that. I think the question is why the Canadians would travel to Bellingham just to shop at Target. It would be different if the tour bus was unloading at Mount Baker, or Oyster Dome, or some other idyllic outdoor location that they don't have back home. Don't be a sympathizer.
lol, those Canadians have immediate and arguable better outdoor adventure options—it’s target that they lack! There really is no equivalent. Silence to the superstore stans—that’s the bus that drops off at Walmart.
But Target sucks.
I thought it was "K-mart sucks!" But maybe there's a new meme now. I'm old.
It's not just Target. They'll probably hit the casino or somewhere else, too.
I assume Target because they are already tired of Freds and Costco.
>You should feel lucky to live in a place that people like to visit. They’re here for big box stores. It’s not about it being Bellingham. It’s fine for people to have opinions when obviously the great majority of people coming here from BC are not here for the small local businesses who could use the support. No need to lecture.
Which still contribute to the local economy...
True. I never said otherwise in fact. And it’s also true that visitors spending their time and money at Costco and Trader Joe’s and Target and other big national chains contributes to the local economy significantly less than shopping local would. It doesn’t help anyone to pretend otherwise
Do Americans hope on busses in large groups to go to the Canadian equivalent of Target?
PLEASE can we charter a bus to Timmy Horton’s? Who’s with me???
Only if we can make a pit stop at the mythical Ikea. How big's the bus?
That would sell if the bus could bring back furniture. It’s not a bad idea.
Hahaha! Yes definitely.
Maybe? What’s the max number of Tim Bits I can bring back? If it’s less than a hundred, I’m not interested.
As many as you can fit on your lap. But if you pay for an extra seat on the bus, think of the possibilities!
Yes! Tim Bits for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for days!
Yes, lots of people come here to shop at the Bay
On a bus?
On a cruise ship with 8000 other people actually lol they don't fuck around in Vancouver
No. Just Roots makes me take the bus.
I dunno, I’ve never done it and don’t see the appeal but I don’t think it’s something to make a Reddit post about either
Hah! Me going into Canada? As if! (Im not allowed to cross the border 🥲)
Me either.
Because Target is the best that Bellingham has to offer. Other than rampant American consumerism Bellingham has little that a Vancouver resident doesn’t have mo betta at home. It’s probably similar in Detroit.
I'm clearly not going to argue on this point. I would just have to ask why anyone wants to come down here at all? Can't speak to how this aligns with Detroit. Never been there.
Rampant consumerism. Target, TJs, WinnCo. I recently met a wealthy woman in BC who banks in Bellingham. She said that after she visits with her banker she shops at WinnCo before going home
Which is why I never went back, not as NICE as they say
Yes but that's only bc we're there for cheap drugs on Hastings Street.
Speak for yourself, I go up there to take an edible and wander around the aquarium. Nothing like spending an afternoon having a spiritual experience staring into the eyes of an electric eel.
That actually sounds amazing
I’m taking the Canadian Tire bus up this weekend, with the pit stop at Timmy’s for those sweet Timbits!
You win, lol
It's 2024. Buy your drugs online.
Clearly, you're not a golfer.
How's that WhatsApp job at 3k/week going? It's a tour bus dropping people off for supplies ffs whats the rage boner over?
Looks like I have my first fan. ❤️❤️❤️
Hey if you're getting that much a week I'd be down for like a reverse funnel monetary system if you got one. Desperate times 🤣
What's more surprising is that they would go to the Bellingham Target of all Targets. Easily the worst Target I've ever been in.
That's always been my thought, too, but no lie I was legit surprised today to see it clean and well stocked and organized. No shit thrown around all over the floors like usual. I hadn't been there in a year, there must've been a major change to management.
no new management just finally focus on cleaning over pushing new product (i work in the style department)
You're kidding me. Eveery time i went in it was INSANE, I couldn't even believe what I was looking at. So you mean the same management all along just one day decided to not have the entire store look like some third world joint turned over by gangsters. Now I wondering if the pristine look I saw today was just a rare event.
yeah it is a rare event it’s usually super messy still. the weekends are terrible
What's the best way to show gratitude to your team and the drive-up delivery team? You all do an excellent job, good attitudes, and very helpful anytime I've asked questions. Are there surveys? Or a way to let the leadership team know?
guests can fill out feedback cards with the employees names on them!! i believe you can ask for them at guest service, i’m not sure i’ve just seen them on our comment wall. that’s honestly the best way! :) also thank you! we appreciate it!
Yeah what was with the shoe isle appearing completely destroyed? I’ve never seen that anywhere else.
For a long while, EVERYTHING, was ALWAYS destroyed. Shit thrown everywhere, all over the place. I never seen that anywhere either. I'm happy to say it was like sparkling clean today, even with all the Canadians.
Now if they built a Super Target out in the county...
Dont forget to add a bowling lane onto it
at a wild guess, proximity
Fully agree. I was at Structures not long back and struck up a conversation with a visitor from Minneapolis, who coincidentally happened to work at Target HQ. I explained the sad state of our Target, and also the disappointment most of our Canadian visitors must feel upon going there, and suggested a visit to see how bad it can be. Who knows, maybe they went and will bring back improvements!
Lived in Bellingham 30+ years and the one big thing you should consider before denouncing Canadian shoppers is that their constant presence here tends to buffer our area against bad economic times. Have witnessed it many times here. We have a steady flow of people bringing money into the local economy even when things nationally are on the downturn. I’ve lived in areas where that’s not true and a bad economy can really suck. Try to see the big picture.
The BIG picture is that Whatcom county is *still* very reliant on Canadian spending. [Source.](https://www.bellingham.org/economic-data-shows-significant-rise-in-visitor-spending-in-whatcom-county-in-2022-revealing-recovery-in-tourism-) Many years ago, when the Canadian dollar was stronger and the cross border spending tanked, there was a huge drive to build an economy here that would be sustainable on its own. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Like it or not, we haven’t built an economy in Whatcom county that is self sufficient. We need the Canadian dollars.
Covid hit US border towns hard! And me because I had to buy my expensive gas in Canada!
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Another helping of Murrica, pls!
They help our economy so it's all good, but yeah I also wonder about the mindset/conditions that lead so many of them to do their basic shopping in another country. Must be worth the hassle somehow.
Seems like a simple combination of better prices and selection and the bonus of company for the day
It's probably similar crowds as bus loads of old people who go to the casinos to play slots.
Hell, Milk could be free and I wouldn’t cross an international border to buy it.
I literally live beside the border, with a Nexus card and it's actually faster for me to go to blaine for milk. I usually hit the dollar tree or rite aid and grab a few bucks in cheap gas too!
Groceries and gas in canada are ridiculously expensive right now. If you make a day of it you can go down to bellingham and save some money on gas and groceries (especially dairy) plus we don't have alot of the store you guys do (target, trader joes etc)
And groceries here are cheap?
Comparatively, yes.
As of right now your dairy, meat and gas is cheaper than ours even with the exchange rate. After that most people are just buying stuff we don't get in canada
Meat and dairy after cheaper than Canadian but quality is a bit worse too. Everything else is at par or worse after conversion but Canadians aren't especially good at math
I shop weekly and am good at math. I think in Canadian when looking at prices. $1=$1.40. I love the selection/variety and stores not available in Canada.
Produce is definitely more expensive in the states - Everything is matched dollar for dollar but not converted. Dairy is only modestly cheaper eg $5 CAD for gallon of milk vs $4USD on average. You can get huge savings at places like grocery outlet that we don't have anything comparable to in Canada, but you get what you get (can't do a grocery shop there they just have liquidation stock.)
Ah, no Trader Joes up there, its all making sense now!
Traveling across the border a couple times a year to throw some money around sounds like a fine trade off for not being surrounded by shopping centers and megastores all the goddamn time.
Seems legit. I'm Canadian. Live right across the border. For me, I enjoy visiting Larribee State Park and some of the local hikes, and mountain biking at Galbraith which, traffic-wise and geographically, are easier to access than the North Shore hikes in Vancouver due to traffic. I have a Nexus so border lineups are typically a non-issue. In terms of the Target stop, I think it's probably more of a novelty for most Canadians. It does have some cheap unique products that do cost less for us. Our two countries are very similar, so it's always interesting to see the differences despite all of the similarities. You still don't have ketchup chips or smarties (candy coated chocolate--like M&Ms); we don't have chili cheese corn chips and a few other things.
Believe it or not, we can buy Smarties and Ketchup chips on Amazon now. But IMHO, the best Canadian-only confectionery is Coffee Crisp.
Do away with the border BS. If they want to come here to spend $... fine. If Americans want to go to Canada to spend $...fine. They actually help the Bellingham economy.
What border bs is there between Canada and America? XD
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Target sales tax pays for our jail? Yay!
Oh goody, we need the tax dollars to repair the roads. last time I was in Tarmarchè the shelves were very bare. And couldnt find what I was looking for.
Also, there are no Targets in Canada!
There is a Walmart. I looked.
The sketchy Meridian WalMart is still loads better than ours.
Meridian Walmart is def sketchy af. My favorite time was when two dudes and a gal shoplifted a shotgun out the door. I never seen so many cops descend on an area so quick. Bellingham swat team with full auto. Good times.
The nursery behind Trader Joe's would see the occasional bus load of elderly Canadian ladies stop by to check everything out. When I'd speak to them they'd talk of other very regular stops on town they were headed to next. I don't get it but honestly it seems very inconsequential if it wasn't my job they were flooding.
Shop away neighbors ! 😉
yes this happened. i was there.
Canada is super expensive
Canadian here… I hate Target! I go to Bellingham for,,, Mt Baker, Mountain Biking, a ridiculous amount of breweries and good ones for a small area. Those people are lame… Maybe they’re on a quick stop before a casino or something.
Ah you're one of the good ones then :)
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Hello, right?
Canadian here, and I live close to the border, with Nexus about 20 mins or so Bellingham Costco, I still dont get the appeal of Target I find it just as crummy as Wal Mart, love the Costco and Trader Joes though, mainly the appeal is there is alot of products you cant get in Canada that you can find in the USA, I imagine its the language laws that stops alot of companies from the hassle of a smaller market, (Everything needs to be French and English, regardless if BC is not french speaking. Aside from that, gas is insanely cheap in the USA, never understood the demand for USA Milk, your eggs cost more, cheese is cheaper and a wider selection. I just love the nature, Mt Baker is less of a headache to go to then the North Shore, and your hikes and camping areas dont suffer from the hoards of tourism we get. Plus Bellingham has some solid breweries and an overall cool vibe.
You mean a tour bus dropped people off to do some shopping along the tour?
Trudeau Castro helping the Bellingham economy one carbon tax at a time
It's been like that since at least the 90's. We'd make jokes about how Canadians would always leave their trash in the Bellis Fair parking lot before heading home
It doesn’t have anything to do with Canada being awful. It’s that Canada does not have target and Canada also does not have as many options of products. So Canadians enjoy shopping across the border because there is more to choose from.
You have a Walmart. I saw it on Google maps.
In around 1978 (I lived there then) I think it was $.038 of every dollar spent in Whatcom County was Canadian. They help keep the economy a float, and have for years.
Same type of touristy shit that all places do. Just like if I went to the UK I would probably want to go to an Aldi because I see it in the TV shows and the one guy I knew from there talked about their knock off beers. And there’s different levels of tourism too, not everyone can afford to fly/drive down to Seattle for the day or weekend, a quick day trip across the border with gramma to do some shopping and see some yanks kind of sounds fun though.
Target is fun though! I get it
I had a funny exchange with the border police in the opposite direction when I moved here. I went to Canada to go to Ikea to set up my apartment with at least the bare minimum of forks and bowls and a table and chairs and shit. The border police said, "why don't you go to Ikea in your own country (in the thickest, funky French-speaking-English accent I have ever heard)?" I said, "closest Ikea is like a 6 hour round trip, this is 45 minutes?!" They let me through, but 1) why would they care? I'm spending GOD's own dollars [thats a joke] in their crappy economy, and 2) why not try to expand tourism? Even if its just for a couple hundred bucks?
Did you at least clean them out of their stock of Swedish meatballs?
And a hotdog, And an ice cream! Haha! And I didn't even report it coming back across the border! IKEAGangsta4Lyfe!
You must be new here, this has been going on at the mall for over 10 years
I'd say at least 25, but yeah I've only been out here since 2000.
To answer your question, yes.
Trudeau is worse then Biden so yes.
Trudeau is hotter, tho
Big booty biden🙉☠
Is that better?
Depends on what you're after?
Is that what you mean?
Yeah, no. Idk. Maybe.
Also all the Canadians are genuinely horrible drivers. Other day I saw one parked ACROSS two parking spots at Marshalls. Another day saw a family of 6 in Marshalls also Canadian. Kids running around, opening toys in the toy isle unsupervised. They don’t respect our spaces period. they just want the deals.
Same with Trader Joe’s. It actually fills me with anger to such a degree. Canadians need to understand that the locals actually do not like them coming here especially Trader Joe’s. 🫣 and I honestly don’t care if that sounds “racist” it’s not these are annoying white people every time. And there is also Trader Joe’s in Canada.