High Canadian Dollar Hurting Your Business?

**whitebark** · 03-09-2011, 10:05 AM

The loonie rose 0.41 cents US, hitting $1.0335 on world markets in mid-morning trading.

Let's face it -we have a petro-dollar and with oil futures looking even higher our dollar should be dragged along for the ride - but is that a good thing for your business?

I know I would prefer a sub-dollar dollar as so many advertisers pay in US dollars only. It stinks taking a percentage hit when times are already rough. You can only hoard American dollars for so long before you want to convert them... and I've got a small and growing pile of checks that need to be cashed.

I also nearly lost an American customer who didn't much care for paying in Canadian dollars as they didn't want to pay the extra needed, but were of course happy enough to let me eat the exchange....

How about you - is the high Canadian dollar a hindrance, a mild nuisance, or a good outcome?

**Adam Dicker** · 03-09-2011, 10:11 AM

Yes, most of my money comes in US$ so this is a pain in my arse.

-=DCG=-

**Stian** · 03-09-2011, 10:28 AM

Hurts my business as well. 99% of my income is in USD and it's weaker than ever against the NOK.

Seriously, this should reflect in domain prices as well. Add a few % to the sales price to compensate for the weak USD.

**DomainsInc** · 03-09-2011, 10:49 AM

good time to buy but not good for much else..

**Stian** · 03-09-2011, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by DomainsInc

good time to buy but not good for much else..

Well, it's limited how long you can buy, buy and buy without selling anything.

**DomainsInc** · 03-09-2011, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Stian

Well, it's limited how long you can buy, buy and buy without selling anything.

very true. i just go about what i do normally and try not to think about it. i don't see it changing anytime soon so might as well get used to it.

**Stian** · 03-09-2011, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by DomainsInc

very true. i just go about what i do normally and try not to think about it. i don't see it changing anytime soon so might as well get used to it.

True. I have a feeling that the domain market is picking up again now though, so maybe more buyers will compensate for the weak dollar.

**Irish31** · 03-09-2011, 01:10 PM

The exchange rate is killing me. At this point I am insisting the buyers pay me the difference in USD$ (to stay in their currency) or pay me in CAD since my domains are .CA and I am Canadian.

Either way this puts more pressure on me.

**hugegrowth** · 03-09-2011, 01:28 PM

most affiliate programs pay in US $ so it hurts there.
doesn't really affect the trade in .ca domains between Canadians, using C$.

good for renewing domains at GoDaddy.
good for non-US domain aftermarket buyers (Europeans/Canadians etc), might have an increase in domain sales.

I remember back in the early 2000's getting almost $1.50 Cdn for $1.00 US. That was sweet when you went to deposit a cheque, though not so great for domains renewals or travel to US.

I think it's best for Canada if our dollar was 90 to 100% of the US dollar, all things considered. I would hate to see the C$ climb too high, would have too much of an impact on our exports.

**TheLegendaryJP** · 03-09-2011, 01:35 PM

I do 99% of biz in USD. I remember when I started 5-6 years ago making 30%+ on each deal when converted to CAD. Now I just cry a little lol

**ilovedomains** · 03-09-2011, 01:53 PM

Worked out great for me. I sold all my PPC names when the exchange rate was over 25%. Then PPC went into the crapper. I put the money into Canadian real estate.

**DOTCA** · 03-09-2011, 02:20 PM

It's such a pain.. but no mercy in this game I believe.. Hard to stomach though.

**dpix** · 03-09-2011, 03:30 PM

Certainly on the PPC/Google side, it's been harmful. However, to most end users, it's a non-issue as their ad campaign dollars are mostly local so it doesn't factor in much for them.

**Adam Dicker** · 03-09-2011, 03:34 PM

If this keeps up, soon dnf memeberships will be in Canadian $.

Oh how I long for those days when the it cost 1.40 Canadaian for one use dollar.

On a less selfish side, I guess it's good for our economy.

-=DCG=-

**Gerry** · 03-09-2011, 03:35 PM

It has kept me from a return trip to Halifax, PEI, and a few other places.

Question: Has the Canadian real estate market kept pace with the changes in USD vs CAD?

In other words, has a place like Toronto experienced a plus or downward trend in pricing to compensate for the difference?

**Adam Dicker** · 03-09-2011, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by Doc Com

In other words, has a place like Toronto experienced a plus or downward trend in pricing to compensate for the difference?

The answer to this is no.

-=DCG=-

**katherine** · 03-09-2011, 03:59 PM

We need to get paid in domains

**DropWizard.com** · 03-09-2011, 05:25 PM

Originally Posted by katherine

We need to get paid in domains

Or tequila!

**ilovedomains** · 03-09-2011, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by Doc Com

Question: Has the Canadian real estate market kept pace with the changes in USD vs CAD?

Im in BC near Vancouver. House prices here are up slightly since the recession started.

**Provider** · 03-10-2011, 01:24 AM

We should all adjust. Imagine how easy it would be for us to operate when the Canadian dollar goes down. Actually it is possible for loonie to go down, especially if the problems in Europe escalate. There are some bad news from Portugal during last few days. There are few countries that probably won't be able to avoid bailouts such as Italy, Spain, even Belgium. It may lead to save heaven run on US dollar and bring the loonie down. I think Canadian Government won't let loonie to stand down for long even if it happens. They want to raise rates ASAP. Loonie will go down for sure when US will start raising rates, but we might be few years away. I am hurt as most of the people that replied in this thread.