Many of our customers have now received training on PORTERS, our extranet or private portion of our website. During that training, [most particularly for Canadians who are likely to purchase goods priced in US dollars (US$) and for US (really all non-Canadian addressed) customers who purchase Canadian-manufactured goods - like TrueLine Trains - which are priced in Canadian dollars (C$)], it is necessary to explain how the currency exchange rate process works.
These explanations are as follows:
For Canadian residents: The amount I will be asked to pay in Canadian dollars is the amount shown on the order when invoiced through PORTERS, the US$ price of an item (for US manufactured goods) converted to Canadian dollars, plus shipping and GST.
For US (non-Canadian addressed) residents: The amount I will be asked to pay in US dollars is the amount shown on the order when invoiced through PORTERS, the C$ price of an item (for Canadian manufactured goods) converted to US dollars, plus shipping.
(By the way, currency exchange rates are set by the currency markets - those who buy and sell currencies internationally - not by PWRS, and are reported frequently to commercial banks. We update the currency exchange rates in our system as necessary based upon what our commercial bank uses as its exchange rates.)
The exchange rate used to convert the price in one currency into the price to be charged in the customer's currency - if such a conversion is necessary - is not the based upon the date of the order, but upon the date of the invoice - for this is the date that PWRS is paid for the purchase.
Some customers have understood our process to mean that the date of the order determines the exchange rate to be used as the price to be charged (if a currency conversion is necessary). Note that our system shows currency-converted prices all the time based upon the current exchange rate. While the exchange rate on the date of the order is first used when the order is placed, our system remembers the price in the original currency and the exact price to be charged to the customer remains in flux - if it requires a currency conversion - until it is invoiced. [This is true even when a US dollar price for an item is a known amount rather than TBA (to be announced).] On the date of invoicing (payment required), the currency exchange rate then in effect at our bank is used to fix the price that is billed to the customer.
Why does PWRS operate this way? Quite simply, we believe this is the fairest method for our customers and the most competitive method for us:
As a result, we have determined that our best method of operation is the one outlined above. We believe this to be the case because: