Hello Darlings,

As J.Crew came to Canada, I made my way to the Yorkdale shopping mall for its launch. The high-profile New York-based brand is not only adored by Michelle Obama but by the world alike. I don't blame them, the style is classic and preppy. But was the Canadian welcome a warm one towards J.Crew? That is debatable!

Regardless of the buzz and excitement, shoppers walked away with sticker shock or in some cases angry with their mailman. J.Crew's expansion into Canada was done with "raised merchandise prices by about 15 per cent in its Canadian store and on its new Canadian e-commerce site compared with those at its U.S. outlets. For online customers, taxes and duties raised the final price for orders in some cases by as much as 50 per cent compared with the U.S. site they previously ordered from,"reported Globe and Mail. Following price backlash, J.Crew took immediate action to calm the nasty forum buzz.

The harsh reality is that a recent study showed that Canadians generally pay 20 per cent more at retail than Americans. Now, to whom do we write a complaint letter? The shopping fairy godmother?