wow! The Canadian HS928TCD is $3,700 CAN$. That's a lot of money when compared to the USA which can be found for $2,500USD.
Yeah, it's common knowledge that when it comes to buying just about anything, we Canadians take it in the a$$ big time compared to the USA. Our models may have a few more bells and whistles but not so much as to substatiate the huge increase in price. The "gouge factor" is one of the reasons I buy a lot of used stuff. Another reason is that buying used also avoids paying 13% in sales tax.
A good example is that a new, cheap, entry level, Chinese engined, Troy-Bilt SS machine sold at Canadian Tire retails for $550.00, add 13% and that's $621.00!! I bought a used 2006 Murray SS machine with a very healthy 139cc Tecumseh two stroke engine for $30.00 - period. Add the price of a piece of string to do the power-boost mod - $0 - and I have a machine that will likely blow the chute off of the Troy-Bilt. Of course, there's the problem of availability. You have to lay in wait for a used machine and pounce quickly when you see one. If you don't have the time, you gots ta pay the gouger!