If anyone has been to a make-up trade show, then they would know that price does make a huge difference.
When IMATS comes to Canada (Vancouver / Toronto), the vendors are all Professional brands usually from the US, so taking into account there are no taxes, no exchange rate, no discount % rate, the prices are still much lower then paying full price including your pro discount rate.
Of course we're talking about quality professional brands here, not street make-up brands like they sell at Sephora, drugstores and department store counters, yes those brands definitely have their merits, but in terms of price=quality, huge difference.