VANCOUVER - In the market for a gym membership or a new car? Pondering the purchase of a new bike or a bigger house?

Better buy post-haste, say advertisers hoping to cash in on the Harmonized Sales Tax that takes effect July 1 in British Columbia and Ontario.

The looming HST has given rise to some innovative marketing, and experts say it's likely to boost sales in the next couple of months, even though it's still far from certain which items will actually jump in price.

"We think consumers are still totally confused," said Vancouver-based Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers' Association of Canada.

"There isn't any reliable source of information for us to make our decisions on."

Purchasers of homes costing more than $525,000 will definitely be hit with tax hikes, there's no definitive list of what else will cost consumers more.

The tally for services like hair cuts, accounting and funerals will likely rise, but it's unclear if goods like furniture and electronics will go up, down or stay the same.

HST-backers suggest retailers should be able to actually lower prices once the provincial sales tax they now pay out is no longer in effect, and they pass along the savings.

One company advises the public can save money by pre-purchasing season tickets to the theatre before it's required to start collecting HST.

"It's expected businesses would promote those types of sales," said Tatiana Chabeaux-Smith, a spokeswoman at Consumer Protection B.C. "There doesn't seem to be anything deceptive -- it's a sales tactic."

But at the Business Council of British Columbia, executive vice-president Jock Finlayson said the HST is being unfairly bashed.

A big portion of the new tax should be offset by retailers' savings, he said, and consumers could come out ahead.

"Businesses, particularly those who interface with consumers, they're going to be coming under some pressure once the HST is implemented to pass on any cost savings," he said.

And B.C. government officials argue the tax will save businesses $2 billion, creating jobs and spurring investment.

The Liberal government has already received a portion of the $1.6 billion Ottawa agreed to hand over as part of the deal to harmonize the provincial and federal taxes.

Opposition, however, is growing in the form of a grassroots campaign to rescind the tax.

Maureen Bader, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said consumers won't be saving money.

"People are funny, they say 'I'm getting tax back,"' she said, speaking of tax returns. "That's an interest-free loan; they're being over taxed. (The government) never should have had it in the first place."

Which is why Cran, from the consumers' association, worries about businesses putting a short-term positive spin on the HST.

"I'm sure there'll be a number of people that will be lured into making wrong decisions. People will be making decisions that they'll regret afterwards," he said.