Everything is expensive in Nunavut if you've been exposed to prices south of here, or have discovered the beauty of shopping online (though some places won't ship this far north, and if they do, it could be crazy expensive...so that may not be a good option either).
One of the "convenience" stores in Baker Lake also has an electronics counter and I recently found out they also sell furniture from time to time. I think it's beyond a typical convenience store - which there are a couple of small ones in town - because it sells a variety of other things if the stock is available.
The store sometimes posts a few sale prices on Facebook, and I grabbed a recent flyer to show what non-grocery items can look like in terms of pricing:
I'm quite certain that you can get most of these items for a lower price with free shipping if you purchased online. For larger items (such as the appliances and furniture), the shipping is usually at a premium cost so people tend to wait until summer when the barges come and order it up that way (barges are also when many people purchase vehicles and have them sent up, but that's a different story).
Clothing is also quite expensive here, since the only place to purchase it would be at the Northern - and the mark-up is steep. I have seen track pants or jeans that are Walmart or Zellers brand go for $75. I get that sometimes it's necessary to purchase items that you don't have the luxury of waiting for it to be shipped, but stores need to realize this and cut us some slack - prices could be lowered significantly and they'd still be making a huge profit.
-L
yeah, i gotta tell ya... they'd have to be some kind of super snuggly make my ass look like a million dollars made out of amazingly soft but super warm material for $75 sweat pants.
ReplyDeleteCan you send me a wish list? Maybe I can ship stuff up to you sometime... sizes, etc. :)