Prices of Buying Goods at McMurdo Station - Antarctica
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- Опубліковано 20 тра 2018
- Want to know how much things cost at the store in McMurdo Staton? Watch this video to findout how much the cost of alcohol, tobacco, clothes, pop, candy, and all other items!
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Filmed on locations: McMurdo Store, Building 155, McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Produced and edited by: K Vex using GoPro Hero 5 Black Edition.
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Music in Video: None
I need to clarify a couple things on this video...
$5 USD For a SINGLE pack of cigarettes.
$4 USD For a SINGLE can of Tobacco (Dip)
$2 For RedBull 12fl oz.
**ITEMS THAT ARE LIMITED SELL PER DAY (EXAMPLE - REDBULL 2 CANS PER PERSON PER DAY) IS BECAUSE THEY WOULD RUN OUT WAY BEFORE THE NEXT SHIPMENT** BASICALLY TRYING TO MAKE IT LAST LONGER
$8.00 in maine
Thanks for the prices but you left the key prices or non priced things which are how much is housing? how much is daily 3 meals? or these are free or partially subsidized?
@@Nairuulagch Bro it isn't like you go there and rent a house or appartment, or go to restaurants...it's more like in the Armed Forces, or working on a cruise ship or something like that, so accomodation and meals are centralised and deducted from pay at source...didn't you notice that there are no normal groceries like rice, potatoes, chicken fillets, onions etc in this shop? Because meals are provided in canteens. Also no coffee, tea sugar etc so this must be provided in canteens too.
K Vex so cheap! A single packet of Marlboro cigarettes is now $35 in downtown Sydney Australia
Paid 9$ for some Newport’s in the Florida panhandle
So it’s cheaper to live in Antarctica then New York.
And you get paid more too lol
+Icybubba. No drive by shootings either
Fuck ya beat me to it.
Holy shit its cheaper.
New York is insanely cheap compared to my city
Yes, but you can also be stuck for weeks with no medical help when you need it. Although it is about the same in the US with the current health care prices. lol
Who else though the prices were gonna be 10x more.
@@kenmackenzie9385 poor quality, they are not worth the price. I did 10 seasons on the ICE and bought very few due to that reason.
I must admit, those prices are significantly more reasonable than I expected. I thought they'd be charging $20 for a pack of smokes and $50 for a bottle of low-end booze.
This isn't Bartertown, Leland lmao. ;) But yeah I thought those were some good prices too! Haha.
Yeah I was shocked too, ciggies & booze (smokes & liquor in American!) are cheaper than London and most of Europe. But actually that figures as they would be duty free in Antarctica, here in the UK and many countries in Europe more than half of what you pay is in fact taxes (duty) for our greedy governments. On the other hand the clothes down there are exhorbitantly expensive and oversized, shapeless and ugly to European eyes, but maybe not to a yank lol.
a pack of cigarettes' cost 34nzd here
Booze is lame. People need opiates instead and cannabis.
@@oneloveboob Seems like a couple kilos of pot would have the best weight-to-intoxication ratio. I wonder if there's any sort of customs check there?
I was in McMurdo four summers (1988-1992). The store is light years better now than when I was there. People down there today have no idea how much better it is.
I laughed at the "beach" towel being sold in Antarctica XD But I guess for people that like bigger towels when they shower.
Antarctica has beaches, granted they have snow instead of sand, and depending on the time of year, they have ice instead of water
@@Icybubba But are people actually going to be taking a dip and ice-bathing there? X3
@Inu I wouldn't recommend it LOL
Hey, one can get creative, put some sand and a wading pool in a greenhouse and "instant beach". Nothing's impossible, lol.
I'd imagine that once their done with their "tour" they can take it home as a souvenir.
Really shocked the prices are about on par what they would be stateside. Like the candy bars for instance, they're actually slightly cheaper than at a grocery store or convenience store here in South Dakota. lol
Carl Tuckerson I would hope so. Not dragging them to a whole frozen continent for such a large salary just to turn around an tax em on the necessities even the inessential items xD
@paul beenis taxes
They subsidize the prices, as a perk for working in those conditions. Similar to how prices on the base in Afghanistan are the same as the prices in the states.
I like the "No Whining" sign.
Ah! A commenter below mentioned about the smokes being cheaper than in California. It then struck me: Part of the reason for the reasonable prices on booze, tobacco/cigs, and other items are the lack of taxes on the federal, state, and local levels . . . as the continent is managed under international treaty, and the continent is not ruled as a nation sovereignty . . . which if it was, the retail goods would be subjected to taxes.
I doubt it's about taxes, all the items are probably subsidized to be regular priced.
Not only that many products aren't coming from America. Like that liquor is cheaper outside the USA. In Argentina malboro red are $3 usd.
If they are importing directly from some 3rd world countries, it wouldn't cost much. Like I'm sure it would be easier for them to import soda from like South America or South Africa, which would be very cheap.
It could have something to do with the quantity that is being purchased too. Kinda like Walmart, if you were a business making a product they tell you how much their going to spend on it because they buy a metric shit ton.
@@quattro4468 In canada you cant get them at the store, they are 16 a pack if you find them
Imagine being a smoker in the Antarctic and having to go outside in the perishing cold whenever you fancied a cigarette! That would be a great incentive to give up, lol
I never thought I'd be so interested in the cost of living in Antartica!
90% of that stuff is cheaper than what I pay at the local Sheets convenience stores here in West Virginia! Even the smokes are cheaper wow
Considering how expensive the transport costs must be, and the cost of paying someone to staff the shop in the middle of nowhere, the prices are quite reasonable.
For those asking about shipping. It goes thru US rates with an APO/FPO, if they are willing to package stuff correctly ( no styrofoam peanut) and it might take weeks or months to get down to you or might get frozen before you get it.
These prices seem more like the prices of an antarctic themed gift-store
Thank you! Just applied to work the store in McMurdo! Very informative!
just came across your video series. i've watched a fair number of mcmurdo vids. yours are some of the best for that "regular guy on the street" perspective of being at mcmurdo. good stuff.
We were rationed alcohol back in the day.. 2 cases of beer or 2 bottle of liquor or 1 of each per week..
I liked your video! So interesting, I was surprised by the selection of items and how reasonably priced!
Super helpful! Thanks dude.
Fore sure cheaper than buying in Canada, no comparison to northern Canada way more expensive.
Good video, thanks for posting!
I think you did quite well thank you for the info!
It's cheaper to shop in Antarctica than in my country.. "Hooray" for high taxation! 😑
Some of these things are cheaper than on Maine
I thought they would be outrageously priced considering where you are. They are a little marked up but that's understandable. Good video!
Awesome channel for sure. One of a kind.
Thanks for the info
Hi KVEX! I just discovered your channel and enjoyed the visit to what used to be called the Ship's Store. It's been a very long time since I was on the ice (85-90 USN WX). I fondly recall buying CD's and tapes, cigs were cheap $5/ctn, Old El Paso Nachos that we'd augment with chili from the Mess Deck chili dog table (death dogs, ha ha!). Lots of things have changed but I still recognize the place.
Looking forward to enjoying more of your videos, many thanks!
Jen
Wow! I love hearing stories like this! That is so amazing! I am really intrigued by your comment Jen! I bet its interesting to see the change with all the things down here!
Thank you! :)
Delta Nine I was on the ice 84-88 SK3...forgotten all about the death dogs.. LOL.. Thanks for the memory..
Midrats :-)
I was on the Ice from 87 through 91 with NSFA Summer Support Medical. Lots of changes over the years to the store with commensurate price hikes. When I was there, soda and alcohol were not sold in the store. Everybody was issued a ration card that allowed you to go to the warehouse where once a pay period you get a case of beer or a case of soda. If one did not want beer or soda, you could get hard liquor instead.
Glad you went to the most important stuff! Booze and cigarettes! Just applied for a job there and I like a cold one(no pun intended)once in a while. Great video and you answered a lot of questions.
Smokes are cheaper than in Canada & the alcohol & clothes are more or less similar if not cheaper
Great videos!!
Video is great man.
@K Vex could you make a video about cellular devices out there at mcmurdo ? Like connection , company's and connection sustainability ?
I love this video. I wish the store was the size of a warehouse.
Not too bad. I expected stuff to be higher priced. Need some of that hard liquor to keep warm on some of those cold nights lol. Thanks for sharing. 👍
Its pretty bad when Chicago prices are about double the price on some of these items!! Considering the logistics and expense of how to even get these items to the Antarctica. Thats crazy how taxes and the merchants jack up prices to what they feel like.
Awesome videos
I'm impressed with the cigarette prices. I pay over $10 for a pack here in Texas. Same with the 12 pack of sodas. My local convenient store is charging $22 now.
Wow, thanks for the video. Some of these prices are even cheaper than here in Miami.
Bloody hell! Cheaper than here in New Zealand!
This is cool my buddy’s goin down in October
Wow, I'm surprised how cheap everything is. I fully expected everything, especially the booze and tobacco products, to be at least 4 times the price it would be back in the U.S.
surprisingly cheap than what i expect. those bottles of alcohol are cheaper than Singapore 😍 thankz Bro for this very informative video 👍👏🏻👍
Awesomeness
Thank god there are people like you, I would go to my grave never knowing about life down there if people like you didn't exist, thanks I am learning something new today.
Thank goodness for the Internet, Elizabeth Cherry. If not for the Internet, you would not know anything about life in the Antarctica.
Yes we have to get a life don't we😅. We would never have known.
I am really enjoying this channel! Getting to Antarctica is one of my dreams! I'd love to work down there for a season. Can we send you care packages?
Thank you! And yes you could but at this point, it would be too late for the next flight. And I am on the flight after that, in August, so it would just be sent to my forwarding address.
I'm amazed they allow alcohol there, I've worked up on the North slope in Alaska on the oil fields and it's completely dry.
Hi, I volunteered to come here for Operation Deep Freeze II. It was around Oct 85-86, during the Summer. It looks very different from what I remember. I only recognize Observation Hill, Scott's Hut and Mt Erebus to be honest. We used to go to Scott's Base to hang out with the Kiwis. I worked in Terminal Operations. We handled all cargo coming in and out of the place. I kind of remember it being near the mess hall/cafeteria. I can only assume it has expanded from the one building we worked out of. Do you have any videos that show what it looks like now?
Oh man the limit on the Red Bull...
Ryan Vargas why is that?
Probably to prevent people from abusing it to be happier or energetic, and then becoming addicted to it(in a pysiological sense, you dont want your body to be fucked up in the arctic)
But they don't limit alcohol, and I seriously doubt they limit coffee and tea. I'm guessing it's a supply issue. Either that, or it's limiting the hit the store is taking on the Red Bull. That stuff is expensive, even at wholesale prices.
@@tracycogsdill900 they do limit alcohol by the month I believe- they ration how much they are allowed to buy.
good prices
So i'm kinda new to the channel, this may have been answered before, but what is it that people tend to bring down with them? Is it just a laptop and some cloths or do people bring down a lot? What is the limit of what you can bring? Do they have any restrictions on what you can bring?
Prices weren’t nearly as bad as I was expecting.
Do you every go "sight" seeing? Or are you restricted to just the base?
They seemed to be much higher in a Barrow video I watched. I'm guessing that was because that was kind of a company store for a town full of commercial workers as opposed to McMurdo which is largely science related and government operated.
Can you order items from Amazon and have them delivered on one of the summer flights?
Highly unlikely.
I was wondering if any souvenirs at, and of, Amundsen-Scott base would also be there.
Thanks for sharing this video. It was very informative. I have to do a report on a government research institution for one of my classes in college, and I'm going to ask the instructor if I can do it on McMurdo. I've been fascinated with this place ever since I first learned about it. It would be a dream come true to get a job there.
As for the prices on products, I guess I wasn't that surprised. Cigarettes are about $3 a pack more here in Minnesota, but that's because they're taxed so much (not that I smoke). Beer is over $22 a case usually, but again it's because of taxes. I was slightly surprised that the prices weren't a bit higher because the products have to be flown half way around the world. Is transportation cost not factored in to prices?
I live in illinois and can say tho I havent been to Antartica I have lived threw what could be considered their weather. -50 plus walked to work and work inside building with no heat.. the walls was ice.
Good to see speights in the shop there. Beer of champs
This vid was much better, still could do without the loud music in the intro though. Like
I agree, I got rid of that intro and am starting to do no intros.
@@KVexKVex Amazing channel though.
Great video!! Did you work at the store? Wish I could get that job!
I love Deals.£5 for cigarettes in Antarctica that's a lucky deal for me I like this video I would love to go to Antarctica.thanks Pal for showing deals in Antarctica
I just found your channel because I was interested in Dispatching for the Fire Department down there. I am curious with limited internet out there how long does it take you to upload these videos?
Is it a pain? Thank you for all you do.
Glad to see mouth wash - and not a terrible price. I'll be down during mainbody.
Is there any way to buy some of the collectibles without, well, going to Antarctica? As a model car collector the terra bus and the delta would be cool to have
Awesome vid dude! A quick question: do they sell distilled water over there as well?
No, but we have it here, depending on why you needed it, you could get it for free from supply.
Oooh, all right. It's for medical equipment (CPAP machine). That's good to know. Thank you for your reply. ^_^
Sure and also for science experiments here too
Holy cow. I was expecting prices to be far higher than that. Like 3x higher. Most of that stuff is downright normal price for where I'm at, less expensive even, and I'm not in a high-priced area or anything.
Is there a link for us OEA's to purchase any of these items once we are retired home back in the states?
That's pretty reasonable!
Is it possible in any way for myself to buy a McMurdo wine glass and bar coaster.
I can see Australia and New Zealand has influence on some of the product range.
I'm no professional "price is right" contestant, but those prices don't seem to have much if any markup like you'd expect. I don't smoke so I don't know about that, but the booze/beer as well as the clothing seems about on par with what it would be for me in Texas. Of course some of the food seems a little high, but not bad..
I was surprised too, and $5 for a pack of cigarettes is really low. I’ve seen some states sell a pack for up to $15, and you can only find ones around $5 in states like kentucky
By Texas standards $5/pack is cheap. That's about what the no-frills generic brands cost with tax. Any kind of name brand will be at least $6-something if not over $7.00.
Are goods subsidised in anyway for prices that cheap on the booze?
Not bad at all! Never thought prices would be reasonable. I wonder if pricing would be the same on a Mars colony??
Tim Tams in Antarctica? That makes your shop better than the grocery stores in my town in Colorado as far as I'm concerned.
Winter Park, Keystone or FOCO ?... 😀
Not bad. I actually thought they'd be crazy expensive!
What about presibed medicine how much is that and how do you get more if you run out?
Hi! How many times in a week do you have shower? And how much time for shower you have?
Question for K Vex, are prescription meds available down there? I take a few for blood pressure, and can only buy 90 days at a time here in California.
A 3 year too late answer.
You would not be eligible to work in Antarctica because of health issues. Everyone must take a medical exam. High blood pressure would disqualify you.
What about controlled high blood pressure. I guess the recruiter would answer those questions up front during screening process.
OMG! It almost....... almost not quite move there just to shop🤣
That's not bad. Figured it would cost a ton! I wouldn't be surprised if they were losing money on some of that stuff. Im surprised there is so much gift shop stuff down there.
Last time I was there cigs. were 10 cents a pack. Beer 25 cents and 2 limit - course that's been 60 years ago.
We're you there for job opportunities or was it opened for tourism!?!?
@@tylerd4124 I was in our US Navy we were setting up' to improve the first things there. All mud then ice. Very crude back then - first trip 1958
@zane lile Its bizarre to think places as remote and desolate as Antarctica still experiences such a great deal of change economically.
Very reasonable prices compared to Alaska villages, because its government there is no heavy shipping cost and markups.
I’d love to do a collaboration video with you, lol any chance you could sent me the golf ball pack to Australia hahahah that’s crazy they had that there
K.Vex I have a question for you my husband sbandis a poet and his poems have been published on the other 6 Continents and he would love to add Antarctica to the list and make it 7? Can you possibly help? He was not noted in November 2022 for a Pushcart Prize Award by the Tajmahal Review in India as well and he is a former US Coast Guard Auxillarist as well. Even if he faxed a poet and someone down there would be kind enough to put it on a video and read it title poem by his name he would be so great ful to you all! Cheers!
Pretty sure the prices there are cheaper than in northern Canada. They don't sell meat, dairy or produce?
Alot of the prices here are also somewhat cheap because the government owns this place so they get discounts and they arent taxed
No meat, only from the kitchen, dairy yes, but its very preserved.
WOW things have definitely changed since summer 96-97!
At the commissary, are purchases made from a stipend provided by the authorities or thru your own finances?....and what is the pay system like?
Pack of marlboro here in Ohio is over 9 bucks a pack with tax , Im guessing now at Mcmurdo they are around 14 or so ?
I wonder if they still sell the Antarctic zippo lighter? I bought one there in 1993
What are the hours? I'm going to do my Black Friday shopping there.
This store is uncannily like the bookstore at my college
How did you upload this video? I thought internet access was limited and sites like youtube are blocked.
Is it a trust system or does someone usually run a register?
You should sell ski soda your mountain dew buyers will love you for it.
The base down there seem same what what a base on mars would kind of be like the things needed to live there is a lot of little things you need
I am honestly so surprised seeing all of the responses of folks who wanna live there, I thought I was a weirdo hahah. 14 years retail experience here, 4 years managing. Please hire me :)
Do you take VISA and can you ship?
what was your weekly pay in antarctica i tried to add your socials but links didnt work