In one of those curious perversions of Capitalism, Nelson Thrift shops are ridiculously expensive. Think "High End" Consignment Shops in Calgary. Garage Sales, by comparison, are startlingly cheap - finds I missed this weekend (not missed, wisely decided against) included a Sailboard, with Sail, in good working order, with another complete Sailboard thrown in for parts, $50.00 OBO. A Paddle board, near new, $120.00. And countless other treasures - the fun thing about Nelson Garage Sales is you can still find treasures even if you're late, or the next day.
Calgary, on the other hand - has reasonably cheap thrift shops, where money is abundant people don't like to buy used and so the prices are kept low. Nelson, by contrast, people generally don't have as much money, so thrift shops tend to be a lot more trafficked, driving up prices.
...There might be an opportunity here...