‘The Price is Right’ is coming to Kamloops but prices aren’t what they used to be

Economists, governments and corporations have all kinds of methods for collecting data to track inflation, but all you really need to do is watch The Price is Right, and people in Kamloops will have the chance to see it live.

The classic show’s live version is coming to Kamloops on April 2 starting at 8 p.m. at the Sandman Centre with tickets on sale now for $43 to $149.

The live version is the same show but it’s not televised, so potential contestants should study up so they know how expensive things are these days.

CBS launched The Price is Right in 1972 and it has been on the air ever since.

Now, we have more than 50 years of footage of people guessing price tags and it’s a good way to see half a century of inflation, and a lot of applause.

Since the show started the price of brand new cars given away as prizes has gone up ten-fold.

In the first episode in 1972, legendary host Bob Barker revealed the price of the brand new Chevrolet Vega Kammback was $2,746. In 1996, the show had a Ford Thunderbird for $20,000. In 2016, the show’s new host Drew Carey revealed the Ford Fusion was $25,328. In 2025, the prize was a Nissan Sentra worth $23,000. All in American dollars of course.

It’s a similar story with the price of gold.

In the 1980s Barker asked contestants how much two, one ounce bars of gold cost and the answer was $672, or $336 USD per ounce. Today, gold prices are around $4,400 USD, or $6,089 CAD per ounce.

The show has even reworked the rules to some of its segments because inflation made them too challenging.

The show has a “Grocery Game” where contestants have to guess the total cost for five items at the grocery store. Originally the goal was to pick five items within $6.75 and $7, then in 1989 the winning range increased from $20 to $21 due to inflation, now the range is up to $20 to $22.

If you want a taste of nostalgia, or you plan on being a contestant and want to work on your strategy, full episodes of The Price is Right are available online and old episodes have been uploaded to YouTube.