Most of the furniture our Duncan store sells shows a price on our site. On 16 October 2026, 963 of the 1,079 furniture, mattress and bedding listings for Duncan showed one. That number is our list price to the cent, before applicable taxes.
The other 116 show no number, and the same goes for the 682 pieces carried only at our Campbell River or Port Alberni stores. This guide used to explain why we quoted furniture instead of listing prices, and that stopped being true once the prices went up on the site. Three things at Merit Home Furniture still need explaining: the short line under a price, the pages with no number, and special orders that differ from the page.
What Merit's furniture prices online show today
Here is how the 1,761 active furniture, mattress and bedding listings broke down when I read them on 16 October. A listing is one product page, so a sofa and its matching loveseat count as two. They cover every room: living room, bedroom and dining furniture, plus mattresses and bedding. Appliances are left out of these counts.
| What the listing shows | Listings |
|---|---|
| Duncan piece, price with online checkout | 949 |
| Duncan piece, price with a Call for Best Price button instead of checkout | 14 |
| Duncan piece, no price loaded yet | 36 |
| Duncan piece, Island Living, no price by Island Living's policy | 80 |
| Campbell River or Port Alberni piece, no price, Call to order | 682 |
That works out to about 89 in every 100 Duncan listings carrying a number. Online checkout is for Duncan pieces only for now, and the pieces our other two stores carry go without a price online.
What does Call for Best Price mean on a Merit listing?
Call for Best Price on a Merit listing is an invitation to phone the store for today's number, which can be lower than the one shown. It appears in two forms. Under most prices it is a short red line with the store's phone number beside it. On a listing with no price, it takes the price's place, except on Island Living and Decor-Rest, where that spot reads Explore Fabrics & Options In Store.
Our homepage gives two reasons for it. There is often a sale on, and choices such as firmer cushions or a different fabric change the number. The homepage calls the online price an honest estimate, and a short call gets the real one.
The line is left off pillows, sheets, mattress protectors and the other small items. Those sell at the price shown with no call needed, picked up free in Duncan or added to a delivery.
Why Island Living furniture shows no price online
Island Living furniture shows no price online because that is Island Living's own policy for the internet. The company's FAQ says, "Island Living does not establish retail price points for our products." To get a price, it adds, a buyer contacts a dealer.
So none of the 80 Island Living listings on our site carries a number, and Island Living is sold through our Duncan store. Island Living also runs two programs. Some pieces are made to order in Burnaby, BC, where Island Living stocks over 400 fabric styles and colours. Others are an in-stock range made overseas for Island Living.
A Island Living sofa built to order takes 6 to 8 weeks to be ready for pickup or delivery. When Island Living has the piece in stock in Vancouver, that drops to 2 to 3 weeks.
Listings with no price yet, and pieces marked Call to order
The 36 Duncan listings with no price loaded are mostly La-Z-Boy and Decor-Rest pieces, 29 of the 36, with a handful from other makers. The La-Z-Boy Hawthorn Reclining Sofa is one example, and its button rings Duncan for the price in the size and cover wanted.
Call to order is a different thing. A piece carried only by our Campbell River or Port Alberni store shows no price on our site, and its button dials that store instead of opening checkout. The Ashley Norlou Sofa is one, carried at our Port Alberni store, so call for our best price.
Delivery from Campbell River or Port Alberni runs on that store's own terms, given on the call. The $150 figure further down is Duncan's.
How special orders and custom covers change a furniture price
A special order is priced by what goes into it, so the number on a listing is one version of the piece. The cover makes the biggest difference on upholstery, and size does on beds. These live prices show the gap between two versions of the same piece.
| Piece and version | Price before applicable taxes |
|---|---|
| Decor-Rest 2404 Sofa, fabric | $1,399.00 |
| Decor-Rest 2404 Sofa, leather | $2,799.00 |
| Mako Aspen Solid Wood Panel Bed, Twin | $1,099.00 |
| Mako Aspen Solid Wood Panel Bed, King | $1,449.00 |
Leather on the Decor-Rest 2404 Sofa roughly doubles the fabric price. A Decor-Rest chair moves the same way when the cover changes. The 2404 listing also names a firm seat foam option, and the store can say on the call what that adds.
Decor-Rest is made in Woodbridge, Ontario, and its orders take 8 to 10 weeks. On the Mako Aspen bed, a king costs about 32% more than a twin. On a sectional, the order also has to name which side faces which way, left or right.
What goes on a written quote for a special order
A written quote from us names the model, the size and the cover, then the price before applicable taxes. It adds delivery if wanted, the expected date and the deposit. How long the quoted price holds is written on it, and the dates for each maker are in the brand by brand lead times.
Special orders at Merit are held with a 24% deposit. The rest of how deposits, returns and exchanges work has its own guide.
Where is the most affordable place to buy furniture on the Island?
The most affordable place to buy furniture is the store with the lowest total for the same piece, not the lowest number on a page. That total is the price, the applicable taxes and whatever it costs to get the piece home and set up. Comparing two stores on the same model is the only fair test.
Canada's Competition Bureau treats a price a buyer cannot actually get, because of mandatory fixed fees, as a false or misleading representation. That rule has applied since June 23, 2022. Government charges such as sales tax are excluded, which is why our prices read before applicable taxes.
Delivery is a choice with us, not a fee built into the price. From Duncan, it costs $150 across the Island, assembly included, and for the Gulf Islands we quote by phone, since only some are on our run. A mattress headed across the Island sometimes travels by another shipping method. Pickup at Duncan is free.
Our homepage says we can usually carry the old piece out when the new one arrives, with details on each store page, so it is worth confirming at the time of delivery. If another store has a better price, Merit's Best Price Guarantee says find a better price, and we'll refund 100% of the difference. Bring the other store's price in writing and we will go through it together.
When the listed price is not the price paid
A listed price holds for the version named next to it, on the day it was read. These are the things that move it:
- A different cover, as the leather 2404 shows.
- A different size on a bed, a mattress or a sectional.
- A sale, which can bring it down.
- Delivery, added only when chosen.
- Applicable taxes, added at checkout or the till.
A listing photo can show a cover or finish other than the one priced, so the version named beside the price is the one to go by. For anyone who wants a firm number before driving to Duncan, a short call settles it first. Island Living buyers have no online number to compare at all, so the call is the only route there.
Where these numbers come from
- Competition Bureau Canada, Guide to the 2022 amendments to the Competition Act (drip pricing, subsections 52(1.3) and 74.01(1.1)), checked October 2026.
- Merit Home Furniture product listings: 1,761 active furniture, mattress and bedding pages, with their prices, tags and store availability, read on 16 October 2026.
- Merit Home Furniture homepage, the answer to why prices say Call for Best Price, and the Best Price Guarantee wording, read October 2026.
- The owners' delivery, deposit and lead time terms for the Duncan store, October 2026.
Getting today's price from a Merit store
A call is the quickest way to get the price of the exact version wanted, with the date and the delivery cost in the same answer. Having the model name from the listing makes it a two minute call. In Duncan, ask for me.
Campbell River is (250) 286-0868 and Port Alberni is (250) 724-6644, for the pieces those stores carry. Furniture made in Canada is grouped in one place, and the four stores and how each one works are on one page too.