We priced products of 30 retailers here and on the West Coast to see what kind of premiums specific companies charge in Hawaii for the identical items. We went to three fairly pricey metro areas: Seattle and California's Orange County and Sacramento/Davis. Because Safeway does not have a store in Orange County, we surveyed one in Mill Valley, a pricey Bay Area suburb. The survey was conducted June 17-24. Sales prices were not included. About this survey
Those that tend to have frequent price changes, such as produce, were checked in Hawaii throughout the period to ensure there were no changes. We also included auto insurance from Progressive and health insurance from Kaiser to give people a sense of price variations for those services, even though direct comparisons were difficult because of coverage differences. About the products
The premium represents how much more we paid -- in percentage terms -- for the same goods or services when compared with West Coast markets. If items weren't available at a West Coast outlet, they were eliminated in the Oahu total for that comparison only. Davis Supercuts, for instance, didn't have child or senior prices, so those items were excluded from the Oahu total. The premium covered only an adult haircut. About the paradise premium
The surveys:
Goodyear Auto Service Centers
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