Panos for Progress: Thoughts and Selections

[Part 1: Costco – Part 2: Amazon ] The “big news” in the 2021-2024 time period was inflation and the cost of products, foods, and household items. Most of the inflation occurred soon after the Covid pandemic was under control. The rise in prices was due to high demand and limited supply because of labor shortages and supply chain issues in the harbors, etc. We moved to South Reno in late 2021 from Honolulu. Establishing a new household requires many purchases, several of which from Internet retail giant Amazon. Actually, Amazon has a large warehouse in the Reno-Sparks area. Unlike the 4+ days it took even for small shipments to arrive at our place in Honolulu, several of our orders in Reno arrive within 18 to 36 hours! I looked at my orders in summer 2021 and then re-priced the same exact items in summer 2024. (This is why my table is not very long. Some items have been superseded by newer models.) The table below presents a sample of 21 items; click on it to see a clear version. As ex...

[ Part 1: COSTCO – Part 2: AMAZON] In summer 2018, my family and I went on a trip to the Reno-Tahoe area, mostly for vacation but also to get an idea if the greater Reno area may be a suitable one for relocating from Honolulu, after my retirement from the University of Hawaii. During the visit, I took pictures at Reno Costco of some of the products and items we used to buy at the time in Honolulu. I wanted to compare them with Honolulu’s Costco (at Iwilei). I was expecting that the “price of paradise” would hit again, and many items would be more expensive in Hawaii. I was planning to blog about it. Much to my surprise, the prices were basically the same … nothing to write about. Fast forward to 2024 and the “big news” is inflation and the cost of food items. Actually, most of the inflation occurred soon after the Covid pandemic was under control. The rise in prices was due to high demand and limited supply because of labor shortages and supply chain issues in the harbors, etc. Food i...