S/O Product shortages July Edition

[Arcadia]

18 minutes ago, mom2scouts said:

. We have been trying to buy a kayak for dd because, with everything cancelled for summer, we've been taking our canoe to a nearby lake and dd has to sit in the middle. There are no kayaks to be found anywhere near us.

I saw them in store at REI and Dicks Sporting Goods. 

https://www.rei.com/search?q=kayaks

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/search/SearchDisplay?searchTerm=Kayak&storeId=15108&catalogId=12301&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&fromPage=Search&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&DSGsearchType=Keyword&pageSize=48

[Pam in CT]

We've been managing on shelf-stable "shipments" from WalMart, Costco and Amazon, supplemented by actual deliveries of fresh stuff from a restaurant supplier and Peapod (= Stop & Shop) throughout and curbside pickups from Home Depot & Loews, so I actually don't know what's currently in IRL stores locally.  Friends who are sallying inside mostly report that the early shortages of specific items have mostly subsided.

For the online & curbside ordering... in the early days I couldn't get specific items -- TP, paper towels, napkins, sanitizer & various cleaning supplies, pasta and dried beans and canned vegetables for a while (including pumpkin, how weird), thermometer and flu medicine, flour & baking powder -- but all of that seems to have stabilized. The only thing I've searched for in weeks that I've been unable to order and receive within 10 days is yeast.

Fish, chicken and lamb/beef is available, but not necessarily the exact cut or fat % that I'm looking for and definitely more expensive. Lamb prices seem to have moved the least, so we're eating relatively more of that.

My newbie chicken farmer husband, who is now bless his heart turning his design and construction attention to cold frames, has been seriously frustrated by limited access to lumber and other supplies.  And my son waited for-freaking-ever for a green screen order. Evidently there's a run on green screens.  (Which unlike the canned pumpkin is understandable at least.)

It's all been rather an exercise in stepping up our upfront planning capacity and our patience. The other day when my husband was venting about Loews' failure to send him the acrylic panels he'd ordered on time, I told him that our development of those muscles is why the Lord sent this plague upon us...

[mom2scouts]

7 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I saw them in store at REI and Dicks Sporting Goods. 

https://www.rei.com/search?q=kayaks

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/search/SearchDisplay?searchTerm=Kayak&storeId=15108&catalogId=12301&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&fromPage=Search&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&DSGsearchType=Keyword&pageSize=48

Thanks. The REI ones are way too expensive for us for recreational paddling and none of the Dick's stores near us have them available. DH says he hopes this means there will be a lot of gently used kayaks available next summer.

Edited July 11, 2020 by mom2scouts

[SeaConquest]

Disinfecting wipes and Lysol are pretty much the only things I haven't been able to find in San Diego, but I also only shop online and get grocery delivery via Costco delivery (Instacart and business delivery) and Amazon Prime Now. I've checked other stores online and can't find them anywhere, so I've pretty much given up looking. 

You all with your enormous freezer stashes are kinda freaking me out. I have anxiety, so it's making me feel like I should be panic buying and hoarding more stuff. Not like I know how to cook and would know what to do with any of it... 🙂 

Edited July 10, 2020 by SeaConquest

[TrixieB]

14 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Canned pumpkin.  I know that it's not the "season" but I mix it in the dog's food. 

Adam's peanut butter - someone mentioned the creamy but I can't find my favorite chunky either.

 

Ditto on the Adams.  Sometimes my aunt finds the chunky at Safeway (she should not be going out shopping but she refuses to listen to me!) but what she really wants is the no-stir chunky which none of my local family members have seen in months. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

19 minutes ago, TrixieB said:

Ditto on the Adams.  Sometimes my aunt finds the chunky at Safeway (she should not be going out shopping but she refuses to listen to me!) but what she really wants is the no-stir chunky which none of my local family members have seen in months. 

Yes.  I want the No Stir kind too.  The other kind separates and seems impossible to keep stirred despite stirring it with a knife and then turning the jar upside down. 

[Noreen Claire]

On 7/9/2020 at 11:27 AM, mommyoffive said:

The appliances thing really worries me.  What if my fridge breaks?  Ahhhh

My 15-year old freezer isn't keeping things cold (think mushy, defrosted meat), and my fridge is sometimes freezing the milk. So, I went to buy a new one this morning, and I was told they *hope* to have the one I want in-stock mid-august. Awesome. I called and searched everywhere - no luck. Will cross my fingers that we can make it that long.

[Jean in Newcastle]

21 minutes ago, Noreen Claire said:

My 15-year old freezer isn't keeping things cold (think mushy, defrosted meat), and my fridge is sometimes freezing the milk. So, I went to buy a new one this morning, and I was told they *hope* to have the one I want in-stock mid-august. Awesome. I called and searched everywhere - no luck. Will cross my fingers that we can make it that long.

You might check for refurbished appliances. 

[mommyoffive]

42 minutes ago, Noreen Claire said:

My 15-year old freezer isn't keeping things cold (think mushy, defrosted meat), and my fridge is sometimes freezing the milk. So, I went to buy a new one this morning, and I was told they *hope* to have the one I want in-stock mid-august. Awesome. I called and searched everywhere - no luck. Will cross my fingers that we can make it that long.

That is my nightmare the lady with a almost 14 year old fridge says.  I hope you find something faster.   Let us know how it works out. 

[Kassia]

54 minutes ago, Noreen Claire said:

My 15-year old freezer isn't keeping things cold (think mushy, defrosted meat), and my fridge is sometimes freezing the milk. So, I went to buy a new one this morning, and I was told they *hope* to have the one I want in-stock mid-august. Awesome. I called and searched everywhere - no luck. Will cross my fingers that we can make it that long.

 

My friend's refrigerator died a couple of weeks ago and couldn't find anything available for at least three weeks in the big box stores.  She found a local place that delivered in a week and ordered it. Hope yours hangs in there.  

[Noreen Claire]

So, I just spent the morning calling all the local stores -big box and small appliance- searching all of my in-stock options and decided to order the one I wanted and hope it showed up early.

I'm glad I went with the small, local place where we ordered our washer & dryer (they both had to be replaced last month), because the salesman realized that they had a display model, never been plugged in and no marks on it, and he gave me a deal. I could have had it this week, but they will have to remove the doors to get it into my kitchen, so I had to schedule it for next Wednesday. I'm relieved, but nervous. When it's in the kitchen and running, I'll relax.

Now, if the universe will let us go more than a month before something *else* needs to be repaired/replaced, that would be awesome.

Edited July 13, 2020 by Noreen Claire

[Pawz4me]

46 minutes ago, Plum said:

 

• GE is impossible to get right now. That goes across the board for all appliances and equipment from ovens to medical.

 

Huh. I got a GE chest freezer about seven weeks ago. I knew I got lucky, but I must have been really lucky.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that our 14 yo fridge keeps chugging along. For about a year we've considered getting a new one and moving the old one out to the garage, but now I'd rather wait until I have plenty of choices, and when there are (hopefully) decent sales once again.

ETA some good news -- There were some Clorox and Lysol wipes at Walmart today. Maybe fifty containers total. That's the first I've seen in about four months. I don't use them at home, but I did buy one container. If (big IF) we were to travel anywhere I'd definitely want to have some.

Edited July 13, 2020 by Pawz4me

[TechWife]

Let's see -

Cleaning supplies of all types are hard to come by. For example, last week one grocery store had only Mr. Clean erasers. Target had only Mrs. Myers all purpose cleaner. That was it.

Other things that I scout for a couple of weeks before we need them because they seem to be on the shelves infrequently:

laundry detergent

dishwasher detergent

toilet bowl cleaner

all purpose cleaner, like Mr. Clean.

Cheerwine (I have no idea why this has been an issue - it's my son's favorite drink)

Toilet paper of some type is usually available. One grocery store (the one with the Mr. Clean erasers) is selling boxes of individual rolls that usually go to offices or schools and they almost always have those. Other brands are sporadic in all stores.

Staples are available, but there is less in stock at any one time. A couple of weeks ago when I bought AP flour, there were only two more bags left on the shelf after I got mine. Spices are starting to come back in stock, but not everything. Stock on sugar, corn meal, etc. are low as well.

We haven't had a problem getting fresh fruit & veggies since the beginning of April.

N95 masks are not available. Both disposable and fabric masks are often available. Gloves are hard to come by.

All stores have a quantity limit of one on purchases of masks, gloves, toilet paper, paper towel, kleenex, paper napkins, hand sanitizer, soap, baby wipes, disposable cleaning wipes. Purchase limits on meat have been lifted, although stock availability varies (one store might have chicken, another ground beef) and they aren't keeping the quantity on hand that they used to - I assume that's a combination of grocers not being able to get the previous quantities and  increased demand due to more meals being prepared at home.

 

 

 

 

[Pippen]

On 7/9/2020 at 10:27 AM, mommyoffive said:

The appliances thing really worries me.  What if my fridge breaks?  Ahhhh

We were s few weeks from lockdown and I decided to stop procrastinating on replacing my old (1973) range. They were already starting to see supply  chain problems then. I was told that appliances that are made in the US rely on many parts made in China. 

I have a couple of dorm fridges in my garage that in normal times I would be moving out of here. I think we'll just sit on them for awhile. 

[mathnerd]

1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

Huh. I got a GE chest freezer about seven weeks ago. I knew I got lucky, but I must have been really lucky.

Yes, you were lucky. I am waiting for one which was supposed to be delivered in August and then the order got canceled because they were unable to fulfill the order.

[mommyoffive]

Do we think school supplies are next?  La and San Diego schools just said they are going virtual.   

[Elfknitter.#]

Rubbing alcohol. I can't find it anywhere.

Otherwise, it varies from week to week. Sometimes it's something like frozen pizzas, the next it will be a limited selection of pasta sauce brands.

On 7/9/2020 at 1:44 PM, Spryte said:

Lysol and Clorox products are impossible to find here.  Most cleaning supplies are.

Hand sanitizers, N95 masks - no luck. 

TP has been back.  Paper towels, too.

King Arthur GF selections are simply gone from the stores here, and I no longer see the 6 packs on the direct website.  A lot of our allergy specific food is hard to find.

Not food, but:

We wanted to get an above ground pool - like the Intex kind, the beginning of June.  Just for the summer, not as a permanent fixture!  From end of May to June 1st or so, they sold out.  Prices skyrocketed, and there are none available even for exorbitant prices.  Talked to a pool company and they won’t get any in till August.

The recent hot tub thread here convinced me to get an inflatable hot tub, and prices looked fine.  I didn’t order because wanted to talk to DH, looked a few days later and it was like temporary pools all over again!  Amazon’s huge selection was gone or the prices raised crazy high.  Finally found one on a discount site.

I wanted to get one this year, too. I figured that if we were going to mostly be home as is, then it would give the youngest something to do other than a water slide or playing in the sprinkler. I'm kicking myself for not taking better care of the one we had in the past.

[prairiewindmomma]

57 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Do we think school supplies are next?  La and San Diego schools just said they are going virtual.   

No.  I'm curious to see if they ordered their usual amounts, but Target is running their BTS sale this week (you can curbside pickup), and I don't thinkthey wouldn't be doing that with the breadth of offerings that they have at guaranteed prices if they thought there would be shortages. They could let the prices float higher and get a bigger profit off of the limited quantity of goods they had if there were shortages.

What I did find interesting in the ad is that underwear prices aren't as good as they usually are. BTS sales usually are tied to a number of clothing items also going on sale, and all of those prices are floating higher than usual. I don't think there is a shortage per se, but I think they cut back on their order numbers with an uncertain market and fluctuating delivery of shipping containers.

[prairiewindmomma]

If we don't get rubbing alcohol soon I may be buying a bottle of Everclear. Strange times. Just the thought of it makes me think of action adventure apocalypse movies, and it's so odd to superimpose that onto life now that I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Alcohol prep pads normally run between $2-5, but they are averaging about quadruple that on amazon. Everclear is much cheaper at this point.

[SereneHome]

4 hours ago, Plum said:

I just went through this. I ended up getting tired of waiting and got whatever was available to be delivered that week while it was on sale. I had my new LG french door fridge delivered on Friday. While it has a lot more bells and whistles than the side-by-side GE I had planned on, I really really like it. The door-in-door feature is genius. The GE fridge I ordered got pushed back 1 month at a time twice. I had no reason to think it would get delivered anytime this year. 

• This is when new models of fridges come out, so stores had already started clearing space for new models. New models came, but not much stock to back it up.
• GE is impossible to get right now. That goes across the board for all appliances and equipment from ovens to medical.
• There were news reports that Chinese tariffs are going to make fridges and other appliances more expensive. Korean brands shouldn't be affected. But that cause a lot of inventory to go even faster. 

Your best bet is to do what I did and just take whatever is in stock, find some smaller appliance stores that may have limited inventory or buy used. 

 

I hope you got extended warranty. I am on my 3rd LG fridge in 9 yrs. Best Buy  changed their warranty from 5 yrs to 3 yrs bc evidently fridges would break at a 4 yr mark - I was told my their manager.  Good luck!! I do very much like it, but already started saving for the next one

 

[Arcadia]

11 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

If we don't get rubbing alcohol soon I may be buying a bottle of Everclear. 

I saw the 70% isopropyl alcohol bottles at Target. https://www.target.com/p/isopropyl-70-alcohol-16oz-swan/-/A-79788085

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, mathnerd said:

Yes, you were lucky. I am waiting for one which was supposed to be delivered in August and then the order got canceled because they were unable to fulfill the order.

I had a two orders cancelled, one each by Lowe's and Home Depot, before I finally managed to get my GE delivered by Best Buy.

[ktgrok]

On 7/10/2020 at 5:43 AM, Carrie12345 said:

I still haven’t been inside many stores at all, so I haven’t seen much with my own eyes.  

I am starting to think that Walmart pick up may be messing with me.

I had no less than a dozen items canceled on my this week in my order, and only one did they even try to substitute. Prego traditional pasta sauce, diet rootbeer, Freschetta gluten free pizza, gluten free cookies, decaf family sized tea bags, and I forget what else. 

On 7/10/2020 at 10:54 AM, cintinative said:

I have had trouble finding ricotta cheese (on and off), UDI's gluten free hamburger buns (it's going on a month now that they don't have them or they are out of stock),

 

 

Scharr has a new recipe hamburger bun that is way softer/less dry than the Udis one, if you can find them. They have a store locator on their website, and you can specifically look for what item you want. My son loves them. And the hot dog buns. 

[prairiewindmomma]

58 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I saw the 70% isopropyl alcohol bottles at Target. https://www.target.com/p/isopropyl-70-alcohol-16oz-swan/-/A-79788085

It says out of stock in stores near me and not available for shipping.  When I do a general search of 70 isopropyl, a few bottles say "discontinued for shipping" and some say "not available for shipping". 😞

 

[mommyoffive]

Staples.com has a pack of 50 alcohol wipes for 2.99

[cintinative]

14 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

 

Scharr has a new recipe hamburger bun that is way softer/less dry than the Udis one, if you can find them. They have a store locator on their website, and you can specifically look for what item you want. My son loves them. And the hot dog buns. 

Good to know! We haven't tried Scharr since 2013 probably and it was just not good then.

[prairiewindmomma]

@mommyoffive  THANK YOU!!!

[Spryte]

1 hour ago, Elfknitter.# said:

Rubbing alcohol. I can't find it anywhere.

Otherwise, it varies from week to week. Sometimes it's something like frozen pizzas, the next it will be a limited selection of pasta sauce brands.

I wanted to get one this year, too. I figured that if we were going to mostly be home as is, then it would give the youngest something to do other than a water slide or playing in the sprinkler. I'm kicking myself for not taking better care of the one we had in the past.

Right?  Just for something more than sprinkler play!

Ridiculous true story on the pool here:  After the prices soared and we could not find one anywhere, by June 8 I had given up.  Then I found one - gasp! - at a fly by night internet store called, no joke, Raindorps. Yes.  Raindorps.  I shuddered, and used PayPal.  And ... of course never received a receipt.  All emails were returned.  We reported it to PayPal and our bank after 30 days.  Then I saw the hot tub thread here, and thought, hmmmm, inflatable!  Looked at prices, they were fine, waited a week to order and ... same deal!  Skyrocketed prices, almost none available.  Finally found one.  Yay!  Ordered it last week ... and ...

Guess what arrived today? The Raindorps pool!!!  Hahahahaha!  And the inflatable hot tub. Both of them arrived today.

Sigh.  We don’t need both.  The pool shipped from China, so returning it will be a pain.  If you lived closer, I’d say, “come get it!”  
 

So, yep, now we have to decide between the temporary little pool or the temporary hot tub.  

[Junie]

20 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

I had no less than a dozen items canceled on my this week in my order, and only one did they even try to substitute. Prego traditional pasta sauce, diet rootbeer, Freschetta gluten free pizza, gluten free cookies, decaf family sized tea bags, and I forget what else. 

Scharr has a new recipe hamburger bun that is way softer/less dry than the Udis one, if you can find them. They have a store locator on their website, and you can specifically look for what item you want. My son loves them. And the hot dog buns. 

Scharr's hamburger buns are amazing!  They're so soft.  I had them in a college cafeteria when we were on a college tour.  The cafeteria had a separate gluten-free line and these were available.

[Junie]

On 7/9/2020 at 11:27 AM, mommyoffive said:

The appliances thing really worries me.  What if my fridge breaks?  Ahhhh

My fridge just broke yesterday.  A repairman is coming on Wednesday.  I'm hoping it can be repaired.

Dh went into town this afternoon and bought a dorm fridge.  I have medication that needs to be refrigerated.  Also, we can keep a little bit of milk and yogurt to keep some of the people here happy.

ETA:  We have a chest freezer, so we were able to save the meat and a lot of the other items.  Thanks to the board we knew how to freeze eggs!

Edited July 14, 2020 by Junie

[Terabith]

Crunchy peanut butter.  Creamy is also hard to find, but not as hard as crunchy.  

[mommyoffive]

32 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Crunchy peanut butter.  Creamy is also hard to find, but not as hard as crunchy.  

This would be a real emergency for my kids.   We are not finding anything not on the shelf here.  When the college students come back it is always a different story.   But dh already shops out of town so he can hit an aldi.    I am still stocking up though just because you never know what will happen. 

[mommyoffive]

47 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

@mommyoffive  THANK YOU!!!

Your welcome, I am glad it could help. 

[Terabith]

Just now, mommyoffive said:

This would be a real emergency for my kids.   We are not finding anything not on the shelf here.  When the college students come back it is always a different story.   But dh already shops out of town so he can hit an aldi.    I am still stocking up though just because you never know what will happen. 

It's a serious issue here, more for me than for my kids.  I mean, I know it's a first world issue, and I'm glad we have access to other food, but I've eaten a peanut butter sandwich at least once a day for 42 years.  

[mommyoffive]

22 minutes ago, Terabith said:

It's a serious issue here, more for me than for my kids.  I mean, I know it's a first world issue, and I'm glad we have access to other food, but I've eaten a peanut butter sandwich at least once a day for 42 years.  

Can you order some online?

[Terabith]

2 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Can you order some online?

We're okay for the moment, because I did find some online, but even online availability has been spotty.  It's a minor stress, and it's just something I try to stock up on whenever I see it.  

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, Terabith said:

We're okay for the moment, because I did find some online, but even online availability has been spotty.  It's a minor stress, and it's just something I try to stock up on whenever I see it.  

Good idea.  I will be stocking up even more on this.  Dh just got 3 of the huge jars yesterday.   But between all the kids eating pbjs everyday and their favorite snack of peanut butter and apples we go through jars fast. 

I do find it interesting what is behind some of the shortages.  Is it more demand or that companies are focusing on their best sellers or something else...

[Terabith]

1 minute ago, mommyoffive said:

Good idea.  I will be stocking up even more on this.  Dh just got 3 of the huge jars yesterday.   But between all the kids eating pbjs everyday and their favorite snack of peanut butter and apples we go through jars fast. 

I do find it interesting what is behind some of the shortages.  Is it more demand or that companies are focusing on their best sellers or something else...

Yeah, I could see people stockpiling it as a shelf staple, but it seems to be an odd product to be still so impacted this far into the crisis.  

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, cintinative said:

Good to know! We haven't tried Scharr since 2013 probably and it was just not good then.

yeah, this is a new improved recipe - should have a little blue triangle in the corner saying new recipe. Winn Dixie is where I found them here, I've also heard Sprouts I think?

[Ausmumof3]

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-17/brazil-farms-to-melbourne-cafes-coronavirus-cripples-coffee/12416166
 

coffee farmers are struggling in Brazil. 

[mommyoffive]

On some thread I was reading someone was looking for n95 masks, at Lake Industries online they have kn95 masks plus lots of other ppe in stock.

[Arcadia]

On 7/13/2020 at 5:19 PM, Terabith said:

Crunchy peanut butter.  Creamy is also hard to find, but not as hard as crunchy.  

Target. Grocery Outlet. Sprouts. None of us eat peanut butter but I do like to see what’s in stock at the stores.

https://www.target.com/p/jif-natural-crunchy-peanut-butter-40oz/-/A-14711130

https://www.target.com/c/peanut-butter-jelly-pantry-grocery/-/N-5xszr

https://shop.sprouts.com/shop/categories/165

 

[Guest]

The only thing I keep trying to find but repeatedly don’t is KA Bread Flour. I was recently able to get a 25# bag of KA Unbleached AP flour at Costco, which is pretty good for lots of things. But, boy, would I be thrilled if I could find a 25# bag of bread flour! 

I have a bit of a stockpile of hand sanitizers now. Every time I see it, I buy some! I even found a big gallon jug down at the beach house, though this is liquid, not gel, so it is last-resort. 

We have tried with no success to get kayaks and fishing poles. We do have one kayak and one children’s “toy” type kayak. But we wanted to have a pair of adult kayaks. No deal. 

[Sherry in OH]

I was able to order 10 pounds of KA bread flour from Walmart.  It is not in local stores but was available on the website. I have not seen larger quantities.  I have not seen KA whole wheat flour in months.