Are shoppers starting to hoard essentials again?

CVS hasn’t been fully stocked in my neighbor for over a year

Tissues have been unavailable at my Kroger for a week or two. The rest of the paper is fine. There are more random gaps in the shelves lately too.

the global supply chain has been disrupted by COVID, the cargo ship stuck in the Suez a few months ago and now Hurricane Ida (at least in the northeast).

Not sure. My Costco has no toilet paper, but there seems to be plenty at Aldi. I do think we can expect weird hiccups in the supply chain for another year at least.

If you have the room, wouldn't hurt to stock up a bit on necessities.

r4 I stocked up on toilet paper in early August, as Delta was really gaining traction.

The toilet paper and paper towels at my grocery store were half gone when I went to the store yesterday. The huge gaps made me fearful, so I stocked up. I imagine that other people will do the same, leaving the shelves bare. There isn’t a mask mandate in my state, and 75% of the people were wearing masks. Almost no one wore them two months ago.

No, no signs and don't expect any. I live in Spain and there never were shortages during the lockdowns and curfews and movement restrictions.

Stores are not enormous so they are depend on frequent deliveries and restocking and that process didn't suffer much. True, during the worst it you would sometimes see oddly depleted or empty areas of some shelf where stock was exhausted, but it always reappeared in a day or two, and the missing thing was not a vital item, just sugar, maybe, or pita bread, or a brand of yogurt. Nothing that you couldn't do without for a day or two.

The hurricane surely has impacted supply chains in the northeast US. Gas prices have also gone up.

Yes. people are starting to hoard again. Suddenly the paper product and baking aisles are looking sparse just as they did in March 2020.

Eggs were in short supply at my Publix.

It's all supply chain issues. Don't expect it to get better before the middle of next year. It's not just shortages of raw materials, but also lack of truck drivers, warehouse workers, store employees - just about every step of the chain is out of whack.

Honestly, I haven't noticed anything out of the norm (paper towels, TP - not a problem.) I'm hoping people don't go to extremes again. I do need Lysol again, though, and I'm wondering how the stores are stocked. I recall that was the one thing I had a terrible time getting (it truly took months.)

My elderly mother made me buy her 3 huge packages of toilet paper when they were on sale a few weeks ago. Sigh. It's her fault, sorry.

I hear toothpaste will be scarce by the end of the year due to supply of ingredients

There has been a shortage of Ziploc small round containers in my area for some reason. I had to buy some from Amazon and it was shipped from the manufacturer.

Pet supplies have been low in many of my local stores - cat litter and canned cat food. Shelves are pretty bare. Target, grocery etc.

Since the pandemic stock of canned goods and paper towels have been iffy. There are still some limits on # of things you can buy at one time in places from Whole Foods to the dollar store. ("Please limit 5 per person").

Antibacterial wipes and sanitizer have skyrocketed. Available everywhere and anywhere now.

R15 using petroleum to acquire petroleum-based food-storage products.

Op I’ve always felt shoppers were whores.

Oh I found out about the popularity of Abolene. Guys use it for JO lube.

[quote] I hear toothpaste will be scarce by the end of the year

I ain’t worry bout that.

With the amount of dentures on this board, I doubt most are worried about that either.

Things like paper towels and toilet paper are very sensitive to ANY uptick in sales. Think of how large a 24 pack of toilet paper or 12pk of paper towels is. They only dedicate so much shelf space to those items and when they sell out, there are huge gaping holes on the shelves leading to more panic buying

Starbucks Blonde Roast Unsweetened Iced Coffee has been unobtainable for weeks. I hope it’s just a supply chain hiccup and not a sign of The End Times.

POLIDENT, R20!

My CVS s had NO regular aspirin the last time I looked.

Some author, blogger said that these shortages of consumer goods including the parts for cars are going to be PERMANENT.

Amazingly the stores are all singing the same tunes, either shortage of drivers, supply chain, and of course just about anything Made In China.

[quote] there are huge gaping holes on the shelves leading to more panic buying

What store was this again?

No shortages in Marbella this summer. And the shops in Zurich and St. Moritz had no shortages last winter!

[quote] Starbucks Blonde Roast Unsweetened Iced Coffee

R22, I did Google that. Is it a concentrate or something you drink full-strength? It sounds interesting, but it's probably the last thing I need to start buying (heavy, etc.).

The ramen shelf at my nearest supermarket seems to always have "holes" in it. Ramen is popular in this area, so it's not like there are only Top Ramen and Cup o' Noodles.

My CVS s had NO CVS brand TONIC WATER!

r25, another author, blogger said that these shortages of consumer goods including the parts for cars are going ease up soon.

There have been 221 million recorded cases of Covid so far worldwide and 4.5 million Covid related deaths. And only a small fraction of the world's population has been vaccinated. That's got to throw a wrench into the global supply chain.

Yes, shortages are ticking up and we just had a thread about it.

Oddly, I haven't been able to find Scrub-Free Scrubbing Bubbles at my main grocery store for the last month.

R26 And yet they claim to have very little COVID, so much so that China hasn't recorded a COVID death since April 2020. Odd that.

r37 I notice outages of random items last longer since Covid. The almond creamer I like was out for over a month before they restocked it. People remember when their staples are out of stock, that leads us to loading up twice as much we normally do when stuff is finally back on the shelf.

I have noticed random shortages of certain items in the past couple of weeks, but nothing like what we went through earlier in the year.

I had to go to 3 separate stores to get my weekly supply of Fleet enemas.

[quote] so much so that China hasn't recorded a COVID death since April 2020.

Recorded or REPORTED?

Whole Foods was the only store I could find that had Bell and Evans Chicken. All the supermarkets near me (which used to stock that brand in the Before Times) now only had Purdue, which I won't eat.

The Home Depot near me has put their sign at the cleaning supplies back up, limiting the amount that you can buy at a time.

A CVS manager told me they're having problems stocking the shelves because orders are not being fulfilled by vendors,. He gets half of many dairy products now, along with other items. They also have fewer drivers to bring in the twice-a-week deliveries, and they can't find people to staff the cash registers.

For this he blames the government for paying people to stay home. No reason to look for work when Uncle Sam will give you $300 a week for doing nothing,

R45- and the fact that in many places people are no longer responsible for paying rent

We're letting in 3-4 million illegal immigrants across our southern border this yr, and Covid seems to be of no concern. So let them do all the work for $8/hr.

It is amazing how everything that's wrong with this country is simply and easily solved by doing everything Fox News tells you to!

CVS has NEVER kept their shelves full, R45

I have also noticed stores being out of name brand stuff,but they always have their store brand crap.

R47: You're full of shit, of course.

Supply chains are complicated and not the same for every maker of every item. There no widespread shortages of any necessities. Even the semi-conductor thing which effects a lot of products has been blown out of proportion.

You have problems because of insufficient staffing in some places in the transport sector or in certain kinds of factories, problems with shipping raw materials or finished products. It's going to continue for the foreseeable future. No one died because they had trouble finding finding toilet paper last year. Some people have it worse because they are at the end of supply chains and live in the middle of nowhere, but not many people are like that. Things do disappear for awhile--a few months ago, I had to buy fancy white vinegar because the regular stuff was out--cider, red wine, whatever, any other vinegar was fine. If I want tonic water, the good stuff (Fever tree) is out but the ok stuff (Schweppes) and the drek (Canada Dry are in stock. It's not the end of the world. OP opens with a vague statement which makes something fairly benign into pearl clutching.

WHERE ARE ALL OF THE TAMPONS???? I'M HAVING A HEAVY FLOW MONTH!!!!!

All the articles linked at the beginning of the thread have no statistics, no evidence, not even a whole lot of anecdotes, just statements and inferences.

It's shitty journalism and I can never tell if the people here are cynical or stupid.

Publix had a buy one get one free on Northern toilet paper this week, and there was plenty of it. I wouldn’t expect there’d be any left if people are hoarding. I didn’t buy any because I will not buy Koch Brothers (Georgia Pacific) products.

Whole Foods is limiting canned tomato products to two per person. Did people hoard canned tomatoes last time? Seems random.

R55-ALL Whole Foods stores are doing this?

[quote] Whole Foods is limiting canned tomato products to two per person. Did people hoard canned tomatoes last time? Seems random.

No, I don't recall hoarding of canned tomatoes being a problem, last go-round. Maybe they just don't have much supply, in general.

R56, the two Whole Foods stores near my house are limiting the tomato products. I’m not sure if it is company policy.

I think it depends on what part of the country you are in as to what and why. In Vermont it's milk/dairy. Unreliable stock. On my weekly pick up skim milk and half and half store run I have had to get them from different stores each time. No one has had both.

Produce has also been an issue. I haven't seen radishes all summer (granted I do shop at a neighborhood niche grocery but they do get everything locally sourced) or watermelon.

Wet cat food seems to be hard to find here in Phoenix.

[quote]We're letting in 3-4 million illegal immigrants across our southern border this yr, and Covid seems to be of no concern. So let them do all the work for $8/hr

And this has what exactly to do with the subject at hand: supply shortages in stores?

This immigration is problem is clearly more insidious than we think if R37 can't even find Scrub-Free Scrubbing Bubbles at his main store.

R47

That’s basically the population of Houston. Where did you get this number?

I don't know since I have not been to a store since the pandemic started and have Safeway delivery for groceries etc. I have my Parliament 100's delivered by a tobacconist. I rather like this new way of life. No more Nordstrom shopping for me. I am saving $$$.

[Quote]Eggs were in short supply at my Publix.

My Publix has no shortages.

I have enough tomato sauce to last rhrough the rest of the pandemic, I live alone, but still stock up "just in case". I have lots of pastsa also. Bring 2 lbs of lean ground beef and you are on for a feast!

"I can never tell if the people here are cynical or stupid."

The longer you're here, the more you'll realize they can be both.

R49, the three CVS stores near me have always had stocked shelves. Their staffs are friendiest of chain stores.

There are still shipping delays at ports on the West Coast, have been since July at least, which has to account for a few shortages here and there.

[quote] Even the semi-conductor thing which effects a lot of products

Oh, dear!

Koch products are always inferior. My Whole Foods has no limits on anything. We have plenty of radishes, because no one buys them anymore.

[quote] If I want tonic water, the good stuff (Fever tree) is out but the ok stuff (Schweppes) and the drek (Canada Dry are in stock

How do you feel about VINTAGE?

I can't seem to find horse dewormer anywhere...

Are the rent boys and whores still in high supply?

Still plenty of champagne and lube.

Hi, the fat dirty assed Kardashian clan, here. We're joining mama for an end of summer idyl in Portofino. How's the supply chain for cocaine and TP, these days? Thanks!

I hope there isn’t a shortage of Abolene! It’s what I use to lube my meat!

R60, wet cat food is also scarce in Las Vegas.

I went to my local pet store and the clerk told me the factory that makes one of the common ingredients in wet pet food (he thought it was glycerin), had to shut down due to Covid. They aren’t manufacturing it at this time. The clerk said that a couple of brands of wet cat food have been low for months. One is mine, Nutro. He said they are just selling existing stock and slowly using up the existing inventory.

My cat is very picky and one of the few flavors she likes is just not available anywhere. Another is available in small quantities here and there. A lot of stores are totally out. The dry food is still available. Go through the pet food aisles and you’ll see, it’s not just your brand, it’s several. It sounds like this issue is not going to be remedied any time soon, so go ahead and buy what you can, and try to get your cat to eat something else if you can.

Maybe the cat should get a job or something.

Can you buy it from Amazon? I rarely buy anything from them but if I had a picky cat, I'd just order a case.

The local news mentioned a TP shortage the other day, so there'll probably be a run on it...and I'm almost out

HOLY SHIT the Ramen shelves at my grocery store were absolutely PILLAGED last night.

Raided, zombie apocalypse-style. The whole pasta aisle looks like it did in March and April 2020 — nothing but empty empty shelves, empty boxes, boxes in tatters and eight packets of shrimp-flavored Ramen even zombies won't eat.

Shit's going to get so much worse this winter. Deaths and COVID infections are going to skyrocket as both the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike behave as if they're safe. YOU ARE NOT.

BYE, CUNTS. There's no way I'm going to any public, group functions without distancing and a mask on. Distanced restaurants alone only; mask off during eating only.

I can’t find spring water anywhere.

[quote] BYE, CUNTS. There's no way I'm going to any public, group functions

I somehow don’t think you’ll be invited to any of these, so don’t worry.

R82, get a Brita pitcher, or try getting larger bottles. Sam’s Club sells a water cooler that dispenses hot and cold water, so does Costco. Sam’s sells four gallon bottles of water, which are lighter than the usual five gallon ones and easier to handle. A lot of people don’t want to handle the bigger bottles. I know it’s filtered and not mountain spring, but at least it’s drinkable.

Early last year, I bought Covid stuff like an Instant Pot and a water cooler. Looks like this year I’m going to rely on them more, because this seems to be going on without end.

At my pubic store they aren't getting and shorter, just greyer.

R84 In what way is an Instant Pot a Covid supply? I'm not being snarky; I'm genuinely curious.

My kids' last 2 pots of osetrova caviar were burnt!

I just realized I'm down to my last 24 rolls of toilet paper. I live alone so that's about 6 months. The problem is that it is an inferior band. I prefer Quilted Northern Ultra Plush. Instead I'm looking at Kirkland...: (

R86, if you’re storing a lot of food, it doesn’t all fit in the fridge. So you need to buy as many self stable products as possible, that don’t require refrigeration. Dry beans and lentils are good storage products. So are baking mixes like Bisquick, cornbread, pancake or cake mixes. If you have that and shelf stable broth and milk or milk substitute, eggs and baking ingredients like flour, baking soda, yeast, baking powder, oil, sugar and salt, you can bake bread from scratch too and most of that stuff doesn’t need to be refrigerated, except maybe the eggs and yeast. If things got really bad with Covid this winter, you could live off soups and stews and home baked bread pretty easily. Most vegetables are available frozen, canned or dehydrated.

If you have an Instant Pot, you can make chili, stews and soups with dry beans and other shelf stable products. I haven’t tried it, but you can also make puddings, oatmeal and probably some kind of baked goods if you really wanted to. It’s a kitchen workhorse, like a rice cooker, but it does more. If you already have a rice cooker and don’t want to buy an Instant Pot, get a rice cooker cookbook. You can do a lot with a rice cooker, red beans and rice is filling and it’s great with sausage or ham.

Look. Hoarding is not going to be unusual for the next few weeks. Unemployment benefits are going to end and the evictions are beginning. This weekend I had to move into a smaller storage unit, and I thought with the holiday weekend it would be empty but it was packed. Lots of people signing contacts for units. Evictions are looming and people are consolidating households. And if you're about to run out of benefits you're also going to be buying supplies of non perishables, pantry items and other stuff so you can stock up.

A few months back, I was waiting for my house to sell after delays that went on for months, and I was low on money. I lived on shelf stable food and did not buy anything for three months. That was really stressful, but I was able to do it because I had food around.

If anyone is in that situation and wants to buy cheap food, I recommend dried or canned black beans. They are cheap, dried is cheaper, and you can use them as a meat substitute in a lot of recipes, because they don’t really have a strong flavor of their own. They’re good in tacos, soup, enchiladas, with rice, anything with hot sauce in it. Buy a bunch of black beans, shredded cheese, Valentina’s hot sauce, and tortillas and rice, and you can ride out the apocalypse.

A couple of other good things to have around are tomato paste, which you can make broth or pasta sauce out of, a jar of Better than Bullion, which lasts pretty long, and maybe some pasta. A smaller pasta you can throw in soup, like shells or macaroni would be good too. A minestrone is easy to make and filling. Throw in some veggies and Italian seasoning and you’re set. It’s not luxury eating, but it’s how poor people have eaten for centuries.

Wait, I was confidently assured that these extended unemployment benefits were just keeping the lazy and shiftless at home eating bon bons and all they needed to do was go out and work and all would be well!

Thanks, R89.

In a lot of instances, the shortages are due to exponential rises in unloading charges, e.g., from $2500 to $10000 for dock services. So companies are just letting their container ships sit in the water. Also, there's probably still shit stuck in the Suez Canal!!

Good news that bacon is back. I couldn't find bacon bits or the boxed bacon and even the raw packaged bacon was slim pickings for a few weeks. But I was happy to be able to find them on Saturday.

Isn't being outraged because a totalitarian state isn't being honest about its Covid numbers a little stupid? I mean especially as our own all-American boy Ron DeSantis sent a scientist to the gulag for daring to gather and report accurate numbers for Florida.

R90s argument: people are facing cut unemployment and eviction. So they are buying lots of food and stocking up. To live under bridges. And buying lots of food with money they don't have.

M'kay then!

Before I got vaccinated I got cases of stuff delivered to my house and used curbside pickup for fresh groceries because I didn't want to risk going into stores. Now that I'm vaccinated and well supplied with masks I'm doing my shopping in person. I'm glad that we know more about how the virus is spread and how to protect ourselves and I'm less worried about anarchic scenarios of dire shortage. But I'm also aware that a significant portion of the public has been sleepwalking through the pandemic so far and are just now waking up to reality and flipping out.

In Spring 2020 when people really were hoarding due to pandemic, my local CVS stores would have signs up limiting the quantities you can purchase of paper items. Not seeing that now. Suspect it's supply chain/stocking issues. Whatever they have on sale is always gone by the time I get there, anyway.

I’m gonna scratch something out of my ass now

I got a bidet and haven't looked back. I buy TP once every couple of months if that, just a regular pack.

R95, bacon is available at my stores, but it’s $7 a package. Grocery prices have become insane.

I've heard shipping is going to get nuts in late October, so I'm doing all of my Christmas shopping now. Usually you're okay as long as you get everything in before December, but I don't think that's going to hold true this year.

R101 u better look back to see if u washed all of the shit out

No, you blot with a little TP to dry off and you'll see if you missed any.

If you think prices are insane now just wait. That hurricane fucked up refineries and fuel supplies and the price of gasoline is going up, up, up. That means groceries will go up. We will also see increases in our utilities and our insurance because whenever there's some natural disaster, that causes a lot of shit. Oh, and if there are agricultural sites affected by the hurricanes or droughts or fires, than certain produce will be in short supply. We had limits on eggs and poultry for a while. Seems OK now, but some stores still limit you.

R91 I would also add dried lentils and brown rice to that list, along with peanut butter and canned tuna. I also discovered Publix makes buttermilk pancake mix and all you need to do is add water. So no eggs or milk needed. Stuff like that is handy.

Can the unvaxxed just hurry up and die already so there's more stuff left for the rest of us?

Look at yourself R107. Is this who you want to be? Ignorant, hate addled, foaming at the mouth. It's not a good look.

Yes it is, R108.

[quote] I've heard shipping is going to get nuts in late October, so I'm doing all of my Christmas shopping now.

Ooooh. Pick me up something nice, okay?

I have 30 double rolls of Kirkland Signature paper towel

I have disposable masks, antibacterial wipes, Vital Proteins collagen powder, whey protein isolate powder, multivitamins, toilet paper, etc

[quote] Look at yourself [R107]. Is this who you want to be? Ignorant, hate addled, foaming at the mouth. It's not a good look.

Go remove and flush your tampon, hon.

The protein powder is a good idea, r111. I don’t really like smoothies, but they could come in handy if shit really hits the fan.

This is a caftan thread.

I’m stocking up in Abolene. My fave Jack off lube!

Fed Ex is already a mess

Shut up and eat my ass!

Is everyone huffing paint or something?

R82- There was PLENTY of Spring water at my Whole Foods in White Plains, NY on Sunday and plenty of cartons filled with six gallons of Poland Spring water at my Costco yesterday.

r106, you can skip the egg and milk in what used to be Aunt Jemima and probably all the pancake mixes and it still tastes good and cooks well.

r103, I've heard that about Christmas toys selling out early this year, especially with things with chips in it. My spouse and I buy toys/clothes/gift cards for each kid at a school that caters to housing insecure kids. I took advantage and bought a bunch during Amazon Prime day and Costco has toys out now too - they sell out early every year. We probably have enough for half the kids so far, last year there were 74 kids.

I’m going to Neiman’s and stocking up on lip gloss and tight t shirts.

Fed Ex shipping has got worse lately, even if they say overnight it is a couple of days and their tracking system is down.

I am getting mail service about every other day. Not every day, haven't for a while now.

R120, the reason you have to have eggs and milk for cake mix is because cake mixes were first invented, they made them with dehydrated milk and eggs included. But they found out housewives didn’t want instant cake, they wanted to feel like they did something to make it happen.

But pancake mix is different, the dehydrated egg powder and milk are included, just add water in most cases. That’s probably because men sometimes make pancakes on the weekend.

If you’re prepping, buy pancake mixes and look for recipes on the pancake mix’s website. Usually you can make a lot of other things with the mix as a base.

This answers why there are particular flavors I haven’t been able to get my favorite ice-cream manufacturer.

I can't find Old Bay seasoning in stock anywhere. Seems like a weird staple to hoard, but okay.

I’m a Manhattan hausfrau and do food shopping nearly every day. There are often empty shelves and things unavailable. It’s also the same thing at the eastern end of Long Island (where I expected more inventory at the supermarket).

Luckily, my lean years taught me to be flexible and creative, and manage expectations. But even I get mildly alarmed at the constant scarcity.

Everything's fully stocked in my area. However, prices have gone up, up, up.

y'all need to order your spices from Penzy's and get civilized. They will turn the most pedestrian among us into gourmet chefs.

I was a super-loyal Penzey's customer, until I discovered Trader Joe's spice blends. Incredibly well crafted and shockingly inexpensive. Penzey's raising prices constantly didn't help matters either. I'm using up my Penzey's, then no more. I just can't fit it in the budget.

[quote]I can't find Old Bay seasoning in stock anywhere. Seems like a weird staple to hoard, but okay.

At one point early this year I couldn't find chili powder anywhere. Not even the store brands.

I have cartons and cartons of Prell, so I’m ready

But have you stocked up on Alberto VO5 hairspray, R132?

Did he tell two friends?

Quarters! Where are all the quarters?! I need them to do laundry in my apartment building. In Before Times I'd just buy a couple of rolls at the customer service desk at Safeway. Now they look at me like I asked for a lung and a kidney. And good luck finding a bank branch that's open. I know of one, and when I went this week the teller would only sell me one roll.

All you bitches with massive glass jars of loose change -- cash 'em in!!

I was thinking that the other day, r135. I have a large full coffee tin that is overflowing with change. I have probably had it for 20 years.

R136 I had one of those bottles that go on water coolers (mine was glass to tell you how old it was) and it was about half full. I took it one day to one of those coin star machines and I shit you not,there was over $900 in it! And that was mostly pennies,nickles and dimes as I used to fish the quarters out for laundry,etc. I truly was shocked.

My local Costco (NYC area) was almost totally out of toilet paper, despite having an apartment-sized area dedicated to it. The signs with prices for the sold-out paper said "Limit One." There seemed to be other scattered shortages of random things, but nothing so severe.

For ppl looking for spices and seasonings, esp. chili powder, try Frontier brand (online and at Costco). Also, try buying spices in bulk (whatever quantity you want, small or large) at health food stores. My local health food store sells Frontier chili powder in bulk. Amazon also sells the Frontier spices.

r90's attempt to blame unemployment benefits for everything and evictions widespread is pretty pathetic/desperate.

IMO, the problem is not "hoarding," e.g., toilet paper. The problem is having low stock (at home) and then panic-buying - en masse. If you keep your stock at a certain level, you're not in a panic when crises happen. Yes, you need to replenish your stock, but you have time and options to do so.

r103, why have you heard "shipping is going to get nuts in October?"

The damn Costco troll is back.

The free samples?

Boredom?

Yes, r126, I don't get the missing Scrubbing Bubbles, either.

Maybe it has to do with the aluminum can shortage that's been fucking us out of soda/beer cans all year.

For some time I have been unable to find regular aspirin in CVS.

My grocery store was missing the weirdest shit today. Not things that people would be hoarding, so it must be a supply/shipping issue. No low sodium soy sauce. No white wine vinegar. All of the cheaper brands of flour were gone. Odd.

[quote] No low sodium soy sauce.

Low sodium soy sauce? Oh, honey, live a little and get the regular.

Low sodium soy sauce is like looking for K-Y powder.

I like the Kikkoman (green label) "reduced sodium" soy sauce.

Apparently, there's a run on (or shipping issues for) 10.-oz bottles of ginger ale (Schweppes, Canada Dry, etc.) in the Bay Area. I tried two Safeways within two days in two different cities and both were completely out. Plenty of liter bottles, but I want the little ones as I can't drink a liter of the stuff before it goes flat. Shelves and shelves of Coke, Pepsi, 7-Up, etc., just no ginger ale. Who the hell is making all the Shirley Temples??

R149, what do you use ginger ale for? How about just grating some ginger root into soda water?

R150- He would have to add some sugar to that mix too.

Plenty of tonic smalls on the East Coast. Most of the stuff people mention can be lived without. You can actually make your own Old Bay but I’ve never seen the point of it in the first place.

Plenty of old bay on Amazon.

Evian water is kind of slow in distribution

For chrissakes there is CLIMATE CHANGE. You do not need to drink spring water shipped across an ocean to you from France. In a plastic bottle!!! Dumbass.

I live outside of Boston and my local grocery store was almost out of vinegar. Crazy!

I had to buy expensive "organic" half and half today because it was all the store had left, and even that was almost sold out.

For months Ortega hot taco sauce was out, I checked every local store but it was the problem at Ortega. It came back and now is scarce again so I am glad I bought 2 big bottles. I have loved it since I was a kid and Mom used it on her tacos.

I stocked up on my holiday baking things at ALDI this week because I think the ingredients will be scarce in Nov/Dec.

R158, if you're interested, try Tapatío hot sauce. The price is very reasonable, it tastes good, and has a nice texture.

R158 Another first rate review here for Ortega sauce. The mild is my favourite for breakfast burritos, and I like to mix it with enchilada sauce for a kick. For awhile, only the very small size bottles have been available.

I find that quantities of everything have strict limits imposed again. I can only have a maximum of 2lbs chicken thighs, or 2.5lbs boneless, and skinless chicken breasts delivered from WF in the South Suburban Chicago, NWI area. They would only sell 2lbs of beef shortribs as well. I am buying pasture raised organic chicken, and stage 4 grass fed beef, so perhaps they have a shortage. I haven't tried to order conventional meat. The Halibut I ordered was unavailable, and they had no Cod or Haddock either. There seems to be plenty of lamb available however without restrictions.

Another local independent shop I receive orders through Instacart are also chronically out of stock, or running low on items. Every other item a substitution is offered.

From what I've been told, food is more of an issue than paper goods.

I love to cook, and have started stocking up on things. Cooking is what got me through Covid lockdowns the first time. I would spend hours in the kitchen, preparing multi course meals for myself and my partner.

They are saying food prices have gone up more than 5% since last year!

R155- What about drinking one gallon jugs of Poland Spring from New England. I live near NYC.

yes

I shop at a Korean supermarket called Hmart. Their prices of produce- especially fruit are higher every time I go there. One largish orange is now $1.

R166- What are you saying yes to?

[quote] meals for myself and my partner.

Oh, dear.

168 the original OP question

signed 166

Ok , thanks.

There is a shortage on Abolene

I still have canned beans, dry pasta, and jarred pasta sauce from last March! I should start using it before it expires.

After I soak my white beans overnight, I simmer them in a pan of water to which I add a tablespoon or so of Better Than Bullion. Delicious.

Abolene shortage

Still no 10 oz. bottles of ginger ale (Schweppes or Canada Dry).

R174 It sounds as if you may have posted in the wrong thread, but I like that stuff as well.

Not evenly any Tylenol in my Rite Aid. Empty shelves. Extremely odd.

Still can’t get dog meds and my dog’s usual food. I did find plenty of canned tomatoes though.

Christmas trees are starting to sell out at Costco! (Online)

Cat litter for some weird reason

I can't seem to find my anal beads.

R181, I noticed that chewy would only let me add one container of kitty litter to my cart last week. I would be so screwed if I ran out of litter.

My local chain supermarket still has no vinegar after a few weeks.

r183, Costco has kitty litter on sale this month. Maybe the shortage is only certain brands?

I've heard coffee is going up in price.

I like the clumping Tidy Cat in the plastic container. There are a couple different varieties of it. Today at Meijer (midwest supermarket) they only had 1 container and it was not the usual one I buy. The top was smooshed so I figured that's why it was left, but the contents looked okay so I bought it because I can't wait because I am low on litter.

I don't typically but the hard plastic containers because it's a lot of plastic for single use. But I did buy one once to make a chiller for my fog machine for Halloween. It works great at keeping the fog low to the ground, especially once the grass gets wet from dew

Truly a nightmare this year for getting pet food when it’s in stock.

R147 I bow down to your witty comment. Here is a free kitten.

I think I need to go out tomorrow and hoard some kitty litter. Being out of that would be one of the biggest disasters in life. It's one of those things with no backup plan.

[quote] I can't seem to find my anal beads.

Oh, I’ve got them, hun. Hang on a second.

Um, you may not want them back.

I’m doing the same r190. If there wasn’t a storage before, there will be now, lol!

I'm hoarding hugs and smiles!

R193 Right on. Sweet. 😎

[quote][R47] That’s basically the population of Houston. Where did you get this number?

Border Patrol has been CATCHING 200K people Jun-Jul-Aug; before that, a little less, 150-175k. MOST get released into the US. PLUS, there are the people who DON'T GET CAUGHT, about the same amount. So at least 300k per month. 12 x 300k = 3.6MILLION.

[quote]Can the unvaxxed just hurry up and die already so there's more stuff left for the rest of us?

Again, they are coming here at a clip of 300k/month.

R190 If it comes down to it, my old vet taught me you can send newspaper through a cross cut paper shredder and use that as litter. It gets tracked out of the box, but it works. Cats liked it fine.

CVS in my neighborhood has been un or understocked for over a year

Stored near me are gearing up for it. Home Depot, for one example, has pallets of bleach, water, and Lysol wipes mounded near the checkouts the way the were late January, 2020. Back then, I bought a big ol' tube of Lysol wipes while I was in there buying other stuff. Turned out that was the last wipe I saw IRL for a year.

R197, a local CVS clerk told me awhile ago that their policy always has been to order new stock of an item only when the supply on the shelf gets low or close to depleted, rather than keeping supplies on hand for restocking shelves while waiting for new inventory to arrive. That may work when supply chains are reliable and you know that an item will always arrive on a certain day, but CVS doesn't seem to have adjusted itself to pandemic conditions. Just another reason to hate CVS.

[quote] told me awhile ago

Oh, dear!

One thing I've always found frustrating about stores that don't restock items quickly, is that people will often buy a substitute rather than leave the store empty handed (like milk). The problem with that is the store then thinks that the item they bought is what they truly wanted, and will then stock more of it, rather than the item they actually did want.

Regular sand will work if you run out of litter.

But sand won't clump, just to clarify.

No, it won't r203, but cats will use the box with it. Cedar shavings, as for rodent bedding, will work as well.

I've lived in the middle of nowhere with bad snowstorms, and one has to get creative.

Agreed, R204. Just wanted to be sure people knew what to expect. My aunt used to use newspaper. I assume AFTER reading it.

Many/most people don't subscribe to newspapers now, nor buy them regularly at stands. The animal shelter in my town begs for donations of old newspapers to use instead of expensive litter and they never receive as much as they need. Another commodity that's going the way of the buggy whip.

R198, my Home Depot is selling masks and gloves for 75% off. I bought 8 boxes of masks, and the cashier looked at me like I was insane. They were $3 a box, of course I was going to stock up. They had cases of Lysol and other disinfectants in the front of the store. I don’t know if there will be a run on cleaning products this time. People just aren’t afraid of Covid like they were last year.

I'm seeing a shortage of gallon jugs of white vinegar, which I use for housecleaning. I'm guessing this is Covid damage related as white vinegar is used to clean home equipment for people with respiratory problems, like room humidifiers and nebulizers.

R208, if you're a Costco member or know one, they carry gallon jugs in a carton of 2. So far, the ones in my area haven't been running short or imposing limits.

R29, it’s not a concentrate and for my taste buds it’s the only really good cold coffee. The others are much more bitter.

My grandmother used to buy old newspapers from her local corner store in Jamaica, Queens. She would sit and rip the paper into strips to use as cat litter.

I use Fresh Step LIghtweight Unscented and am having trouble finding it near me in Morris County, NJ. Cos likes the smaller litter and the regular unscented has bigger granules. Plus, I live on the 2nd floor. Lugging a 22 or 25 lb. box of litter every month is hernia-inducing. Two weeks ago, after driving around for about 30 minutes and visiting 4 pet stores, I found a PetExpo that had a lot so I bought 2 boxes. I guess I could order it for monthly delivery on Amazon but I sometimes need to get out of the house.

No problem with food or paper products where I live. The local Targets, Walmarts, and Shop Rites are all well stocked. I don't really shop at Walgreens or CVS.

Finding Cos' Fancy Feast Savory Centers Variety Pack is like panhandling for gold! The local Pet Goods had it but it was almost $16 for 12 cans. I normally find it at Shop Rite for $13.99. Of course my local Shop Rite didn't have it! I try to buy a box when I open the previous one. Twelve cans sounds like a lot but it's less that 2 weeks of food (he gets a can a day) and I feel like, once I open that box, I basically have no food for him.

R208, Walmart sells a vinegar-based cleaning solution in jugs. If you're using it for cleaning, maybe you can try that if you can't find straight white vinegar.

r208, you'll likely pay around $20 in shipping for a case of 4

It's been just over a month, but my Safeway finally had 10-oz.-bottle six-packs of Schweppes ginger ale on the shelves this morning. Not a lot of them, though, so I bought two. (Schweppes tonic water was also back in stock.) Don't know if this has been a bottling issue or delivery supply chain issue or both.

The broken supply chain is affecting everything, r214.

I waited six months for a sale that never happened and wound up buying a dishwasher for regular price.

Costco is limiting tp and paper towel again.

R214, same with Safeway's brand of "light" apple juice, which has finally reappeared after over a month's absence. All of their other store-brand juices have been there, including 2 other kinds of their apple juice, just not the "light" version at any of their several stores in my area. It must have been stuck in a loading or unloading zone somewhere with the Schweppes ginger ale you were waiting for. Strange bedfellows....

[quote] Costco is limiting tp and paper towel again.

This morning the Costco on Monterrey off Bob Hope Dr in the Rancho Mirage/Palm Springs area had big signs limiting 1 pack of TP, PT and Kirkland water. Unfortunately, they were out of all of them as was the Indio area Costco. But plenty of booze. Don Julio 1942 $27.99 less $5 if 2 were bought.

I may have a dirty ass but too drunk to care.

Was at a Publix today and I overheard the manager telling a customer that manufacturers are delayed in sending out product or else shipping companies are understaffed and struggling, or a combination of the two. That’s why shelves remain empty for a while.

I'm going to keep doing what I did in Mach of 2020. It saves me money. Twice a year I'll stock up on toilet paper, cleaning products and paper toweling. Then all the rest of the time I'll just deal with my pantry, meat and fresh produce.

It's not pandemic hoarding it's supply chain issues. And now that fucker DeJoy who is still the fucking postmaster, just announced that the mail will slow down beginning next week. WTF does he even have a job. He ought to be in jail. Pigfucker.

R222 The link has an explanation of what has to be done to remove an existing postmaster general.

[quote] DeJoy currently enjoys full support of all current [USPS board of] governors, including Republicans and Democrats (the latter include Trump-appointed moderates). So now Democrats are asking Biden to use his legal authority to remove all of the board members, which he can do “only for cause” according to federal statute. Slate describes possible “cause” as showing governors “engaged in malfeasance or extreme neglect of duty,” which Democratic lawmakers believe has been proven.

The question is whether Biden will take on the task of firing the board. Replacement board members nominated by Biden would need to be approved by the Senate. It’s not clear if the USPS can exist without a board, and/or if De Joy would be allowed to run the whole show by himself in the absence of a board.

The privatization of the USPS  occurred during Nixon’s first term, when both the House and Senate were controlled by the Democrats. So, it could be said that both parties played a part in creating this mess. The USPS was already an albatross around the federal government’s neck in 1970, so “let it be run like a business” was a convenient way to get its perhaps inevitable failure off the Fed’s books.

Imagine what could have happened if Social Security had been privatized by Bush II and run by a board that the President and Congress were unable to control.

Corrected link

Link still didn’t work, so let’s pretend this is Usenet:

nowthisnews.com/amphtml/politics/why-does-us-postmaster-general-louis-dejoy-still-have-a-job

I'm hoarding essentials- BUTT PLUGS, COCK RINGS, DILDOS and LUBE

ugh someone complaining about not being able to find "light apple juice." buy apple juice and add your own water.

I shop at a Korean supermarket called Hmart at least once a week. I was there today and they are now charging $7.99 for a honeydew melon- You know what that's called?

INFLATION

They are not an upscale store like Whole Foods. They are medium priced.

Something nice to have on hand is evaporated milk (canned), which is different from sweetened condensed milk. My half 'n' half (for coffee) goes bad sometimes, and it's nice to have the evaporated milk as a back-up.

R229, I just buy the nasty powdered shit as a coffee creamer backup. It lasts forever in the pantry. I am also loving the shelf stable heavy cream sold at Trader Joe’s. It’s cheap and lasts a long time.

What's this shelf stable heavy cream you speak of?

R231, what more do you need to know in order to find it at Trader Joe's? It's heavy cream in a carton that doesn't require refrigeration until after it's opened.

Ugh to you too, R227. Learn how to capitalize and punctuate.

Big whip, er, whoop, R232. I thought you were talking heavy cream that didn't need to be refrigerated at all and sits in your pantry shelf along side your nasty powdered shit milk.

It's price gouging. It's not supply and demand. This thread is fucking bizarre and full of naive suckers who must live in constant fear of the sky falling.

I have plenty of money, own my house, have a career, and live in a country that is filled with morbidly obese people who all own 20 pairs of 100 dollar Nike clown plastic athletic shoes.

All my neighbors have multiple cars, trucks, and RV's. The people I know in cities pay 28 bucks for a hamburger delivery, eat half of it and throw it out. Medical professionals spending 800 a month on high end cannabis.

I could go on and on. I'm middle class and live in this fucking hyper capitalist shithole where everyone is complaining about toilet paper while they mash their grubby fingers all over their 800 dollar smart phones.

Fuck everyone on this thread complaining about this shit. YOU are the ones acting ridiculous. Take a shit at home? Take a fucking shower. Clean your ass like people all over the world do it. Store doesn't have the processed food you love? GUESS WHAT? There is this stuff called FRUIT and vegetables, and my locals stores are full of them, while people cruise by on their mobility scooters to buy frozen manzanto frankenfood that is so precious and supply chain blah blah blah.

How will I get my teeth whitener, and room deodorizer? Here is my final thought. You think these companies are going to let you suckers go ONE minute without having 500 million square feet of chinese garbage to haul home and hoard your homes with?

One person is talking about living off fucking velveeta. EAT A FUCKING APPLE. Stop worrying about bullshit. Stop spending money. Stop perpetuating this bullshit. Buy toilet paper like a civilized person, stop embarrassing yourselves and me, I'm getting tired of being an American, it's becoming humiliating. When did the whole country become fucking insane like this. Absolutely scared of not having nonsense shit to buy?

How many times a day do fat Americans shit? I'm being serious. I use like a roll a week maybe? Not even. I imagine women using more, but I'm starting to think this is a processed food issue. Their intestinal flora is probably just like a belly full of acidic diarrhea. No digestion.

These people must be shitting like 14 times a day, anal leakage. Then they have like 13 kids, who all eat nothing but chemicals and Mountain Dew, so it's like 60 rolls a week.

So like 500 rolls of toilet paper is normal for their household. Not a fucking book in sight though, just stacks of toilet paper and food wrappers and garbage.

No showering, and probably no bidets I'm guessing, so the toilet paper is very important in between binge watching netflix and eating their Cheeto based diet.

R234, R231, it does sit in the pantry and was around $1.75 (cheaper than refrigerated cream).

R235 you’re an idiot.

[quote]There is this stuff called FRUIT and vegetables, and my locals stores are full of them

Well send some of it my way because I haven't gotten decent produce in ages. Half of it looks like it could star in a 1950s creature feature.

A writer who's blog I've read for years says that the shortages of consumer goods of all kinds including food are going to be permanent. Europe is in BIG trouble for the winter. They do not have adequate supplies of natural gas or coal for the winter. The northeast region of China is experiencing blackouts because of a shortage of coal. That part of China is where they manufacture all the cheap crap that we buy in the West.

You ain’t seen nothing yet

I live in the South and most of our produce comes from the Carolinas and Florida, as well as Georgia. It is fresh and delicious and we do get some from Mexico, and Arizona, but not too much. One thing I learned from my junkie cousin who used to work at the produce terminal up north. Local supermarket chains decide which grades of produce they stock. So if your produce is crap, it's probably because the stores you shop at are selling an inferior grade of produce, or selling stuff that is bruised or not as fresh. I know a while ago this was true of Koger, but they have got better the past couple of years. I know overall, the fresh strawberries have been very uneven and not very good this year, but blueberries have been outstanding.

I'm not hoarding Trader Joe's produce, that's for sure. It's always been garbage.

nope, not in my area

I paid $1.49 for a red pepper at Safeway last week. It looked fine from the outside, but had black mold inside of it. I’m going to start buying produce at Whole Foods…it’s marginally better and the prices are close to the same.

R236: At least some of the increase in home use of toilet paper is because, well, that's where people spend most of their days now. No more dumps at the office, the gym, restaurants, schools, etc., ergo, no more using someone else's toilet paper.

Lol at r235, r236's rant. Howard Stern went on a bowel movement rant several years ago. I think this was at the beginning of his extreme dieting. But he made the point that a person should shit once a day. If you regularly shit more, you're eating too much. I agree.

[quote] No more dumps at the office, the gym, restaurants, schools, etc., ergo, no more using someone else's toilet paper.

How anyone can go to the bathroom anywhere but home is beyond me.

I agree too, r247. Howard seems to have an eating disorder though.

A reminder that toilet paper is one of the easiest items for a store to sell out of. It is huge compared to nearly every other item in a supermarket and only has so much designated shelf space. When its running low it is obvious and then others buy the last few just in case.

The Honeymaid Cinnamon Grahams I have not been able to find for weeks here were in stock today. I also bought 2 big things of litter that was on sale (last time I went the litter shelves were practically empty). Also the bacon is back so I was a happy shopper today.

When I think of essentials, I immediately think of Honeymaid Cinnamon Grahams. Just before hand sanitizer.

It seems like everyone who has posted on this thread has a cat. Kind of tells you something, doesn't it?

[quote]But he made the point that a person should shit once a day. If you regularly shit more, you're eating too much. I agree.

This might be true if you eat a meat centric diet, but if you eat a whole food plant based diet you will shit more than once a day.

Trader Joe's has been out of my Freeze Dried Bananas for FIVE weeks.

You think THAT's bad, R255? They were out of dried mandarins for over a month recently, then restocked, and now are out again! At least it appears to be temporary, rather than the typical TJ discontinuance of something I crave. Fortunately, I stocked up when they finally reappeared for awhile and still have a few bags left -- but those won't last forever and I'm already feeling a little nervous....

Are the dried bananas and mandarins good? I’m going to TJ’s this morning. I like the dried mangos because they don’t have any added sugar, and I’m trying to remove refined sugar from my diet.

Trader Joe’s FREEZE dried fruit is very good 👍

Was in my local Trader Joe’s yesterday and was shocked to see empty shelves. They’re always very well stocked.

The issues affecting shipments apply to everyone. The local TV news said that Costco was hiring its own ships to move merchandise!

Stealth dyke thread, R253?

My grocery store was pretty well stocked except for Jams and Jellies. Most of the shelves were empty of all different brands.

On no R262! I'm almost out of orange marmalade!

*Bought* marmalade? I call that very feeble.

Ha r253 maybe cat people are home bodies who like to make sure they are stocked up on what they need?

R264- LOL

I think , perhaps that was the best line in Gosford Park (2001)

I bought barstools from Costco about six months ago that aren’t wearing well. They have metallic studs on them, and a couple have fallen off. The leather is also fading. I called Costco, and they said that they were going to send someone out to pick them up. The trucking company scheduled a pick up, and never showed. I rescheduled THREE times, with 4 hour pickup windows each time. The trucking company said that they couldn’t even keep up with deliveries, and the drivers only do pick ups after deliveries. They are short on both drivers and trucks. Costco finally just refunded my $600 without me having to return the barstools.

Costco put the 30 pack of Hershey candy bars on sale as they always do in October for $5 off. I went today and the sign was up for the $5 discount but there were no boxes of candy. I looked online and they are out of stock. I hope they restock before Halloween.

SO got last TP on the shelf today. I don't want the End Times to be upon us again. Bah!

It's fascinating that my local CVS doesn't seem to have regular aspirin anymore but there's no shortage of Halloween sweets. They have HUGE bags of BRACHS candy corn and variety bags of chocolate bars piled up.

Even in normal times, CVS seems to have problems keeping things stocked. Walgreen's tends to be better at that.

It’s too early to buy Halloween candy y’all. You’re going to get fat and be out of candy before Halloween.

In the early days of the pandemic, I horded 6 large sanitizing wipe containers. I'm now down to....well, 6, but one is almost empty. Hell, the 4-pack of toilet paper it to forever to procure in April of 2020 is down to 3!

That's just gross, R273.

You can smell R273's rank hole from a block away . Wipe that ass better,you nasty bitch !

[quote] A writer who's blog I've read

Oh, DEAR!