Still weird shortages?

[Idaho45guy]

Anyone else noticed that Walmart and large grocery stores are out of random items?

And not the typical panic pandemic stuff like TP, cleaning supplies, canned meat, etc. But odd stuff. I went to Walmart today to grab some de-icer, frozen meals, TP, chicken strips, olive oil, corned-beef hash, razor blades, and look for a gun rack mount for an ATV.

De-icer, gone. Chicken strips from Tyson, gone. Corned beef hash, gone. Wanted some extra CR-2032 batteries for my red dot weapon lights and they were gone. Plenty of TP and Spam, and canned meat. But corned beef hash completely wiped out. Weird. Girlfriend wanted California-brand olive oil, specifically. It was gone. Plenty of other brands, but wiped out of that brand. Went to another grocery store in town and they were also out of corned beef hash and that brand of olive oil, and the Tyson chicken strips. Weird.

Seems there are lots of random bare spots on the shelves that I don't recall ever seeing before. Just happened to need certain items today and they were mostly gone.

None of the items I needed were made in China, which I noticed earlier in the year were in short supply, but seem to be available again.

It was just unsettling to see bare shelves like you see in Russia and other communist countries.

[trails4u]

Supply chain issues being my guess at this point. Wife likes a particular flavor/brand of coffee creamer.....nowhere to be found. Brand is available, but in every favor other than her favorite. She asked one store manager, and he said it's been ordered for a while, but they can't fill the order. ??

[BigAlofPa.]

Ever since covid came about. I have not been able to find fresh turkey sausage.

[Buzz Krumhunger]

Weird too to see people standing in line on the sidewalk out front to get in a grocery store that has a bunch of empty shelves. It really is like pictures from the USSR.

[Idaho45guy]

Supply chain issues being my guess at this point. Wife likes a particular flavor/brand of coffee creamer.....nowhere to be found. Brand is available, but in every favor other than her favorite. She asked one store manager, and he said it's been ordered for a while, but they can't fill the order. ??

That reminds me that almost all of the coffee creamer was gone at Walmart. Another weird random item to be almost out of.

I stopped by the former guns and ammo counter and the guy asked me if there was anything he could help me with. I asked when they are going to get primers, powders, and bullets back in stock. He said that their supplier of all of their reloading supplies decided to no longer supply Walmart partly due to Walmart's decision to remove pistol and "assault" rifle ammo from their shelves. He said the supplier has given all of their other customers higher priority over Walmart and that it could be years before WM ever gets product again.

[tai95]

Supply chain issues being my guess at this point. Wife likes a particular flavor/brand of coffee creamer.....nowhere to be found. Brand is available, but in every favor other than her favorite. She asked one store manager, and he said it's been ordered for a while, but they can't fill the order. ??

Regional storms on top of the "pandemic" have definitely added to the issues. A friend works at a water bottling plant, he was sent home the other week. The empty bottles come from PA and the storm stopped the trucks delivering bottles.

I also know a few people who work at a pepsi bottling plant. During the start of the lock downs they had to cut staff so they dropped production to their best sellers.

[Mal Paso]

I couldn't find Oven Cleaner locally, not a single can of any brand. Safeway CS says it's been like that.

[Bmi48219]

Not just Walmart. Seeing ‘Sorry, this product is temporarily out of stock’ signs at several grocery stores. Usually name brands, they seem to have the store brands of everything. Wife wanted Liptons Onion Soup Mix. Third store had it. Others had store brand or Liptons ‘Beefy’ Onion Soup Mix.
All the big grocery chains have their own warehouses. Pretty sure WM buys direct from the manufacturers. With the check out scanners tracking inventory & probably reordering via computer program too it’s hard to imagine they forgot to order. But if WM orders a truckload of corned beef it may all go to one warehouse and from there to multiple distribution centers.
Incidentally I read WM has over 8,000 full time OTR drivers and 40,000 trailers.

[monadnock#5]

Watched a youtube video by a guy with the handle CRS. He claimed that dealers like he were receiving regular shipments of ammo, powder and primers. But rather than sell to customers, and get sniped at, for selling at double the regular price, instead they were selling on gunbroker. I have an AR pistol on order that originally was advertised for delivery in 16-20 wks, then 20+ wks. Currently I'm at 26+ and still on hold. But, of course, why would they sell to me at the list price when they can move their product online for a $3-400 markup.

I'm going off the reservation here. It appears to me that slowly, inexorably, sideways, we're sliding into a black market economy. I hope I'm wrong. I do wish I had a 500 gal gas tank behind the house.

[Idaho45guy]

I do wish I had a 500 gal gas tank behind the house.

Yep. Local gas was at $2.35 a gallon for months and months. Biden gets elected and suddenly it's now $2.59 a gallon. Anyone with half a brain could see that he was going to cause prices to rise, but short of having a large storage tank, not much you could do. I filled up my spare 5-gallon cans, but will have to use those in a few months before the gas goes bad. Then I'll have to fill them up again with $3 gas, or higher.

[jim147]

We had almond extract on the list for almost two months before I found some. Yes odd things are stil having trouble hitting shelfs and it's not going to end anytime soon.

[trails4u]

Watching an episode of 'Moonshiners' the other night.... Yeah, I know. It's 'Made for TV'.... But interesting twist in that they couldn't find mason jars, even wholesale. Perhaps just a TV moment, but with all the hoarding/stockpiling, why not mason jars? Everyone is a homesteader now, right?

[Handloader109]

Dude, where have you been? The entire southeast was shut down over a week. Many plants closed, trucking stopped. We have a very short supply chain. we don't have months of stuff in warehouses.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[rockrat]

Was in WM this weekend. Went back to look at engine oil. Was I surprised. 90% or greater empty shelves. Saw ONE 5 quart jug of Castrol synthetic 10w-30 and 5 jugs of 0w-40 Mobil 1. Few other oils, but no synthetic Shell Rotella and only two 5 quart jugs of standard rotella oil. Maybe a total of 20 jugs of different oils and maybe 30 quart container of various flavors oil.
Milk area was about 1/2 empty and the same for orange juice.
Plenty of C.B, spam, viennas and stuff, but the oil thing was unusual

[tomme boy]

Get used to it. Going to get much worse shortly. Especially when the people in power say the big cities have first chance at all goods because it would be more catastrophic to large cities than rural people.

[Bmi48219]

Watched a youtube video by a guy with the handle CRS. He claimed that dealers like he were receiving regular shipments of ammo, powder and primers. But rather than sell to customers, and get sniped at, for selling at double the regular price, instead they were selling on gunbroker. .

I saw that YouTube. He also said ammo on GB was still $$$$ but the number of bidders was down from 30-40 to 10-15. He said because of this he thinks ammo prices have topped and will start to come down some. But reloading components haven’t peaked yet. I watch his videos once in a while, kinda like the guy. Hope he’s right but with the manufacturers forecasting a year + backlog, his projections may be optimistic. If you can get $.75 cent or $1.00 a round plus shipping for 9mm on GB why would you sell it in a store for 50 cents?

[cwtebay]

I know! I tried to get fresh eggs and beef and flour and honey!!!
But then I realized...oh yeah, we make all that ourselves.
This is tongue in cheek, but truthfully - necessities are pretty much what you can make and store for yourself unless you want to deal with "shortages" (real or politically motivated).

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[redneck1]

The local savealot can't get the store brand soda I like because the bottler is only getting enough can stock to do the big brands .

[FLINTNFIRE]

Oven cleaner , great stuff but I prefer not to put that foul smelling stuff where I cook food , and it is funny watching people use the self clean setting , seems to kill the ovens , there are easy ways to clean ovens and microwaves that do not use toxic products , but then I have known people who used oven cleaner and ammonia for other purposes .

When this pandemic started I went in to the old cash and carry now smart food service only 1 bag of flour on the shelf , now we are talking about 25-50 lb bags , I laughed and said I see everyones taking up baking , as I do use about 100 lbs of flour a year , I left the bag as I had half a bag still , it is going to be worse , gas went from 2.39 a month and a half ago to 2.79 and still climbing .

Local gun shop had some ammo and a few more firearms , on another note he had a pile of lead he asked if I would make him some bullets for his own shooting , looked like 3 linotype pigs , but when melted into ingots were pretty much dead soft , oddball bucket had some squares and a partial ingot of copperhard , that melt could could pound nails .

I stocked up on oil a few months ago as it was on sale and I was doing head gasket and such on pickup , I try to stay stocked up on everything that is needed or used around house , be prepared and be able to make or do things yourself .

[Idaho45guy]

I try to stay stocked up on everything that is needed or used around house , be prepared and be able to make or do things yourself .

That's mighty tough to do for most folks. So many things that I hadn't thought of that crop up all the time.

Like the CR 2032 batteries for my weapon red dots that I have on 4 of my rifles. Went to take one to the range to make sure it was still sighted in and discovered the battery was dead. So I look in my range bag and discover that I'm down to my last battery. I go to Walmart and they are completely out of them. Found a small hardware store that had four of them left, bought them all. That's only one back up for each rifle. Then I noticed that the weapon lights on 3 of my firearms used the CR123 battery. Only had two extras. None available locally. Went online and ordered 12 of them. Should be good for a couple of years, now.

But just trying to get caught up on batteries for my weapon lights and optics was an extra $50 expense. I can't imagine folks on limited income being able to be prepared for every emergency.

Last February, I only had a couple of weeks worth of food. So, I went out and spent about $150 on various food stores just in case. About two months worth of food. Mostly canned foods and freeze-dried stuff. Most of it is expired in a month or so. I'll have to take it all to the local food bank, or throw it away.

[Thundarstick]

Gosh, it's almost like you all live in a different country. The only thing I haven't found for an extended time (greater than 6 months) is regular Ball lids, and jalapeño SPAM! Easy Off? I bought 3 huge cans at Lowe's last week to strip cast iron pans with, I had to do something while it was frozen over! Off course the shelves where wiped during the freeze out, the most surprising being soft drinks! Maybe we're just in a good part of the country as far as supply goes, and I guess it helps if they raise and process those stinky chickens, cows, and pigs where you live!

[shampine]

I noticed all the aluminum foil was gone ,thought that was strange in deed but then I remembered all the tinfoil hats people are wearing these days .

[Idaho45guy]

Haven't seen Tyson chicken strips for months. Most notably my favorite Mango Habanero flavor. Weird. Wonder if the plant that produces them has been down due to Covid, or what. I also noticed that canned chopped clams from Bumblebee have been gone for a few months. I use them to make my favorite comfort food; claim dip. Just went online and did a search and they are out nationwide.

I don't recall ever seeing such a shortage of random items in my 52 years. Just weird and unsettling.

[Idaho45guy]

I noticed all the aluminum foil was gone ,thought that was strange in deed but then I remembered all the tinfoil hats people are wearing these days .

If you are totally oblivious to the really strange and unsettling things that are occurring nationally, and globally, then that is just sad. But to make fun of others who are noticing the changes is just hateful and ignorant.

[shampine]

I don't understand how a person can't be prepared . Maybe it's a frozen North thing, but I could not imagine not being able to survive at least a month with what I have in storage...and it gets 30 below zero here before windchill . I see folks spending 5 bucks on a cup of coffee, I think...damn, I could buy a lot of rice with that 5 bucks .

[Lloyd Smale]

Gosh, it's almost like you all live in a different country. The only thing I haven't found for an extended time (greater than 6 months) is regular Ball lids, and jalapeño SPAM! Easy Off? I bought 3 huge cans at Lowe's last week to strip cast iron pans with, I had to do something while it was frozen over! Off course the shelves where wiped during the freeze out, the most surprising being soft drinks! Maybe we're just in a good part of the country as far as supply goes, and I guess it helps if they raise and process those stinky chickens, cows, and pigs where you live!

ball lids, ammo and components are all i see gone. One good thing is because of paranoia, ive got toilet paper stacked to the ceiling in the den. Three freezers full of meat and enough canned goods to feed 20 people for a month.

[MrWolf]

That's mighty tough to do for most folks. So many things that I hadn't thought of that crop up all the time.

Like the CR 2032 batteries for my weapon red dots that I have on 4 of my rifles. Went to take one to the range to make sure it was still sighted in and discovered the battery was dead. So I look in my range bag and discover that I'm down to my last battery. I go to Walmart and they are completely out of them. Found a small hardware store that had four of them left, bought them all. That's only one back up for each rifle. Then I noticed that the weapon lights on 3 of my firearms used the CR123 battery. Only had two extras. None available locally. Went online and ordered 12 of them. Should be good for a couple of years, now.

But just trying to get caught up on batteries for my weapon lights and optics was an extra $50 expense. I can't imagine folks on limited income being able to be prepared for every emergency.

Last February, I only had a couple of weeks worth of food. So, I went out and spent about $150 on various food stores just in case. About two months worth of food. Mostly canned foods and freeze-dried stuff. Most of it is expired in a month or so. I'll have to take it all to the local food bank, or throw it away.

Costco has the 2032 batteries. I know because I bought a few packs a bit ago. Going back there today actually. Might be able to get them online also but not sure with battery shipping on what it does to total cost. Good luck.
Ron

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm not sure a local supply issue on some selected items qualifies as a "shortage". Particularly if we're talking about a very short time frame (1 or 2 days) and 2 stores.

I don't think any conclusions can be drawn from that data.

[tinsnips]

I am having troubles getting HVAC equipment and parts ,water heaters,you name it .Oh add price increases on about everything.

[farmbif]

I don't know bout the other stuff but since moving to Appalachia I've noticed that mason jars are a seasonal thing, once the leaves come back on the trees, moonshine season, there are lots of mason jars and sacks of corn everywhere seems even every little gas station has pallets of em but once the leaves fall you only might see some at like rural king or something like that.

[Tortoise1]

I tried to buy circuit breakers a couple weeks ago and Home Depot was sold out of the ones I needed. The guy working that area said that they’re having trouble getting them and have been selling out regularly.

[BrutalAB]

Walmart has always had issues keeping random things in stock.
Some of the items that stick out to me is

Walmart brand lemonade flavor squeeze bottles like the mio brand, they had plenty of other flavors but the lemonade flavor was out of stock for about two years.

Milos lemonade. I had been buying it at another store and noticed walmart had it, so i started buying at walmart since it was a little cheaper, about a month later out of stock. Asked about it amd they told me they changed distribution centers and the new one doesnt have milos lemonade. The milo tea section is absolutly huge now.

[monadnock#5]

I saw that YouTube. He also said ammo on GB was still $$$$ but the number of bidders was down from 30-40 to 10-15. He said because of this he thinks ammo prices have topped and will start to come down some. But reloading components haven’t peaked yet. I watch his videos once in a while, kinda like the guy. Hope he’s right but with the manufacturers forecasting a year + backlog, his projections may be optimistic. If you can get $.75 cent or $1.00 a round plus shipping for 9mm on GB why would you sell it in a store for 50 cents?

I didn't get the idea he was being optimistic. Overall he was saying 4-6 yrs before prices normalize. Ammo and primers have topped out on GB, but powder is still going up. 4-6 yrs is too far out to be encouraging. BUT, no point sinking into a pit of despair. It will only be 6 mos to a year for us to get a much clearer idea of the where the current administration is taking us.

I wasn't much impressed with the first couple CRS videos I watched. He looks and acts like a light weight. I was wrong. He knows his stuff. Either he's much smarter than he lets on, or a savant.

[jim147]

I am having troubles getting HVAC equipment and parts ,water heaters,you name it .Oh add price increases on about everything.

Yeah I've lost a couple jobs this year because of no parts or equipment anywhere. One compressor came in so late I'm sitting on it waiting for it to warm up enough to install it.

[FLINTNFIRE]

[QUOTE=Idaho45guy;5126225]That's mighty tough to do for most folks.

It is I realize that there are things one will always find out he can not find or thought he had or overlooked , working where I do you order provisions , and as long as what is used is kept track of you can keep supplies on hand if you have storage room for them.

I was stocked on toilet tissue before the big panic , I have family members living with me so I try to keep a stock of extra food and consumables on hand , as to cr 2032 batteries those were cmos on motherboards along with a other size or so , have some of them from working on computers , I bought my weapon sights by the criteria of battery style on what will and is most available , so it is triple a or double a , son in law pointed out to me the life on battery in comp m4s aimpoint , so when I buy a sight I try for a shake awake or extremely long life .

I also know that cost is what prevents some from being able to stock up , as we have seen some on here who are short of needed components because of limited income , as to expiration dates on food , I was raised poor and as a younger man working in the woods money was tight , food gets thrown out only if it is uneatable , I have made many a soup or stew from expired can goods and freezer burned meat . Made clam chowder at work with the spoiled milk , it was fine , I see yogurt and sour cream being tossed and my comment is why? it is already spoiled milk .

Anyway glad you got what you needed , I am back to another long session casting bullets out of the stuff I got , man that one batch is hard and then coating it for him .

[TyGuy]

Haven't seen Tyson chicken strips for months. Most notably my favorite Mango Habanero flavor. Weird. Wonder if the plant that produces them has been down due to Covid, or what.

Our local news reported certain Tyson plants being trimmed lean and eventually closed due to workers with the Ronas. That was months ago but those plants process hundreds of thousands of birds each day. If they slow down due to lowered staff or stop completely that results in a big drop in supply during a period of high demand. I imagine it will take quite a while to catch up and they’ll likely prioritize higher volume products before the more specialized cuts.

[Bmi48219]

I wasn't much impressed with the first couple CRS videos I watched. He looks and acts like a light weight. I was wrong. He knows his stuff. Either he's much smarter than he lets on, or a savant.

I find him entertaining as heck. Just a regular guy with an interesting perspective on things I like. The White Board and Knife-type pointer props, along with the way he organizes his thoughts fit with his presentation. Not saying I’d buy Enron on his recommendation, but I still like him.

[white eagle]

Anyone else noticed that Walmart and large grocery stores are out of random items?

And not the typical panic pandemic stuff like TP, cleaning supplies, canned meat, etc. But odd stuff. I went to Walmart today to grab some de-icer, frozen meals, TP, chicken strips, olive oil, corned-beef hash, razor blades, and look for a gun rack mount for an ATV.

De-icer, gone. Chicken strips from Tyson, gone. Corned beef hash, gone. Wanted some extra CR-2032 batteries for my red dot weapon lights and they were gone. Plenty of TP and Spam, and canned meat. But corned beef hash completely wiped out. Weird. Girlfriend wanted California-brand olive oil, specifically. It was gone. Plenty of other brands, but wiped out of that brand. Went to another grocery store in town and they were also out of corned beef hash and that brand of olive oil, and the Tyson chicken strips. Weird.

Seems there are lots of random bare spots on the shelves that I don't recall ever seeing before. Just happened to need certain items today and they were mostly gone.

None of the items I needed were made in China, which I noticed earlier in the year were in short supply, but seem to be available again.

It was just unsettling to see bare shelves like you see in Russia and other communist countries.

now that you mention it I have noticed a item that has been missing from
store shelves for a long time now it's not a big ticket item but none the less gone
Ortega taco sauce might be a regional thing but not available

[SweetMk]

now that you mention it I have noticed a item that has been missing from
store shelves for a long time now it's not a big ticket item but none the less gone
Ortega taco sauce might be a regional thing but not available

My wife usually gets me a can of "Cheese Wizz" or Kraft "Easy Cheese" a couple times a year as a treat,,
(you know,, the stuff Elwood brought back to the boarding house, for the guy playing cards)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Easy_Cheese.JPG/330px-Easy_Cheese.JPG

Well,, that has not been in a store for easily 4-5 months, or longer,, not even Walmart,,

In Food Lion Grocery Store, they even eliminated the spot that had been empty for months,, so, there is not even a spot for it, if they did get some in,,,

The store manager told me they eliminated the spot, so people would hopefully quit asking about it,, :sad:

[Burnt Fingers]

Come out of the cave more often.

Covid for a year. Huge storm last week among other things.

There's a shortage of aluminum cans for soda due to COVID. Storm stalled the truckers. Lots of places have been/are shutting down due to COIVD. Food processing plants have been hit HARD due to COVID.

I buy my 2032 batteries online for half or less than what the stores charge. I buy them 50 at a time. Same with my 1632 batteries.

[Lloyd Smale]

My wife usually gets me a can of "Cheese Wizz" or Kraft "Easy Cheese" a couple times a year as a treat,,
(you know,, the stuff Elwood brought back to the boarding house, for the guy playing cards)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Easy_Cheese.JPG/330px-Easy_Cheese.JPG

Well,, that has not been in a store for easily 4-5 months, or longer,, not even Walmart,,

In Food Lion Grocery Store, they even eliminated the spot that had been empty for months,, so, there is not even a spot for it, if they did get some in,,,

The store manager told me they eliminated the spot, so people would hopefully quit asking about it,, :sad:

been a long time since i had spray cheese. Used to actually like the stuff.

[David2011]

Tractor Supply sells a card of assorted small batteries for $4.99 including 2032s if I’m not mistaken. The quantity is generous. Not sure I would use them for important weapons sights but they’re a cheap source for my digital calipers that eat batteries like candy.

[SeabeeMan]

Unsalted saltines...needed them for a chemistry lab with my students and couldn't find them at 5 different grocery stores in 4 towns.

[1I-Jack]

Watching an episode of 'Moonshiners' the other night.... Yeah, I know. It's 'Made for TV'.... But interesting twist in that they couldn't find mason jars, even wholesale. Perhaps just a TV moment, but with all the hoarding/stockpiling, why not mason jars? Everyone is a homesteader now, right?

Mason Jars have been pretty much sold out since mid summer 2020. Jars, lids, rings...couldn't get all my hot peppers canned last year.

[VariableRecall]

My wife usually gets me a can of "Cheese Wizz" or Kraft "Easy Cheese" a couple times a year as a treat,,
(you know,, the stuff Elwood brought back to the boarding house, for the guy playing cards)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Easy_Cheese.JPG/330px-Easy_Cheese.JPG

Well,, that has not been in a store for easily 4-5 months, or longer,, not even Walmart,,

In Food Lion Grocery Store, they even eliminated the spot that had been empty for months,, so, there is not even a spot for it, if they did get some in,,,

The store manager told me they eliminated the spot, so people would hopefully quit asking about it,, :sad:

Geez! Even Easy Cheese is gone from store shelves? What a shame. I'm very lucky to have Tillamook as a High Quality cheese brand available in the northwest for general use, but sometimes you just gotta have some saltines and best fake cheese from a can!

[alfadan]

My wife usually gets me a can of "Cheese Wizz" or Kraft "Easy Cheese" a couple times a year as a treat,,
(you know,, the stuff Elwood brought back to the boarding house, for the guy playing cards)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Easy_Cheese.JPG/330px-Easy_Cheese.JPG

Well,, that has not been in a store for easily 4-5 months, or longer,, not even Walmart,,

In Food Lion Grocery Store, they even eliminated the spot that had been empty for months,, so, there is not even a spot for it, if they did get some in,,,

The store manager told me they eliminated the spot, so people would hopefully quit asking about it,, :sad:

Do you walk in and ask "Did ya get muh cheez whiz, boy?"

[Bmi48219]

Cheez Whiz meets all but one of the Minimum Daily Adult Nutritional Requirements. That’s where bacon fits in.

[Idaho45guy]

My favorite camping snack is bacon cheeseburger cheese whiz and Chicken in a Biscuit crackers. Fat guy crack.

[JSnover]

It seems like more of a demand problem in my area. Everything appears to be shipping but as soon as it gets here it's gobbled up. The only really unusual item I couldn't get was cold blue. Three different gun shops and none to be had, and I thought everybody hated that stuff! I think it was probably not a high-volume product and the retailers just stopped stocking to make room for other merchandise.

[MrWolf]

No 2032 batteries at Costco. They were wiped out of them. That went fast. Glad I grabbed a couple of packs the last time.

[tinsnips]

Why does everyone need 2032 batteries anyway?

[Plate plinker]

Most red dot pistol sights use those.

[bedbugbilly]

Oh ye of little faith . . . never fear . . . . Biden and his merry band of thieves and liars will SOLVE EVERYTHING . . . after all, they have ALL the answers to make things "right".

[Thundarstick]

Oh ye of little faith . . . never fear . . . . Biden and his merry band of thieves and liars will SOLVE EVERYTHING . . . after all, they have ALL the answers to make things "right".
Yeah, when you have no pistol or semiautomatic sporting rifle, you'll have no need for those batteries!

[MrWolf]

HF used to sell those batteries also but haven't been in there for awhile.

[Mal Paso]

When I had a Red Dot I bought too many 2032s on amazon cheap, because it was way too many and stashed them everywhere. The scope is gone but the batteries persist.

[farmbif]

come to think of it have not been able to get barilla marinara sauce at Walmart since the virus flipped the world upside down. guess they had a terminal shortage of tomatoes.

[elmacgyver0]

For a long time you couldn't get Grapenuts.

[Bmi48219]

Biden and his merry band of thieves and liars will SOLVE EVERYTHING . . . after all, they have ALL the answers to make things "right".

The way gasoline prices are going up I think he’s trying to get everyone ready for his “Electric Vehicles Mandate”. He already said by 2030 all government vehicles will be electric. How many miles is a 2032 battery good for?

[farmbif]

gas prices can't be set or raised or lowered by American politicians.
gas prices are based on supply and demand in the global market. OPEC still has a bunch of ways to put their fingers on the scale,
global oil prices bottomed out when covid shut the world down, lack of demand and huge supplies, now the world is coming back alive and the supply and production has changed as demand is increasing. increasing demand+lack of surplus=higher prices.
does any of this make any senses or do I need to go to one of those crazy house doctors for some special medications.

[Idaho45guy]

gas prices can't be set or raised or lowered by American politicians.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-a-biden-presidency-may-lead-to-higher-gasoline-prices-11603992805

Prices could take a significant turn higher, however, if Democrat Joe Biden turns out to the winner of the Nov. 3 election, according to a recent analysis conducted by GasBuddy.

“A Joe Biden presidency would favor more environmental controls with respect to drilling and emissions, increasing fuel mileage standards, alternative vehicle power like electricity, expanded tax credits benefiting fuel efficient vehicle owners, and evolving from fossil fuels,” the report said. On the other hand, if President Donald Trump, a Republican, is re-elected, his policies would be “generally regarded as populist and pro-business, while perhaps marginalizing environmental factors.”

Either approach will have “significant implications for the supply/demand balance, which will impact what the average American will pay per gallon,” GasBuddy said.

“Traditionally, presidents had limited ability to move the needle at the gas pump, but in recent years that has changed,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a recent statement. He also said Biden openly stated that “he would end drilling, curbing U.S. oil production and end fracking, which could potentially send oil prices and thus gas prices higher.”

[Norcal707]

That reminds me that almost all of the coffee creamer was gone at Walmart. Another weird random item to be almost out of.

I stopped by the former guns and ammo counter and the guy asked me if there was anything he could help me with. I asked when they are going to get primers, powders, and bullets back in stock. He said that their supplier of all of their reloading supplies decided to no longer supply Walmart partly due to Walmart's decision to remove pistol and "assault" rifle ammo from their shelves. He said the supplier has given all of their other customers higher priority over Walmart and that it could be years before WM ever gets product again.

Nice to see a business making a stand against SprawlMart and letting them know that their stupid decisions have consequences...

[Bmi48219]

do I need to go to one of those crazy house doctors for some special medications.

I’d just as soon have the meds myself, and some of those 2023 batteries!

[Lloyd Smale]

Cheez Whiz meets all but one of the Minimum Daily Adult Nutritional Requirements. That’s where bacon fits in.

my favorite was venison summer sausage and spray cheese.

[JSnover]

gas prices can't be set or raised or lowered by American politicians.
gas prices are based on supply and demand in the global market. OPEC still has a bunch of ways to put their fingers on the scale,
global oil prices bottomed out when covid shut the world down, lack of demand and huge supplies, now the world is coming back alive and the supply and production has changed as demand is increasing. increasing demand+lack of surplus=higher prices.
does any of this make any senses or do I need to go to one of those crazy house doctors for some special medications.

I know it was a long time ago but didn't the Carter administration impose price controls on gasoline back in the late 70s?

[BamaNapper]

Nixon and Carter both tried the price controls. It turned out to be a huge failure. They had some ability to freeze the price of oil being pumped from old wells. So the companies could simply stop pumping from the old wells, or sell it through a string of buyers with each marking up as permitted until they got to the going price. The president had no ability to freeze the costs of what was being imported. It was all a miserable failure and hasn't been considered since.

The best control on price a president can put in place is allowing more drilling and relaxing regulations. By that measure the energy companies can put more oil in the system. After that it's supply and demand that keeps the cost down.

[cwtebay]

Those that forget history are forced to repeat it . (George Santayana 1863-1953)


Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[Petrol & Powder]

Those that forget history are forced to repeat it ...........
/\ HOW TRUE /\

As for the failures of price controls, I totally agree with BamaNapper that the ONLY thing government intervention can accomplish are negative outcomes. The free market works when it is free.

[Murphy]

It's has been a strange time in America of late. Those of us here have been aware of firearm and ammunition shortages. I think as a whole those of us on the site, tend to forget the rest of the country has been faced with what we're seeing. Unless, you count the great toilet paper shortage of 2020. I'm quiet sure there some folks, some where out there who have full pallets of toilet paper now stored, wrapped in water proof, rat proof containers. The civil unrest helped nothing, and the election pushed things to an even higher level of fear. After all, how many here would spend 1/2 their paycheck this weekend if they could spend it on reloading supplies at 2019 prices?

Murphy

[poorman]

I would spend 3 months wages tonight at 2019 prices

[FLINTNFIRE]

I would but local ordinances would prohibit that .

[Fireball 57]

Idaho45Guy: While I sympathize with your plight, I don't abide with your means. Walmart doesn't show us LOVE and Tyson Foods takes some of their profits to advocate against YOUR 2nd rights. No love there either. Have a great day. Fireball

[Catshooter]

Idaho,

Do yourself a favor and research "Expiration dates". Canned food is good for years. It's in manufacturers self-interest to get people to throw good stuff away and buy more. When you start looking around, you'll see dates on water & salt. Who knows how old that stuff is and it never, ever expires.


Cat

[tai95]

Idaho,

Do yourself a favor and research "Expiration dates". Canned food is good for years. It's in manufacturers self-interest to get people to throw good stuff away and buy more. When you start looking around, you'll see dates on water & salt. Who knows how old that stuff is and it never, ever expires.


Cat

I was always under the assumption that the expiration date on water had to do with the plastic bottle breaking down and leaching stuff into the water.

[Idaho45guy]

Idaho,

Do yourself a favor and research "Expiration dates". Canned food is good for years. It's in manufacturers self-interest to get people to throw good stuff away and buy more. When you start looking around, you'll see dates on water & salt. Who knows how old that stuff is and it never, ever expires.


Cat

I had a can of cream of mushroom soup that expired in 2019 that I found a few months ago. I had bought it in 2017. I opened it up and it was indeed bad...

278576

I also recently tried a can of Chef Boyardee chili mac that was just expired and it was not right. Of course, I think all of their offerings have gotten pretty gross the past ten years or so.

[Bmi48219]

The wife is pretty adamant about the “best used by” date the put on all food products now. If the package says Best Used By 2-27-21 she absolutely will not consume it, unless it is a Hersey Milk Chocolate with Almonds candy bar. Then again those don’t last long around here.

[Mal Paso]

John Malkovich in the movie RED2 was caught eating a 50 year old Moon Pie. He said it was OK because it was made before sell by dates.

If the seal is intact the food does not go bad in a few years. 100 year old cans have been opened with the food still safe. It may not be as appetizing as it was but it's not "bad". Expiration dates are there to make money, not to protect the public.

[Burnt Fingers]

It's has been a strange time in America of late. Those of us here have been aware of firearm and ammunition shortages. I think as a whole those of us on the site, tend to forget the rest of the country has been faced with what we're seeing. Unless, you count the great toilet paper shortage of 2020. I'm quiet sure there some folks, some where out there who have full pallets of toilet paper now stored, wrapped in water proof, rat proof containers. The civil unrest helped nothing, and the election pushed things to an even higher level of fear. After all, how many here would spend 1/2 their paycheck this weekend if they could spend it on reloading supplies at 2019 prices?

Murphy


I would spend 3 months wages tonight at 2019 prices

If I could get primers and powder at 2019 prices right now I'd easily spend $5k in a heartbeat.

[blackthorn]

I am going to show my Granddaughter this thread. She is fixated on my habit of ignoring the "best before" dates. Last trip to the cabin, when I went up to the lake to close up for the winter, ALL the cans and packages had 2020 marked on them with a sharpie. My first aid kit gets a through investigation every time we are up there and I catch holy crap if she finds outdated Ozanol, Polysporin etc. Most stuff is useable for several years after the date they put on the label, with some exceptions.

[monadnock#5]

When tin cans were tinned (seams sealed with lead), food from tin cans was a danger. Google the Franklin Expedition. As long as the can isn't rusted through, it's still edible. Though perhaps not as tasty.

[GasGuzzler]

Was in WM this weekend. Went back to look at engine oil. Was I surprised. 90% or greater empty shelves. Saw ONE 5 quart jug of Castrol synthetic 10w-30 and 5 jugs of 0w-40 Mobil 1. Few other oils, but no synthetic Shell Rotella and only two 5 quart jugs of standard rotella oil. Maybe a total of 20 jugs of different oils and maybe 30 quart container of various flavors oil.
Milk area was about 1/2 empty and the same for orange juice.
Plenty of C.B, spam, viennas and stuff, but the oil thing was unusual

Tires are getting harder to come by too. Obviously oilfield production has changed.

[Petrol & Powder]

Tires are getting harder to come by too. Obviously oilfield production has changed.

Might be making some false assumptions there. While the supply of any product can be affected by the supply of some raw material needed to make that product, that doesn't mean that every shortage is CAUSED by a change in the availability of a raw material.

Lots of different factors can be responsible for a reduction in the availability of a finished product.
A shortage of tires (or far more likely a perceived shortage of tires in a particular locality) can be due to raw materials, distribution problems, high demand, industry pressures (strikes, mergers, acquisitions, re-tooling, discontinuing a line of products, etc.)

While it's possible to see a localized shortage of some product, it is much more difficult to definitively say WHY there is a local shortage.

[gbrown]

To me, the dates on all things, like "best by", or expiration date are a government scam. I have used plenty of cans, stuff that are way past the expiration date, and they were fine. In the TXARNG, we used 1990 bottled water in the 2005s, well after the expiration date. We are all alive and doing well. Just imagine the taxes and sales can be generated if everyone buys the expiration dates. Maybe a conspiracy theory, but I believe it.

[dgdimick]

Think on this for a few minutes.

We only have the ability to produce X number of items each day, and historically the demand was for only Y numbers of items each day. We now have a demand for two times the amount of Y items each day, yet are still only able to produce the same X number of items each day - add in things such as Bakers Yeast, processed Beef, or anything that takes time to produced, you can't make corm, beef, or vegetables grow faster, and you'll see what you're seeing.

More people are prepping, and driving the Y number higher each day.

[VariableRecall]

To me, the dates on all things, like "best by", or expiration date are a government scam. I have used plenty of cans, stuff that are way past the expiration date, and they were fine. In the TXARNG, we used 1990 bottled water in the 2005s, well after the expiration date. We are all alive and doing well. Just imagine the taxes and sales can be generated if everyone buys the expiration dates. Maybe a conspiracy theory, but I believe it.

I think the issue with expiry dates may lie with basic safety concerns. You may have ideal conditions to store your goods, but everywhere those cans have been since then really couldn't be guaranteed. There's simply a greater chance for corrosion or intrusion of the cans the longer it spends on a shelf, no matter what.

I've recently opened up a can of tomato sauce that expired in 2018, and that was as fresh as can be. If anything, when in doubt, throw it out. Don't end up like that Steve1989 guy that does MRE Reviews. Sure, he does it for the food related adventures of documenting (and eating) rare and valuable rations, but he's doing it for fun, not to keep himself alive.

I'm thinking someone tried to sue a grocery store for selling them a really nasty old can of Spaghetti-O's or something.

[uscra112]

Last December I wanted a new set of Michelin tires for my minivan. Called my local tire dealer. Was told after two days wait that they could not get that tire from any of their five wholesalers. Tire store said it wasn't just Michelin - all brands of tires in short supply. ( I wound up finding the Michelins at a retailer in Florida and had them shipped.)

Being mobility handicapped, I order a lot of common stuff from Walmart and Amazon. Noticing lately that can goods Walmart used to ship are now "pickup only". Today it was canned mushrooms and canned corned beef. Discouraging online buyers from buying out their limited stocks? (Amazon OTOH had what I wanted.)

Then again, Walmart has been notorious for empty shelves for several years now. Not, apparently, the distribution geniuses they used to be.

[trapper9260]

For those that dose canning and can not find lids. If you save your used lids and they are in good shape not bent or rusted up . You can reused them . Just put them in boiling water for about 1/2 hour , that is to soft the rubber on the lid to have it seal and use as normal. Do this when you do the canning. Since I do it anyways when I do canning with lids to sanitize them. I done some checking on to reused them and then done it my self and works. I do not need to get any more lids unless the ones I have are gone from use .

[JSnover]

"Best by" really only means best if used by this date. No one says you can't eat something that's 'expired.' In the early days (as I recall) it started as a marketing ploy by one of the beverage companies, basically saying 'you know ours is fresh because we date-stamped it.' Then the government got involved...

[Bmi48219]

A lot of food packaging once marked ‘use by’, now most is stamped ‘best by’. As a kid I worked at a local grocery store. Nothing was obviously dated then. Had to always rotate the stock when restocking food. New stuff in back, old stuff in front. I notice that practice isn’t prevalent now, except in refrigerated coolers that are automatically loaded from the back. The store I worked at wasn’t huge, about 25,000 sq ft. Of the public area I’d say 20% was fresh meats, 20% produce, 10% refrigerated foods, < 10% frozen foods, rest canned or paper products. Almost no thaw or heat & eat food except TV dinners.
Mind you this was was before microwaves. The owner said things would change & people would switch to prepared foods they could just throw in the oven instead of actually preparing. That was in the 60’s. Look at the amount of space dedicated to ready to eat foods in stores now.

[rockrat]

Was back at Wal-mart last Thursday. Oil shelves were full and they even had some 22 lr ammo, limit 3 boxes. Must have finally got a truck in.

[blackthorn]

Most canned food is good well beyond the "best by" date. The (perhaps) not so safe tins are those that contain a product that is acidic, such as tomatoes, some fruit etc. If the can is bulged or has sharp dents, it is an indication that you likely should not eat that which the can contains. From 1984 t0 1992 I coordinated 8 and ran 1 center(s) set up to help people who had fallen on hard times. While the main thrust of the centers was advocacy with respect to free services, 6 of those centers also ran food banks so we became well versed in what donated food was safe to distribute and what was not.

[1I-Jack]

Buddy of mine at work used to work in a fruit canning factory up the valley. They would run a lot of cans and the date printed on them was the date specified by the store chain. ie the cans headed for Safeway got a different date than the cans headed for Albertson's... or Fred Meyer...

[Thundarstick]

The store I worked at wasn’t huge, about 25,000 sq ft. Of the public area I’d say 20% was fresh meats, 20% produce, 10% refrigerated foods, < 10% frozen foods, rest canned or paper products. Almost no thaw or heat & eat food except TV dinners.
Mind you this was was before microwaves. The owner said things would change & people would switch to prepared foods they could just throw in the oven instead of actually preparing. That was in the 60’s. Look at the amount of space dedicated to ready to eat foods in stores now.

Since this thread has already drifted down to the Gulf! My sister in law lives with us, but spend about 6 months last year in the hospital and in a physical rehab facility. She came home just before Christmas and I notice our garbage output doubled when she is with us. Then I realized why, one is she drinks almost exclusively from cans and bottles (4-5 daily), and eats a lot of pre-packaged food! It's unbelievable how much garbage those heat and eat meals produce! To avoid thread drift, I still can't find jalapeño SPAM! About 95% of the things mentioned as MIA, I can buy locally! Pork belly, I still can't find pork bellies anywhere!

[uscra112]

No 2032 batteries at Costco. They were wiped out of them. That went fast. Glad I grabbed a couple of packs the last time.

No shortage of batteries here: https://www.onlybatteries.com/

There's also Battery Mart online, but I like these people better.

[uscra112]

Why does everyone need 2032 batteries anyway?

My glucose meter, too.

[uscra112]

Most canned food is good well beyond the "best by" date.

Heck yes. I've eaten up cans of Dinty Moore stew that I KNOW were bought before Y2K.

What I don't trust is the pop-top cans. The tear line in the top is too darned thin.

[jlm223]

Wife came back from Walmart no Little Debbie nutty bars! Now what am I going to have with my coffee in the morning?

[SweetMk]

Wife came back from Walmart no Little Debbie nutty bars! Now what am I going to have with my coffee in the morning?
I am also addicted to Little Debbies,, but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I was binge watching Kent Rollins on YouTube,, and he made a DIY TV dinner, which included a brownie,,

My wife made it,, BETTER than Little Debbies,,,

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
4 eggs beaten
1 cup butter melted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 12-inch cast iron skillet or 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the eggs and butter.
Pour the batter into the skillet or pan. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


BUT,, his cowboy coffee is to die for,, no acid, and no bitterness,, pleasant to drink without sugar or cream,,


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UAoT21eqXI

[RogerDat]

When people see something not available they want they start looking. When (eventually) they find some available there is a real tendency to "stock up" and buy "extra" just to avoid the pain of having to go on another hunt for an item anytime soon. Even gas prices going up a bit can spark people sucking supply out of the storage tanks where it is available to the market and into cans in their garage or shed.

I would say Gun Broker and eBay are often carrying products being marketed to the most desperate or those with money and no patience (or planning) I notice that 9mm 2 cavity Lee molds are down from selling for $150+ to Buy It Now for less than $60. There was plenty of ammo at local gun shows, true some was pretty old, and all of it was too expensive but had also dipped noticeably below the "panic" price of a buck a round for darn near anything. I saw so many packages of what I can only describe as antique primers for sale, but the prices were not the insane ones of new primers on gun broker. Over priced, an item that would probably not have had have had a market pre-covid but applying downward pressure on prices I'm sure. I couldn't find any one that would buy my box of CCI primers for more than $100 and since I like having lots of primers and would only be willing to see 1000 fewer primers in the stash for say $125 so they didn't get sold.

The world market in raw materials is also a mess, things such as brass or the metals and chemicals used in making bullets and primers. Also shipping containers and shipping space has had a rapid and extreme decrease in availability and increase in price. So not able to get brass or chemicals to make the primers, in the plant that you can't keep staffed to make primers, that are difficult to get shipped to warehouses and retailers that have a massive backlog of orders and demand that would be impossible to keep up with under ideal circumstances. There is a modest but real shortage but probably plenty to meet actual current use, just that the inventory to meet the current needs is sitting in peoples basement, garage, or shed and not on a shelf where it can meet demand.

Covid has caused disruption to manufacturing, warehousing, transportation systems. It would be bizarre if there wasn't shortages of assorted items for periods of time. Smart businesses do not invest in a great deal of surplus capacity. Supply chains don't want to invest in goods that are going to sit around as inventory. So if something disrupts the ability to meet demand, that will always cause an even greater demand in the form of buying today for future needs in response to shortages or rising prices.

[VariableRecall]

I am also addicted to Little Debbies,, but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I was binge watching Kent Rollins on YouTube,, and he made a DIY TV dinner, which included a brownie,,

My wife made it,, BETTER than Little Debbies,,,

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
4 eggs beaten
1 cup butter melted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 12-inch cast iron skillet or 9 x 13-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix in the eggs and butter.
Pour the batter into the skillet or pan. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


BUT,, his cowboy coffee is to die for,, no acid, and no bitterness,, pleasant to drink without sugar or cream,,


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UAoT21eqXI

WOW! That's a darn good lookin cup of Coffee! I personally use a Grind and Brew Coffee machine and that's a miracle worker. I've tried using a little baby Percolator without much success. This dude's got it covered!

[SweetMk]

When people see something not available they want they start looking. When (eventually) they find some available there is a real tendency to "stock up" and buy "extra" just to avoid the pain of having to go on another hunt for an item anytime soon.

So if something disrupts the ability to meet demand, that will always cause an even greater demand in the form of buying today for future needs in response to shortages or rising prices.


I was reading an article about Johnny Carson today,, (I went to high school with his last wife,,)

Anyways,, Johnny jokingly mentioned that there was a toilet paper shortage on his show back in 1973,,

Within days, the ENTIRE country was sold out of toilet paper,,,

A shortage does not take much to start,,,

[uscra112]

Did he have stock in Scott Paper ?

[Petrol & Powder]

I was reading an article about Johnny Carson today,, (I went to high school with his last wife,,)

Anyways,, Johnny jokingly mentioned that there was a toilet paper shortage on his show back in 1973,,

Within days, the ENTIRE country was sold out of toilet paper,,,

A shortage does not take much to start,,,

/\ Absolutely Correct. It doesn't take much to start a shortage.