It seems some mad scientist had purchased all of the cheap maple-colored bookcases in my area! You know the ones - 5 shelves, about 72" high, priced at $50-70 depending on the store.
I was unpacking all of my mass quantities of books in my new apartment, and found myself short on storage space. So I hopped into the car and took off for Home Depot. They had the shelf I wanted, but the only color they had in stock was white. All sold out of the color that would match my existing ranks of bookcases.
Then I went to Office Depot. They also had the one I wanted. The display model. Out of stock. They were also sold out of all other maple-colored shelving units.
Finally I tried Staples. This was the most fun. The sign on the shelf said out of stock. But I went one step beyond that: asking the guy who looked like a manager to check on it for me. He went in the back, and came out a short time later saying there was one left. He even wrote me a slip to take to the cashier, so that someone would bring the case out to my car for me.
Once I got the the cashier, chaos ensued. The stockboy the cashier sent could not find the item in question, and did not bother to inform anyone of this. So I stood there for about 15 minutes, twiddling my thumbs (politely). Finally I asked what the deal was, and the cashier asked the stockboy. Informed that they seemingly had none in stock, I asked her to speak to “Ron”, who had apparently seen one with his own eyes. The response: “I don’t do shelves”.
More bewildered than angry, I left the store and found solace in a Quarter Pounder with Cheese at the nearest McDonald’s.
So whats the deal? Has some psyco figured out a plan for world domination using only cheap office furniture? Is anyone else experience this bizzare shortage?