# Hobby parts unavailable during the Pandemic **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 18, 2021, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387 "2021-05-18T19:34:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/21 "2021-05-19T00:28:14Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > But it’s not like there’s a real shortage of flour or yeast since they’re used heavily in restaurants and bakeries. It’s just that they’re not packaged for consumer use. > > Very similar to the toilet paper shortage. it’s not that there wasn’t any toilet paper. It just wasn’t packaged for consumer use, and the commercial grade toilet paper wasn’t acceptable for home use. True, with some things there wasn’t a shortage of supplies so much as the distribution channels couldn’t keep up. You can only fit so much toilet paper on a truck. If Charmin normally ships out 10 semi load’s of TP a day and now needs to ship out 100 per day, they’re going to fall behind and it’s going to take some time to catch up. Back in March, one of the mega marts that was open 24 hours started closing for a few hours at night for the sole purpose of giving the workers some time to restock the shelves without getting mobbed. > [@nightshadea](#): > > nintendo Gamecubes that went for 30 bucks a piece in '18 and '19 for 30-50 bucks a piece are almost 200 dollars now same for a lot of the games Really? I have a gamecube that I haven’t used in **years**. If I could have sold it for 200 bucks, I would have considered it. I did like it when I got it but there were never any new games I as interested in and it seemed to get discontinued pretty quickly. I still like my mini NES though. > [@nightshadea](#): > > Used game guy says "its becuase in the lockdown people want their old games from when they were kids " Being raised in the Atari/Sega Genesis/NES era, I feel old thinking about a Gamecube being old enough that ‘grown ups’ are considering them retro/nostalgic. But I guess it is 20ish years old. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/22 "2021-05-19T03:46:12Z")
Needlework floss. DMC was fairly easy to find, but some other fibers disappeared for quite a while. I just started a new piece and the designer had to substitute floss because she couldn’t get her first choice even after looking for months. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/23 "2021-05-19T11:07:29Z")
lol i admitted my first game was dads pong system when i was 2… apparently it was one of the few things i could concertrate on so parentts let me play it …40+ years later ony thing thats changed is the game systems lol ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/24 "2021-05-19T12:16:04Z")
Before the NES (and before I’d heard of an Atarti…mind you, I was born in 1980), my grandfather, who was always a bit of a techie and was always the first one on the block to have the newest gadget had an Odyssey. It played three ‘pong style’ (at least WRT graphics and general game play). The controllers were integrated into the console which made the thing huge, like 18 inches across and took, either 6 or 8 C or D batteries…a lot of batteries. Which meant either ransacking their house for batteries or going home with a promise that they’d buy the batteries before the next time we came over. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Odyssey-300.jpg/1199px-Odyssey-300.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Odyssey-300.jpg/1199px-Odyssey-300.jpg) ETA, and I guess, technically, the first video game I played was that old [handheld football](https://www.handheldmuseum.com/Mattel/FB.htm) game, which IIRC, was actually my grandma’s. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/25 "2021-05-19T15:34:45Z")
Bicycles and bike parts! Chains and tires are getting hard to get. I’m hoping I can make it through this season without needing anything else since it isn’t supposed to let up until sometime next year. Our local bike shop says some of the popular models are even back-ordered into 2023 now. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/26 "2021-05-19T22:20:43Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Bicycles and bike parts! Chains and tires are getting hard to get. Yes, this. My bike needs a new rear sprocket set. My bike shop said they _might_ get a delivery in June, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they don’t get one. I’m limping along with the old one for now. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/27 "2021-05-20T01:01:24Z")
My Wife tells me that the grocery store has fewer variaties of a mouth wash brand. They have the brand, but not all the variaties. Is the factory making hand sterilizer, and no room for mouthwash? I can’t imagine why bike parts would be in short supply, unless the factory where they are made closed to prevent exposure. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/28 "2021-05-20T01:50:53Z")
As far as bike part shortages, the bike shop blames that on difficulties in shipping them from Asia. Mostly the fact that shipping containers are in short supply. It’s unfortunate that most bicycle parts are made in the Far East, but unless we want to build a new factory here, we just have to live with that. One thing I’ve heard about shipping containers is that when companies in the US find that delivery of various things (subcomponents, for example) are pushed back, they double their orders. So that uses up the supply of containers. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/29 "2021-05-20T10:16:42Z")
Some boat engine parts have been difficult to find. Even if you have almost everything you’re still out of action if something vital isn’t available. I think it’s made worse because you have to have a specific spring, for the specific actuator, for the specific engine, in a specific year and model. Substituting with something similar won’t work. My boat has been out of the water in the boatyard, awaiting maintenance since mid-January. They just begin the repairs last week. Like many owners, I vastly increased the work order based on what they could do – for fear of being in the same situation when scheduled maintenance is needed in the future. Undoubtedly this is a version of “panic buying” that stresses the supply, just like hoarding gas or TP. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/30 "2021-05-20T12:10:14Z")
Horses and horse sports are my thing, and I work in a tack store. There’s a lot we haven’t been able to get. Leather goods tend to come from Europe or India, and either they weren’t shipping or closed down production lines. Things like clippers and clipper blades were impossible to find (better now). Certain kinds of riding helmets were not available, and certain very popular kinds of horse treats. Supply lines are still so jacked up. I’ve noticed a few items we carry are suddenly in different packaging, and one even has a sticky note on the bottle saying it’s a temporary labeling change, but same product. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/31 "2021-05-20T14:12:46Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Model kit paint. For some reason, Testors brand paint is in very short supply. Not just the dedicated hobby stores have empty shelves, but also places like Michael’s. Partly due to Testors discontinuing some of their paints. [Testors Discontinues Popular Lines of Model Paint - Railroad Model Craftsman](http://rrmodelcraftsman.com/testors-discontinues-popular-lines-of-model-paint/) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/32 "2021-05-23T18:22:59Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Model kit paint This reminds me that I spent a couple of weeks last spring looking online for Testors paint before giving up. No idea what I’d wanted it for now, though. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/33 "2021-05-23T18:28:41Z")
> [@gnarator](#): > > Astronomy forums are full of stories of people waiting months for Telescopes. They’re in such high demand, I’m thinking of selling the 10" Dobsonian I bought last year for a slight profit and saving the money for something better for when things are more normal. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387/34 "2021-06-22T21:09:49Z")
I was able to buy a Majano Wand. Perhaps normalcy is returning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hobby-parts-unavailable-during-the-pandemic/942387.md?page=1)