# So what shortages are you personally seeing? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 24, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268 "2020-07-24T23:28:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/461 "2020-12-28T03:52:39Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Pickle and pimento loaf doesn’t have olives as an ingredient. Olive loaf does contain olives and it looks almost exactly like pickle and pimento loaf. The real question: Why isn’t the pimento in the olive loaf? Who ever heard of pimento-stuffed pickles? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/462 "2020-12-28T03:56:14Z")
The shelves at the local Safeway were pretty bare and picked over, but then it was the day after Christmas and they hadn’t restocked everything yet. 😃 On an ordinary day, things here are pretty well in hand. So far. Wait until the middle of January. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/463 "2020-12-28T20:05:32Z")
The only thing I have trouble finding these days is shower spray - specifically the spray-on-and-forget (no wipe) stuff. I have anecdotally heard that this is because the manufacturers have switched some of their capacity to higher demand products, like disinfectants. And even with that, it’s not that I can’t it anywhere, it’s that I can’t find it everywhere like pre-pandemic, and some of the brand options are more limited. Other than that, supplies seem to be basically back to normal. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/464 "2020-12-28T20:12:05Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I went to the supermarket yesterday, and the shelves were generally well-stocked. Weirdly, I couldn’t buy plain Cheerios. They tons of flavored Cheerios (honey nut, frosted, cinnamon…) but no plain. ☹ I had to buy other cereal. That’s the weirdest shortage I’ve seen. I doubt that that is an actual shortage. They just ran out. If this was a year ago you wouldn’t have thought anything of it. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/465 "2020-12-28T20:29:17Z")
I agree. It seems unlikely there’s an actually shortage. It’s more likely that a nearby school had the kids but Cheerios for a construction project or something. You know, some quirky little locally demands surge. Still, it was weird to see packed shelves of cereal with a 6’ hole where three sizes of Cheerios boxes should have been. ---
**Author:** ![jacob\_wrestling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@jacob\_wrestling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacob_wrestling)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/466 "2020-12-28T20:48:33Z")
My Aldi has been completely out of tomato paste the last few times I’ve been in. There are plenty of canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, etc., but no paste. I wonder if it’s an issue of can shortages and for whatever reason the tomato paste production line was the one they shut down. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/467 "2020-12-28T22:04:02Z")
I bought one of those small cans of tomato paste for a recipe on Saturday. There was plenty on the shelf at my local supermarket. ---
**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:** [December 28, 2020, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/468 "2020-12-28T22:29:46Z")
White kitchen appliances, specifically dishwashers. Black, stainless and brushed stainless can be had at a moment’s notice, white dishwashers at both Lowe’s and HomeDept are back ordered until at least March. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/469 "2020-12-28T22:47:56Z")
I bought a lot of tomato products on Saturday. I didn’t need any paste, but I saw lots of it on the shelf while looking for other canned tomato stuff. I think your shortage must be local. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/470 "2020-12-28T23:03:39Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > White kitchen appliances, specifically dishwashers I was surprised by this and unless I am missing something, they seem to be readily available here. > **[Top Control - White - Dishwashers - Appliances - The Home Depot](https://www.homedepot.com/b/Appliances-Dishwashers/White/Top-Control/N-5yc1vZc3poZ1z10atbZ1z141fz?storeSelection=)** > > Browse our online aisle of Top Control, White Dishwashers. Shop The Home Depot for all your Appliances and DIY needs. ---
**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:** [December 28, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/471 "2020-12-28T23:24:18Z")
Thank you so much for the link @hajario! I appreciate the help, I’m really not thrilled at the idea of handwashing dishes for a couple of months if our current dishwasher gives up the ghost. When I looked at the individual unit description, most of them showed availability of late Feb. to early March. When I sorted out the ones with bottle jets (a requirement I forgot to mention), all of those had March availability. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/472 "2020-12-29T02:54:44Z")
Here’s a weird one: house numbers. But only specific numbers, for the most part. There was a storm 3 Saturdays ago, and in addition to smooshing my car (which will hopefully be repaired by 1/13) it also destroyed the deck box at the end of my very long driveway that the mail carrier and Amazon/Fedex/UPS drivers put packages in, so I bought a new one. All went well until I wanted to add letters and numbers to it. And I decided the wooden post - which the town requires - could use another set of numbers too so you can see the address from both sides while I was at it. The house number is two consecutive numbers. And so far, I haven’t been able to get stickers for the box _or_ nail-on numbers for the post, because those two numbers are out of stock. Every single sticker or nail on number variety I’ve looked for has been sold out of one or both numbers. I decided to at least solve the sticker problem by breaking down and buying a whole set of numbers like I did the letters to spell out USPS etc instead of continuing to look for the bigger single digit stickers, but guess what? When I went to pick up my grocery+ order at Walmart, the numbers sets were out of stock too. They’re selling out…because of all the new mailboxes people got for Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/473 "2021-01-01T21:03:04Z")
Wondering when caffeine free Coke Zero will ever come back. Boyfriend is getting by on caffeine free Diet Coke which he said is not fun because it has a real chemical diet taste that Coke Zero doesn’t have. 👎 ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/474 "2021-01-01T22:04:05Z")
Last Tuesday: still no toilet bowl cleaner, and none or almost none of whatever usually shares that section of shelf. Also the corned beef hash, which disappeared for a while late spring and reappeared for a while late summer, disappeared again on my previous visit three weeks before and wasn’t back yet on this one. I forgot to check on the rubbing alcohol. Most things seemed pretty well stocked. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/475 "2021-01-07T11:52:24Z")
> [@xanthous](#): > > Wondering when caffeine free Coke Zero will ever come back. I’m beginning to wonder _if_ caffeine-free versions of Coke are going to come back. Caffeine-free coke classic is such a low selling variety out had been limited to just 12 pack cans. They had previously eliminated the 2 Liter bottles. The pandemic might just be the excuse needed to kill off a small niche sale item or three. I did manage to pick up a 2 liter bottle of caffeine-free Dr Pepper, so all hope is not lost. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/476 "2021-01-07T11:56:51Z")
Lottery scratch off tickets - we haven’t been getting our usual supply, and it has left our vending machine with a lot of outs. I got an email yesterday that said the pandemic has caused a run on scratch offs, and I assume draw games as well. The manufacturers have ramped up supply, but are struggling to keep up. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/477 "2021-01-08T03:28:21Z")
Hurrah, for the first time since all this shit went down, my local Rite-Aid actually had rubbing alcohol. You would think that after all the hand sanitizer being made, rubbing alcohol would be readily available. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/478 "2021-01-08T03:55:08Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Caffeine-free coke classic is such a low selling variety out had been limited to just 12 pack cans. They had previously eliminated the 2 Liter bottles. The pandemic might just be the excuse needed to kill off a small niche sale item or three. Huh, I haven’t bought soda since the start of the pandemic, but when I do buy soda, that’s one of the three flavors I buy. (Along with ginger ale and regular diet coke.) I decided years ago that larger bottles never get finished, and just sit around and lose their fizz, so I’ve only bought 12 packs and cans for a while now. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/479 "2021-01-08T14:40:42Z")
I just had a hard time finding toilet bowl cleaner. It was available, but the stock and selection were low. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/480 "2021-01-08T14:50:52Z")
Anyone know if CoinStars are running again? I have a bucket of coins I’d like to deal with. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268.md?page=25)