# 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:** 72
**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:** [July 13, 2022, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1421 "2022-07-13T12:08:24Z")
It took two months to get my new car, and that was only because they already had one assigned to them that fit my choices. If I had wanted a different package, I would still have been waiting. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2022, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1422 "2022-07-20T21:16:47Z")
Weirdly, no place in town has any brown beard dye. Blond or Jet Black. Nothing in between. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1423 "2022-07-20T21:58:56Z")
Tobaccy juice, it’s your only hope. (Actually you could probably go to a hair salon and get any shade you wanted but that costs more) ---
**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:** [July 20, 2022, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1424 "2022-07-20T22:21:03Z")
I can also fake it by using regular Just For Men hair dye, but the beard formulation is the best. Just not to be found lately. I hate tobacco in all forms, so I’m thinking maybe Krylon™. ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2022, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1425 "2022-07-31T20:21:22Z")
I noticed today that my grocery store did not have any cartons of “fancy” soup. I wanted some tomato basil. I grabbed a can of good old Campbell’s tomato bisque, but I may save that for a soup emergency and make something with canned tomatoes, broth, and half and half. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1426 "2022-07-31T20:28:46Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > [https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Plastic-Containers-Reusable-Stackable/dp/B07PSKSG1M/](https://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Plastic-Containers-Reusable-Stackable/dp/B07PSKSG1M/) > [@teelabrown](#): > > Yep, those. I got two from Amazon after searching fruitlessly for them at Target, Walmart, and various grocery stores. It used to be you could find them on shelves everywhere. Bought a set of those at BJ’s not too long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1427 "2022-08-13T19:49:42Z")
We just use Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap (the citrus version, not the peppermint!) in cheap foaming dispensers we got from Amazon early on during the pandemic. You dilute the stuff with water - about 1:4 soap to water. A 32 ounce bottle lasted months; we bought a gallon jug last time and it may last us much of the rest of our lives. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1428 "2022-08-13T20:03:05Z")
Make sure you write it into your will, then. “To our beloved daughter/son/great great great grand niece we leave our unused Dr. Bronner’s”. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1429 "2022-08-13T20:07:47Z")
I love the citrus scented product! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1430 "2022-08-18T05:12:46Z")
Apparently moving vans and moving van drivers. My daughter and son-law and 2 kids moved from Connecticut to Seattle. They came here to wait for their stuff to arrive. One week passed. Two weeks passed. No one returned their calls, no one could tell them where it was. They went up to Seattle a week and a half ago. Stuff in transit. Now it is stuck in California waiting for a driver and promised next week. Maybe. My son-in-law started a job with a very big company and moving company VPs are calling them, at last. And they are getting $250 a day because their stuff is beyond the promised date. I don’t know for sure this is because of the driver shortage but I bet it is. Better than my first guess - that their stuff was under water in Kentucky. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1431 "2022-08-23T13:50:07Z")
I’ve been on the hunt for Metamucil - Orange Flavor, Real Sugar for my husband for weeks. I can find limited supplies of sugar-free but he refuses to consume anything with fake sugar in it. Walmart, Sam’s Club, CVS, Walgreens, and Target have been out for weeks. It’s been hit or miss for about a year or so. I finally bit the bullet and ordered it from Amazon for double the price 😵‍💫 ---
**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:** [August 23, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1432 "2022-08-23T15:36:45Z")
Last time I was in the grocery, while going down the paper goods aisle to get something else (which was in stock), I noticed that there was almost nothing on the shelves in the paper plates section. Cat food supplies, however, appear to have finally improved. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1433 "2022-08-23T17:38:46Z")
I wonder what kind of threats the kitties were making to get them cracking on catfood production. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1434 "2022-08-23T20:10:13Z")
Probably a series of mice heads in certain beds. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1435 "2022-08-23T23:29:22Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > You dilute the stuff with water - about 1:4 soap to water. “Dilute! Dilute!” Haven’t bought a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s in eons, but I loved the labels. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1436 "2022-08-24T08:00:43Z")
Huh, cat food supplies are still low here in this part of North Carolina, but now Fancy Feast seems to be especially hard hit by whatever is causing the shortage. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1437 "2022-09-06T17:46:23Z")
The warehouse stores are hit and miss on cat litter in the 42 lb bucket size. But I can always get “something”. The thing that surprises me is Lobster Bisque. AFAIK lobster isn’t scarce but whoever makes the bisque is having problems. I’m not going to bitch about a luxury item but I’m just surprised. I would get a lot of mileage out of it as a side dish. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1438 "2022-09-06T17:56:20Z")
I go to Chipotle maybe once a month and they always seem to be out of something. There is a printed sign out front that says what they don’t have that day due to supply chain issues. It never happened to affect what I like to order until last week when they didn’t have cheese. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1439 "2022-09-06T18:17:47Z")
I really like Raspberry Pi computers. They are super handy for any quick and dirty project that needs a small single-board-computer to do some fun things. For example, if you want a print server for your 3d printer, get a Raspberry Pi and put Octoprint on it. If you want to experiment with ethical hacking, get a Raspberry Pi and put Kali Linux on it… …except nobody can find the darned things. They all but disappeared over a year ago. The Raspberry Pi folks are apparently churning them out as fast as they can, but they are prioritizing their industrial customers over makers, which sounds reasonable. The frustrating thing is, whenever a lot shows up at anywhere in the world, scalpers immediately buy all of them at their retail cost and then sell them for well north of a hundred bucks on eBay. Scumbags. At least one vendor, Adafruit, is fighting back: they require you to have an existing account with 2FA set up before you can buy one from them–if they ever have them in stock. What stinks is that these are really neat devices, but they are not worth the scalper prices, and there is no way I want to reward a scalper. I have two PI3B+'s and one PI4B that I am very carefully using for various projects, worried all the while that if one ever dies I’ll likely never be able to replace it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268/1440 "2022-09-06T21:13:55Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > …except nobody can find the darned things. I’m not too familiar with RPi but have you tried SparkFun? > **[SparkFun Electronics](https://www.sparkfun.com/)** > > SparkFun is an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to make your electronics projects possible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268.md?page=71) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-shortages-are-you-personally-seeing/916268.md?page=73)