# Went to Costco This Morning. Was a Little Bit Scary. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 11, 2020, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294 "2020-03-11T18:58:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/421 "2020-05-20T18:18:10Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Thanks for the SBS recommendation. I ordered a couple gallons of disinfectant. I should be set for quite a while if this order and the one I placed at the industrial supply place both materialize! Indeed! The stuff that SBS sells is generally quite concentrated and meant to be diluted quite a bit before use. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/422 "2020-05-20T18:22:46Z")
What are you guys finding is still perpetually out-of-stock? I haven’t been able to find dried chick peas in months, and the canned variety are hit-or-miss. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/423 "2020-05-20T21:47:08Z")
I went to whole foods and the local supermarket yesterday. Both had limits on what meat you could buy, and somewhat limited choices. Whole foods also had limits on milk and a bunch of stuff I wasn’t very interested in. The supermarket had limits on frozen veggies and pizzas. I found most of what I was looking for. Produce was abundant, and included everything I was looking for. Frozen veggies were limited at Whole Foods, but available. Paper goods were abundant but there was only one brand, and not an especially desirable brand. (limits on those, too.) I found one brand of all purpose flour at the supermarket. Whole foods had a lot of gluten-free stuff, but the only regular flour I found was little flat plastic containers of bread flour. Had they been larger and a less weird shape, I would have picked some up. Neither had yeast. The supermarket had abundant pasta, but only in 3 shapes of one brand, plus two sizes of egg noodles. There were lots of cans of soup, but not the ones my mom wanted. Other than hand sanitizer, all the cleaning supplies seemed well-stocked, and I could have bought all my favorite brands. (I had ordered on-line, just in case.) Whole foods had limits on how much liquid hand soap you could buy, although there seemed to be plenty. I don’t use much liquid soap, though, and have enough for at least another month in the cupboard. I also have a lot of bar soap. The supermarket had a lot of a liquid hand sanitizer from some brand I’ve never heard of. The bottle said the company usually makes liqueurs, but has turned production to hand sanitizer. I bought two large bottles. Woo hoo! Vitamins were back in stock, but some are limited. Everyone wore masks, everyone was polite, and people mostly kept their distance. Whole foods limited the number of people allowed in at once, and had beefy plastic barriers protecting the cashier. They also sanitized each station between customers. The supermarket had one-way signs, and marks on the floor to remind you to keep your distance, but seemed less well-structured. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2020, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/424 "2020-05-20T22:59:56Z")
I went for our weekly shop at Tesco. They have an hour for us oldies between nine and ten, and there were two queues, one was for the youngsters. It only took about half-an-hour to get into the store. I was a little surprised to see several children waiting to go in, but then I saw that they are running a big sale on children’s clothes. My daughter (in another town) claimed that she had saved upward of £60 buying clothes for her toddler that will fit next year. Once in the store, I didn’t see many shortages: flour was there but not much left, and although there was a good choice of vegetables, I couldn’t find a cabbage and the cauliflower were poor quality. Cleaning products and tissues were there in abundance and there was even an offer on toilet rolls. Everyone trying hard to keep their distance and very few in masks. ---
**Author:** ![Amara\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@Amara\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amara_1)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/425 "2020-05-21T00:42:53Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > What are you guys finding is still perpetually out-of-stock? I haven’t been able to find dried chick peas in months, and the canned variety are hit-or-miss. Have you checked specialty, Hispanic, Asian or natural good stores? Safeway and Target in my area have been out if these since the lockdown but I’ve seen them at Ranch 99 as well as a specialty grocery store. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/426 "2020-05-21T00:49:05Z")
I grabbed three big cans of chickpeas from a full shelf. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/427 "2020-05-21T01:15:54Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > What are you guys finding is still perpetually out-of-stock? I haven’t been able to find dried chick peas in months, and the canned variety are hit-or-miss. Disinfectant cleaners and Lysol-type items are rapidly becoming the stuff of legends from a long-ago era. It’s been at least a month since I was able to latch onto any Lysol or disinfectant wipes, and I did that by being at the store before they opened so I was the fourth person through the door. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/428 "2020-05-21T02:08:43Z")
> [@Amara\_1](#): > > Have you checked specialty, Hispanic, Asian or natural good stores? Safeway and Target in my area have been out if these since the lockdown but I’ve seen them at Ranch 99 as well as a specialty grocery store. No. The only one of those that’s in the regular rotation in an Asian Foods store, but I don’t think I’ve seen dried legumes of any type there. Perhaps I’ll try a more thorough search on my next visit. It’s only recently become an issue, since apparently I had quite a stockpile to start the quarantine. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/429 "2020-05-21T03:34:40Z")
The one thing I’ve not been able to get at all is Lysol wipes and we’re running low. Mrs P and I have been joking that it’s sort of like Elaine on Seinfeld: “is this mess Lysol-wipe-worthy?” ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/430 "2020-05-21T03:36:23Z")
The one thing I’ve not been able to get at all is Lysol wipes and we’re running low. Mrs P and I have been joking that it’s sort of like Elaine on Seinfeld: “is this mess Lysol-wipe-worthy?” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/431 "2020-05-21T03:42:43Z")
Try Indian groceries for dried beans. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/432 "2020-05-21T04:06:19Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > My great-grandparents came through emigrating to a new country. > My grandparents came through the Great War and the Great Depression. > My parents came through the Great Depression and World War II. > We will come through this pandemic. Hang on tight to the ones you love. I’m 69. All four of my Grandparents came through WWI, The Great Depression, and WW2. Depression and WW2 occurring with effectively no break between Depression and WW2. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/433 "2020-05-21T04:53:40Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > I’m 69. All four of my Grandparents came through WWI, The Great Depression, and WW2. **Depression and WW2 occurring with effectively no break between Depression and WW2.** Jesus. Me talk pretty one day. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/434 "2020-05-21T14:00:34Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Try Indian groceries for dried beans. They usually have canned beans as well (chickpeas/garbanzos and others). Often the Goya brand. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2020, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/435 "2020-05-21T16:23:57Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > No. The only one of those that’s in the regular rotation in an Asian Foods store, but I don’t think I’ve seen dried legumes of any type there. Perhaps I’ll try a more thorough search on my next visit. It’s only recently become an issue, since apparently I had quite a stockpile to start the quarantine. I’m surprised by this. The “dried legume” shelf at my supermarket was full, with the usual brands in the usual supply. And they didn’t have any limits on how many you could buy. I grabbed 4 pounds of lentils and 2 pounds of black beans. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > They usually have canned beans as well (chickpeas/garbanzos and others). Often the Goya brand. Yup, plenty of Goya canned beans at my local supermarket, too. I got a few large cans of garbanzos and ordinary cans of butter beans. I also got Progresso red and white kidney beans. I was pleasnatly surprised to see no supply problems (yet, knock on wood) with dried and canned beans. ---
**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:** [May 21, 2020, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/436 "2020-05-21T16:34:40Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I’m surprised by this. The “dried legume” shelf at my supermarket was full, with the usual brands in the usual supply. And they didn’t have any limits on how many you could buy. I grabbed 4 pounds of lentils and 2 pounds of black beans. To be clear, I’ve been able to find most dries legumes (lentils, black beans, and pinto beans at least) at my local Safeway with no problem. Just not chickpeas. At the Asian superstore here, I’m not sure if I’ve seen dried legumes of any type, though they may still be there. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/437 "2020-05-21T16:51:52Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > What are you guys finding is still perpetually out-of-stock? I haven’t been able to find dried chick peas in months, and the canned variety are hit-or-miss. If you don’t mind ordering online, you can get them at [Walmart.com](http://Walmart.com), at least in my area. You can get the Great Value brand, 3 lbs for around $4 and can be delivered tomorrow. I’d link it but it’s probably different for your area. They also have the Farron brand that’s a little more expensive. They also have all the dried beans and peas that you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Amara\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@Amara\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amara_1)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/438 "2020-05-21T17:52:15Z")
> [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > To be clear, I’ve been able to find most dries legumes (lentils, black beans, and pinto beans at least) at my local Safeway with no problem. Just not chickpeas. At the Asian superstore here, I’m not sure if I’ve seen dried legumes of any type, though they may still be there. Yeah, I had the same issue -pintos and black beans no problem but no chickpeas. I found chickpeas at a specialty store (I was there for something else) and paid an arm and a leg for them (well 2x what I’d normally pay but it’s a frou frou store). Indian stores pretty much always have them if you can find one. Around here, the Mexican stores also have them. But I haven’t been in either for a while. Ranch 99 definitely had them during one visit. In my area, walmart did not have them available either. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/439 "2020-05-22T02:35:30Z")
No garlic at two groceries today (curbside pickup). One additionally had no sweet potatoes or yams, Roma tomatoes, pork ribs, ground beef, and a bunch of other stuff. It also substituted one nut milk for another, even though we’d indicated substitutions only of the same nut milk. The other store subbed a wheat-containing cornbread for gluten-free. Great way to send someone to the hospital. I had polite conversations with both stores afterward. The customer service people at both seemed quite shocked and alarmed, as well they might. Both readily agreed to my request that they provide employee information about not substituting major allergens without calling the customer to check. One put $30 in our account, which was nice and unasked for. Both groceries had shifted from paper to plastic bags (note: plastic bags aren’t allowed here). As compared to lifting groceries out of a paper bag, the plastic bag was impossible to work with without constantly touching the bag and the exterior crumpling into the interior and onto the groceries, creating quite the COVID scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2020, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294/440 "2020-05-22T09:32:49Z")
> [@susan](#): > > No garlic at two groceries today (curbside pickup). One additionally had no sweet potatoes or yams, Roma tomatoes, pork ribs, ground beef, and a bunch of other stuff. It also substituted one nut milk for another, even though we’d indicated substitutions only of the same nut milk. The other store subbed a wheat-containing cornbread for gluten-free. Great way to send someone to the hospital. I had polite conversations with both stores afterward. The customer service people at both seemed quite shocked and alarmed, as well they might. Both readily agreed to my request that they provide employee information about not substituting major allergens without calling the customer to check.[ Not an excuse but an explanation: a lot of new people have been hired on to do the picking for customers’ shopping. A lot of them are ignorant of dietary issues like allergies and another subset don’t give a damn but have not yet been weeded out. So I would advise anyone with dietary restrictions to carefully inspect deliveries. There is also an issue with garlic, in that China supplies most of it to the world and shipping anything from China is a bit problematic. There was a considerable supply in the pipeline when everything shut down but we may be nearing the end of that. That might or might not have anything to do with the lack of it in your area. > [@susan](#): > > As compared to lifting groceries out of a paper bag, the plastic bag was impossible to work with without constantly touching the bag and the exterior crumpling into the interior and onto the groceries, creating quite the COVID scenario. If it helps, the research says that the virus is NOT as easily transmitted by objects as originally feared. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/went-to-costco-this-morning-was-a-little-bit-scary/849294.md?page=23)