# What are you surprised that there is not a shortage of? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 20, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193 "2020-04-20T14:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/21 "2020-04-20T17:55:28Z")
Alcohol. We can’t go to restaurants and bars, so even if we’re drinking the same amount, there should be increased retail sales. And I’m sure I’m not the only one drinking more than usual. Yet the shelves are always fully stocked. I hope this doesn’t jinx it! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/22 "2020-04-20T18:02:36Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > Alcohol. We can’t go to restaurants and bars, so even if we’re drinking the same amount, there should be increased retail sales. And I’m sure I’m not the only one drinking more than usual. Yet the shelves are always fully stocked. I hope this doesn’t jinx it! I noticed this. But total alcohol consumption is down because restaurants and bars aren’t open so there is plenty of supply. Beer may be the most susceptible to shortage, it’s intended to have rapid turnover, the brewers could be reducing production, and a lot of it is consumed at home. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/23 "2020-04-20T18:06:23Z")
> [@tripthicket](#): > > I’ve only been to three separate stores a mere handful of times over the past month or so, with shortages or complete absences here and there. I find it amusing to see what brands of a given product are and aren’t gone. F’instance, at multiple locations of different grocery chains: Campbell’s Chunky Soups have mostly been cleaned out, while Progresso soups are gathering dust whilst sitting next to Campbell’s empty spaces. I went to Wal Mart the first week of craziness, and it was very interesting to see what cereals were left. Everything was gone except Twinkies cereal (new from Hostess) and some other novel flavors of regular brands (like unicorn Lucky Charms or something). There was a lot of Frosted Mini Wheats left, for some reason. I LOVE those! I bought 2 big boxes and started eating FMW every day along with the governor’s address. Now I’m addicted and keep buying more 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/24 "2020-04-20T18:06:28Z")
Our most recent delivery was yesterday, and there were no shortages. The order included ground pork and ground lamb, shrimp, some veggies and greens, a bag of chips, apples, eggs and some others, and even an 18 pack of TP! Haven’t tried to buy baking ingredients for some time now, so I don’t know what’s happening with that. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/25 "2020-04-20T18:12:54Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I’ve never seen a store sold out of paper towels and/or kleenex. Toilet paper is hard to find, but not these. Amazon is pretty much out of both. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/26 "2020-04-20T18:12:56Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I noticed this. But total alcohol consumption is down because restaurants and bars aren’t open so there is plenty of supply. Beer may be the most susceptible to shortage, it’s intended to have rapid turnover, the brewers could be reducing production, and a lot of it is consumed at home. And unlike suppliers of some of the foodstuffs where the packaging can be very different for dine-in vs. for consumer retail, a fifth or handle that could be on the bar shelf can be sold at the liquor store as well, so they can be redirected. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/27 "2020-04-20T18:14:22Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Our most recent delivery was yesterday, and there were no shortages. The order included ground pork and ground lamb, shrimp, some veggies and greens, a bag of chips, apples, eggs and some others, and even an 18 pack of TP! Haven’t tried to buy baking ingredients for some time now, so I don’t know what’s happening with that. My most recent WalMart order showed them to be almost completely out of meat. I ended up at a small local chain and they had plenty. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/28 "2020-04-20T19:28:34Z")
> [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > My most recent WalMart order showed them to be almost completely out of meat. I ended up at a small local chain and they had plenty. Yeah, we’ve been able to get plenty by going to the local higher-end grocery store (a boutique outlet of a large Texas supermarket (HEB)), who had all sorts of meat available, albeit not at Wal-Mart low prices. And their pickup thing has a pretty long lead time- 10 days, IIRC. So you have to order well in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/29 "2020-04-20T19:36:05Z")
> [@bump](#): > > And their pickup thing has a pretty long lead time- 10 days, IIRC. So you have to order well in advance. Holy cow! Our lead time is 3 days and I thought that was bad. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/30 "2020-04-20T19:57:25Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Plenty of fresh baked cookies too, they were on sale as well. I was waiting in line outside Trader Joe’s the other day and some employees of the Subway Sandwich came out and gave everyone a free cookie. Along with an ad for their new delivery service, of course. But I guess they have to do something to get rid of their unsold cookies. > [@bibliophage](#): > > I’m starting to hear some buzz about vitamin D possibly being protective against the coronavirus. Hadn’t heard this, but I hope it’s true. I bicycle for a couple-three hours every day and get lots of Vit D. ---
**Author:** ![Declanium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Declanium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declanium)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/31 "2020-04-20T20:43:47Z")
Flour tortillas. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/32 "2020-04-20T20:46:17Z")
> [@Declanium](#): > > Flour tortillas. We got some Saturday. They’d been out for a month. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/33 "2020-04-20T21:00:02Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > And unlike suppliers of some of the foodstuffs where the packaging can be very different for dine-in vs. for consumer retail, a fifth or handle that could be on the bar shelf can be sold at the liquor store as well, so they can be redirected. Yeah, this. Bars buy kegs of beer, and a few probably buy big jugs or something of their house wine, but all other alcohol sold by the serving is basically packaged the same as alcohol served for home consumption. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/34 "2020-04-20T22:10:47Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I need alcohol swabs for my insulin injections. Totally sold out. As a side note: A few weeks ago I looked for rubbing alcohol at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) - just for “fun”, as I knew it was unlikely they had any. One of the things that came up in the search was a package of alcohol wipes - probably the exact sort you use: a small, single-use wipe (the package was 50 or 100). It had one review: one star. From a week or two earlier. “This was made in China. NO THANKS!!”. People. Are. Morons. Back to the original topic: We’ve never had any problem getting most fresh produce (with the exception of bell peppers and broccoli on one deliverY), and soft drinks are easy to come by. Ice cream is hit or miss though. Beef: Ground beef is hit or miss also - but the one trip I’ve made to Costco during all this, there was a LOT of other sorts of beef available (chicken, on the other hand, was nearly wiped out and they were limiting purchases). This surprises me, as there are poultry farms within an easy day’s drive of here while I tend to think of cattle as more of a western / midwestern thing. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/35 "2020-04-20T23:27:50Z")
Mama Zappa, buy Everclear from a liquor store. Mix 2/1 with moisturizer. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/36 "2020-04-20T23:28:15Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > And unlike suppliers of some of the foodstuffs where the packaging can be very different for dine-in vs. for consumer retail, a fifth or handle that could be on the bar shelf can be sold at the liquor store as well, so they can be redirected. There’s also the fact that a lot of spirits are aged, sometimes for years. So there’s a lot of already-made booze in the pipeline. There might be shortages of some brands sometime in the future, but I’m sure they can adjust over time to smooth things out. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/37 "2020-04-21T11:47:55Z")
> [@tripthicket](#): > > I’ve only been to three separate stores a mere handful of times over the past month or so, with shortages or complete absences here and there. I find it amusing to see what brands of a given product are and aren’t gone. F’instance, at multiple locations of different grocery chains: Campbell’s Chunky Soups have mostly been cleaned out, while Progresso soups are gathering dust whilst sitting next to Campbell’s empty spaces. The Campbell’s chunky soups are higher in calories and closer to an actual meal than the Progresso soups are, so they’re better to have around if you’re short on food. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/38 "2020-04-21T11:53:44Z")
I am surprised bandwith is doing so well. Everyone is using video now and yet the Intertube seems to be holding up well. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/39 "2020-04-21T11:58:50Z")
Common sense. okay, scratch that. Not surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193/40 "2020-04-21T12:52:19Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > I am surprised bandwith is doing so well. Everyone is using video now and yet the Intertube seems to be holding up well. The biggest users, Netflix and Youtube have limited bandwidth. I got a notice from Google that the video feed on my Nest was going to be downgraded. But for the most part, things have been going pretty well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-surprised-that-there-is-not-a-shortage-of/852193.md?page=3)