Posted on 08/24/2021 1:43:04 PM PDT by blam
We’ve been having trouble finding some things at Walmart (San Antonio) the shelves aren’t stocked as deep and there’s not as much choice. Name brands seemed to have trimmed down their variety’s.
Here the choice is Walmart or HEB, there is a small Asian market that I like, much better produce and better prices for some more unusual products. We also recently joined Costco to give that a whirl.
But yes, some trips to the store look like they’ve had a Black Friday or I’m shopping a communist store. I wonder too if it’s that automated ordering that I think they all mostly went to. Whatever it’s called, I just remember some store employees complaining about it a few years back.
I think it depends if you are in a Slave state or Free state.
Oregon has a power hungry tyrant for governor. Costco TP shelves here are empty.
The prices of a lot of things are up these days, which fits the common definition of “inflation.”
Meanwhile, an increasing number of products are appearing at the same price but in smaller packages.
This is inflation’s slippery first cousin “shrinkflation.”
Here’s a sampling from a recent study:
• Bounty paper towels: The triple back has shrunk from 165 sheets to just 147.
• Costco’s toilet paper: A large pack was 425 sheets last year, but now is just 380.
• Dial Body Wash: Reduced from 21 ounces to 16 ounces, a 25 percent reduction.
• Ziploc freezer bags: 54 bags last year, but just 50 bags this year.
• Quaker Instant Oatmeal: 10 packs last year, but just 8 this year for some varieties.
Etc., etc. etc….
Empty shelves are possible, as are fewer brand selections of your favorite items.
The situation may be different where you are.. for now.
Then please read post #20
Thank you, copying and sharing.
there was shrinking way before Walmart sold food nationally
It happened in the fifties and sixties.
Ping to redgolum’s post.
Empty shelves are a direct result of medium to low wage earners being paid Not to go to work.
Factory workers, retail workers, delivery drivers, etc. are having an impact on products across the board.
Meat, farm and other food products along with plastic shortages, vehicle production, parts and repairs, medical care (housekeeping, lab techs, pharmacy techs, etc) home builders and repairs, and so many other industries.
Until the Federal Government Stops paying people to stay home, shortages and poor product performances (due to temp workers) will continue.
Empty shelves are a direct result of medium to low wage earners being paid Not to go to work.
Factory workers, retail workers, delivery drivers, etc. are having an impact on products across the board.
Meat, farm and other food products along with plastic shortages, vehicle production, parts and repairs, medical care (housekeeping, lab techs, pharmacy techs, etc) home builders and repairs, and so many other industries.
Until the Federal Government Stops paying people to stay home, shortages and poor product performances (due to temp workers) will continue.
Up is down. Left is right. Less is more. And you will be happy.
I can find anything here in rural MO. Problem is, prices skyrocketed on meat last year and came back down but not all the way back down. Everything under $6/lb has gone up $1/lb. Everything over $8/lb is $2-4/lb higher. Ribeye, KC Strip and T-Bone steaks are damn near $20/lb.
Meat sales have changed too with only the cheaper cuts being put on sale. Pork steaks, ground beef, pork loin, chicken thighs and drumsticks.
Produce is $1/lb more now too. I used to be able to get red grapes for $1.29 - 1.69 and rarely over $2/lb. Now they’re $2.99/lb and never go on sale.
Paper products are up $1-2 per package.
I’m buying fruit trees, bushes and vines next Spring. We already started a meat goat herd and I want to get some small pasture pigs. I’ve got a ton of veggie seeds and need to go big on gardening next Spring.
I want to get us to the point where all we need to buy is staples.
I definitely noticed the shrinkage of Costco toilet paper and Quaker Oats oatmeal packets the last time I bought those two items.
Walmart today had only about 10% of usual toothpaste stock....
Here in North Fort Worth, I live equa-distant from a Kroger and a Walmart. The Walmart has had a lot of empty shelf space for quite a while now. In the last week or two, we’re starting to see similar gaps at Kroger.
Toilet paper manufacturers are not only cutting the number of sheets per roll, some brands have gotten narrower, also.
My SIL is a general contractor in SC and they’ve been really strapped for both employees and supplies.
He has a big job going now and they went and bought the paint for it, even though that phase is months away, because other contractors had warned him about the paint situation,
“...thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week.”
Orwell in for the win. :(
Also - as long as those ‘more equal’ PIGS in our Congress have THEIR acorns, why should they care about us?
“To this day you had better look at price per ounce when shopping at Walmart.”
It’s my only option for shopping where I live. They’re pretty clear about it on all labeling, which is helpful, and easy to compare REAL prices when ordering on-line.
Good Inside Baseball info - thanks! :)
“I want to get us to the point where all we need to buy is staples.”
AMEN to that! If I have the fresh basics and staples, I can feed us for months on end.
I really need to get laying hens again - need a secure place to keep them, though. I gave up my Chicken Coop spot to Beau for more dog kennels - which now I see was a very dumb move on my part. *Rolleyes*
My beef steer (’Weber’) is filling out nicely. He’s on pasture, but he gets two scoops of sweet oats every day, as well as a few Milk Bones; he thinks he’s a dog.
Once he goes to ‘The Spa’ this coming March, he’ll cost us about $4-$5/pound for all cuts. Prime Rib at Easter for $4-$5 a pound? I’m all in!
I really need to re-think the chicken situation...
>some were definitely smaller<
I wonder if that isn’t due to other customers stealing the large size and putting the smaller eggs in your container of large eggs.
[Distantly Related] Lunch at Red Lobster a few days ago. The usual basket of cheese biscuits arrived. I opened up the napkin and saw they were about half the size they used to be. Their “Admirals Family Feast” went from $41.99 to $46.99, and crab-stuffed mushrooms reduced to six from eight, for the same price.
Between the shortage of help and this “transitory” inflation, I’d hate to be a manager of these types of operations nowadays.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/15960414/co-op-boss-warns-food-shortages-worst-ever-seen/
Here is an article about the situation in the UK.
Gelatin such as Knox Gelatin can be substituted for eggs. 1tsp of gelatin + 2 Tbls cold water + 2 Tbls hot water = 1 egg, for use in baking. Storage for gelatin is good for decades.
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