Appliance Shortages

[Ima Teacher]

I didn’t realize that appliances were in short supply.

DH and I were at Lowes today shopping for some random items for the house renovations we are doing, and we decided to take a look at refrigerators. Our current one has been dumping water in the floor for quite awhile, even after two tries at repair.

Apparently they are three months getting some of them in stock, and some they don’t even know if they can get. Who knew?

Now DH is calling other Lowes stores that have it in stock to see if we can get delivery here. Glad we aren’t really needing one urgently.

 

[amiga13]

Why is that? Just curious.

 

[klarabelle]

When I replaced my refrigerator last July I was suppose to get one delivered in the middle of August. It wasn't until the end of September that one was delivered. I think the problem is the pandemic and manufacturing problems and not enough truck drivers. I read where there was a need of 61,000 drivers nationwide. I hope you find what you need without a delay.

 

[maryteach]

The supply chain is slow

Lots of things are out of stock or low. There was a thread on this board about how hard it is to go out and find clothes, for instance. Have you seen lumber prices?? It just is really hard to get a lot of stuff right now.

TSA is trying to hire like 5000 people because so many quit when the pandemic was raging. I'm flying in 3 weeks. I suppose I need to get there even earlier than usual. Sounds like a wait.

 

[h0kie]

Sold out

When I went to buy our new lawn mower the salesman was saying they were sold out of almost everything and Kubota refused to give them a projection on when they would get stuff in because they were so behind.

I’ve heard appliances are hard to get right now. Same with cars. We’re looking to get our windows replaced, 6-8 weeks for fabrication. We’re also looking at solar panels and they’re super busy too.

I think with everyone stuck at home, a lot of people decided to do home improvement jobs. Supply and demand and all that.

 

[Ima Teacher]

It took almost two months to get DH’s new truck at the dealership.

At least we were able to get two air conditioners and a furnace without an issue.

DH tried to call the nearby Lowes stores, and he couldn’t even get through. We ended up ordering online, and we will see how it goes. We were advised not to order online because the ones in stock could be sold before the sale went through. Doesn’t matter if we can’t get anyone to answer our call.

 

[dawnmei]

fridge

My friend was just complaining of this problem yesterday! She cannot get one guaranteed to be delivered in the next month. Like you, it's not an emergency, but she'd like to deal with it all while on summer vacation.

 

[Lilbitkm]

This has been a problem here for over a year now.

My friend purchased a new home last June (they did a lot of renovations) and they were told it was a good things all of the appliances were in perfect condition because it would have taken 3-6 months to be able to replace all of the appliances in the house.

Last spring a lot of people were trying to get chest freezers to store extra food and nobody could get one for months. I know one of my friends ordered one last May and didn’t get it until September.


I haven’t heard that about windows. I planned on having the windows in my entire home replaced a few months ago and it only took 3 weeks for them to be manufactured. Actually getting them installed was a whole different issue. I was going through a small local store though not a big box store so that could be the difference.

 

[Irish]

Yup

I won a TV a few months ago. I was just notified there was a shortage because of the chips in them. It’s going to take up to 5 more weeks to get it. Luckily it’s not an item I actually need.

 

[timeforbed]

washer and dryer

Of course there is a problem. Our washer and dryer both went out a few weeks ago. Hello laundromats. I hadn't realized there was such a nice one in town, one with a fireplace, a tv, several video games, and, oh, joy, an air hockey game. I am so good at air hockey.

New washer is supposed to be delivered on June 24th, bought two weeks ago.

Son is going to try and fix the dryer tomorrow. He thinks he can pull it out and vacume under it and replace the vent hose. Good luck with that.

 

[peanut21]

Yea

We are building a house and just ordered the microwave, dishwasher and oven. They will be here in about 4-6 weeks which is plenty of time. The manager said that it’s the fridges that are really hard to get. We had already decided that we are taking our fridge with us, so we are lucky there.

 

[anna]

I'm beginning to think it's Amazon gobbling up inventory. There have been several shopping experiences for me where the local stores are lacking the merch and Amazon has it and can deliver tomorrow.

 

[wildflowerz]

Anything with a computer chip or certain technologies are in short supply.

 

[Haley23]

The appliance issue has been going since early in the pandemic. I was afraid because my refrigerator was over 20 years old, and people were waiting for months for replacements. If it actually died, that's not an appliance to live without (maybe other people could- I couldn't, especially in the middle of a pandemic).

I chose to replace it before it died for that reason, last December. Selection was limited but thankfully I'm happy with what I got. Same for the furnace/AC. Any other appliance, I'd be annoyed but I could live without.

There are huge labor shortages everywhere now. I was just seeing on the news last night that downtown bars/restaurants are really having a time of it, because customers have come back in full force but employees haven't. One restaurant was paying current workers $200 for bringing in each "legitimate applicant." The owner they were interviewing was begging viewers not to blame slow service on the few people who are there willing to be working.

My dad was saying it's the same back home, on the other side of the country. He went to the big amusement park and lines were HUGE for everything, even food, because they can't get workers. They were offering $18 per hour and a $3K signing bonus!! This for a summer job typically had by teens. The $3K alone is about what I made TOTAL the years I taught summer school.

 

[wildflowerz]

I know many amusement parks and tourist towns rely on work exchange programs from other countries. Are they allowed to come to the U.S. to work this summer?

 

[Ima Teacher]

While we were looking at fridges today, DH pulled out the freezer compartment of one and said, “If we take out that basket, we could get one body in here easy.”

 

[mommy9298]

Ds moved into a new house in October. They had to look at in stock appliances. The fridge had only one option and they bought it. If they didn’t it would have been a four month wait. A colleague ordered new appliances. They should arrive by August. You can ask for whatever is in stock.

 

[Tori58]

I know many amusement parks and tourist towns rely on work exchange programs from other countries. Are they allowed to come to the U.S. to work this summer?

My understanding is that the ban on non-immigrant J-1 visas has been lifted but they're so backed up in processing applications that it's unlikely that very many will get processed in time for this season.

I certainly wish I had not procrastinated about buying a new range. Mine still works but it's very old. I'm feeling ambiguous about it; it doesn't seem to be the time to replace an appliance that still works but, if it goes out entirely, I might go a good long time without a range waiting for a new one.

 

[maryteach]

I guess it was like this after WWII also

My parents got married in 1948, which was a couple of years after the war ended, and the supply chain was still not up and running well. Factories that made appliances had been converted to manufacturing arms and then had to switch back. You had to sign up for a refrigerator and they would send you a letter when it came in.

My parents got their letter almost a year later and it said you had to have the letter to even be admitted into that part of the store. It was Montgomery Ward's, I think, and they had gotten in about 8 refrigerators and they sent out 8 letters. They got to the store and the appliance area was actually roped off and you couldn't get in without the letter.

I don't know how they decided who chose first, second, etc., but my parents ended up with a Philco that was about 4'5" and had the tiniest freezer you ever saw. (Remember that in 1948, a freezer was still a pretty groovy thing). My mom had to defrost it all the time. I still remember the chunks of freezer ice on the front lawn in the summer.

That refrigerator was still going strong in 2007, when my mom died. We gave it away at that point, and last I heard, in 2010, it was STILL going. 62 years, you guys.

 

[jjwires]

My husband sells Volvo, Mac, & Heno trucks. He has plenty of customers, but no inventory. It's crazy that he can find a truck on one coast & someone from the other side of the country needs the truck. You can't imagine all of the logistics it takes. Also Volvo went on strike for close to a month so production was down. Why they would do that is beyond me.

These are trying times both for workers and consumers.

Will we ever get back to normal?

 

[linda2671]

I bought a new fridge a few months ago.

The only ones you could actually get right away were Samsung. I assume that's because no one wants them. I did find exactly what I wanted that was a discontinued model, still in the box. It is an LG. It was exactly what I was looking for, and the price was cut because it was discontinued.

 

[Ima Teacher]

The one we ordered is a Frigidaire. I’m crossing my fingers it is still in stock. There were three within 100 miles of us.