After buying a few more gas cans (no, I did not buy 50!) during the past week, I have noticed that Wal Mart, K-Mart and auto supply stores are near depleted. Mini propane tanks at perhaps 25% stock. How is your area store supply? Is this run more than the supposed 5 to 10% doing preps? We're in the Albany N.Y. area.

-- churchorganist (swedishmusic@webtv.net), December 24, 1999

Answers

CO:

Nope. All of the shelves here are full. Bought a 5 gal can today and only left one hole the the display. Gas [propane and butane] displays are full to the top. The shelves for flu medicine are nearly empty though. That tells you something.

Best wishes,,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 24, 1999.

Bimart here has lots of 5 gal. cans and lots of propane cannisters too,in NE ORE.

-- morgan (bitbybit@eoni.com), December 24, 1999.

I bought a six-gallon at a local rural store near here, they had a bunch; noticed that Walmart had none the other day.

I am making a point to NOTE where I can purchase easily with cash and where the business is not computer dependent. Like my local feed store. UNlike a local paint store where they spend 5 minutes on the computer before even LOOKING at the can of paint I am buying. Those businesses that can go simple are more probable to survive; perhaps even be the center of a hub of barter, etc.

zaxus

-- RB Zaxus (zaxus@newmexico.com), December 24, 1999.

All O.K. in So. Cal.

-- Duane Chapman (duane@bible4u.com), December 24, 1999.

Got the last two at Lowe's yesterday. Home Depot out completely. Plenty of kerosene at Lowe's though.

-- zobbee (wango@tango.com), December 24, 1999.

I have a friend that has 500 metal gas
cans for sale. He's selling them in his
store but not too many are buying. DGI
commmunity.

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), December 24, 1999.

Southern California here...

Plenty of 5 and 6 gal fuel containers running about 10 bucks out here. Also, plenty of "Ger-rac" 5kw gennys at Costco for $399.99...

Merry Christmas all...

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@AOL.COM), December 24, 1999.

I have about ten or so out by the shed that you can have. I started storing my gas in those cans when I found a local dealer selling big fifty five gal plastic barrels perfect for water or gas. So I dumped all my gas in the big drum, now I have a surplus of 5 gal containers that marks me as a hoarder. Would love to get rid of them. I am in the Albany Ga area.

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), December 24, 1999.

Olympia, WA:

In the last week or so somebody seems to have wiped out a huge inventory of the red plastic 5 gal jugs at Home Depot. Haven't checked Home Base lately; one dose of the bitchy clerks there lasts me for a month. Still, Home Depot has lots of the 2 gallon gas jugs on sale right now, go figure.

Costco has bunches of 5-6kw generators, kerosene heaters and good GI foodstocks; early warning sign, they've been cleaned out of Dinty Moore for a week now.

-- McLurke (coumarin@firemail.de), December 24, 1999.

Like Duane, plenty of 5 gal red gas containers at Wal-Mart, Yucca Valley, Ca. No problem here so far. Also, gasoline is holding at what are "regular" prices here, no hike as yet.

-- Richard (Astral-Acres@webtv.net), December 24, 1999.

One Freddies out of 5gal in Vancouver, WA. Also heard Costco out. Just bought the last 2 5/mi-range FRS radios at a store in Portland, they had a big rack too (now empty).

-- Porky (Porky@in.cellblockD), December 24, 1999.

The local Target store (kind of one step up from KMart) was cleaned out of 5 gallon cans but plenty of 2 gallon cans.

None of their camping supplies are on sale but I had to giggle when I saw a late GI with a cart full of emergency candles, matches, water containers, etc. She was in some kinda hurray, too.

At our local Sears they had plenty of 5 gallon cans.

Gas prices holding steady at $1.28-$1.33 a gallon for the last month. (southern Wisconsin area).

-- Lara (nprbuff@hotmail.com), December 24, 1999.

I went to the local Wal Mart here in Athens, Ga., and all but two of the five gallon gas cans were gone. They had some 1 and 2 gal. sizes and I bought the last three quarts of Stabil. SOMEBODY around here GI anyway.

-- doktorbob (downsouth@dixie.com), December 24, 1999.

How does Porky (in cellbloc D) get to buy gas cans???

-- Z (Z@Z.Z), December 24, 1999.

NorthEast Texas here:

Wal-Mart SuperCenter all out of oil and oil lanterns & kerosene. Camping supplies running low. Down to last 12 bottles of propane for camping stoves. Went to Lowe's - bought the last 15 gallons of kerosene and the last two 5 gallon gas cans. Stocker said that some guys in National Guard camo came in and all but cleaned out the kerosene yesterday.

While checking out, the cashier rolled her eyes and asked me if I was one of Millennium groupies. Said it was all a hoax to get people to buy more building materials, tools, etc. She said that the government would never let things get bad and that they have all the computers fixed. She was sure to remind me that kerosene is non- refundable!!

Talk about your RDGI...REALLY doesn't get it....

-- LZach (lisa@texasnetworks.com), December 24, 1999.

Furlough for good time!!

-- Porky (Porky@in.cellblockD), December 24, 1999.

I also picked up the last two five gallon gas containers at my local Walmart a few days ago, but I wonder. When I looked at them twice earlier in the year..but wasn't ready to buy yet, they really only could fit like six on the shelf to start with. They consume a lot of space. If even four get sold during the day, it's going to seem like your getting the last two. I think they have more in the back. At least, that's what I told myself..because I'd like to go back and get two more.

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), December 24, 1999.

Kitter: Our Wal Marts (3 of them) had fifteen to twenty feet of DOUBLE shelf space for the 5 gal. cans and they were gonzo! Will check to see if back room or spply trucks bring more by Monday! Thanks all, for the posts! Mery Christmas!

-- churchorganist (swedishmusic@webtv.net), December 25, 1999.

No noticeable shortages of anything (except snow) in Southeastern Wisconsin.

-- Steve (hartsman@ticon.net), December 25, 1999.

The Meijer store in my area has had 5 gal. gas cans on sale at $3.99 for at least a month. They still have lots and lots of them.

, Mike 9.5

-- Mike 9.5 (sheadwor@ionia.k12.mi.us), December 25, 1999.

I took my brother to wall mart in Quakertown PA last night to get him to prepare by buying some gas cans (he was a bit sceptical) but when we got to the automotive section and the two shelf spaces with lables, but no tanks caught his eyes he felt the "polly doubt/panic" shake him for the first time...after that we went to three other stores until we finally found them at sears, but the look in his eyes when the shelves were empty i wont forget... oh and also when we were still in the wallmart we went to the service girl and asked about the why the shelves were empty --she qhipped :"oh its this whole y2k thing" as she rolled her eyes expecting us to nod our heads in mutual distain for the silly-self-prepared-types, but we just looked at her in silence, she got uncomfortable and walked away, we stepped up the pace and to look for another store. I said to my brother "walmart does not stock-out, that is what makes them different"... there must be some significance to all this. Good luck all. Thanks for waking me up so that i can do the same for others, even if a little bit too late, but still it is a wonderful sobering experience to face reality just the same.

-- Paddy (wouldlike@toprepare.more), December 25, 1999.

No, shortage at the Walmart in Missouri City, Texas as of 12-26-99.

-- quietly (quietly@preparing.com), December 26, 1999.

My wife just called about a half dozen big stores (essentially all of them in a 50 mile radius). All but one were out of gasoline and kerosene containers.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), December 26, 1999.