We've been keeping you advised of this burgeoning situation for almost two months now. As a result many of you have stayed ahead of the curve.
Today, we're deep into a spreading panic among those prepping for imminent crises. The most popular brands and varieties of storage foods are out of stock and backordered most anywhere you look. Note that this situation is also now spreading to crucial survival-related products such as Berkey water filters.
The Good News
We know what we're doing at Safecastle, having been around this block many times before. We recognized the signs very early on this year and started a bit of focused buying ourselves to make sure we could help you through this situation. So while many other sellers are selling you long-backordered product, we've still got key product inventories in our warehouses. Maybe not a lot of each variety, but enough to get you squared away of you do not delay any longer.
For instance, we do still have about two-thirds of the Mountain House freeze dried catalog in stock for prompt shipping.
Red Feather canned butter and Bega canned cheese are about to disappear from U.S. markets. The North American distributor sold us their last pallets of those two very popular items and they don't expect to get resupplied from overseas for several months. (Apparently, this buying surge is taking place around the world.) Our butter inventory was depleted earlier today but we have that last shipment coming in and if you get your order in, you'll be in the queue for those dwindling can-cases. (And yes--they are still on sale at unbeatable pricing!) We expect that shipment in within two weeks. We do still have the cheese available for prompt shipping.
Yoders canned bacon--we still have some in stock for prompt shipping. It is out of stock most other places for at least the next few weeks.
Berkey water filters ... the N. American distributor is running out of stock of several Berkey models. We have inventory of several models ... if they are listed in our store, we have them available for fast shipping.
Many other storage food brands that we are selling are drop-shipped from their producer warehouses. The word on most of them is that they are shipping about three or more weeks out due to growing piles of orders that are coming in.
All food producers are dealing with amped-up demand, but they are also struggling to purchase raw ingredients for their products. Eggs remain the biggest challenge, with most factories unable to secure enough for production runs, and that is expected to remain the case for several more months.
Bottom Line
No surprise if you have been paying attention, but here is our take ... just as with the overall economy and geopolitical situation out there, we're on the edge in the crisis preparedness marketplace.
But where much of the economy is dragging, those who are stepping up their preparedness efforts are stressing our suppliers to the breaking point at the opposite end of spectrum. Many will say, that's not a bad thing.
The danger is that we are one big-picture push away from having the whole thing go tumbling down the slope. We've seen it before--sellers are unable to get inventory, producers are unable to get enough material and food for production runs. We're at max capacity right now ... if any number of new more preparedness buyers flood into the market, that will be it.
Upfront about the Situation
We prefer to make sure our own longtime customers are well situated for what is happening. We're upfront with you about what we are seeing so that you have as many facts available for your own consideration as to what you may want to do as a result.
Stay safe.
