shop on

SHOP ON
Wal-Mart is laying off over half its headquarters staff. And they are the least troubled of all retailers ( losing less customers than your competition today counts as a victory ). Port container counts are down 8% from a year ago, and rail shipments are down 18%. I talked to a guy this morning ( at work, although I'm sure my trolls will insist it is at my illusionary trailer park- thanks whole big bunches, Mayberry, for moderating your comments. I'm sure your trolls will migrate over to my site :) ) whose father in law works for a milling outfit. Their demand has fallen and he can only ship when he gets several freight cars worth. Possible shelf shortages as a result? Anyway, almost everyday there is further news to bolster the fear that products are going to be less available on shelves. Credit crunch, bankruptcies, the inevitable inflation.
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I'm thinking it might not be a bad time to be buying as if products are going to become much scarcer. You'll find bargains with closing stores, maybe. A look at Circuit City's close out prices was nothing to get excited about. Which kind of reminds me. A liquidator outfit declared bankruptcy. The guys that take a bankrupt companies products and resell them at cut rate prices, and they are themselves declaring bankruptcy. Delicious. So perhaps that whole outlet for cheap goods is closing down. Lack of credit? My point is that perhaps customers won't benefit as much as I thought from closing retailers. So instead of waiting, finish up your prep shopping. The critical aspects, anyway. No reason not to shop up to the end, but don't wait for anything you've put off buying. Remember Rawles warning about the Berky filters company going bankrupt? Hope you've got yours ( although I just checked www.lehmans.com and they are still on sale for $45 for the elements to make your own ).
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Even without fears of shortages, consider your job situation. Do you think you'll be doing that last minute critical shopping once you're laid off? Do you really think you're still safe after all the news of recent lay-offs? Now consider China. A huge number of factory closings, a drought, etc. They are going under as fast as we are, if not faster. If supplies are disrupted from there, who can sell to the US? Vitamin C, shoes, underwear. Lots of small necessary items almost no one else but China makes anymore. At least cheaply. You can still find a $200 Mylar bag sealer, but forget about buying a $10 clothes iron from China to do the same thing.
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The consumer way of life is ending. Shop on while you can.
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