walmart = zero bicycles

[1978elcamino]

was in walmart a few times over the last couple months, they have zero bikes on the racks. It amazes me how certain "hobby" items are almost impossible to get because of COVID. You would think WM would have a supply chain robust enough to make bicycles as fast as people can buy them.

 

[Boomer]

Same thing at our two Wal Marts where exercise weights are concerned. Went in to buy a 30 pound barbell and ......shelves were totally empty. Seems like such a simple item to run out of.

 

[wormwood1978]

Same here as well, almost....I think my wife said they had three left a couple of days ago

 

[earlyre]

i have 3 words for both of you:
Made In China


Pray your Tv's don't break anytime soon. ours did about a month ago. the remote sensor on the set died...but it is a 10 yr old vizio... not a huge deal, bought a sound bar, so now we just have to turn it off manually.
Went to several local stores to try and buy a new one. store after store, the only things they actually had in stock were the Giant(65"+), $800-1000 Sets.

when folks got their stimulus checks, they went and cleaned out the local stores.
almost all the panels are made in china these days. Even LG is moving their panel production from Korea to China.

we did finally find the LG 50" we were looking for on Amazon..

 

[simple_gifts]

Stating the obvious, try a bike shop.

Heard a story on the radio this morning that small mom and pop grocery stores are booming. Reason: they are more agile. When the superstores ran out of flour, the mom and pops were buying it from the restaurant supply chain and rebagging it for consumer use, something a established supply chain can't possibly do.

Walmart probably spent a lot of money driving numerous suppliers out of business or kicking them to the curb, only to come back and have it haunt them. IDK.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted by earlyre
i have 3 words for both of you:
Made In China


This. Remember, China was hit months before us and only recently began to get back to work. So not only do you have the time to get the factories back up and running but the time to get it across the ocean by boat. The Pacific is pretty big. We are also competing with the rest of the world for those same things.

It's pretty much a lot of stuff - desk chairs, printers, PC parts, PCs, TVs, etc. Probably take a few months to get back to normal stock levels.

Originally Posted by simple_gifts
Stating the obvious, try a bike shop.


Was talking with someone that stated the local bike shop is sold out of bikes until September. Even bike parts (tires, tubes, etc.) are getting hard to find.

 

[1978elcamino]

Originally Posted by earlyre
i have 3 words for both of you:
Made In China


when folks got their stimulus checks, they went and cleaned out the local stores.
almost all the panels are made in china these days. Even LG is moving their panel production from Korea to China.



Friend of mine does business with a local powersports dealer here in Florida. He said new inventory is low because people have been coming in with 1200.00 down payments to finance new dirtbikes, atv's and jet skies. He's afraid after another stimulus they may not have that much inventory left to sell if the manufactures dont ramp up production again.

 

[dtownfb]

Here in the middle of PA, there are zero bikes in Walmart, ****'s or Target. As mentioned above, the factories were closed in Asia until recently. I ordered a bike from my local bike shop two weeks ago, They hope it comes in by the end of the month but they aren't sure when it will arrive. The company would not give them a definitive date.

 

[ripcord]

People are dying to get out of the house now that nice weather is here. I've been shopping for RV's lately and there are few deals to be had as demand seems high right now.

 

[Lyman]

I was in Walmart the other day and went to buy a Birthday card. They were almost out of them. Guess where most cards are made these days.

 

[eljefino]

Just got my son a craigslist bike. He outgrew the 24" and needed a 26". Kids bikes are still easy to find here but adult sizes are barren, save for the $1500+ preppy ones.

Dude had two bikes for sale so I sniped them both, 1/2 hour after the ad came out. I was riding a walmart bike that was falling apart-- now I have a 35 year old steel monster, that may have been from a bike store and not a big box.

 

[Lyman]

I was in Walmart the other day and went to buy a Birthday card. They were almost out of them. Guess where most cards are made these days.

 

[MNgopher]

If you are looking to buy a bike at Wal-Mart, odds are a bike shop is no going to have what you want either (ie: an inexpensive bike). Most bike shops here are sold out of anything that is sub-$1500 at the moment. Resupply is a crapshoot and most wont even hint at an arrival date. Many brands won't even speculate...

That being said, I'd avoid the wal-mart level bikes like the plague. Poorly assembled and not made to last, no thanks. Even a cheaper bike from a real bike store will be a much better bet in the long run.

 

[Carmudgeon]

Demand has soared during the crisis, particularly for fitness and commuter bikes,, and production has been affected by the shutdowns.

It has also affected Taiwan, which makes the higher end bikes, but sources parts from the mainland. Orders are booked through the end of the year.

 

[97prizm]

I think alot of it is suppliers by region. In Colorado several grocery stores have fully stocked cards and various items. We have a ton of tylenol and pain killer but my grandparents in Kentucky said the local stores seemed to have very little.

 

[ripcord]

Just came back from a trip to Walmart. Not a single adult bicycle but a good number of kids bikes in stock. I also saw that there were about 20 people in blue vests filling internet orders clogging up the grocery aisles.

 

[NYEngineer]

I build bicycle wheels and a handful of custom bikes per year. Right when Covid hit, I started to build a pair of Surly Wednesdays for a couple across the street. We literally got the last large frame in existence. The hubs, rims and spokes came easily. As time went on, I noticed parts were starting to thin out. I currently have everything locked down for the wifes bike. I cannot locate the cassette or front tire for the husbands bike. Gotta keep scouring the internet.
A second couple asked me to build them bikes. I cannot locate ANY frames in the husbands size or even really a frame that meets their price point. Everything is gone.
I asked my friend at a big bike shop what the deal is. He said the factories that make all the hardware for just about every frame sold in the world are in China and they shut down on March 3rd. That means any frames in Taiwan or China or Malaysia or anywhere else are sitting idle waiting to be completed so they can be shipped to us.
He went on to say he always sells about 1700 bikes per year. This year, he sold 1600 as of May and doesnt expect to see any new bikes this season.
His shop is swamped with repairs at this point. I called yesterday for small parts like tubeless valve stems and headset spacers. Even that stuff is getting scarce.
I am also doing full tuneups on two older Treks for different neighbors. Tires, tubes, shifters, seats and grips. Took me a couple of evenings to find tires and some of the other parts. The shipping is also taking forever.

The other day, at the shop, I was purchasing a flip bike. It was a near mint trade in that needed a repair. As I was taking it, my friend showed me a Jones that looked like it had never been ridden. I looked the bike up and it retailed for 1795. Shop wanted a G for it. I took it. Sent a picture of it to the second couple and said it would fit the wife and was the perfect bike for what they were looking to do. I hoped they would take it so then I only had to build one bike. Their son in law said that bikes no good. It doesnt have a suspension fork or a dropper post. He sent them a Bikes Direct link. I tapped out. I sent a picture of the Jones to a second friend. He snatched it right up.
I owned that bike for a total of two hours. If it had been a bigger frame I would have kept it.

 

[IndyIan]

Now is the time to sell a used bike if you've got one. I see lots of 5-6 year old $1k bikes with $1200 asking prices...
There was about 2 weeks early in March where the $2-3k+ bikes were being discounted, but now they are all long gone. I was tempted to upgrade but now the decision has been made for me! I'm not buying something half a decade old at new bike prices.

 

[JTK]

Yep. This complete lack of box store online bicycle availability started about a week into April.

The last few days of March, my wife and kids suggested they wanted to get me a bicycle as a very early father's day gift since everyone was home and the weather was nice.

Not wanting to spend a lot because I haven't owned a bike in like 35yrs, I mail ordered myself my Mongoose dolomite 26", 7spd fat bike off walmart for $259. I got it like 2-3days later. There were many bikes to choose from online and in-store at that point.

A week after that I saw the bike I ordered online for ~$600. Another week beyond that nothing available aside from $700+ wally-world bicycles and kids bikes.

 

[E365]

I just bought a new full-suspension "trail" bike a few weeks ago. Couldn't find my top 5 choices in stock anywhere. YT which is a very popular factory-direct brand didn't have availability on many models until Sept/Oct.

I ended up finding a Ghost brand from REI online and shipped to my house.

Just put up my old bike for sale. Hoping to get top-dollar for it. That's how I justified a more expensive bike - That I'd get more for selling my old one.