On Wednesday, September 29, I read a story on Yahoo Finance that told of Costco and other major retailers going to the extreme measure of leasing cargo ships and cargo containers in order to be able to effectively get their merchandise from manufacturers in Asia to the US in time for the upcoming Holiday shopping season.  In what is most likely NOT a coincidence, the US ports in California also announced that they were going to 24 hour operations in order to ease some of the backlogged cargo ships that have been sitting in ports but unable to be unloaded due to staffing shortages and the ever increasing number of ships waiting in line.  It wasn't until today that all of this writing on the wall hit home.  One of our largest suppliers refunded all the money we had paid for our orders that we had placed with them and cancelled those orders.  While they didn't offer an explanation, the aforementioned writing on the wall became very large and very clear.  If you thought the days of Black Friday brawls in the aisles were bad before, something tells me this year will surpass anything we've seen in our lifetimes when it comes to product shortages at the most crucial time.  

What all of this means is, that those who are paying attention see this coming from miles away but make no mistake, IT IS COMING!!  Items that Flyover Country Sporting Goods had purchased with the intent of having them come Holiday shopping time are already selling out and as we learned today, there isn't any more coming to replenish any time soon.  So make those lists, check them twice, and DON'T DELAY!!  Start as early as you can and be prepared for some disappointments when items that are on your list become unavailable. 

It's not the end of the world.  At some point, the shelves will be restocked and, at least we hope, things will return to whatever "normal" is going to look like.  If you can't wrap it and put it under the tree, buy a gift card or gift certificate to a small business that you like and that will eventually have the item that you missed out on.  Of course we are a little biased and hope that you'll consider a Flyover Country Sporting Goods gift certificate, but as long as you are supporting a small business, you are making more Christmases merry beyond just the ones with whom you'll spend the Holidays with.

Thank you for supporting small business. 

Josh 

Flyover Country Sporting Goods

Bremen, Ohio 43107

www.flyovercountrysg.com