Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine #2

[Warwick1991]

I’ve ordered a case of 36 toilet paper rolls intended for commercial and institutional use, because I’ve had no luck at Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Target, Winn Dixie or Publix. It occasionally comes into those stores, but in such minimal quantities that it’s gone right away. It’s never available for delivery.... I didn’t want such a large quantity, but I wanted to replace what we’ve used. Amazon’s stock is sporadic.

The toilet paper I ordered, Tork, is intended for use in dispensers for bathroom stalls. I think it’s out there because restaurants, retail stores and offices aren’t ordering... The rolls don’t fit in most home toilet paper hardware, but at this point I don’t care about that.

 

[Teche]

My Aldi order came yesterday. They were out of chicken and meat and a few staples. I was able to get bags of frozen shrimp and scallops and fresh salmon, so those were nice additions to the meat I already have in the freezer. My shopper was able to get me a big package each of TP and PT so I don't have to buy TP off the black market again.

Every night at 8:00pm I'm ready to put in a delivery order from ShopRite (my preferred store) but I have been unable to snag a delivery time for over a month now. I did get a pick-up slot for next Wednesday when I will need milk and bread again. I'd order from Aldi again but their products are very limited.

We do large grocery shopping at Costco during the 1 hr “senior” shopping time. All but once we were able to get huge packs of TP & PT. They always have a great selection of large packages of meat. I did see on the national news that Costco will be setting limits on the amount (rightly so).

 

[Warwick1991]

My quest for hand sanitizer has been fruitless, which is common at this point. I’ve had bad experiences with Amazon, which I’ll share. Amazon now has a number of third party sellers that are trying to exploit the pandemic, mostly based in China. Some are gougers, but others are just outright frauds, delivering useless junk or nothing at all. They are mostly new sellers. Many say US stock, but that’s a lie.

My most recent experience with hand sanitizer was plain fraud. The product I ordered was described as containing 77.5% alcohol, but when it finally arrived after a month, it was a clear gel with no alcohol or other chemical with germicidal properties. I am in the process of attempting to get a refund.

I tried another hand sanitizer advertised on Amazon from a California based company called Art Naturals, and its content is questionable. It smells like kerosene, and although it was advertised on Amazon as being from the USA, the bottle says Made in China... I do not plan to use it. Amazon no longer has a listing for it, so I'm not the only one taken..

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Many of you seem to be using online grocery shopping /delivery during the pandemic. Were you doing this prior to the COVID outbreak? Will you continue to order groceries, household cleaning supplies, etc. online, or are you doing it because you don't want to venture out to stores?

DH and I have never made online grocery purchases or used in-store shoppers for pickup or delivery. We're both pretty picky about our food choices and household products, and I'm afraid we'd be disappointed if we didn't get what we wanted or the products weren't up to our standards. Some of you have mentioned substitutions, and that would bother me Except for a one-time TP debacle, an egg shortage early on, and no I Can't Believe It's Not Butter last week, we've been able to get everything we need from Nino Salvaggio, Meijer, or Kroger. We only go to Costco once a month and have an ongoing list of what we need on each visit.

Do you use food delivery services like Grub Hub and Door Dash? We've never used these services and rarely even get pizza delivery. How about meal delivery like Daily Harvest, Blue Apron, etc.? When we order takeout once a week, DH goes to pick it up. We alternate between Jet's Pizza and Honey Tree Grill, both of which are about two miles from our home. We've continued our weekly takeout ritual to help local businesses thrive during this trying time.

 

[Warwick1991]

Another product to watch out for on Amazon - forehead thermometers. Zero quality control Chinese products. I paid $99.00 for a worthless piece of garbage, advertised as US stock but handled by shady pass-through company in the US that arranges mail from China. After a month, the item I received always shows 97.3 F, regardless of actual temperature. Most of the forehead thermometers shown on Amazon are similar. I wouldn’t recommend any of them. From what I’ve read, forehead thermometers have a large margin of accuracy, and are probably worthless unless they’re from a professional grade medical equipment company in the US.

 

[PayrollNerd]

My quest for hand sanitizer has been fruitless, which is common at this point. I’ve had bad experiences with Amazon, which I’ll share. Amazon now has a number of third party sellers that are trying to exploit the pandemic, mostly based in China. Some are gougers, but others are just outright frauds, delivering useless junk or nothing at all. They are mostly new sellers. Many say US stock, but that’s a lie.

My most recent experience with hand sanitizer was plain fraud. The product I ordered was described as containing 77.5% alcohol, but when it finally arrived after a month, it was a clear gel with no alcohol or other chemical with germicidal properties. I am in the process of attempting to get a refund.

I tried another hand sanitizer advertised on Amazon from a California based company called Art Naturals, and its content is questionable. It smells like kerosene, and although it was advertised on Amazon as being from the USA, the bottle says Made in China... I do not plan to use it. Amazon no longer has a listing for it, so I'm not the only one taken..

I truly don’t understand the hand sanitizer hoarding. If you use it, you don’t need that much. I’ve kept a bottle in my truck for the last 3 years (cancer patient). Each 6-8 oz? bottle lasts for at least 6 months or more. I use it on my hands and steering wheel. I keep unscented baby wipes in my truck. I use so few, I have to add water to them at times. If I didn’t have access to either, I’d keep a small spray bottle of bleach water and roll of paper towels in my truck. In the summer here in FL, I keep a gallon of water in my truck.

 

[MaryG12]

I think the Bisquick is going quickly as a bread alternative. Muffin mixes and loaf mixes are all disappearing, being hoarded in case the bread supplies dry up.

Some folks get tummy upsets with COVID, that might account for some of the TP shortages at this point.

Others are 'stocking up' on everything, hoping to avoid the initial price hikes that will be along soon.

We can get flour but no yeast, unless you want to make sourdough, you are up that creek without a paddle.

And that is what I find so odd - our Publix stores have bread items for the most part and being a perishable item...I mean, outside of making French toast and possibly bread crumbs with two-week old bread that has not gone moldy....I really do not understand any of the hoarding.

Especially with hair dye.

Coronavirus impact: Hair dye becoming next high-demand item amid COVID-19 pandemic

 

[MaryG12]

I truly don’t understand the hand sanitizer hoarding. If you use it, you don’t need that much. I’ve kept a bottle in my truck for the last 3 years (cancer patient). Each 6-8 oz? bottle lasts for at least 6 months or more. I use it on my hands and steering wheel. I keep unscented baby wipes in my truck. I use so few, I have to add water to them at times. If I didn’t have access to either, I’d keep a small spray bottle of bleach water and roll of paper towels in my truck. In the summer here in FL, I keep a gallon of water in my truck.

It is bizarre to say the least, especially since soap and water does a better job of hand cleaning.

I have yet to see the bars of soap disappear from store shelves, there always seems to be bar soap in stock.

 

[Warwick1991]

Many of you seem to be using online grocery shopping /delivery during the pandemic. Were you doing this prior to the COVID outbreak? Will you continue to order groceries, household cleaning supplies, etc. online, or are you doing it because you don't want to venture out to stores?

DH and I have never made online grocery purchases or used in-store shoppers for pickup or delivery. We're both pretty picky about our food choices and household products, and I'm afraid we'd be disappointed if we didn't get what we wanted or the products weren't up to our standards. Some of you have mentioned substitutions, and that would bother me Except for a one-time TP debacle, an egg shortage early on, and no I Can't Believe It's Not Butter last week, we've been able to get everything we need from Nino Salvaggio, Meijer, or Kroger. We only go to Costco once a month and have an ongoing list of what we need on each visit.

Do you use food delivery services like Grub Hub and Door Dash? We've never used these services and rarely even get pizza delivery. When we order takeout once a week, DH goes to pick it up. We alternate between Jet's Pizza and Honey Tree Grill, both of which are about two miles from our home. We've continued our weekly takeout ritual to help local businesses thrive during this trying time.

I’ve used grocery delivery services on occasion in the past, mainly due to medical problems I have or time issues stemming from caring for my 90 year old mother. It has been a last resort, but due to my own preexisting conditions and my mother’s health, I’m not shopping outside now. In general, I’ve had bad luck with produce and meat - anything that I select carefully in person. I’ve gotten rotten potatoes, rotten fruit, and unappealing meat and chicken. In addition, refrigerated/frozen items can be a problem. Although Shipt and Instacart shoppers are supposed to have insulated bags, most don’t due to chaotic hiring. In Florida, that means frozen or refrigerated item can be ruined before arrival. This depends on the shopper the company uses. If the shopper gets too many orders, they can be on a delivery route for hours, which means spoiled items. Shoppers for Shipt and Instacart “bid” on orders from their companies, and some of the shoppers try to take too many orders at one time. Walmart has a better system.

Bottom line, delivery is far from optimal. It depends on your health, the precautions you want to take, and the conditions in your local markets as far as crowd control and masks are concerned.

Door Dash and GrubHub can be expensive, but offer a more individualized level of service.

 

[oviedo]

Many of you seem to be using online grocery shopping /delivery during the pandemic. Were you doing this prior to the COVID outbreak? Will you continue to order groceries, household cleaning supplies, etc. online, or are you doing it because you don't want to venture out to stores?

DH and I have never made online grocery purchases or used in-store shoppers for pickup or delivery. We're both pretty picky about our food choices and household products, and I'm afraid we'd be disappointed if we didn't get what we wanted or the products weren't up to our standards. Some of you have mentioned substitutions, and that would bother me Except for a one-time TP debacle, an egg shortage early on, and no I Can't Believe It's Not Butter last week, we've been able to get everything we need from Nino Salvaggio, Meijer, or Kroger. We only go to Costco once a month and have an ongoing list of what we need on each visit.

Do you use food delivery services like Grub Hub and Door Dash? We've never used these services and rarely even get pizza delivery. How about meal delivery like Daily Harvest, Blue Apron, etc.? When we order takeout once a week, DH goes to pick it up. We alternate between Jet's Pizza and Honey Tree Grill, both of which are about two miles from our home. We've continued our weekly takeout ritual to help local businesses thrive during this trying time.

I haven't started using any of the services as I am picky too and very price conscious - I'm not in a category (so far) that is compromised - I did use Walmart to pick up dry goods a few times before this - where you drive up and they bring everything out - and I've used Target's pick up service too - drive in - the App let's them know you are there and they bring it out but it wasn't for food/grocery. A few of my friends have expressed how much the mark up is on the groceries so I won't even try. I go about once every couple of weeks and may occasionally stop in for one or two items in between. I've followed Jerseygirl's ordering and receipting with interest using these services. Now that Florida is opening up I may limit my trips even more. I think we are going to see an uptick now.
JMO

 

[Warwick1991]

I truly don’t understand the hand sanitizer hoarding. If you use it, you don’t need that much. I’ve kept a bottle in my truck for the last 3 years (cancer patient). Each 6-8 oz? bottle lasts for at least 6 months or more. I use it on my hands and steering wheel. I keep unscented baby wipes in my truck. I use so few, I have to add water to them at times. If I didn’t have access to either, I’d keep a small spray bottle of bleach water and roll of paper towels in my truck. In the summer here in FL, I keep a gallon of water in my truck.

I always had some at home before the pandemic, but of course it disappeared from stores just as the outbreak in Washington state reached the news. I think much of the disappearance of hand sanitizer was an organized effort, like the brothers from Tennessee who bought up thousands of bottles to make a killing on it. They drove from store to store and wiped shelves clean for miles. Based on the speed and almost total disappearance of hand sanitizer overnight, I’m confident that something like this happened in the area I live in South Florida. So, I don’t think it’s just people hoarding.

As far as hand sanitizer goes, I kept it in my office at work. It was part of my efforts to prevent getting myself sick... Not perfect, but better than nothing if you’re shaking hands, touching numerous surfaces along with many other people, and don’t have soap and water available all the time. I have asthma and other upper respiratory problems, aside from concern over Covid-19. When I worked in my office, I got upper respiratory infections frequently, and they usually lasted about 2 months. One thing to think about - hand sanitizer expires, usually in about 2 years after bottling. The ethyl alcohol gradually evaporates after the bottle is first opened.

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

I truly don’t understand the hand sanitizer hoarding. If you use it, you don’t need that much. I’ve kept a bottle in my truck for the last 3 years (cancer patient). Each 6-8 oz? bottle lasts for at least 6 months or more. I use it on my hands and steering wheel. I keep unscented baby wipes in my truck. I use so few, I have to add water to them at times. If I didn’t have access to either, I’d keep a small spray bottle of bleach water and roll of paper towels in my truck. In the summer here in FL, I keep a gallon of water in my truck.

There have been times when I've squeezed too much Purell out of the bottle and end up needing to wash my hands to get rid of it

 

[oviedo]

There have been times when I've squeezed too much Purell out of the bottle and end up needing to wash my hands to get rid of it

I'm so cheap I open the cap and put it back in .....

 

[Gardener1850]

I found Germ-x today at a Lowes Home improvement store! Purchase limit was one and it was the 8 oz size. I got one. I might send DH to the store to get his own bottle for his truck. We only use it in the car when we can't wash our hands with soap and water. I haven't seen any hand sanitizer in stores here since either January or February. I had one little pocket size bottle at the start of the pandemic shutdown but that didn't last long. I attempted to make some but I wasn't very impressed with the results (other than it making my hands softer). I'm so thrilled I found hand sanitizer!

The store was really busy today, which surprised me. About 80% of customers had a mask on. I noticed us mask people were mostly following the 6 feet rules while the unmasked people in the store were not mindful of personal space at all. A couple times I had to move away from the items I needed because someone without a mask came and stood within inches of me while I was trying to find the specific item I was looking for (this was in the plumbing and electrical aisles where there a ton of little bins that you have to search carefully for the size/shape you need). Other than the few people without masks and there being way too many people in the store for my comfort it was a great trip to the store. Employees were wearing masks and are behind plexi-glass barriers at the register and the store had markings on the floor of where to stand. They also had signs indicating a phone number to call to place a curb-side pick up order. If I have to go back there for anything else I'm going to try the curbside option.

 

[BUF]

I'm so cheap I open the cap and put it back in .....

Well it is like gold these days!

I did actually find some hand sanitizer at Target last week. It was an off brand, but smelled like alcohol and it was the gel type that I actually like better as it doesn’t pour out as fast. The shelf wasn’t full, but there were a number of bottles...limit one. I sent Mr. BUF back as soon as I got home to get another but there was none left. It was only about 20 minutes later.

 

[killarney rose]

I was able to buy hand sanitizer from a local paint supply store last week. I got a gallon for $25.99. It is manufactured here in AL and is unscented but smells like pure alcohol. It's not very gel like, mostly liquid. I'm not hoarding, that's how it is sold. It will last us along time. We only keep it in the car to use when we can't wash our hands.

 

[oviedo]

Well it is like gold these days!

I did actually find some hand sanitizer at Target last week. It was an off brand, but smelled like alcohol and it was the gel type that I actually like better as it doesn’t pour out as fast. The shelf wasn’t full, but there were a number of bottles...limit one. I sent Mr. BUF back as soon as I got home to get another but there was none left. It was only about 20 minutes later.

I was able to buy hand sanitizer from a local paint supply store last week. I got a gallon for $25.99. It is manufactured here in AL and is unscented but smells like pure alcohol. It's not very gel like, mostly liquid. I'm not hoarding, that's how it is sold. It will last us along time. We only keep it in the car to use when we can't wash our hands.

one of our title companies sent us goody bags last year and each bag had a bottle of hand sanitizer with their label on it - so i have those at work - I've never used it much at home so had a full bottle when this started - and we have the Sams large bottle at work - I'm rarely without soap and water but I do use it as soon as I'm done grocery shopping or getting gas. I expect it will last months. but I look for it for my friends who are first responders.

 

[BUF]

one of our title companies sent us goody bags last year and each bag had a bottle of hand sanitizer with their label on it - so i have those at work - I've never used it much at home so had a full bottle when this started - and we have the Sams large bottle at work - I'm rarely without soap and water but I do use it as soon as I'm done grocery shopping or getting gas. I expect it will last months. but I look for it for my friends who are first responders.

I use it the same way...after going into a store or getting gas, that’s when it’s needed, before my hands go on the steering wheel.

I actually prefer to wash my hands with soap and water, which I still do as soon as I get home.

 

[Gardener1850]

Many of you seem to be using online grocery shopping /delivery during the pandemic. Were you doing this prior to the COVID outbreak? Will you continue to order groceries, household cleaning supplies, etc. online, or are you doing it because you don't want to venture out to stores?

DH and I have never made online grocery purchases or used in-store shoppers for pickup or delivery. We're both pretty picky about our food choices and household products, and I'm afraid we'd be disappointed if we didn't get what we wanted or the products weren't up to our standards. Some of you have mentioned substitutions, and that would bother me Except for a one-time TP debacle, an egg shortage early on, and no I Can't Believe It's Not Butter last week, we've been able to get everything we need from Nino Salvaggio, Meijer, or Kroger. We only go to Costco once a month and have an ongoing list of what we need on each visit.

Do you use food delivery services like Grub Hub and Door Dash? We've never used these services and rarely even get pizza delivery. How about meal delivery like Daily Harvest, Blue Apron, etc.? When we order takeout once a week, DH goes to pick it up. We alternate between Jet's Pizza and Honey Tree Grill, both of which are about two miles from our home. We've continued our weekly takeout ritual to help local businesses thrive during this trying time.

I have not tried any grocery delivery options other than Amazon Prime, which we used before the pandemic. Unfortunately, Amazon is not reliable anymore if we need something right away. At the start of this I wanted to order all the shelf stable groceries on Amazon that I could, but it's really turned out to not be worth it to do that. Many items are either overpriced, out of stock or they say they are in stock until 1 minute after I add it to my cart and go to check out. Then the cart says "Item not in stock" and I have to look for another seller. If I do happen to get a much needed grocery item and get through the checkout process they usually say 2-4 weeks for delivery. So I only order what I need, can't find in local stores and am willing to wait on. After ordering, half the time it shows up in 3 days (great except that we get billed earlier than expected) and half the time it is later than the 2 weeks they promised. They don't bill until the item ships. So for a couple months we had all these outstanding orders and we never knew when they were going to hit our bank account. A few items didn't ship at all or got lost in transit and I had to cancel them/ask for a refund after over a month of waiting. A couple items were canceled without explanation (I assume by the seller?) and I didn't get any notification email. We pay a yearly fee to have Prime which is supposed to include Free 2 to 3 day delivery. It was always a great service before this pandemic and well worth it for us because we live in the country and have to drive a lot of places to find what we need otherwise. That said, we're considering canceling our Prime account if it doesn't go back to normal delivery times by the time we have to renew.

For other grocery options I did one curbside grocery pickup, which I had done a couple times in the past, before the pandemic. Before the pandemic there were no problems with curbside at all. I used it when I sprained my ankle. I could drive but couldn't walk around very well, so curbside worked out great. I just drove up and they loaded my groceries for me without my having to get out of the car. When the pandemic hit, a lot of shortages happened and the curbside service was overrun with more customers than usual. The girl who did my order called and asked if I was OK with substitutions and I had to tell her we have food allergies and can't use substitutions of most packaged items. We are also really particular about our meat (preferring grassfed, organic, pastured, etc). She called me with a list of everything they were out of and asked before each substitution. I had to ask her to take a number of items off because there was no acceptable substitution. She really tried to offer me options. The only place we got our lines crossed is on the jam-- I told her to nix it when they didn't have any organic options and she included a jar of store brand grape jelly with HFCS instead. We'll give it away, no big deal, but I know that would never have happened before the pandemic. I didn't do curbside again after that. I feel like it is better for me to go to the store because if they are out of something I can adjust my menu based on what they do have.

 

[MimosaMornings]

I never did pickup or delivery prior to the pandemic. No one in my family did either.
I used Amazon Prime for multiple items but not food items.

That’s changed two months ago, I am in a caregiver role and protecting the health of others.

I am doing curbside pickup now - with a supplemental quick run into the store for items that were not available or not substituted in the pickup order.

Spending a lot more on food now. I used to expense my food/meals for two weeks each month. Not anymore.
I did a budget update and was shocked at how much I am spending on things like masks, gloves, etc that I had never ordered from Amazon before. I’m ordering things for some of my elderly relatives now too.

It’s a completely different world.