Slowed to Crawl

Some items that might be difficult to buy this holiday season

Tis’ the season for supply chain shortages. As you’ve likely noticed, some items are taking longer than ever to ship and arrive at your door. This is mostly due to the pandemic. Factories have closed, truck drivers are hard to come by and more. The best way to combat this holiday supply chain bottleneck is to shop early. Here are some items that are experiencing delays.
Toys
Toys are experiencing a shortage this holiday season, and to make up for it, companies are raising prices. Mattel, which makes toys like Barbie and Hot Wheels, already announced price increases to cover its shipping shortages.
While price increases can be tough, some toys won’t even make it to your door. LOL Surprise, which makes dolls, said it only has enough inventory to cover 65 percent of its pending orders.
The best way to deal with toy shortages is to shop at your local toy stores. At these stores, what you see is what you get — there’s no shipping delay because the items are on the shelves.
Appliances
Appliance manufactures are having trouble getting parts, which means you’re going to have trouble getting your appliance. If you need an appliance, once again, try shopping locally. You should also consider just waiting out the holiday season, as things will likely start moving quicker then.
Books
As US News reports, the American Booksellers Association announced that the book supply chain is facing multiple issues, from driver shortages to warehouse closures. If your local book store doesn’t have the title you’re looking for, a good idea is to buy a gift card that your loved one can use after the holiday season.

Chris O'Shea/SavvyMoney