Shop Local is the theme of the day
Because of the surge in demand for goods there have
been delays, port traffic jams and blockages. That means items ordered for the holidays may not be in on time.
One way to assure you have the items you need is to shop local.
What better way to start your holiday shopping then this weekend when Wapakoneta Shops hosts their Small Business Saturday event? There’s even a chance you’ll find those ‘unavailable’ items at one of the stores.
“In terms of supply, we’ve had a couple of shortages here and there,” Terrilynn Bump, an interior designer at Interior Motiffs, said. “But we’ve really
started, the last month…
seeing a lot more of of our product coming in.”
She attributes the store’s healthy supply of items to their tendency to start stocking up early.
“We typically start looking at ordering [for] Christmas back in July,” she said.
Bump doesn’t believe the store will run out of items during the holidays despite the increase in traffic for things like puzzles and other gift items.
“People are shopping early, very early for Christmas this year too,” Tiana Fisher, office
manager at the store, said. “I think everybody was kind of worried about the shortages and so I think a lot of people are also being proactive.”
Joyce Peterson, owner of Joyce Ann’s Consignment
Boutique, shared the sentiment. “I purchase from individuals in the community,” Peterson
said. “There’s not a lack of clothing and shoes and jewelry and things. People are looking to thin out their closets. I have more than I can handle actually.”
Currently, Peterson is receiving multiple calls each day from people wanting to bring things in.
Supply-chain issues weren’t an issue for Jack Lambert,
owner of Auglaize Antique Mall, either.
Lambert buys items locally from farms, sales and auctions and didn’t have to worry about overseas squabbles or trucking problems.
In fact, the problems plagu
ing larger retailers was beneficial for him.
“We seem to be receiving more customers than we did before,” he said.
Currently the shop is overstocked and Lambert wants to reduce the store’s current inventory, but
he’s not worried about running out of product either.
“There’s always someone available that wants to move or sell some items,” he said. “Because [the product] is all pretty
much local or within Ohio, we can travel anywhere and get them.”
Jessica Moler, owner of WISH Children’s Boutique, had a similar story to Lambert, Peterson, Fisher and Bump.
“It hasn’t really affected us,” she said.
She said she’s already received her
holiday, fall and winter merchandise. That was good news for her
because as waiting times at bigger stores and online increased, customers were turning to her and other local shops.
“We had [items] ready to go, we had plenty of stock,” Moler said. “We still have plenty of stock left,
which is pretty amazing considering what you’re seeing all over the news.”
Her biggest worry was shipping out and the potential delay for customers in receiving their goods.
But not every retailer had positive news.
JP Metz, owner of Dad’s Toy Shop, admitted seeing price increases among other problems.
“I’ve seen… record backorders,” he said.
And he ordered early.
“I’ve not see it as bad as some of the others, which is good,” he
said.
A lot of the problems are stemming from plastic models and kits and bandai figures are particularly hard to find.
“Some of it is coming in, some of it is trickling in,” he said. “I
have some backorders that are four years old.”
His advice for shoppers: buy early.
“I’ve got items that I’m not going to get
until the first of the year,” he said.