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Tried to buy a printer lately? Perhaps a computer? Part of the crap availability is likely due to the chip/component shortages that have gotten a lot of press,

Tried to buy a printer lately? Perhaps a computer? Part of the crap availability is likely due to the chip/component shortages that have gotten a lot of press, but some is also due to shipping. I was looking at low- to mid-range workgroup printers and business-class desktop PCs for some clients recently. From at least some manufacturers the ones that were available were selling for at least $50-100 above MSRP depending on models, or you could order at normal prices (don't bother looking for discounts!) with estimated delivery end of May or in June. This article makes me think there's a chance those might be optimistic.

WWLink 5y ago
> Tried to buy a printer lately? I did! I noticed B&H had the model I wanted in stock, but the store was closed over the weekend for a holiday. So I checked back right before the store opened and placed the order JUST as it JUST as ordering opened up again. Not 5 minutes after I ordered the printer, the page went from "in stock" to "more on the way" lol. I received the printer a week later. Most places had it a month+ out. Ugh, and that was easy compared to getting some computer parts right now.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- vxNsr 5y ago
  I love that B&H closes their website for sabbath.
  - tomcam 5y ago
    There should be more of that, both shabbat and sabbath. I say this as a nonbeliever.
Stratoscope 5y ago
A few weeks ago I got a new ThinkPad X1 Extreme from work to replace my awful System76 Thelio Major. I was interested in checking out the X1E because I was due for a personal ThinkPad upgrade too. Last week I decided I liked it and went to see what Lenovo had available. All of the nice X1E's with the UHD display were showing "more than 12 weeks" delivery time! The next day I remembered that the ThinkPad P1 is exactly the same machine as the X1E with a different GPU. Lenovo is wacky like this with their model names. Some of those were showing 8-12 or over 12 week delivery too, but they had one P1 configuration in stock the way I wanted with UHD, 64GB, 1TB and an empty SSD slot. It shipped the same day I ordered it, arrived Friday and is great! And was just $1625 plus another $149 for three-year premier support since I ordered it through Corporate Perks (who I highly recommend). Would have been $900 more if I bought it directly on lenovo.com, even at their "sale" price. The machines ship direct from Lenovo either way. So I thought I'd tell my friends and colleagues and checked again yesterday. Nope, all gone now, this model went up $200, and it along with all the other nice ones are "more than 12 week" delivery too.
Causality1 5y ago
Indeed. In October of 2019 I ordered a basic printer for $36. The cheapest one on Amazon right now, at least with more than one review, is $90.
burlesona 5y ago
We ordered a washer/dryer in November. It was scheduled for delivery at the end of December. It actually arrived at the beginning of March. You’re right. Things are slow right now.
- geerlingguy 5y ago
  So many trades, too. I put off ordering a few replacement windows last year, when the lead time was 3 weeks. I finally ordered them in February, and they're slated to come in sometime late June or July. So far at least.
- nostrademons 5y ago
  We were looking for a washer/dryer in March and a dishwasher in January. In both cases, about 75% of the models were sold out. One place basically told us "We have no dishwashers in stock and no idea when we're going to get any." When a dealer did have stock, they were like "Anything that's out of stock, you can forget about getting in any reasonable timeframe."
hamandcheese 5y ago
I was under the impression that most high margin goods, like electronics, were shipped via air, not ocean. I could be wrong though, or air freight could be experiencing a similar spike in demand right now.
- cancan 5y ago
  most electronics are on razor thin margins and printers definitely shipped via ocean
- brudgers 5y ago
  Printers have a relatively low dollars per unit volume ratio compared to a laptop or smartphone. Bulk and speed tend to be the primary components of shipping costs. Hence the “forty foot container equivalents” in the article.
- angry_octet 5y ago
  CPUs/GPUs/RAM, not printers or consumer gear. And international air freight is impossible now, very low volumes compared to normal. Should recover in Asia Pac and US routes soon enough, but not India or EMEA.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
fibonachos 5y ago
I ordered a printer from Staples with an estimated delivery date about a week and a half out. When I checked on that order a few days later the delivery date had been changed to over a month out. It changed every time I checked, sometimes sooner, other times later. Eventually it shipped about three weeks after the order was placed. Not an ideal experience but I wasn’t really expecting one. If having to wait on or go without some non-essential goods is the worst thing I have to deal with from the pandemic then I’ll consider myself fortunate.

WWLink 5y ago

> Tried to buy a printer lately? I did! I noticed B&H had the model I wanted in stock, but the store was closed over the weekend for a holiday. So I checked back right before the store opened and placed the order JUST as it JUST as ordering opened up again. Not 5 minutes after I ordered the printer, the page went from "in stock" to "more on the way" lol. I received the printer a week later. Most places had it a month+ out. Ugh, and that was easy compared to getting some computer parts right now.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
vxNsr 5y ago
I love that B&H closes their website for sabbath.
- tomcam 5y ago
  There should be more of that, both shabbat and sabbath. I say this as a nonbeliever.

Stratoscope 5y ago

A few weeks ago I got a new ThinkPad X1 Extreme from work to replace my awful System76 Thelio Major. I was interested in checking out the X1E because I was due for a personal ThinkPad upgrade too. Last week I decided I liked it and went to see what Lenovo had available. All of the nice X1E's with the UHD display were showing "more than 12 weeks" delivery time! The next day I remembered that the ThinkPad P1 is exactly the same machine as the X1E with a different GPU. Lenovo is wacky like this with their model names. Some of those were showing 8-12 or over 12 week delivery too, but they had one P1 configuration in stock the way I wanted with UHD, 64GB, 1TB and an empty SSD slot. It shipped the same day I ordered it, arrived Friday and is great! And was just $1625 plus another $149 for three-year premier support since I ordered it through Corporate Perks (who I highly recommend). Would have been $900 more if I bought it directly on lenovo.com, even at their "sale" price. The machines ship direct from Lenovo either way. So I thought I'd tell my friends and colleagues and checked again yesterday. Nope, all gone now, this model went up $200, and it along with all the other nice ones are "more than 12 week" delivery too.

Causality1 5y ago

Indeed. In October of 2019 I ordered a basic printer for $36. The cheapest one on Amazon right now, at least with more than one review, is $90.

burlesona 5y ago

We ordered a washer/dryer in November. It was scheduled for delivery at the end of December. It actually arrived at the beginning of March. You’re right. Things are slow right now.

geerlingguy 5y ago
So many trades, too. I put off ordering a few replacement windows last year, when the lead time was 3 weeks. I finally ordered them in February, and they're slated to come in sometime late June or July. So far at least.
nostrademons 5y ago
We were looking for a washer/dryer in March and a dishwasher in January. In both cases, about 75% of the models were sold out. One place basically told us "We have no dishwashers in stock and no idea when we're going to get any." When a dealer did have stock, they were like "Anything that's out of stock, you can forget about getting in any reasonable timeframe."

hamandcheese 5y ago

I was under the impression that most high margin goods, like electronics, were shipped via air, not ocean. I could be wrong though, or air freight could be experiencing a similar spike in demand right now.

cancan 5y ago
most electronics are on razor thin margins and printers definitely shipped via ocean
brudgers 5y ago
Printers have a relatively low dollars per unit volume ratio compared to a laptop or smartphone. Bulk and speed tend to be the primary components of shipping costs. Hence the “forty foot container equivalents” in the article.
angry_octet 5y ago
CPUs/GPUs/RAM, not printers or consumer gear. And international air freight is impossible now, very low volumes compared to normal. Should recover in Asia Pac and US routes soon enough, but not India or EMEA.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

fibonachos 5y ago

I ordered a printer from Staples with an estimated delivery date about a week and a half out. When I checked on that order a few days later the delivery date had been changed to over a month out. It changed every time I checked, sometimes sooner, other times later. Eventually it shipped about three weeks after the order was placed. Not an ideal experience but I wasn’t really expecting one. If having to wait on or go without some non-essential goods is the worst thing I have to deal with from the pandemic then I’ll consider myself fortunate.