Covid supply chain problems.

I have a saying, "If you have to explain something in more than one sentence, you've lost."

That said, I continue to try to explain to all the manga buyers about the supply chain problems, if only to make myself feel better.

"There are supply chain problems with manga, and it's mostly on the other end of the chain. It's very hard to get. It isn't available from anyone..."

"I just saw a stack of #1 "Chainsaw Man" at Barnes and Noble."

You're a liar, I think. "Go back and see if they are still there. They sell for $30 dollars on Ebay right now."

Kid shrugs, "I've already got #8."

"Uh, did you buy it online? Because I can sell unicorns online." 

Blank look. No one every seems to get what I'm getting to. If I offer them a unicorn online, they for some reason will believe it. Offer it in my store and they're going to say, "Can I see it?"

I turn my back on the kid. But he follows me and shows me his phone, "See? I'm getting it in December."

Long slow burn of a look. "I'm not talking about 5 months from now! I'm talking about now."

Here's the thing I've learned over the years. If you tell someone they can't get something, they don't just see this as advice, of trying to save them from multiple trips to multiple store on a fool's errand. They see it as a challenge. And almost inevitably they'll pull the exception out of their hat.

You can also draw a straight flush out of deal, it happens, but it's not something you bet on in advance. 

Still, they for some reasons seem to think I'm trying to keep them from getting what they want--from elsewhere. (Honestly,  could care less if they get it from elsewhere. More power to them. I'm just trying to warn them that the odds aren't good.)

Oh, well. It's their time and gas money. I really don't like my integrity and honesty challenged, and I really hate to have people think I'm inefficient or, worse, incompetent. I literally check the wholesalers every single day, which I suspect most store don't. 

Anyway, this is just a roundabout way of saying there are probably going to be more and more shortages in the long tail of distribution. I mean, it could clear up, but I suspect it's only beginning. There is a long lead time on these things.