Post by MCDemuth on Oct 18, 2021 21:23:39 GMT
Bible shortage may leave holiday buyers without a prayer
Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:40 PM EDT
High-end editions delayed, 1-year versions require a quick pivot, says publisher
Sky Cline, who sells high-end Bibles via the internet, is staring down serious supply chain issues with less than six weeks to the “Black Friday” kickoff of Christmas shopping.
“We’ve tried to buy up … all the Bibles we can get” from European suppliers, Mr. Cline, owner of EvangelicalBible.com and Schuyler Publishers, said from his office in Richmond, Virginia.
The Bibles that Mr. Cline sells, bound in luxury hides and printed with wide margins for note-taking or in specialized formats, can cost $230 or more. He was so concerned about supply last week that his company emailed would-be buyers a photo of cargo ships awaiting port space and urgent advice to shop early.
“But at the end of the day, there’s going to be a shortage,” he said.
He added that the $185 “personal size” edition of the English Standard Version in blue goatskin already has sold out.
Complaints about supply chain problems have mounted in recent months, with reports of full cargo ships waiting weeks at sea to offload goods at crammed coastal ports. Labor shortages driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic have been cited for delays in delivering products as diverse as computer chips, car parts, toys and even the Good Book.
Bible retailers say a shortage will hit during the peak buying season. Virginia Geist, who owns Cedar Springs Christian Stores in Knoxville, Tennessee, said her business sells four times as many Bibles during the Advent season than at other times of the year.
Mr. Cline said Schuyler Publishers’ supply chain “is very long, and our supply chain issue, which is going to cause shortages for us, is the simple fact that transit now between Europe and the United States used to be six weeks and now can be up to three months.”
Where he would expect inventory by late October or early November, “now we’re hoping it’s going to get here in spring of 2022,” Mr. Cline said.
Complicating the transportation issues, Mr. Cline said, is that seven to 10 countries can be involved in supplying or making components for Schuyler Bibles.
The company has been importing Indian goatskin for binding since terrorism closed off its source in Nigeria, he said, but a COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian factory can shut down production for two weeks. Delays can be similar in the Chinese factory that does the stitching.
Read More Here:
www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/oct/18/bible-shortage-may-leave-holiday-buyers-without-pr/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
"No! Oh, please God, no! This can't be happening! This can't be happening!"
Not a Bible shortage...
It's the end of the world! Damn you Covid!
Meanwhile, most consumers still can't find many everyday foods and other products at grocery stores...