OK, I’m gonna go out on a very thin limb here and predict a massive Christmas. I acknowledge this is somewhat akin to reading tea leaves or goat entrails, but here you have it.

I have ordered a number of things online lately (well, not just lately, but you know what I mean) and maybe half of them are being delivered timely. Now your first reaction might be “OK, not enough delivery people” but that’s not the issue.

I ordered some solar panels from California 10 days ago. The FedEx tracking shows “a label has been created”. I have done this multiple times over the past couple years and it usually takes a day between “label created” and “we’ve got your package.”

I ordered a shop stool from WalMart.com, and (yes) it hasn’t been shipped yet. That was about 5 days ago.

I ordered some solar cables from Amazon, said to be “in stock” and now, oops, “We’re sorry for the delay and we’ll let you know when they’re on the way”

I expect this sort of thing from Temu, which has improved lately, but often you can just tell they’re waiting for the ship to arrive, but not from Amazon, WalMart, or RichSolar. Not from the “Christmas Gift Box” vendors we’ve used in the past, and who are struggling to keep up now.

I’m waiting for something from eBay which had “only 2 left”, and now the delivery is pushed to January. (Another waiting for the boat, I suppose.)

Anyway, people are spending - and spending - and spending. Me too.

Happy Christmas ahead, economy wise, I’m thinking.