Seller stupidity. Sometimes it amazes me.
There's a food item that i'm addicted to.
It's sold on Amazon but for some reason it wont ship to Hawaii.
I found one for sale on ebay.
I asked the seller "What's the expiration date on this item?"
Simple question.
The seller replied: "20 days".
That's the oddest expiration date i've ever seen.
No sale.
40 comments
rugerskick
·8 months agoThe seller probably took your question to mean WHEN is the expiration date on the item. And they replied, in 20 days.
inhawaii
OP8 months agoThat is what I meant.
I wanted and asked for a expiration date.
Have you ever seen an expiration date on a food product that said "20 days"?
20 days from when? When I ask? When I buy? When I received the item?
Ridiculous.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoNow that you've mentioned what the item is, have to ask: wouldn't most cookies last at least awhile longer than the sell-by date?
skatefool
·8 months agoSure thing, if you want to eat frosted cardboard.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoThank you for your reply. So, a tasty cookie that the OP likes, and has a best by date of 01/11/26, will suddenly turn into "frosted cardboard" as of midnight on that date? Very interesting.
pickapaper
·8 months ago@inhawaii
If it is the hearty bean with ham soup you are speaking of, and you are "addicted" to it, and you can buy a case of it okay (but not a single can), why not buy a case of it? BTW, I wouldn't worry too much about the expiry date on canned soup. Even if past the expiry date, it is still okay to eat, the nutrients just may have diminished. I've eaten things that were a year or two or more past expiry; just depends on what it is.
Expiry dates are put on things by the manufacturer as a guideline, not a "be all, end all". That's kind of like "serving size" suggestions manufacturers put on food products. Some are totally ridiculous.
EDIT: Now I see it is not the soup, it is cookies. Oh, well.
gloryglorygifts
·8 months agoJust wondering if it is a food item that is only sold through Fresh Direct or Whole Foods or if it is Amazon marketplace? You won't get it from the first two unless it is within driving distance. Only Amazon ships.
How have you been feeding your addiction?
Sounds like you would have to eat it right away if you bought from the ebay seller. 😂 No problemo!
muddylas
·8 months agoI'm sorry. YOU certainly don't have to answer, BUT, all I can think about is what this food item is that is generating this post. WHAT is IT?
Please, don't worry about this - it will probably keep awake all night just thinking, don't feel guilty, not your problem..........but.................
inhawaii
OP8 months agoNo problem.
It's not a secret.
Quest strawberry 📠frosted cookies.
I can't find them here.
12345jamesstamps
·8 months agoFunny...probably drop shipper...language problem...
And when you say bean with 'ham' I think of 'spam'.
Or maybe seller thinks it real ham 🤪
simba6
·8 months agoMost things keep well past the date.
sin-n-dex
·8 months agoI volunteer at the food bank. We will hand out food that's up to 2 years past code (if it's canned), something like a bag of pasta would be 1 year past code. Stuff like baby formula we don't hand out once it's out of code.
C.
kibble-net
·8 months agoI bet if you asked this seller if they have any condiments, they'll respond "no but I have regular mints".
jdbelt1960
·8 months agoI thought buying food items online odd but realized you are in Hawaii. I like southern food and am sure cannot get pig feet, chitterlings and okra there LoL.
ten_o_nine
·8 months agoIf you're addicted, you weren't planning on letting it sit for 20 minutes, just buy it.😂
Or I can buy it and ship it to you, but you'll have to pay me FVF + Promotional fees, and fees on taxes, plus 90c.
hotwheelsbum
·8 months agoDid you ask WHEN is the expiration date, or WHAT is the expiration date?
Think about it.....😄
Now, if you want to get started on stupid questions and stupid answers from Buyers, set aside about 7 hours for me to tell you some stories.
I once had a Brown Leather Chair for sale on CL, MP.
Description said BROWN Leather Chair. Pictures showed a BROWN Leather Chair.
Possible Buyer called up to ask about chair. In the short conversation he actually asked "What color is that BROWN Leather Chair you have for sale?" Stunned for a minute I answered, It's Pink with Yellow Stripes. He came back and said "But the pictures are description says and shows it's BROWN".
I just sat there in silence until he finally hung up.
meme6253
·8 months agoWhat shade of brown??
skatefool
·8 months agoMaybe Amazon won't ship it to Hawaii *perhaps* because the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity prohibits it.
inhawaii
OP8 months agoNo, it's nothing exotic or dangerous, it's just a screw up.
Example:
I buy Campbell's Chunky Soup from Amazon.
Here in Hawaii it's $3.00+ a can on sale.
On Amazon It's $1.90 a can with free shipping to my door.
A can of chicken corn chowder = ok to ship to Hawaii.
A can of sirloin burger = ok to ship to Hawaii.
A can of hearty bean with ham = not ok to ship to Hawaii.
A case of hearty bean with ham = ok to ship to Hawaii.
lakefor94
·8 months ago@inhawaii ,
Are these 3rd party sellers that don't ship to Hawaii or is it coming from an AMZ warehouse?
inhawaii
OP8 months agoThe soup, Amazon.
I figure it's error of some kind.
The other item, third party seller.
adamcartwright
·8 months ago@inhawaii
I would offer to ship it to you, but it would cost you more than $3/can that way.
I'm actually surprised your local market isn't price gouging you on it, given you can't get it from Amazon.
I wonder which ingredient is banned?
sakic92710
·8 months agoIf you want to hear about price gouging, I can buy a box of cookies at a dept. store for $1.50. The local "convenience" store charges $5.29! lol Needless to say, I buy very little from those crooks.
marnotom!
·8 months agoBesides a lower markup at the department store, the price difference can likely also be attributed to the convenience store having to source the cookies from a more expensive source. Not all stores can buy directly from the manufacturer.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoFirst of all, think about the word "convenience". Most convenience stores are situated in neighborhoods and yes, are small by choice. They usually sell bread and milk and a very limited selection of other items. It's a "stop by on my way home from work and pick up a pack of buns" situation. They cannot buy in bulk like the big stores, so they pay more for their merchandise and thus you pay more for the ease of shopping. It's doubtful that very many people do their entire week's shopping there.
They are not crooks, just small business people trying to serve their neighborhoods and support their families. On behalf of all of these merchants, I resent your labeling them that way.
inhawaii
OP8 months agoThanks for the offer.
I honestly don't think it's about a banned ingredient.
I think some human being at Quest decided ... let's not ship these to Hawaii (like a lot of ebay sellers do).
hotwheelsbum
·8 months agoIt's not that. Quest Nutrition is just a small No-Name product that doesn't have the National Name Brand going for it yet for it to be cost effective to be shipping and retailing their products to and in Hawaii.
Out of Curiosity, I went to the Store Locator on their website to see what stores carry it here. We have all the major stores here. United(owned by Albertsons), a couple of Food Kings(owned by Lowes) an HEB, with another one on the way, 5 Walmart Supercenters, 2-3 Walmart Neighborhood stores, Costco, Sam's, 2 Targets, one older one that's been in its location 50 years now, a HUGE massive newer one, CVS and Walgreens all over the place, so on. ONLY Target and GNC carry Quest Products in this entire area.
The human being that writes the Checks at Quest said "Nope, we're not doing Hawaii. Not going to happen". 😄
inhawaii
OP8 months agoJust thought it was weird that I can have heavy cases of soup or soda shipped here, and I often do because it's cheaper. but not a box of cookies.
I believe Quest is located on the west coast. They'll ship to the east coast but not to Hawaii???
meme6253
·8 months agoA can of hearty bean & ham=No, But a case=Yes, Makes no sense, Who comes up with these rules & restrictions?
lonebuck-books
·8 months agoI just had a can of that last week. Good stuff.
To be fair, with the beans it does become a bit "explosive" after a few hours so air shipping might be a problem.....
soh.maryl
·8 months agoIf this is an item that cannot be shipped to Hawaii from Amazon, what dos that have to do with the seller's reply of 20 days?
Am in agreement with those who feel the seller is saying that the expiration date or best by date is 20 days from the date that Hawaii asked about it.
biggymoe
·8 months agoI believe most food items have a "Best By" date, not an expiration, throw away date.
sakic92710
·8 months agoI would take it to mean it will expire in 20 days from day you asked him the question.
itsjustasprain
·8 months agoYes.
Sometimes it is possible to overthink things.
sin-n-dex
·8 months agoYeah that's what the seller said, but I think they understood it to be about the listing.
With food it should be understood it's the expiry date of the item. If someone messaged me and asked about expiry I would assume they meant when does the listing end.
C.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoWhy would anyone need to ask when the listing will end when that information is always shown in the listing?
xadexane
·8 months agoSame reason we have to ask what color is the brown chair in the listing.
sin-n-dex
·8 months agoI think they were answering "when does this listing expire?" So the listing probably ends in 20 days.
C.
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months agoThe US population grew from 300,000,000 to 450,000,000 in 60 short years.
Many are 2nd/3rd cousins and most individuals have no idea.
They are just 'brilliant' that way.
Think back to 3rd Grade in the 1960s/70s.
How many were 'below' average?
johnrj1226
·8 months agoWonder where the other 100 million folks hide in those 60 years - Currently it's estimated the US pop is 347 million for 2025.and was 195 million in '65.