What happened to the 10 Liter Fermenting Crocks?

As many of you have probably noticed, we are once again out of stock of the 10L Fermenting Crocks.  If you've been following along, you know that we ran out of stock at the end of September.  However, we received a shipment in the beginning of October which included all of our new holiday items and blocks sets, as well as more 10L fermenting crocks.  We decided to open up these crocks for "presale" one week before the shipment arrived so that our customers could take advantage of our Harvest Time sale.  The response was overwhelming, and before the new shipment even arrived, we were once again sold out.

ED 11/13/13 - We are now also out of stock of the 5L crocks.  We have more 5L's coming on the same shipment and will be available at the same time as the 10L crocks.  It looks like we will have the 5 & 10 liter crocks available around November 21.  

ED 11/26/13 - The shipment has been delayed in customs.  We expect to have the crocks ready to ship the week of December 9.  Both 5 & 10 liters will be posted for presale soon.

Because we import all of our products directly from Poland, it takes us 4-6 weeks to get new products after we place an order.  We have to contact the manufacturer, they make the products and then deliver them to the the shipping company we use in Poland.  Once they arrive at the shipping company, they have to be packaged on pallets and driven to the port in Germany.  In Germany, our pallets are loaded onto a ship which will make it's way to Quebec.  Then from Quebec they are loaded on a train for Chicago.  In Detroit, the train passes through customs which can delay things depending on the review process which seems to change every time.  Once in Chicago and after we have received customs clearance, we have to go to a warehouse to pick up the shipment.  As you can see, a lot has to happen for us to get the products from the manufacturer in Poland and ready for sale. 

So far we have been able to anticipate sales and place orders so that the new shipment arrives with in days of going out of stock.  However, our harvest sale was extremely popular this year.  We placed a new order as soon as we realized we would be out of stock.  The new shipment is expected to arrive in mid-November, hopefully with enough 10 Liter crocks to fulfill all the holiday orders. 

If you're anxiously awaiting more crocks to arrive, please be prepared for them to be back in stock in November.  We may go ahead and open up a presale in the week prior to the shipment arriving, similar to our approach at the beginning of October.  If you are interested in adding your name to a waiting list to be contacted first when the crocks will be going back in stock, please email emily@stonecreektrading.com.  And of course, I am always available to answer any questions you may have!

I know being out of stock can be very frustrating for some, but it means our business is growing, which means we will be able to provide more products and services to our customers!  Be sure to sign up for our newsletter (on the bottom right of the home page) to keep up to date on all the new things we are planning. 

Thanks, Emily