Well as I mentioned in your other related thread - all the different dollar store chains have good deals on them around here. Locally, I find Ace Hardware to 10-20 cents higher per dozen than Walmart's price.

And here we can often get unopened boxes of lids and lids with bands at yard sales.

Also, this time of year you will start to see great bargains on them - in bulk - on eBay. Several of us bought 1000's of them there last year about this time.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Example of eBay lid listing

Check out this lid listing. Bundles of 20 for $4.95. First bundle of 20 costs you $10.00 approx. but each additional bundle of 20 is only $5.10because they combine shipping. Good price for both lids and bands. ;)

Dave

I don't know how to use Ebay or understand how it works. Maybe my husband can find a good deal on flats there. I don't need rings. Are there dealers there who just sell for a set price or do you have to stay online to keep out bidding others? I want the plain flats as I don't give canned goods for gifts.

Dollar Stores, Dollar General and Family Dollar here don't carry lids. Sorry, I thought I mentioned that already. I stopped in all the local stores yesterday and only a few had lids/rings although many sell the jars. That makes no sense to me. Why sell the jars and not the lids/lids and rings?

My husband looked at that Ebay site you recommended and those flats with bands are 50 cents EACH after shipping costs are added! That's more than we're paying locally! Regular flats are $1.49/$1.79 a doz locally and wide-mouth $1.99 a doz. Why are you paying these high Ebay prices? Go to Wal*Mart, they're cheaper there. Also, I don't need rings since I don't store jars with the rings on them. I need flats. I was hoping to find flats a little cheaper than I'm paying locally.

This is the URL you posted:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BALL-WIDE-MOUTH-MASON-JAR-CANNING-
BANDS-LID-JARS-LIDS_W0QQitemZ170188896557QQihZ007QQcate
goryZ11703QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksid
Zp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

Usually, 'flats' refer to things like grouped potted plant seedlings. A 'LID' is usually the proper term for description of a metal lid that has a compound seal used to seal canning jars. I buy 'flats' but these are sheets of sm,all plastic pots, when filled, become a square or rectanular ' sheet of plants. Lids, oth regular and wide mouth are sold at most places where the jars are sold. I prefer the regular mouth for most things as they are easiert to grab and twist with arthritic hands. The only ones I still have ot use as wide are on the 1/2 gallon jars. Wide mouth lids typially cost a little more than regular lids, due to their larger size.

Let's assume that it is you that doesn't understand how it works rather than me, ok? Especially since you already said you don't use eBay on any regular basis as many of us do.

You didn't understand the eBay listing's prices. The first set of 20, as I said above, is $10.00 including shipping. True, that is high - the point is to get you to buy in bulk.

All the subsequent sets of 20 are only $5.00 including shipping. 20 lids and bands for $5.00 is cheaper than you can buy 12 anywhere else. It's .25 cents per lid and band (not 50 cents each) and the more you order the cheaper they get - that's the way bulk buying with combined shipping works (as was explained to you in the citric acid discussion).

The seller has over 8000 available. The more you buy the cheaper they are. Buy 500 and they are around a nickel apiece.

But you don't want bands too - fine - it was just given to you as an example of what is offered on eBay. Yet another attempt to help in what is clearly a hopeless situation.

You keep asking us where to get things and we keep offering suggestions. But you are never happy with the suggestions. Why not take them in the spirit given? After all, it isn't our fault that you can't find these things in your local stores is it? As we have mention before you are clearly going to have to find some local sources outside the city - in the country where canning is popular. 1000 of people in Tennessee can, you just have to find them.

Did you ever contact your local county AG extension office for help? They offer classes and can surely give you some info on local sources.

Dave

I get extra lids at my local grocery store. (Safeway, Price & Pride/McKay's, and Ace Hardware) I can get a better deal at Wal-Mart if I want to drive 25 miles.

Right now, I have plenty of everything. I try to stock up through out the year.

If I were to do a lot of canning, I would try e-bay. It's pretty easy and they give you instructions right there on their web site.

Lynn

Well I'm sorry I didn't understand how "bulk" works on Ebay since I don't use Ebay. Also, the page doesn't explain that you can order more "bundles" for half price with no extra charge for shipping. At least it doesn't on my PC using Mozilla as a browser. Since I didn't see it on the page I assumed you meant some other dealer selling lids. Why are you jumping down my throat? The Amazon deal fell through because they added $30 shipping when shipping was supposed to be free. In the archives for this forum I saw where others had similar problems with Amazon. And on it goes....

Lynn: Wal*Mart has the cheapest prices for the lids or "flats" as we call them. Flats are the flat part of the lid without the band as you probably already know. But they're often out of stock. Our grocery stores are Kroger, Food Lion, Publix and Aldies. Ace has them but for more than WM. I haven't heard of the other stores you mention. Here canning supplies are called "seasonal" and are only sold this time of the year just like the picnic supplies. When the fall stuff comes in they're gone until the next year.

I don't know what "bundle shipping" means. Does that mean what Dave is saying about bulk-buying?

To the math: The "flats" come to 17 cents each at WM and 25 cents each (with bands) on Ebay. So how am I saving anything if I don't need bands? I think I have a communication problem with Dave. :(

Its 'hand holding' time again?

The Kroger grocery stores here carry canning supplies, including boxes of lids and lids with rings, and I believe they leave them out year 'round. Also, the WalMarts all carry all of them year 'round. They also carry the packages of Mrs. Wages mixes for making bread & butter pickles, dill pickles, salsa, spagetti sauce, etc. year 'round. I usually can pick up any additional lids that I need from Dollar General for $1.49 per box of twelve. There was a time when I could go in at the end of the season and get the lids for .75 a box on sale, but canning has become so popular that Dollar General usually sells out before the middle of the season. Also, Big Lots and Rural King stores carry jars here, but I don't know if they carry lids or lids and rings. I usually pick the lids up for $1.49 per box every now and then throughout the year so I have plenty when major canning time comes around or any other time during the year.

Kroger is not a national chain as far as the north east, as far as I can tell. Would love to visit one someday, but they are 500 or more miles away I believe. Even the Walmarts here are substantdad and no super stores for 60 miles. If a local Sams club closed up after just 6 months, I guess these places just don't deserve our business. Popeyes Chickn, Roy Pogers, Red Lobster, Red Robin, and many others are non existant. Even the much hyped donut stores Crispy Cream went belly up here. We are fussy!!

We seem to have several issues here, so without casting aspersions in any direction, let's see if I can help a little bit.

1) Lids are called flats in some areas of the country and particularly in Canada. I do have to admit, though, that I was a bit confused at first because in my part of the country a flat is old-time farmer terminology for a crate containing 12 hallocks (pint boxes) of berries. Also, as you mentioned, flats of plants.

Either way, it's not a big issue, just a regional difference in terminology. No right or wrong.

2) The problem with finding lids is that ideally we enter canning season well-stocked. Long-time canners keep an eye out for end-of-season discounts (for those fortunate enough to live in areas where lids are stocked) and for good buys on ebay. The reality is that right now you are at the mercy of demand because it's the height of the canning season and it's hard to fix.

It might be worth your while to ask the manager of any stores that do carry lids, no matter how skimpy the stock, if they can give you a bulk price on a case or so. No harm asking.

Do they have additional lids in the warehouse? What can they do for you? The worst that will happen is a manager will say no. So you're out a phone call or a detour when you're shopping.

Don't forget Hardware stores. Here, Ace Hardware is a consistent source of canning lids and other supplies. They offer them on their website and will ship "free" to store but their prices are not competitive. However, at least they do have them available.

3) Learning new skills can be frustrating initially but worth it in the long-term. With Amazon it sounds as if you may have ordered from a Marketplace seller, which is why you were charged shipping. Amazon sells its own inventory, which usually ships free, and it also provides a venue for other business to sell their products. Generally they do charge shipping at a set rate, which may or may not be competitive. You have to pay careful attention to which is which.

Ebay is a tremendous resource, but it's Buyer Beware. There are auctions, but there are also Buy It Now options and Ebay Stores which sell for a set price and shipping rate.

With both Amazon and Ebay reading skills probably count for more than tech skills. The information is there on the page, but it's often "buried." If it's helpful intitially, print out the page, read, hi-light and figure out exactly what's going on without the pressure of being online.

When money is tight it's just critical to use every strategy possible including becoming comfortable with new technologies and sources.

I'm not a product of the computer age. I grew up around Mennonites who farmed with horses. I stacked wood, cooked on a wood stove at least some of the time, learned to keep a Kerosene lamp burning clean, gutted chickens, made soap, quilted, canned, baked bread, used a hand pump and got more familiar with a scrub board and wringer washer than I care to remember.

I was well into adulthood before I came anywhere near a computer. But now with gas prices skyrocketing and a spouse whose health issues make it difficult sometimes to leave the house, I can't imagine being deprived of the opportunity to compare prices and buy products not available or too expensive in our small town.

You've had some negative experiences but I hope you don't give up.

Carol

Well said Carol. Hopefully it will help.

Well I'm sorry I didn't understand how "bulk" works on Ebay since I don't use Ebay. Also, the page doesn't explain that you can order more "bundles" for half price with no extra charge for shipping. At least it doesn't on my PC using Mozilla as a browser. Since I didn't see it on the page I assumed you meant some other dealer selling lids.

OK, you don't understand eBay. I'm sorry I even suggested it. But the fact that you don't understand eBay doesn't make the info provided any less valuable, much less wrong. Read the entire listing because I'm using the same browser and it is all there bright as day.

"Yes, we combine shipping and each additional bundle of 20 is shipped for 15 cents each."

Yet instead you choose to imply that I'm so stupid as to be buying lids for 50 cents apiece on eBay! Sorry, I'm not that dumb. You don't want bands. Fine, as I said I only gave it to you as an example - shortly there will be all kinds of bulk listings on eBay for just lids...by the hundreds - and I thought you might be interested in that source.

Why are you jumping down my throat? The Amazon deal fell through because they added $30 shipping when shipping was supposed to be free. In the archives for this forum I saw where others had similar problems with Amazon. And on it goes....

Bulk purchasing is bulk purchasing now matter where it is done. And price is price. We don't set the prices so we don't need to be told how they are just too high. Welcome to the current economy where the rest of us live.

But that is not my point. My point was - you make it very difficult and trying to help you. We keep trying to answer your questions but our answers are never good enough for you. You always have some argument or some negative response to the info we provide. None of the problems you have encountered are our fault, they are yours, yet we get all the complaints and you repeatedly imply that we some how steered you wrong, gave you false info.

As Carol said, Amazon offers free shipping if you buy it from them. If you order it from one of their vendors they don't. You don't have to be computer or Amazon or even eBay literate to deal with them successfully. You just have to read all the info provided carefully and then email and ask them if you have questions. It really is quite easy and millions do it successfully every day.

eBay provides extensive details about how to use their services and every single listing provides you with a direct email link to the seller for any questions you may have.

Your stores don't carry canning supplies. Then the logical solution, as has been suggested several times, is to find other stores. Get out of the city, dig out the phone book, call the county extension office, check the local freebie papers for ads, or go to the farmers market and ask questions.

Check out Where to Buy Canning Supplies in Middle Tennessee and see what all they link to. Their main page lists all sorts of farms, U-Pick, farm stores, and organizations in all the middle Tenn. counties. Call around - any one of them can likely tell you where they get canning supplies locally.

So if the answers we give to your questions don't appeal to you or don't work for you for some reason, why not just say something like "Thanks for trying to help" rather than pointing out to us why the effort we made was pointless as far as you are concerned.

It would go a long way towards winning some friends.

Dave

Good gracious ksrogers no wonder you are so grouchy sometimes!! I would be to without those stores. I thought we lived in the sticks. Our little County does not have much, but at least we are within 30 miles or so of civilization. Now if I could just figure out how to use that ....search button.....DT

Carol: I will not give up despite the roadblocks of living where canning is not popular anymore. Where busy store managers want to brush people off when asking for items they don't carry or only carry seasonally. I wont give up in ordering things online despite some bad experiences I've had and those I've heard of from others. I'm apparently not going to have a choice but to order things online. And yes, flats can pertain to those "flats" that hold the "cellpacks" plants are transported in. I have a stack of them and cellpacks out in the smaller storage building. :)

Popcorn: It sounds like Ken is in the middle of nowhere. What on earth do people do for fun and entertainment so far from civilization? I'd go bananas with cabin fever and loneliness. I'm 6 miles from a small city with most of the big names stores and several malls. I'm 12 miles from an even larger city where you can find just about anything, but canning supplies are in short supply. When I moved here in the late 1970s it was a rural agricultural area. Now it's becoming Yuppieville.

Dave: You're right. Thank you for the advice. I'll start making more phone calls this week..... never know what will turn up. I've been letting my frustration get to me and it's showing on this Forum. Accept my apologies.

I'm glad you're not giving up. The supplies you need are out there somewhere. It's just a matter of sticking with it until you find them. Then you become the "local expert"!

Carol

Kroger's is a regional grocery chain in based in Cincinnati and serves the mid-west and select areas adjacent to the mid-west. It's a pretty darn good store.

Oh! If you happen to be in the Cincinnati area, skip Kroger and head directly to Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield. Aside from the open air markets of Singapore, it's the most amazing food shopping experience I've ever had. I recommend going there with cash only since you can get carried away by the place and end up spending far more than you intended. I know this from experience. lol

greenhouser,
I've shopped at ebay but it was years ago before ppl just wanted to charge an arm and leg for things. ebay in my opinion used to be really cool. Now it just seems like a bunch of businesses. Shipping has gone up so much besides. I'm not saying you can't find good deals but it is tough. And just when you think you have landed one of those great deals a sniper comes in at the last second and rips it away. So I choose to shop online at a regular site or locally. And yes flats means many things big deal. A little common sense and everyone should of known what you were referring to. And I doubt you are looking for hand holding in a garden forum...hehe!!! Gee whiz! And us folks in the sticks (lives 40 miles from most major shopping etc) For fun we listen to the corn grow, watch deer eat our sunflower out of the bird feeder, watch wild rabbits go nuts doing flips in the yard along with pocket gophers making a mess of the lawn. And in the looooooong winters we watch moose eat our trees. And most of all we enjoy the -50f wind chill...NOT!! Happy flat finding!

Yup, planning ahead for home canning just doesn't start with the produce. According to Ball and the others (Altrista) and now part of Jarden. They refer to the metal tops as lids, and have been doing so for as long as I can remember. Descriptive words like Frappes=milkshakes, bags=sacks, and many more are obvioulsy used throughout the USA, so it can get confusing. I was woindering who a flat of plants would sit on a canning jar? Keep watch for sales, and clearances. These can happen as early as mid August, but you gotta be there, or be square.

Ken: I will be watching for sales. I know where they keep the canning supplies in all the local stores. I plan to run by those isles every time I visit those stores which are sometimes once a week or so. :) Maybe I'll get lucky.

farmgal: I went over Ebay and got the impression it was a lot of businesses. Also, got the impression they were Flea Marketers moved online if you know what I mean. My husband said the same thing about being outbid the last minute on things on Ebay. I wasn't aware he was that familiar with it.
I know what you mean about watching the rabbits scamper and the deer browse for excitement... that's why I go to town at least twice a week. I love the wildlife but have to know there are still human beings out there somewhere. :)

Walmart is the spot here to grab the lids/flats. Cant belive the difference in prices and those of the Ace Hardware store. Will check out Dollar General but really doubt they have any.

ML

Used to live nearby in a slightly town, dry, no chain stores, no bars, no liquors. People leave doors unlocked all the time. Police are few as is most crimes.

With so much going on daily, I never have any time to sit and wonder what to do next. I guess its all due to up bringing. Today kids get bored very easily, and many tend to be very lazy, and lacjk even the slightst dermination and drive. Curiosity for me is always an adventure no matter what. Here, school kids act as 'volunteers' at local hospitals as transport patients around. I spent a weekend a few years back to find some canning jars in a hurry, as it was a batch sitting on my stove waiting to be put in a few more jars. My last hope was a 100 year old True Value hardware store on Main street and lo and behold JARS! Also wax, and a few pickle mixes!! It was amazed as this was in mid August. The jar cases were just $6.99 each for quarts, and %5.99 for pints. They also had boxes of 25 lids at $2.50. Since then, I now know they are still local, and oddly enough I could have walked there, over the train tracks, as it was less than 1/4 mile away!
My town here has only two cops on duty out on the roads every day. The third is in the office answering calls and dispatch.

I sell and buy on eBay all the time. ANYONE can do this!! Craigs List is also similar, but there you must be very careful. At least eBay and their partnership with Pay Pal, the international bank can help get you satisfation. A recent purchase I made there was for a specific LCD screen for a computer I was fixing. It was not as described and even after receiving it, I had to battle a bit with the seller. I was sure not going to pay the costs of shipping the wrong item either! After several attempts of a an unacceptable solution with the seller, I notified Pay Pal and was almost immediately refunded my money. Pay Pal also informed me that if there were insufficent funds for the refund it would suspend all the sellers finacial transactions until I got my settlement. Two years ago, it was worse case, and after not even being able to reach a eBay seller, I was given a $100 gift certificate for ANYTHING I wanted to buy on eBay. The seler was n
banned, and shut down. I was involved with eBays original pilot program for toll free 800 number assistance, and that is now in place permanently.

Many times a seller may not be exact in the first page of description, but once a price is entered and you see the next pages, it can usually tell you that there are more than one of an item, and asks you how many you want.

Mozilla is quite basic an bit limited right now, and even Netscape (I still prefer to use) is being killed fast, now that AOL owns it. The latest is of course MS Internet Explorer 7, but I much prefer I.E. version 6 which is still very stable. There is also FIREFOX, which is fast becoming a big favorite (especially for anti- Microsoft fans!)

I'm still waiting for the local Big Lots to get their Golden Harvest jars and maybe lids..

We were at BiLo Sunday and they had regular size on sale for $1.59 but THEN there was a coupon on the back for a dollar off. We got them for .59 - needless to say we bought all that they had!

I also have to add a strong defense of eBay. Don't use it if you wish but don't write it off based on a limited experience or without exploring it thoroughly first.

As Ken said above, it has come along way and it's primary focus is protecting the buyer,not the seller, so many safeguards are in place. In 10 years of dealing with them as both a buyer and a seller, I have had only 1 negative experience and that was quickly corrected.

It is NOT just a lot of business or flea market sellers. Granted most of the big name department and general goods stores we have all known for years such as Penney's, Sears, Ace, etc. now have "stores" on eBay, the majority of the eBay "stores" are individually owned and operated small businesses and the majority of the sellers are still home based individuals.

You can also choose the tab to shop Auctions (and maybe get out bid) or the Buy It Now listings where no bidding is involved or the Make Best Offer listings and negotiate directly with the seller. It is your choice which you want to do.

There are many really good bargains available there for both small lots and bulk lots, both new and used merchandise, that the informed buyer can benefit from. So discrediting it as a source is cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. ;) Something none of us want to do.

Other alternatives well worth investigating are overstock.com and bestbuy.com

Dave

PS: Disclaimer: I don't work for eBay. Just would prefer to see them get a fair shake. ;)

Here the lids and rings are about the same price as everywhere else, it seems. We calls them "lids" or "flats" depending on the day. LOL You can also buy a flat of plants, which is 48 now (although it used to be 60) or a flat of berries, which has historically been 12 quarts here, but now are 8.

I reuse my rings until they rust, then I replace them. I buy supplies at my local family-run hardware store, they've been run by the same family for 125 years or so. They cost about 12 cents more for a box of lids/flats, but I'd rather give them my money than any of the big corporations.

None of the dollar stores here sell canning supplies either and my grocery store is also an independent. Here in my town of about 800 residents we do have one stoplight and a Subway. For excitement we watch the traffic light change. If I get really bored I go to the farm and work in the garden, ride my horse, try to avoid the growing population of black bears while I try to get to the ripe blackberries before they do. We also do things like can pickles and jams for competition in the county fair, where we stay to watch the neighbor kid do his first try at bull riding. We also get together to visit him at the hospital afterward. (grin) Hey, we like it.

I've used eBay a couple of times but I don't like it. It requires too much "watching" to actually win a bid on something and many times the shipping is more expensive than the item. That's because I have very little patience, heck, I won't even go to the movies because I'd have to sit still for AN HOUR AND A HALF and I just can't do it. LOL

Happy Canning.

Annie

I can live with the "buy now" but the auction turns me off. I'm also going to check out overstock.com and bestbuy.com.

Here Ace is .40 higher per box of 12 lid-flats than Wally World. I do give Ace some business but will be buying my "flats" at WM. :)

I do give Ace some business but will be buying my "flats" at WM.

Sounds like a good plan to me. ;)

Dave

Greenhouser, maybe if you ask the manager of Ace if they have a Meet or Beat price you can get the lids for the same price that Walley sells them for. No harm in asking.....DT

Overstock.com tends to be a bit pricy. I have compared things there with Amazon and others and have seen lower prices eleswhere. Best Buy is only electronics, but in the stores with open box (returned) items, you can get some good deals. There is a utility at eBay that can send off an instant message about an up-bid. Usually if its an action item, I will be a first low bidder, watch it a while and make note of its end time and date. You can get very lucky at 4 AM on a sunday morning if the bidding happens very slowly. Also, a single second and you have lost to someone else for a nickel more. True Value stores seem to have a bit more selection of canning items. I also see some at a local Agway store. They still want our business and are hruting (due to HD and Lowes) for business, so they can order items too. Another place, if you have one is a Christmas Tree Shop. Avoid hobby and craft stores. They want $3 for a single empty jar. I usually dont have good luck at Ace. A bit too slick and modern. If the store was there 50 years agom, its a good chance they are well aware of canning stuff.

Soon, I will be posting some new replacement inverter boards for a Gateway Profile 4 computer display. They tend to fail and kind of hard to find, but I have several. Sold my old 5 pound capacity sausage stuffer there, as well as two meat slicers, and a small tenderizer device. Shipping fo everyone is not free, unless the ad states this. Sometimes shipping as well as handling are also added. Its all posted wth no hidden cost. You simply cannot leave blanks for a charge. If the item is selling low priced, and you add in the S&H it can be the same price as one selling elsewhere for the same $$. Speaking up, and then giving up are not compatible.

Popcorn: Ace doesn't do that. I already asked when I bought my canner through them. I'm surprised they're still in business with a new HD and Lowe's in the same town plus a Wal*Mart 2 miles down the road. They're higher than everyone else but they do know their stuff and you get individual care from the employees there.