New York Bakers discontinued their retail store because shipping was getting too difficult for them.

I suspect finding help was part of their problem and is part of the problem at BRM, too.

I've not ordered much directly from BRM, but as to 'wide availability' there are quite a few products that they still make that I can't find locally. And they've discontinued a LOT of products.

I think the last time I ordered semolina it was a 25 pound bag from BRM, but I got it through somewhere like webstaurant.com, because their cost with shipping was less than from BRM by about $10.

One advantage of ordering from Amazon is that they have their own distribution network and some of their third party shippers have written that Amazon gets a better deal from UPS, USPS and FEDEX than they could get independently. But I will agree that problems with ordering from Amazon seem to be on the upswing. But it is also getting harder to find things locally, as stores are cutting products a lot, even WalMart. I was looking for some brackets to hang some curtains, nobody locally carried the type of bracket I wanted and their estimate on when they could get them was 2 weeks or longer.

But I do cringe these days when an Amazon order says it is being handled by USPS.

I've only ordered from walmart.com a few times, the last time it was a total disaster. The product never arrived, apparently it got damaged in transit and they sent me a notice about that but it took two months to get a refund. I did get a big tub of wheat berries from them once, but I went looking for it again the other day and it wasn't there.

Our Costco has King Arthur AP flour in 12 pound bags, I think the last one I bought was either $6.99 or $7.99.

I received the same email that Aaron did.

I exclusively use BRM whole wheat flour, which I think has a sweeter taste than King Arthur's due to being stoneground. I'm also a fan of their Artisan Bread flour. Both of those will be hard to source locally. When I was at Kroger, ten days ago, there was no BRM whole wheat flour, and they have never carried the artisan bread flour. I've also not seen their pastry flour, so I ordered it from them. I have not seen their whole wheat pastry flour for some time. I've never seen their milk powder, which is essential for my yogurt and also in my baking. No place here carries their beans. I did, to my surprise see a package of their barley on my last trip to Kroger, which surprised me because I had to order it after searching in vain a couple of years ago. I have never seen oat bran locally.

I like the BRM oats, but I think that I can get similar nutritional advantage from Quaker Oats, for maybe a little less money. I already know to avoid the Aldi's oats.

Aaron--I also like the King Arthur white whole wheat, which I use when I do not want the upfront whole wheat taste. I use it in most of my cookies and also with oatmeal muffins when I want the oat flavor at the front. King Arthur does sell the white whole wheat flour online. I'm in their Baker's Advantage Program, so I order several bags at a time and stick them in the extra refrigerator. I can usually combine that order with other essentials, such as the KABC cheese powder or the special dry milk. No store in my area carries the white whole wheat flour.

That's interesting about some bakers building out their own mills. I wonder if part of that trend resulted from the pandemic shortages. It would also perhaps cut down on transportation costs, and it gives bakers more control over grind.

Stores in my area are more likely to carry the Bob's Red Mill gluten-free products, which is fine for people who need them, but add to the cost for those of us who do not need the gluten-free products. They are also more likely to carry the organic, since that is a niche market for them. I sometimes buy organic and sometimes not.

I will be doing orders on Walmart.com. Usually, it is not Walmart but smaller companies that use their distribution system. That is how I found the Scottish oatmeal and the milk powder.

Ouch--on the pastry flour, Mike. I like to use part whole wheat pastry flour and part white pastry flour in my pie crusts, but there is no way that I would go through four bags of white pastry flour.

I wonder if employee-run companies tend to get greedy. They certainly get on the "we must be more modern" bandwagon. BRM has moved into mixes and prepared products, such as crackers and snack bars. I found their crackers far too salty, and the snack bars are high in saturated fat.

When I complained, politely, about their no longer selling barley flour, I was told that they need the production facilities for exciting new products. The responder did send me a list of places to try--not a one was of any use. I finally bought a five-pound bag of "Food to Live" brand through Walmart.com. A lot of smaller grain and bean providers sell through Walmart.com. That was where I had to go for my rye flakes.