The ketchup shortage is real and some Illinois guy is really, really trying to capitalize.

I'm sure it's just a joke, but there's a guy in Coal City, about an hour and 45 minutes from Rockford selling a packet of ketchup for $1,000.

Eisen Stroup via Facebook
Eisen Stroup via Facebook
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In case you didn't know, yes, you can blame the pandemic for the ketchup shortage. ABC 7 says "Restaurants have relied heavily on takeout orders to survive during the pandemic, which has caused a need for more ketchup packets."

Now that we're creeping toward normalcy, we may get there without ketchup, or will we?

Gizmodo:

Heinz told the Journal (Wall Street Journal) that it’s “working around the clock” to build out new productions lines to meet demand, and Red Gold announced it was working with food chains to find new ways to get ketchup out to customers. Let’s just hope things don’t get bad enough where paying $400 for a squeeze of the stuff seems like a reasonable idea.

$400? It looks like we're past that in Illinois. The seller of the $1,000 ketchup packet, Eisen Stroup says on Facebook "I know what I have. No low balls. Serious offers only!"

I'd love to think Stroup is joking but if there's anything I have learned in the past 12-14 months, truth is stranger than fiction.

He's also not alone. There's a grip of people, including someone from Schaumburg, in Illinois selling ketchup packets on eBay.

eBay
eBay
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If you would have only kept every single thing you've ever owned, you too could be sitting on a potential ketchup goldmine.

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