'The selling of Y2K survival
Merchants are cashing in on goods to help you prepare for the millennium
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - If you believe the most dire predictions involving the Year 2000 bug, then you're convinced the world's financial systems will come to a halt, food shipments will be delayed, millions will be without water and electricity, and airplanes will suddenly disappear from radar - all of which will result in chaos in the streets that will make Escape From New York seem like a trip to Disneyland.
Though few people believe the Y2K bug is an early warning of a coming apocalypse, several companies are making money off selling survival gear just in case the world does come crashing down around us.
The Y2K issue, also known as the millennium bug, refers to problems computers may face during the transition from 1999 to 2000 because many computers are programmed to only recognize the last two digits of the year. Computers may recognize 2000 as 1900 or will cease to function altogether.
With all the talk of the massive amounts of equipment that will be affected by the Y2K bug, a slew of decidedly untechnological gear is providing a windfall for a number of merchants that largely move their wares on the Web.
Survival of the Y2K fittest
For Y2K Web merchants, preparedness is next to godliness. You won't have to search the Internet long before you find a number of firms that offer some sort of Y2K readiness package.
One Web-based company, y2kdepot.net, offers a Y2K Emergency Preparedness Kit for $200. The equipment list reads like a Christmas list for soldiers, former Boy Scouts and Luddites: a magnesium firestarter (apparently, matches and cigarette lighters may not work when the millennium strikes); two field bath wash cloths; a pocket stove; military-spec rations; a hand-pump flashlight; and a 100-foot survival cord.
These types of packages constitute your basic survival-gear fare. But now that they're marketed as "Y2K survival gear," the products are moving out the door faster than you can say computer crash.
Another firm, Dade City, Fla.-based Y2K Survival Supply Co., offers such items as power generators, water storage and filtration systems and food supplies.
Bob Cortese, Y2K Survival vice president, said the company's sales have grown "exponentially" over the last four months, so much so that the firm has had trouble getting available power generators from its suppliers.
The hottest-selling item, however, is the one-year supply of freeze-dried food.
"A lot of our customers are not scared; they're getting ready just in case," Cortese said.
Cortese added that the company plans to offer its own Y2K survival kit - complete with food, generator and water storage - on its site by next week.
Mother Mary's message
B&A Products, a Bunch, Okla.-based distributor run by the husband-and-wife team of Byron Kirkwood and Annie Kirkwood, took a somewhat unique route in helping people prepare for potential Y2K problems.
Kirkwood created the company in 1992 after receiving inspiration from a bestselling book Annie wrote called Mary's Message to the World. Part of the book deals with warnings given by Mary, the Mother of Jesus, regarding the "earth changes" to come in the millennium.
"I made a list of things I wanted that weren't readily available," Kirkwood said. "The goal of the company was to help people prepare for unexpected emergencies."
B&A offers such goods as hand-crank and solar-powered radios, water filters and fuel preservers. Though Byron Kirkwood declined to give specific figures, he said the company has seen its sales increase five to 10 times since June, a surge he attributes to Y2K readiness.
"Some people are calling in a state of panic and maxing out their credit cards," he said.
Like other merchants, B&A offers its own series of Y2K survival kits, priced from $100 to $725. Included in its kits are everything from toilet paper to snake-bite equipment to a folding shovel.
The hottest selling items, however, have been the BayGen hand-crank radios, Katadyn water filters and long-shelf-life food.
Food for thought
Food supply, in fact, is a hot item among Y2K survival goods. One of the fears associated with the millennium bug is that food shipments, which are dependent on computerized scheduling, could be delayed.
A CNNfn.com Y2K poll revealed that while most people are relatively unconcerned about the effects of the millennium bug, more than 60 percent of the respondents believe computerized shipments of goods, such as food, will be delayed.
Irving, Tx.-based Sam Andy Foods, offers a selection of low-moisture foods and recommends families create food banks. The company even posts suggested menus on its site.
Sam Andy has been in business for 44 years, selling its long-term food supplies to outdoorsmen, schools, non-profit organizations and the military. The company also offers such survival gear as compasses, propane stoves and - you guessed it - solar-powered and hand-crank radios.
Sharon Skipworth, a Sam Andy dealer in Forth Worth, Tx., said she has seen a 2,000-percent sales increase in the last year and a half.
"In a good month I'll see $20,000 in business," she said. "In the first two weeks in January, I turned in $100,000."
Skipworth's hottest selling product is the year supply of food for a family, which sells for $1,695.
"A lot of people are concerned. They're almost in a state of panic," she said. "I get people who want to stock up on food for a month to people who are moving out of their homes and going back to farm."
Though Y2K worries have been the biggest boost to her sales, Skipworth is quick to point out that she isn't out to profit from people's fears.
"I don't want Y2K to happen," she said. "I like to have my refrigerator and dishwasher working."
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from cnnfn.com
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