Stores running low on AC units as Vancouver hit with first wave of summer heat
Metro Vancouver is experiencing its first stretch of hot summer weather this weekend and people are scouring stores looking for air conditioners and fans to cool off – some being met with empty shelves.
Sharina Seseene and Tyler Lotzeselle, a couple who recently moved to Vancouver from Edmonton, said they went to three stores looking for a portable AC unit.
"At Home Depot, they don't have any in stock anymore. So, we found this at Canadian Tire," said Seseeme, pointing to her new unit.
They consider themselves lucky to have found one in time.
"We heard last year it was a hot summer, so we're just getting ahead of it," said Lotzeselle.
And they're not the only ones getting ahead.
Thomas Lai, the general manager of Vancouver's Visions Electronics, said he's received dozens of inquiries over the last few days from customers looking to purchase an air conditioner.
"I would say anywhere between 30 to 40 phonecalls a day. When it gets really hot, it can go up to hundreds," he said.
His store only started selling AC units a few years ago after he noticed an increased demand.
"The weather is just getting unpredictable, but I think it's going that way. It's getting hotter and hotter every year now," said Lai.
Even then, not many were prepared for last year's record-breaking heat dome that killed more than 600 British Columbians.
"Last year, we didn't have enough stock. So that's why this year, we have a lot more to get ready for the rush," Lai said.
Some local residents are taking advantage of these warm temperatures and upselling their AC units online.
The Tosot Portable Air Conditioner sells for $649.99 on the Best Buy website, but one seller on Facebook Marketplace tried selling it used for $1500 before marking it down to $500.
Many businesses expect to sell out of their AC units in the next few weeks and urge customers to purchase one immediately before they run out.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.