Top 10 Difficult to Find Stores Online

Contributed by Lindsay Shugerman, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Searching for hard-to-find products and online stores using the internet can be both frustrating and rewarding.

Even though finding stores online is less harrowing than driving in circles in your car, it can be difficult to know where to find the products you are looking for among so many stores online. Here is a list of my top ten difficult to find and specialty items in stores online – I’ve already done the legwork, so click over, browse and place your order!

10. Men’s shirts for tall men who are thin

There are big and tall shops in most cities, but for some reason, they seem to confuse tall with wide. If you’ve ever had to find dress shirts for a man who is very tall, but also slender, you know the challenge. Finally, I found a website called LankyLife.com that lists companies that cater to tall, thin men and women, providing information on retailers like Orvis who offer slender cuts in their tall sizes. Thank goodness!

9. Pretty garnet jewelry

There seems to be something about garnets that makes jewelry designers want to make ugly oversized rings, garish bracelets and tacky necklaces. This one-time favorite stone of the Victorians has fallen on hard times. Thank goodness the website Just Garnets does a good job of showing what this rich burgundy stone can do in the right setting.

8. Science fair project materials

It’s hard to find all the supplies kids need for science fairs. Local lab supply houses are usually wholesale only, and most educational stores are limited to kits. Searches online for test tubes and pH paper led me into site that sell project instructions, instead of supplies. So I was very happy to find Nasco Science online. They have all the things kids need for science fair projects, at a retail price parents can afford.

7. Excellent Kosher cheeses

At a recent dinner, a friend said that the hardest Kosher products to find were really good wine and really good cheeses. He had all but given up on both because the standard selection of Kosher cheese in most stores ranges from dry and tasteless to waxy and tasteless. Then I found Kosher Taste of Italy. Delicious, real European cheeses and all Kosher! My friend is once again happily eating cheese.

6. Modern tapestries

I love the look of tapestries, but didn’t want the same old dozen or so patterns most furniture stores carry. In fact, I was hoping for some modern tapestries, but local stores had nothing. It took digging though a ton of sites that sell tapestry patterns and supplies, but I finally found a store that offers classic and modern tapestries, as well as custom tapestries.

5. A good selection of long skirts

I love wearing long skirts. Cotton or silk are both good. But it’s hard to find a good selection at the mall, or even online. Most of the search results that come up are stores with 2 or 3 longs skirts at best. A few sell oversized shapeless skirts apparently designed to hide the fact that the wearer is a woman. Not for me. Then I found AsraiStyle.com and SoulFlower.com – problem solved. Lots of pretty long skirts that fit well.

4. Sturdy dog toys

There are all kinds of websites that claim their dog toys are indestructible. Unfortunately, none of them seem to be telling the truth. My one year old Rhodesian mix has chewed through the best of them – along with a large part of my discretionary budget. This made the top 10 difficult to find online stores because I know so many other dog owners who are struggling with the same issue. The toys all seem to be made for lap dogs. Any suggestions, readers?

3. Black and white Hollywood classics on DVD

Sometimes you can spot these treasures in a bargain bin, but it can be hard to find many of Hollywood’s classic films. Big online media sites offer some of them, but most stores only carry current hits and big sellers. I hit the jackpot when I found Nostalgia Family Video. Suddenly all those old black and white films I watched on Sunday afternoons with my great Aunt were at my fingertips.

2. Lightbulbs

Lightbulbs online? Who would have thought that you could find all those specialty bulbs – like chase lights and holiday bulbs – all from the same online store. 1000bulbs.com has at least that – 1000 lightbulbs – so don’t sit in the dark a minute longer.

1. Really unique greeting cards

It’s harder than you think to find quality cards that are truly unique. So many stores and sites sell the exact same cards, renamed perhaps, but the same images, same messages. There is one online store that has broken that mold. CardGnome.com works with artists to create original works of art for their holiday and special occasion greeting cards, lets you personalize them online, and then they mail them for you. Now that’s different!

Keep on trying.

No matter what you’re looking for, odds are it’s available online somewhere. Just keep searching. Oh, and if anyone finds those indestructible dog toys, please drop me a line!