First it was bikes — now it's pools. With families stuck at home and many summer camps closed amid the coronavirus pandemic, beaches and community pools closed, there's a run on backyard pools.
"Pools are the hottest commodity this summer," said Steven Metz, owner of Central Jersey Pools in New Jersey.
Metz said sales have tripled this season, and for the first time ever, he's completely sold out of above-ground pools, until at least mid-July.
"We're 63 years in business and I've never seen a summer like this," Metz said. "When people found out that camps were gonna be closed or when they were stuck at home, they wanted to invest in their own homes. And they decided that they wanted a pool."
Michelle Wiener, a mom of four, is one of the lucky ones, and she said her in-ground pool will be put to good use because her kids' summer sleepaway camp has been shut down.
"This will definitely save our summer," she said.
Katie Garrecht, who babysits her 3-year-old granddaughter at her home in New Jersey, ordered an above-ground pool at the beginning of quarantine, and it came just in time.
"When we knew we couldn't go anywhere, I thought, I better get on it right away, and boy did I get lucky," Garrecht said.
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