eBay Resellers Are Making a Fortune Off the Sriracha Shortage

California-based Huy Fong Foods first announced in April 2022 that the company was facing a severe shortage of red jalapeño peppers from farms in California, New Mexico, and Mexico that were experiencing high temperatures and unprecedented droughts. The peppers are a key ingredient to their iconic sriracha sauce, once ubiquitous in grocery stores and restaurants and now all but impossible to find. 

Over a year later, conditions have only slightly improved. Limited production of the sauce resumed in the fall of last year, but the company continues to face a strain on its supply to create its beloved hot sauce. 

In the meantime, some people who've been lucky enough to get their hands on precious bottles are turning a profit. 

If you want to snag a container of Huy Fong Sriracha, you can head over to eBay and buy directly from people who have them. But be prepared to cough up some cash. Single bottles are selling for anywhere between $30 and $90 each, as opposed to typical supermarket retail of around $5–10. One person even sold a 12-pack of 28-ounce bottles for $415, coming out to $34.58 per bottle. 

Amazon tells a similar story. Resellers are trying to offload their bottles for as low as $23 for one and as high as $100 for a pack of two. If you do buy from one of these resellers, don't expect to get it with free two-day shipping. Needless to say, Prime Day doesn't apply to this highly-sought-after condiment. 

While Huy Fong continues to recover from the ongoing pepper shortage, it might be time to temporarily start using another (perhaps less spicy) sriracha. But it goes without saying that phở will never be the same until the sauce is back in full force.