Well, not exactly like the Amish, if you’re ordering online. But I still wanted to draw your attention to Shetler’s Wholesale, a business based in Indiana with a long history of selling household goods to Amish via traditional catalogs. “Wholesale” is in the name, but they sell retail to individuals. They have now launched an online store, as of about three weeks ago.
I would describe Shetler’s as similar to Lehman’s, but more oriented to an Amish clientele. You can notice this when browsing their physical catalog. The online site looks like it is still being completed right now. They mostly have kitchen utensils available, with other menu categories waiting to be filled out.
Here are a few of the things you’ll find at the web store.
A snap-on covered cake pan:
A four-pack of dish cloths:
Drip coffee maker:
I share this with you because people often ask about good places to purchase the types of products used by the Amish. I frequently recommend visiting variety stores and the like. But if you can’t make it out to an Amish community, you can always order online or via mail from a source like this.
Shetler’s has been selling to the Amish for years. You can view an assortment of old catalog covers at the site. Below is the 2013 cover. Notice the 10% NEWLYWED DISCOUNT, valid for the first year of marriage, something sure to appeal to young Amish couples.
The physical business is based in Geneva, Indiana, in the large Adams County Swiss Amish community. Kevin Williams visited the bricks-and-mortar store in 2019, and did a post on some things he found there. You can find them here:
Shetler’s Wholesale
630 High St
Geneva, IN 46740
260-368-9900
When the online store is more complete, I might do another post on other interesting things they have for sale. Something to keep an eye on in the meantime.
For right now, the best way to see their full offering is to do as the Amish do and get their physical catalog. Or, you can download a pdf file of the 2019 catalog here. Given that it’s dated to last year, you’ll probably want to confirm the prices when you order.
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Helpful after bad storms!
The Midwest, particularly my family’s home state of Iowa, was just hit hard by the derecho and many will be without power for a week or more. If Shetler’s had fast enough delivery (or if similar businesses in Iowa could accommodate folks), I imagine English folks could clean them out of non-electric lamps, coffeepots, and other small appliances to make the time easier until power is restored.
That storm sounded pretty bad, though it seems like fortunately not a lot of lives were lost. I don’t know how rapidly Shetler’s delivers, but that’s a good point.
Derecho in Maryland
Some years ago we lived in Southern Maryland near an Amish community. A derecho came through knocking out power in the area (greater DC) for a week and making national news. Our Amish friends were totally unaware of anything but a pretty bad wind that broke some tree limbs. Until they drove their buggy to the WaWa filling station for some kerosene. They were amazed to find the English world at a standstill. They couldn’t pump gas. They couldn’t figure out how to make the cash register work. They couldn’t take credit cards for store items and didn’t know how to make change in their heads. It was chaos. Our Amish friends thought it was hilarious. Our friends day had been completely normal with no impact at all from the storm.
Can anyone recommend a website to purchase Amish bulk foods?
Bulk foods
Try shopping for bulk foods where ever Mormons (LDS Church) get theirs. Here’s some I saw online and there are many more.
https://www.legacyfoodstorage.com
https://www.thereadystore.com
https://providentliving.churchofjesuschrist.org/self-reliance/home-storage-centers
Catalog
I own a small primitive country decor store and just recently added an old time general store to it. I have been looking for Amish items to fill it with and I think that you would be able to do just that for me.
You can mail it to the address above.
Thank you so very much !
address
my store address is:
Cranberry Boggs
43861 Rt. 12
Alexandria Bay, NY 13607
Online site incomplete
I just went over to their website. Looks like its in progress, with a long way to go. They only have a few things listed so far. Pots and pans mostly
Right, I mentioned that in the post – hopefully they will continue adding items so people can order with a few clicks.
But if you’d like to view their full catalog, I included in the post a link to the pdf of the latest edition I could find online (2019). That would require more of a “shopping like the Amish do” effort of course, needing a phone call or snail mail to place an order.
Emily, I know how bad the derecho was. Here in Illinois, they just updated the number of tornadoes that hit here (yes, tornadoes!) to 11. Towns not far from me still don’t have power, and may not have it until Sat. I hope your family in Iowa recover soon.
About 3-4 years ago I went on an Amish bus tour of a town in Iowa, and we visited an Amish grocery/sundries store. I bought some bulk food items there, and noticed they had a little bit of everything. I can’t recall the name of the town or store, but I’d guess there might be ways to locate Amish-run stores like that…The Amish Business Directory would be of use…right, Erik?
Thanks for the heads up about Shetler’s, Erik. I have purchased a number of useful items from Lehman’s over the years and am sure I’ll be giving Shetler’s some business, too. With COVID-19 still a concern, I’m doing more online shopping these days.
Wishing everyone well!
Alice Mary
Yikes, that sounds rough, 11 tornadoes. So I guess those come with a derecho too. The business directory is not complete and there are a lot more Amish businesses out there than are listed. I do intend to update it though and have at least one good resource for that. Do you remember which general part of Iowa it might have been in?
Thank you so much for this post!!
Å Gud i Himmelen! Thank you, Erik, SO MUCH for this post and info!!! And for the link. You’ve helped me so much, and I am so psyched to check out Shelter’s! And I’m going to order the catalog right away!
Gladly, Mette. I think you’ll enjoy just looking through the catalog itself. Also remember if you want to check it outline, I linked the pdf version above.
URL not working
I clicked on the Shetlers Wholesale URL in the top of the page and got a 404 site doesn’t exist message.
Are they still around?
I called their business number and it seems to be disconnected. Is Shetler’s still in business?
the string on my church bell chime keeps breaking. would you ship me a new string
do you still carry canning supplies?
Why is it so hard to . . .?
Erik,
Why is it so hard to get a catalog by mail from Shetler’s? Every time I call them from
Arizona, the line is busy. And writing to them is absolutely futile. Apparently, they
don’t open their mail. Talk about a joke! They want people to shop there, but make
it impossible to reach them. I guess only the Amish know how to reach them? A
useless post to your website, Erik. Sorry, but it’s the truth.
They seem to be gone
I tried using the links provided here, the ones I got by Googling the business name, and have been totally unsuccessful. In more than one case, I got a screen saying the domain name is either not working or is available for sale. It seems that at least the online presence has been closed down. No telling about the physical brick and mortar store.
Another commenter has mentioned being totally unsuccessful at reaching them at every corner. Seems they are just gone.