The Case Of The Elusive Case

I Probably Ought To Just Drink Tapwater...

Curses! Foiled again!

I thought I finally had a line on a place to buy some cases of bottled beverages. Specifically, 20 ounce bottles of Coke Zero and Nestea Diet Iced Tea W/ Lemon in case-sized lots.

Oh, the other requirement... Not paying retail prices.

I'd had no luck at grocery stores. Sure, I could load up a shopping cart with the Coke Zero in 6 packs, but paying full fare blew that deal.

The Nestea is almost impossible to find, even as single bottles. Convenience stores sometimes stock it, but mostly it's the sugared versions.

You can get 82 varieties of fizzy sugar water and 58 kinds of energy drinks. Looking for a non-carbonated diet drink? It's like trying to find fur on a frog...

No luck in the local Sam's or Costco, either.

I located a wholesaler that sold to the general public not too far off my path to work. I took advantage of my boss being at a conference this morning to delay my arrival at work until I could stop in and see what they carried.

No dice on the tea, but I thought I had the Coke Zero nailed down. After the sales guy had run my debit card through the machine, his flunky came out of the back shrugging his shoulders and saying "Lo siento, gabacho! No ees Coke Cero en veinte onza botellas!"

So, I got a cash refund and hustled in to work, getting there just minutes before the boss did.

The local Coke distributor won't sell to me, due to lack of sales tax permit and orders of less than 20 cases.

So, if you have a line on case lots of either Coke Zero or the pictured beverage below in case lots at around 60-90 cents per bottle in Houston, TX, please email me!