are WSM going out of favor

[stevenschwartz]

I've had a 14.5 and 22" WSM for over a decade. I love them. I also have a pit barrel for limited uses. I've been sad to see the WSM disappearing from places like Home Depot. Do people think it is simply that they can't compete with pellet machines for ease of use for new BBQ'ers? Curious if others have seen this.

Steve

[radiodome21]

I see them on a regular basis at my Ace. Our town has a BBQ competition every year and I’d say that the majority of the cookers in it are WSMs. Followed close by kettles.

[tenphases]

So sad I used to look forward to the end of summer clearance at Home Depot / Lowes, I don't bother anymore, all they have are pellet grills and the live fire coolers are all trash. I use to literally cruise past home Depot and Lowe's to scope out cookers that would end up on FB marketplace, now both the clearance sales and FB marketplace have dried up 😭

[Jared49]

My thoughts are the WSM’s are long sold out and only the less used are left??

[klflowers]

I still see them in the local Home Depot. I love mine.

[outta_ammo]

We're in a smaller town (~34k) and I don't recall ever seeing one in Lowe's. Our TrueValue has gone almost completely Traeger, and the local Wally World doesn't stock them.
But I adhere to the doctrine of Saint Harry of Soo. I bring my 18.5 offerings of pork and beef and it rewards me with abundance!

[fzxdoc]

[fillirican]

The WSM is easy to learn, versitile, and delivers great BBQ. Oh and doesnt need to be plugged in.

[Bkhuna]

Big box stores in our area have been reducing the number of charcoal grills, charcoal, and charcoal accessories for years. Way too many retirees from non-barbecue centric states.

Thankfully, the Ace Hardware is 5 minutes down the road and I can have anything I want shipped to the store for free. There's another Ace in the next town over that has many Webers in stock and provides assembly and delivery.

[DavidNorcross]

I think they are still very popular, just much more competition out there these days.

[STEbbq]

If I had to guess, I’d guess that Weber found it more profitable to sell direct to the consumer online and via places like Ace’s or local bbq places versus whatever markup HD and Lowes want for most of their “classic” models. The new pellet stuff like SmokeFire (when it was sold) that needs to build awareness I have seen in the big box stores.

[Huskee]

I agree, they want exposure of their newer cookers in the big chains. People well know about the classics.

[surfdog]

The closest HD or Lowe’s only ever stocked the small one anyway. Occasionally I might have seen the 18” but I didn’t actively look. Never saw the 22” in stock.

A local Ace seems to have a decent selection…but it’s most Traeger & Big Green Egg. The Weber stuff appears to be mostly Genesis or pellet stuff, with a couple kettles to round it out. Haven’t seen a Summit or kamado…or a 22” WSM. That said, I’m not there very often so it’s possible that they have more that I just haven’t seen.

[JackSea]

They are not falling out of Flavor! Our local Ace Hardware and Home Depot both have them. I wish I had gotten the 22".

Jack

[Spinaker]

Yeah I still see them for sale but I don’t see people using them much. Especially here, in the PMC.

[HawkerXP]

PBC, PBC, PBC?

[Jerod Broussard]

Since they never came out with a 26 inch WSM they never were in favor with me.

[ecowper]

I don't use my WSM nearly as much these days. I only cook for large crowds a couple times a year now that the kids are grown and gone from home. Still an awesome beast of a cooker