Ok, that is just bizarre.... I haven't had to purchase any recently but don't recall seeing empty shelves in the last few months in either Germany or the UK. (I think that I mentioned earlier that the Boots house brand is a decent lower priced alternative) Now I am curious if I should increase my stash just in case. In past I did always bring a supply for US bound travel as I have found them sometimes difficult to locate in the US, even before 2010.

I believe that there is a broader range of non-applicator products outside the US, so just like full size toothpaste marked as 75ml or 100ml, add it to your shopping list for any non-US travel.

About $5 for a box of Lil-lets here, but I don't know about shipping http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatal..._Products.html

German Amazon site has ob http://www.amazon.de/b-Tampons-Comfo...2985608&sr=8-5 (I've used the .de site to ship outside of Germany before)

Lil-lets on the Amazon.uk site (which does definitely ship to the US) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lil-Lets-Com...985700&sr=8-15

All of those are far less than the $80 boxes on ebay! Good luck!