McRibs Due to Disappear Again? Make Your Own and Save

Here's how to evaluate the success of a contrived shortage of a product; see how much free press it generates. McDonald's provides a masterful example with its McRib sandwich, which returned to the company's menu with much fanfare in early November (even here on WalletPop) and is scheduled to depart on Dec. 5. What to do? Make your own McRib and save.

Why would the company pull such an apparently popular item off the shelf? According to the company, the sandwich is a promotional menu item, which puts it into the class of a Shamrock Shake. One might speculate, though, that if the sandwich continues to sell well, store owners across the country will clamor for it to be added to the standing menu.