Only if he doesn’t have the material can he not install the stairs, no matter the price.
I would do the same as a private forest owner, whoever offers the most gets the contract... Contrary statements are not my problem
Is this satire now or can it be discarded? Of course it is a question of price. Everything is available; it is always only about the price. Yesterday I looked for photovoltaic inverters, e.g. Fronius, at the usual big shops all were unavailable. Checked on idealo, oh wonder, actually available, but at double the price. Timber prices have gone well down again after their peak last year, even the end customer notices this in the hardware store. We had for a long time the price barometer “roof batten” here; they are normally available and affordable, as before. Even recently ordered an oak piece of furniture from the carpenter, delivery time three weeks. No problemo. But as I wrote recently, some people talk the crisis into existence. Add a bit of slow summer news coverage, and there you have the story.