The reason you can't buy IPA is because it's banned for sale in California due to VOC laws.

Same with Ethanol/Denatured-Alcohol products. Amazon actually complies the law whereas other out of state distributors don't. Ebay is your friend there. It's how I got the stuff.

For those confused, parent is talking about isopropyl alcohol, not India pale ale.

Is that a common acronym for rubbing alcohol? I’ve only heard it in regards to beer.

It's commonly referred to that in electronics and chemistry. It's where I've encountered the terminology.

You can get IPA from chemical suppliers. I bought from these guys https://www.stellarchemicalcorp.com/product-page/isopropyl-a... They shipped to my place in the East bay.

Price has unsurprisingly gone up a bit since I bought Mar 22.

Covid has brought some competition. Apart from that, there's no competitor to Amazon in Germany. There are larger shops for single categories (books or clothes) but no generalist seller like Amazon anywhere.