I bought my lye off the internet with no problem, if you buy from a small organization it's no big deal. It's not like they report their sales to the government or anything like that.

Food grade lye is used to make soap, as well as to make pretzels. As long as you aren't buying some massive amount I don't see why this is suspicious at all. Again, companies are *not* required to report its sale to the government.

If for whatever reason you still don't want to buy it online, like previously stated Ace Hardware usually has it. You can also get it at most Lowe's, it is sold as "Roebic Crystal Drain Opener, and is 100% lye.

Best of luck!