Is it actually selfish to stock pile?

[Orange89]

Now I haven’t gone crazy with the whole loo roll situation (I currently only have 2 rolls left) and have been doing my usual shops (average of 3 small shops a week) but it’s safe to say I’m focusing my food on long life semi-healthy foods I can store in the cupboard space we have. It’s a little more than usual but nothing crazy. All I’m hearing is stockpiling is a stupid move but surely and obviously more people are doing this than letting on as the shops are emptying. But surely this is purely practical move? I know this could face backlash from people saying some people can’t afford to stockpile (I can’t really either) but I’m talking high calorie, cheap alternatives instead of the fresh foods they’d normally buy. Or that demand can’t be met but I bet there’s another baked beans / rice / powdered custard etc to last a couple months... Just in case

Was discussing this with a mate today and realised there's a big financial element to it.

It's all well and good me complaining about panic buyers. But i have a really well stocked house all the time anyway. Feel bad admitting it but it has never really occurred to me that there are people on tighter budgets who only buy a small 4 pack of loo roll at a time & can't afford to bulk buy despite it being cheaper in the long run.

Those people are 1 weekly shop away from properly empty cupboards, I can see why they would panic about not having enough now, even if they could barely afford to panic buy.

Meanwhile all the well off probably have plenty of pasta, rice, oats, flour, a huge freezer full of meat and fish, plenty of tins, just as the norm.

@cherrylovex3
Again, resorting to base insults just doesn't put you in a great light.
I don't understand your last comment at all, but my point was is that it's ironic how many people are complaining about those who are stocking up yet in the same breath are complaining about not being able to find the things they need but if they had just picked up some extra themselves just like the stockpiles they're condemning, they wouldn't be in this situation.
Pick up some extra medicine for your daughter if you can find it. I certainly will be.

I work for a supermarket chain. Where do you think we'd store all the 'just in case' extra items?! We haven't got warehouse space just sitting around empty waiting to be used

Thank you for articulating my point better than I did

I haven’t got any bogroll. I just use the same piece of sandpaper again and again. If I wipe vigorously enough I generate quite the virtue signal.

@TaterWaffle
I think the frantic virtue sigalling all over social media is the worst part of the entire Coronavirus epidemic

I am on the south coast and went to my local Morrison’s yesterday. Only went as they have rump steak on special offer. It was like Christmas in there with the sheer volume of people. From what I could see no one was stock piling and the shelves were pretty well stocked. No loo roll or anti bac soap but plenty of kitchen roll and wet wipes.

I did notice the cheaper items were empty so no 30p bags of pasta or cheap bags of basic rice but plenty of the fancy £1.29 pasta and £1 micro rice.I have half a bag of pasta and rice already so didn’t bother with the more expensive brands and bought fresh potatoes instead as kept in the dark they will last two weeks.

I have to go to Aldi tomorrow As I want one of there £2.99 deck brooms so will be interesting to see how much the last 24 hours has made a difference.

It's sad shops have had to send emails out reminding people shop responsibly and only buy what they need. Hopefully the limiting helps but sure people will find ways around it.
Friend works in Sainsburys and has said it's been mad..someone tried to buy 7 bottles of calpol. Why?!

My wife has OCD and social issues including depression and paranoia.
She has been using hand sanitising gel for years and not having foreseen the panic she is down to her last, small, bottle of gel.
I have been unable to find any bottles anywhere and she is now starting to get anxious. She is over sixty with Asthma and is very aware that puts her in a high risk category.
Is it selfish to stock up and leave nothing on the shelf for anyone else? If you have to ask the question your conscience must be getting to you.

The OP says she does 3 small shops a week.

To prepare to self isolate as an individual, she would now have to buy three times as much as possible in one go, or if she is self isolating as a family for 14 days, she will need to buy six times as much in one go.

Or alternatively, start ordering online 3 times a week. But we can see online deliveries can’t cope with that level of demand.

And so that creates panic buyers - people who have to change from a pattern of shopping 3 times a week to one if preparing at any moment that they can’t leave the house for 14 days.

If you were the kind of person who did a big shop every two weeks or even less frequently, which to me was how I grew up but is now apparently ‘stockpiling’ then your shopping patterns were already factored into supply systems.

someone tried to buy 7 bottles of calpol. Why?!

Because they are a twat. Dead simple.

I think the question is - what are you stockpiling for?

7-14days quarantine. Fair enough but that likely doesn't mean clearing supermarkets of flour and yeast
Just put a couple of loaves in the freezer.

I suspect at the end of this outbreak there will be a lot of people with cupboards full of random ingredients they'll never use

If everyone who normally needs to go shopping every three days changes their behaviour and buys 14 days worth of food extra, that would be enough to clear shelves.

I have been buying extra each time I shop since before Brexit. Some stuff like washing power and yes toilet rolls I have in, simply because when there are hall price offers on I tend to buy two. So yes I have some stuff in, and will continue to but extra now. But I don’t go out and get a whole load of extra stuff, or panic buy. It does mean I can share with other family members if needed though

It's no use trying to pepper your post with minimising language - if enough people take "simple" action like this there will be shortages. It's not rocket science. No-one believe they're panic buying or hoarding, everyone is blaming everyone else.
Just buy your normal stuff. The shops won't shut even in lockdown.

I’m slightly confused
Supermarkets run dry, suppliers replenish. So what happens when suppliers supply chain stops due to mass self isolation? I’m assuming the vast bulk is imported from Europe - which funnily enough is nearing total lockdown.

68 million people will very very quickly empty everything if mass self isolation takes hold. Not to mention the national grid will likely fail with everyone at home running both gas and electric.

@Nameofchanges

And so that creates panic buyers - people who have to change from a pattern of shopping 3 times a week to one if preparing at any moment that they can’t leave the house for 14 days.

I guess this is where it all lies really, people’s usual shopping patterns and not planning for events like this. I suppose it’s a lesson learned for a lot of people really. I’ve grown up with a mum that shopped for meals nearly per the day rather than having a nice stocked cupboard, and I tend to usually buy fresh probably as a result. So my ‘panic buying / stockpiling’ probably only brings me up to what people with different (better) shopping habits have.

I’ve been feeling really anxious but feel I would have enough to feed my DH and son now if we’re to isolate for a few weeks. But I’m talking a couple bags of lentils/pasta and tinned veg that would keep us alive and not be gluttony

I don’t think you should feel bad about it though. We are being told to prepare that we may have to self isolate for 14 days, so you are preparing for that.

I don’t see what else you can do.

@Nameofchanges

Exactly. I think as long as we’re taking responsibility not to clear the meds / baby formula etc. On a food front there will be stuff to eat of some sorts at the stage we’re at now. I think it’s about rethinking choices too. Everyone seems to after the same stuff at the moment. I watched a video on fb from a British guy living in Wuhan and he said the basics were not an issue, it’s the stuff like Pepsi that people are really after in a real lockdown.

of course everyone's after the same stuff. it's the lemmings effect

I have bought 6 of the Lidl Q10 wrinkle serum as it's v hard to get now and people are selling it for 3 X the retail price on eBay...have also stocked up on peroxide and my tubes of hair colour...!! At least I may be isolated but glamorous !!

@namechangetheworld so you are clearly ok to say that you are selfish but defend it by saying that it's ok to be so if you can.

That's fine, but I cant help but think you are of of those people who consider selfishness acceptable when it applies to you and that you are the first to scream and shout when the selfishness of others impacts on you negatively.

Because thats a typical trait of selfish people, they are the first one to then scream and shout about injustice when they are themselves disadvantaged!

namechangetheworld I did find some because idiots dont exist in every shop it would seem - just the big supermarkets. hey, you dont have my pasta do you?

just on the news now

"people clearing the shelves is a bigger health problem for the general public then the coronavirus is. we need everyone to be a little less selfish and think before they buy. or supermarkets are going to have to bring in strict rationing policies"

still gonna keep arguing it or?

@cherrylovex3 It's disgusting isnt it. I'm really hopping for rationing and that those "prepared" people hang their heads in shame.

@user it's awful. were not going to run out of food, people have no need to do this, toilet paper makes no sense either as its produced in this country lol!

I keep getting emails from supermarkets about being mindful etc.. it pissed me off even more as the supermarkets know that won’t happen, they are raking it in. The government need to step in and put legal rationing on all the things that are disappearing, at a minimum they need to ration medicine, cleaning material and hand wash/soap.

As for the comment regarding do gooders complaining but wanting calpol = hypocrisy, in not getting that logic. Wanting to buy a single bottle of calpol as anyone would normally do unless you have constantly sick kids is a standard, that’s not being hypocritical or having double standards, however because people are panic buying and purchasing 10 at a time then the person just wanting to buy one single bottle, can’t get. I have calpol sitting in my cupboard that I used one time for my son and never been used since and now it is out of date.. as I said unless you have constantly sick kids or a lots of kids, by the time you get to bottle 7 of calpol or whatever it may be, it will probably be out of date.