Selfish panic buying?

[CwtchesCuddles]

A friend in London has just been shopping and sent me this picture of bare shelves, people have been panic buying!
AIBU to think it's selfish? I can understand buying an extra few things as part of your normal shop but clearing the shelves? Is everyone just looking after number 1 these days? What is going to happen when all those with spare cash buy up all the supplies?

I think also possibly stocks are being held back? maybe the government has put a hold on warehouse stocks of anti bac gel so be used by the NHS so the supermarkets cant send reaupplies out to the actual shops? combine that with people buying whats on the shelves and you have a shortage

likewise with pasta - if Italy have stockpiled pasta maybe some of the companies are keeing it back in italy in order to feed the italians if this crisis goes on?

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Not panic buying, but every time I go to a bath and bodywork store I stock up, and keep them all in a box and put one or two in my bag each week. They are 29ml hand sanitisers and there is somebody selling them for £9.95 EACH on eBay. Maybe I should retire now!

I also picked up the cheap ones at till at aldi every time i shop.have lots but have given 4 to couple I care for and some to my mum...

DH does exactly the same thing with tins of tuna. And paracetamol. I dare not count them!
And yes, I would give them away to someone in need.
This has been over several years, if anyone thinks this is causing empty shelves!

Ive just been out doing some moderate prepping in 2 London suburb towns and I can confirm that the only thing that is completely out everywhere is hand gel and hand wipes, as expected. Same in central London. Personally im glad that lot of people will habe particularly clean hands. Also, I bought about 10 packs of each a couple of weeks ago.

I did manage to get the last bottle of hand gel in Sainsbury's as one had fallen down the back of the display. I've been buying a pack of ibuprofen and paracetamol every time ive gone into a boots for a few weeks now so I am done, fully prepped an ready to stay indoors for 3 weeks if necessary.

Holy shit Freda. You’re either a prepper or you have a very weird hobby. 😁

No prosciutto in Waitrose today. What the hell?! It is the end of days! 😱

I am a tad obsessed! Seriously though, I won't get to a bath and bodyworks before November, so the majority of these will go by the end of the year! I am immuno compromised though so I am fastidious about my hands being clean.

With the painkillers, you can buy them from pharmacies online and you can buy up to 100 paracetamol at a time. I've been doing this for years for ibuprofen, paracetamol and co-codamol as it's much easier to stock up than have to keep remembering to buy! I use Weldricks (thankfully we are stocked up so can let the masses descend upon it

Aloe vera gel is £1 in chemist then add surgical spirit etc if cant get hand gel.

or vodka?

True. I got the aloe gel and surgical spirit few weeks ago for under £2.50

or vodka?

Wash your mouth out! Using vodka to clean your hands! Just drink enough if the vodka and you’ll forget about the virus.

No need for extra anti bac gel as COVID19 is VIRAL. Anti-bac is pointless. Just saying...

Not if it has an alcohol content of greater than 70% @XingMing. If it does it should work, although washing hands is still better.

Love it when people like @XingMing punt in after 12 pages with their amazing previously undisclosed knowledge.

Cancel the cheque!

I shall just wash my hands carefully, and aim to limit my contact time with people unless outdoors. Which TBH is where I mostly spend time with folk I don't invite home.

Bit acerbic there @Sharpie. I previously posted on this thread 36 hours ago. Or another, very similar. And it's a coronavirus........ Not bacterial so the sensible precaution involves anti-virals not antibacterials, and handwashing... lots of it. HTH.

From another thread

^For the non Science people out there...Wonder why everyone is emphasizing hand washing? Sounds banal, but soap really IS an amazing weapon that we all have in our homes. This is because coronavirus is an "enveloped" virus, which means that it has an outer lipid membrane layer.
Basically, it's surrounded by a fat layer. Washing your hands with soap and water has the ability to "dissolve" this greasy fatty layer and kill the virus. I'm told singing "Happy Birthday" twice is approximately how long we should all be scrubbing our hands with soap.'^

Same here, tinned tomatoes and bread flour were completely depleted, tinned soup, tuna etc were low

MN lets poster punt in at any point. Early or late. How daft do you want to appear to be @Sharpie?

@Baaaahhhhh Yes you might be able to shop and get deliveries in lockdown but if in lockdown it will be because of cases in your area. I would rather stock up ahead not run the risk of fighting an infected person for the last cabbage.

I did start out trying to be helpful, but it's quite possible that others have had a trying day. Which is (very mildly) irritating when they want to pick a fight. Have a nice sleep. Feel human in the morning.

Never before have I been so glad that I got all those stuff in january. I would be panicking if I had to pay more/not have it.