Are you a panic buyer?

[Insideimsprinting]

Just that really. I would Just like to know why. There are lots of threads about people finding it ridiculous and not being able to get their normal shop, we're being told there is no need so why have you done it? Can you explain your panic, fear? Especially since its not happening across the board with all food stuffs andjust certain items.
Why toilet roll and not washing up liquid, shower gel etc, why pasta but not pasta sauces c why beans but not tinned soup etc

I started running a decent pantry when I realised how precarious food supply chains were during the run up to Brexit. I think it's a good idea for people to carry more food. I don't think it's stupid at all.

If you ask me in real life I would say I have a stock pile but on reflection it probably is panic buying as it is outside of my normal purchasing routine. For example I always have 2 extra hand soaps in (1 for kitchen one for bathroom) but have bought an extra 3 when I wouldn’t have usually, I also bought a 16 pack of toilet roll when I by chance saw one in the corner shop yesterday but I already have 8 from a 9 pack at home.
I have 6 long life soya milk as my daughter is dairy free and I was concerned when I saw people buying gluten free pasta and having an open discussion about how shit it will taste as the normal stuff has run out.
I have 3 bags of pasta- normally only have one and my husband came home with a 10kg sack of or usual rice yesterday but we would not have purchased this for another 10-14 days usually.
I also got cat food as it looked a bit bare in the shop and it concerned me but usually I wouldn’t need any for another 3 days or so.
I also got an extra multi pack of crisps, a couple of extra biscuits and crackers, dairy free cake brownie bars for my daughter and sugar.

I would say it is panic buying as it was all purchased in a 3 day period and because stocks were looking low and it caused me concern. I didn’t take the very last item from the shelf so like to think I’m not a total dick. I also have a hand soap to my elderly neighbour as she can only get to the shop on our estate and not the large supermarket like I can. I have asked her to call if she needs anything else that our local shop is out of.

My main fears are that- both myself and husband become ill and unable to go out. I am thinking that maybe delivery slots will be few and far between if that happens to others and there may be workforce issues with delivery drivers having to isolate because of illness.
If we are well enough to go to the shops I am worried about the behaviour of other people... I will not scrap with people for food- there was, according to a shop assistant in my local Sainsbury’s a fight between a few customers last week when hand soap was put out. I see the news with Italians queued nicely outside the supermarket and think that here it would not look like that and be more of a scrum.

Im not a panic buyer but I have stockpiled, buying one more of things over the past few weeks. I have maybe triple the amount of toilet roll I normally have in (always buy a 9 pack as the last one is running out). This is because there is a very real chance that I will have 5 extra people in my house during the day doing their adult man/teenage boy shits in my toilets instead of the ones at school or work for the next 6 weeks, as it bleeds into easter hols where trips away are cancelled so shits exclusively going in my toilets again. If my family and I are cooped up indoors for 5/6 weeks I'd like us to be as comfortable as possible, including having normal toilet roll to wipe our arse if at all possible. Id also like to be able to give them lunch most days without having to go to a shop where all the "its just a flu whats all the panic buying for ffs!" people of a few weeks ago will be having pitched battles and breaking into shops to find the packs of pasta they should have bought last week. I'd rather stay out of the way when the inevitable panic and looting start.

I know that people think that anyone in a position of authority or power should not be trusted, but you have to believe that there are people in offices both in government and industry putting in place measures to ensure continuity of supply for all sorts of things including food and loo roll. I believe it because I KNOW that it’s happening.

The strain on the system now is being caused by people acting disproportionately, not caused by the pandemic itself. Of course make sure that you could get by for a few extra days/week if you need to self isolate, but it’s the pressure on healthcare that is the issue here, not pasta.

The vast majority of people aren’t clearing the shelves. The problem at the moment is everyone thinking “ooh, I’d better grab an extra pack of that while I still can...”

The current system is designed for usual shopping habits, people not all buying the same thing at once. If everyone decides to buy something on the same week, then they’re going to run out.

And now we’re in a situation where people are grabbing things when they can, and probably getting an extra pack; not because they’re panicking about Coronavirus, but because they’re not sure when it’ll be back in stock.

I do hope that people (that can afford to) will learn from this experience and ensure they always have a bit of a stockpile going forward when things get back to normal, to buffer them for the next crisis; but I fear very few people will learn.

I have to say though I’m getting just as tired of the competitive fb/MN posts of “well I’m just so laid back I’ve not even done my weekly shop this week” and smugly telling stories of berating people in the shops for daring to buy a 12 pack of loo roll.

Probably because a lot of people down played how serious the situation was (and were told to by the powers that be). Most people don't have weeks of food in their cupboards. I'd say a lot of people just do a weekly shop.
Then the people who do not usually stick pile have smug stock piled saying well I can feed my family for the next ridiculous amount of months so my family are going to be fine while you all are acting like lowly peasants.
This virus is going to affect the whole way we live our lives for a while. I don't think it's unreasonable to think that a lot of products will be hard to come by in the near future as so many companies will have folded, a lot of people will be ill (imagine the effect 20% of factory workers, farmers, suppliers, and other workers in the chain used to get our food are off sick at once like predicted), work places closed for deep cleans.

The way we know life is going to change dramatically and globally. Tbh I'm surprised that it's just shelves are empty and their hasn't been riots in the shops.

Also we bitch about people panicking and stock piling toilet paper and dettol yet we never really question the billionaires who have stock piled the worlds wealth.

Get off your high horses because people have a right to worried and do things within their means to protect their families.

But we'll done smug stockpilers who think it's ok to do just that but laugh at the desperate and panicking people trying to do the same. As long as you guys are ok you can mock those trying to do the same. A very similar mindset to people judging migrants from entering countries on boats and lorries and treating them like animals for trying to protect their families by means we can only hope we don't have to go through.

Now go back to your pantries and sit in glory amongst all your tins of baked beans 🙄

We always have supplies in that would last a while, some people don't and need to buy a lot extra than normal to prepare to isolate for a few weeks, but we've added some extra flour and tins to the next order so we don't need to shop for a bit. Vulnerable people will be looking for supplies to isolate for a month or more. We encouraged our elderly family members stock up with lots of food and cancel functions to stay home, because we don't want them to die due to their age and underlying health conditions. The extra UHT milk, tins and freezer food they picked up last week might sound like panic to you, but it's a planned response and they aren't panicking while doing it.

I doubt many people are stocking up a full trolley of toilet paper in real life, but even with younger families you'll hear that most are getting "a little extra" so they have enough in case of an isolation period. The shelves will then clear quickly because "just in time" algorithms that work out stock mean there is no allowance for even just one extra bag of pasta, pack of bog roll and a few tins per house. If you see a real life panic buyer getting nothing but toilet roll then they probably have severe anxiety issues and need a bit of sympathy, but back in real life people are seeing empty shelves and erroneously assuming it's panic buyers rather than the natural result of just one extra packet.

@Sexnotgender
@MamaGee09
@YellowPinkie

Agree
Agree
Agree

So much SNOBBERY and JUDGEMENT around buying provisions right now.

Why wouldn't you buy more in case of self isolation?

If everyone buys a bit more it will have a MASSIVE effect on the 'just in time ' system. As it has.

It's ALWAYS OTHER people who panic buy - you just get a bit more in. Has anyone noticed that?

Some people are just panicking, do you blame them ?

It's scarcity isn't it? Fear of not having as much as the next person, without considering if you actually want the stuff.

I feel sorry for those who have no funds to buy a couple of extra bits on each shop. All these little extras that people are buying are the reason the shelves are empty. Those on the bread line are now struggling to buy there weekly shop

My son and husband started with a dry persistent cough and were sent home from school & work respectively. In the circumstances we have elected to minimise social contact. Part of that is making sure we have enough food for 4 people for at least 2 weeks. So I had no choice but to "panic buy" or as I like to call it buy enough food so we don't starve.

Fortunately because I was worried about shortages post crash Brexit I have left soap, sanitizer, loo roll, pasta, tins of tomatoes and pulses on the shelf. I did buy kitchen cleaner and decided that although it was annoying that there was no washing powder we could live with out washing if we weren't going out. I bought more wine, beer, nuts, crisps and popcorn to make the Netflix binge sessions more enjoyable and bread flour …. I am going to master sourdough bread if I am home to watch it.

Thanks to having older parents myself and my siblings always have bulk brought items. So when Taoiseach of Ireland made his speech all I did was rush out to stock up on fresh fruit, fresh veg, one loaf of bread and chocolate because I had a cold.

Fear of not having as much as the next person, without considering if you actually want the stuff.

Nope. I only bought stuff I buy anyway and will definitely use. Nothing to do with what anyone else has.

I bought substantially more tinned food last weekend (including products we never ate such as tinned soup) and have doubled my usual stock of nappies, wipes and tissues. Does that make me a panic buyer?
I wish I got more normal hand wash last week because it's out of stock everywhere local.
The logic of panic buying is that you think it's likely that essentials will be out of stock in the near future so you try to get a large amount in preparation. That's quite rational, isn't it? Some essentials are out of stock in some places now.
Given the new government advice, we are now self isolating for 7 days just because of a cough. Surely a stockpile is going to be quite handy for many households now.

In terms of food (and toilet roll!)we have been slowly building supplies up over the past few weeks so we have enough if we need to self isolate for a couple of weeks.
I will admit to slightly panic buying hand sanitiser (10 x 500ml bottles) back in January when news of the new virus in Wuhan started to get mentioned in the news as I figured it was only a matter of time until it got here. This was when hand sanitiser was fully stocked and would remain to be so for the following few weeks, so I don't feel bad about our supply - especially since we have been able to give some of the surplus to family members who weren't quite so paranoid. I will say though we always use hand sanitiser anyway as we commute on the tube so even if Corona virus hasn't hit the UK we would have used it anyway.

*hadn't!

Stock what you eat and eat what you stock.

Then you're not wasting anything.

No point buying a bunch of stuff you don't usually eat.

I haven't bought more of anything. I trust that there won't be a famine and although it is annoying not to get everything I want, it isn't panic inducing. If we have to eat jacket potato for two weeks and wash our arses in the bath, we will be fine.

Where are the panic buyers? they're out there but it's only the non panic buyers posting, I get all pp its the other side I want enlightening about really...

No OP because of 'just in time' it's very similar.

If you've bought more than usual in the last few weeks you've affected the supply chains. It's not just running round with a trolley sweeping stuff off shelves.

It's obvious why people are actually getting more in surely? Because you might have to stay home for 2 weeks, you might be ill, etc etc etc You know all that.

I was quite surprised about the sneering from the cashier yesterday about the large amounts of food people were buying. One complained of being fed up they were working so hard, another even asked the person in front of me if he had a large family due to the two trollies of food purchased! Seems to be a divide forming between those being prepared and those thinking sneering it’s selfish. Not sure which camp I’m in yet.

This is my local Tesco on Thursday shortly after the Irish government announced the immediate closure of schools, crèches and 3rd level institutes m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2429398664037820&id=1476405046003858

I think there is a difference between buy 2 packs of loo rolls and buying 5 packs from costco! If everyone had gone out & picked up one or two extra packs we would still be fine. It's the selfish people who will literally go in & clear a shelf.

My 90 year old nan just gets what she needs when she runs out and my husband went out at 6am on the hunt this morning for loo roll for her as she has a stomach condition which means she goes through a lot of it. It's now almost 9am and he still isn't back as hes literally driving from one end of the city to the other, crisscrossing shops to find some. 😠

Then the people who do not usually stick pile have smug stock piled saying well I can feed my family for the next ridiculous amount of months so my family are going to be fine while you all are acting like lowly peasants.

If you feel that smug stick pile stock pilers are smug, why didn't you smug stick pile a stock pile?

Nope. I only bought stuff I buy anyway and will definitely use. Nothing to do with what anyone else has.

If you are shopping in the same way you'd normally shop then you're not panic-buying, are you?

Not a panic buyer either, but over the last month I have been making sure I add a few extra tinned or freezer items to our shop, so that we have supplies in. I certainly haven't been out buying multiple packs of mega loo roll. I did a splosh order at the start of the month as well, and stocked up as they had a 5% off offer, so that means we're okay for cleaning stuff and hand soap for a while.

It's madness what's going on at the shops at the moment, but I do understand people's fear. I think a lot of people have been carrying on thinking all will be fine, but it would have been useful if people had tried to prep a bit more slowly over the last few months, as then we wouldn't be seeing the decimated shelves we currently have. Hindsight is a wonderful thing though