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

Over the last few days, I have bought more than I would normally. It’s in two plastic boxes in the lounge.

I eat a lot of bread so have brought bread mixes, pitta breads and part baked rolls. I am not a fan of pasta, but if I get ill there is just me, so boiling a handful of pasta with a squirt of tomato purée would do an easy meal, so I bought a couple of bags of pasta. I bought tinned beans as half a tin of beans with a bit of cheese mixed in would do a meal.

I rarely cook. So simple meals are my norm.

I didn’t buy any milk, as I don’t use it normally.

I have ordered enough dog and cat food to see me through a couple of months.

Yes I have stocked up, but I am the only one who provides for me so I thought it was sensible.

I couldn’t panic buy if I wanted to, we don’t have the money to buy a load of extra stuff on top of our usual shop and even if we did, there’s fuck all left in any supermarkets near us! We’re down to 2 loo rolls and this was the sight that greeted us in Tesco this morning...

Right, I have stocks in, I do not need to buy loads of loo roll. ( Do need to top up stuff normally)

How I feel when I go to the shops... Worried about how long I will be able to shop normally before we have to stay in. ( Might make you want to buy more to cover the period of isolation)

Concerned about being near people who are ill. ( Buy a lot now and avoid coming again)

Generally fearful ( not think clearly and not shop carefully to have a balanced diet)

See stuff in short supply. ( Do I grab the last one before it's all out)

I have stocks in so I don't need the stuff, do don't buy more than usual shop, but I still feel it. If you hadn't got stuff in it would be easy to buy too much of the wrong stuff.

Probably it is a lot of people who are buying one more than normal. Shops sell out in half the time. Not really panic buying, but looks like it to those who come later.

DD uses soya milk and gets through one box in two days, 4 to cover a week can look excessive, especially combined with ds's massive consumption of ordinary milk.

DD needs to eat 10+ portions of fruit and veg per day and I need a lot to manage our disability without meds, that looks panicky...

@CassandraGoth you sound like a pleasant person!

Those of you who only buy enough food for a week, can I ask why. Is it because of the cost or no storage space?

@lynsey91

My 4 massive boys plus husband plus dog eat an iinsane amount. ( not the dog)

To keep costs down we meal plan and get it delivered with milk/egg/banana top up during week. They all play sport in a big way.

There is a residual bit of pasta and a few tins over and above but nothing you could make a real meal out of for 6. We eat mostly fresh etc.

I hate clutter and my husband was brought up with cupboards stuffed with food going out of date so in lots of ways this has worked for us. Each to their own.

I have had to have a really quick re think. I don't really know how long the food would last here ( they eat so much) but I've tried to get at least a week 'ahead'. But tbh that is LOADS compared to a lot of people . Mostly people can not believe one of our shops. So I suppose storage is an issue though you can improvise if necessary.

But ordinarily as I said I don't like clutter and everything full, full, full.

I bought some extra tonic, does that count?

I have a pretty full larder anyway. Could easily cook enough different things for two weeks with the dried and tinned ingredients I have.

DS wouldn't eat most of them without making out like I'm trying to poison him, but that's another story.

Not worried about snow - I live in a warmer area of the country where snow never usually sticks and even our 2009-2010 blizzard was only 3-4 days of snow. I don't live in a flood zone. I live close enough to walk or use public transport anywhere.

With all due respect, this is a stupid question, as no-one thinks of themselves as panic buying, they think of it as stocking up or being prepared. Like asking Trump why he's a colossal douchbag, you won't get a sensible answer, because he doesn't think he is (I am NOT comparing worried people stocking up to Trump, just an extreme example!!). Or people who want wind farms and green energy but not near them. Everyone is the logical rational one in their own narrative!

We decided not panic buy because it's not fair on everyone else. Unfortunately our local supermarket was raided by panic buyers yesterday after a Coronavirus case was confirmed in our town and apparently there's nothing left (loads of photos of empty shelves on Facebook) so it seems most people in our area are not as nice.

We have stocked up on gluten free stuff for my dd cos it's hard enough to get what you want reliably anyway

@Pilot12 it seems most people in our area are not as nice

It takes a certain level of narcissism that you think this is all about nice / not nice. Many people have explained to you the impact of people buying just a small amount extra. Many people recognise they might need extra to self-isolate a per government advice, particularly all that people in your town who may be getting supplies for direct contacts of that person who are now self isolating. Yet you persist with the narrative that people are not "nice" because they went shopping a few hours before you. You're exhibiting a particularly unpleasant side of human nature by being unreasonably judgemental of people's motives instead of recognising the real reasons behind empty shelves. Maybe you should have just planned ahead a bit and not created strain on the delivery chain yourself.

Not sure I know what you mean by "panic buyer". Have I stockpiled? Yes. Am I a panic buyer? Well, I'd say no. I haven't gone out in a panic and raided every shelf I can find.

I have, however, built up (during the last 3 weeks) enough food, medications, cleaning items, bathroom items, light bulbs and everything else I normally use each week, I could probably last for a about 10 weeks at a push. Lots of frozen and tinned veg., and fresh stuff also frozen (batch cooked stews with vegetables and so on).

Why? Well, I'm older, live on my own and have health conditions...fairly minor but could still compromise me. If I get the virus I have a very poor immune system and so get everything badly and suspect I shall be quite ill for a few days. Happy to be in isolation (have TV, DVDs and plenty of redecorating to keep me occupied!) but I do need food and toiletry supplies. Shops are far away, very little transport (very rural) and we could even be in lockdown in due course for all I know.

Those are my reasons....

Time to panic buy the gin and chocolate.

raided by panic buyers yesterday after a Coronavirus case was confirmed in our town

In capes?

All those people might have just found out they had to self isolate.
Unlikely- but when would you stock up for self isolation @Pilot12 ?
Just when you found out you had to?

Another stockpiler here I have a medical condition that can render me housebound overnight for weeks at a time. I never would have less than 10 loo rolls or 1 bag or rice and I rotate my freezer constantly topping up with meat and veg. It takes the pressure and stress off if it happens, I was caught out before so would never let it happen again. I did my normal fresh food shop this week and it really was shocking to see how greedy people were being. I did however buy an extra bottle of wine "just incase" nobody has started panick buying that yet lol

Shops keep higher quantities in of products that don’t take up much space and have high profit margins.

Toilet roll takes up a lot of space and has a low profit margin. It is not cost effective for shops to keep large quantities in stock in a warehouse, so even a slight change in demand will lead to empty shelves until the next delivery.

We know people are staying at home more. That inevitably means food required by workplaces, cafes and restaurants will decrease and food bought in shops will increase, causing temporary distribution problems. It doesn’t mean people are panic buying.

No but I did stock up on loads of stuff over 2 weeks ago because I knew this would happen and I knew ppl would panic!

No absolutely not. It’s the panic buying and selfishness of some people that my friends with a very sick child can’t get the calpol or the tissues they need. Absolutely selfish.

With all due respect, this is a stupid question, as no-one thinks of themselves as panic buying, they think of it as stocking up or being prepared.

I do see panic buying as slightly different to being prepared but maybe my interpretation is different to other people. I see panic buying as people getting far, far too much for their circumstances or buying stuff they wouldn’t normally buy just because it is ‘running out’.

I wonder how people define panic buying?

I suspect some people's stocking up would be someone else's panic buying.

Yesterday i bought 2 packs of spaghetti instead of one

/pushing the boat out

I would say anyone going to a supermarket and getting themselves into any kind of emotional state because there isn’t any toilet roll, baked beans or pasta on the shelf is a panic buyer.

2nd time this week we tried to buy eggs🙄 nope

@Nameofchanges

I suspect this is right! People complaining about panic buyers are merely unsuccessful panic buyers

I’m not sure .. I’ve definitely bought a few extra bits ‘just in case’. I’m a single parent with very little family support and worried what will happen if one of us gets sick