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Original poster

Who is panic buying??

75 replies

Mulhollandmagoo · 20/03/2020 22:38

Out of curiosity (and slight irritation at having to spend all day at shops/supermarkets to scrape together a weekly shop) who is panic buying?? As everyone I hear talking about it are annoyed by it, everyone on here is annoyed by it and everyone on social media is annoyed by it.....but the shelves are bare!

So where are these elusive panic buyers?

OP posts:
NotDisclosedToday · 20/03/2020 22:40

I expect they are all at the supermarket now buying shit loads of alcohol.

GrumpiestOldWoman · 20/03/2020 22:54

I don't think as many people are panic buying or stockpiling in the way we imagine (small number maybe).

If the whole population aimed to move from carrying ' x days ' stock in their larder to ' x + 5' in order to be able to weather a short isolation, that represents huge additional demand in a tight supply chain. Lots of workers at home for lunch now, kids at home for lunch - there's a bigger demand for food straight off - and came at the point where the supermarkets hadn't recovered from the initial shock.

Some people are being knobs and moving to ' x + 30' in the space of days though.

Flymetothetoon · 20/03/2020 22:57

NotDisclosedToday I just proper laughed at your comment. Thank you 😊

ShanghaiDiva · 20/03/2020 22:58

I thought supermarkets were limiting quantities. I was in Tesco yesterday and a customer could only buy three aubergines as all products were limited to 3 max.

butwhiletheresmusicandlaughter · 20/03/2020 23:02

Saw this on FB...sums it up nicely...

Who is panic buying??
Vargas · 20/03/2020 23:03

Well no one is going to admit to it, they'll get torn to shreds on here.

I'm shopping for a family of 5 with 3 teenagers, who are all now going to be at home for ALL meals. We usually eat out together at least once a week, plus the kids normally miss a meal or two at home when they are out with friends, plus they have lunch at school but of course none of that is happening now. I'm not 'panic' buying, but I need to buy way more than I usually do. My family can eat a loaf of bread and a packet of pasta in one day if they're at home!

KatherineJaneway · 20/03/2020 23:05

Lots of people I expect. No online slots for 3 weeks, pictures of empty shelves, stories of huge queues at 6am for Tesco's etc. People are afraid of not having what they need. So they do what they have to do to feel safe.

LukeSkywalkingOnTheseHaters · 20/03/2020 23:11

The proper panic buyers were in 2 weeks ago before the supermarkets implemented quantity limits. Spotted a couple with huge quantities of tins and dried foods and crates of water. No doubt some shoppers clearing out all the handsoap, type of pasta or particular nappy sizes to themselves.

Now there are no panic buyers. The shelves are bare. As deliveries arrive and a few boxes of pasta are unloaded onto the shelves they are snapped up as they are put on by ordinary people worried they might have to stay home for weeks and haven't got enough. They are only buying one or two of the product now

Iamthewombat · 20/03/2020 23:12

Not one person on any social media site I have seen is admitting to panic buying. Not one. However, loads of people must be doing it, including people on here.

Confess! I want to know what is going through your minds. For example:

  • fuck the old people, more for ME
  • I’m just doing what’s best for ME
  • I have my ‘little family’ (vom) to feed and the rest of you can fucking starve and wipe your arses on The Sun.
  • if I don’t grab everything on the shelves, somebody else will.
Crunched · 20/03/2020 23:13

I also have 5 adults at home, two home from their, now closed, universities, and other DD a front line NHS worker alongside me and DH. I am not panic buying but I need a bloody big packet of mince to feed us all. I felt all eyes on me today for buying two boxes of breakfast cereal but, I’m planning on not going shopping again for a while, and those boxes will be gone in days.
TBH I haven’t seen scenes of panic buying anywhere like some describe round my area. We must be lucky.

Igotthemheavyboobs · 20/03/2020 23:14

There was a woman on here who admitted it because she fell out with her husband over it. Can't remember the title of the thread but was about 2 weeks ago

definitelygc · 20/03/2020 23:20

I can come to terms with the panic buyers as long as this stuff isn't going in the bin. If people are throwing away bunches of black bananas and pints of sour milk in a week I'll be seriously annoyed.

Iamthewombat · 20/03/2020 23:22

I can’t come to terms with it when key workers can’t buy a loaf of bread or half a dozen egg after a long shift.

(I am not a key worker but I’m annoyed on their behalf)

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 20/03/2020 23:22

We’re now at the stage of the month (coming up to payday soon) where we would normally be eating stuff out of the cupboards and freezer, knowing we would have a big online shop due shortly. No online shops to be had. We went and did another shop this week, to keep things topped up, and also because we are now both at home all day and eating lunch here. So not panic buying, but shopping when we wouldn’t usually.

I think there will be lots of people in a similar position, plus people who are just buying a few extra things in case of self-isolating. All of those people doing an extra normal shop - not 90 tins of tomatoes and 100 loo rolls - will be having an impact. The kids being out of school will also impact people needing to give them lunches instead of getting school meals, as well as people like me who would eat at work or nip out to buy a sandwich.

Pinkiespalace · 20/03/2020 23:23

People definitely are stockpiling/panic buying as my DS works for a large electrical retailer and they have been sold out of fridge freezers and chest freezers for over a week.

I notice there have been no posts on Facebook similar to those at Christmas bragging about the amount that has been purchased yet we know there are plenty who have.

Iamthewombat · 20/03/2020 23:26

‘Buying a few extra things’ or buying an extra loaf of bread/block of cheese because you’re eating at home rather than at work is not going to lead to the bare shelves we have seen in supermarkets.

ThePlantsitter · 20/03/2020 23:28

Surely all of us are approaching this in various irrational ways? It's so stressful! I haven't panic bought food but I did buy a big paddling pool in case they run out in summer and we're stuck at home. I'm fully aware that's not a rational reaction to a pandemic but it's a human one.

The photos of empty shelves do make me worry I won't be able to feed my children. You can guarantee the stock pilers are not single people buying only for themselves. They feel responsible for others.

Cofused12273625 · 20/03/2020 23:28

The shops were getting worryingly empty today. Even the local ones which so far have been pretty good. Booze panic is on now too

definitelygc · 20/03/2020 23:30

I can’t come to terms with it when key workers can’t buy a loaf of bread or half a dozen egg after a long shift.

That's fair enough. If the supermarkets were sensible they'd keep some stock aside for these people, I think they've let us down as much as the panic buyers to be honest. Why were the supermarkets letting people buy trolleys full of toilet roll and nappies for so long?

Iamthewombat · 20/03/2020 23:32

Having a family does not make selfish grabbing acceptable.

DH went to a posh supermarket on Monday. He usually orders Ocado but you don’t need me to tell you why that wasn’t possible. He came back replete with tales about (and photographs of, haha) middle class couples piling their trolleys, one each, with tons of food. If they have families, does that make it ok? They would have to have 12 kids for the amount they bought.

chipsandgin · 20/03/2020 23:34

Yep ‘Panic buying fucktardian cockwombles’; sums it up perfectly. I’d add selfish, self-involved, pricks too.

OchonAgusOchonO · 20/03/2020 23:37

I'm buying at least double the quantity, if not more, than I was buying a month ago. However, a month ago, 2 of my dc were away at uni. Dh and I would often eat lunch at work, dc3 had lunch at school. We also used to eat out or get takeaway once or twice a month. All 3 dc eat a phenomenal quantity of food as they are all very involved in sport.

ThePlantsitter · 20/03/2020 23:38

Having a family doesn't make it right, no. But it does make it understandable. It's not something they'll be seeing as selfish greed.

There must be loads of people doing it so what's the point in calling people cockwombles? It's not going to stop them.

nopointinstaying · 20/03/2020 23:39

People don't panic buy, they buy in expectation of stock diminishing to zero and that becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Except for people who buy to price gouge. They should be dealt with severely.

OchonAgusOchonO · 20/03/2020 23:40

@Iamthewombat - ‘Buying a few extra things’ or buying an extra loaf of bread/block of cheese because you’re eating at home rather than at work is not going to lead to the bare shelves we have seen in supermarkets.

I disagree. If everyone is buying a bit extra, the JIT approach used in supermarkets means they will not have enough to satisfy demand.