[Byte1]

Some folks stock up on TP because they know that the gov may not allow folks to leave their homes. Or, maybe they are afraid to go out if it gets any worse. My wife has medical problems, making her susceptible to this illness and making it lethal to her. TP is a commodity that EVERYONE needs and being home, will use it much faster than normal. I had to shop for half a day to get a few gallons of Distilled water for her CPAP machine, which requires ONLY distilled water. Others had the same idea and stocked up. This is NOT a mental illness. This is folks attempting to be prepared and do NOT wish to be around other folks any more than necessary, for fear of catching a DEADLY virus. The less folks are out and about, the faster this thing will go away. Yes, it is a bummer that the stores cannot get shipments of TP in fast enough. They should know by now that they have a special situation and should be adjusting to the demand. How many of you wish to stand in line for hours, just to get inside a grocery store? That is what is happening at several stores in the area.
Instead of sympathizing/empathizing with scared folks, some on here find the need to criticize and complain about anyone that does not see things like they do. Some of the same ones that complain, will be the same ones that insist that everyone GIVE their stimulus money away to others, instead of using it for what it's purpose is....to stimulate the economy so that we don't drop into a depression. Suit yourself, but complaining without a solution is non-productive and a waste of time.

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by Retiring

As a layman I can’t say someone is suffering from mental illness but I wonder. Couple weeks ago I got to watch a woman load a shopping cart with hundreds of rolls of TP. The mountain of TP was taller than her. (in NY the supermarkets still have TP). I said to the lady, is it necessary to buy years worth of TP at this time? She said nothing, she had that laser beam focus to get to the register and out the door. Also, shame on the store for not limiting TP purchases.

It seems to me that something in their brain says buy it now because you might never be able to buy it again. I don’t know if that’s the definition of a hoarder but there is definitely something going on upstairs.

i've seen the same thing & wondered what people were doing with it all--until i saw LOTS of it on ebay. it makes one wonder

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Ross

It' not sumpter .. It's SUMTER

Morris/Morse, Sumpter/Sumter... So tired of those corrections. There are many more serious misspellings and grammar mistakes on here that people thankfully don't point out.

[sallybowron]

Originally Posted by dewilson58

Are the shelves empty now because people continue to empty them to hoard, or are the shelves empty now because normal need purchasing & the supply chain has not caught up??

I was told they had not caught up. I hope they do soon or we will have to get a Sear's Catalogue

.

[CFrance]

I think the stores are starting to stock back up (except for hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes), plus they are instituting limitations. This should help stabilize the supply, plus the hoarders should be about done. I found tp and paper towels at Big Lots (limit 2 per customer), and then tp, chlorox, napkins, paper towels, eggs, chicken breasts (had to buy a 6-lb pkg), lean ground beef and Sara Lee Delightful Bread (impossible to find anywhere for the last three weeks) at Neighborhood Walmart. Out of no-salt canned green beans (use for the dog) but they had frozen. Other canned goods were sparse. Limit one on the paper products. Most everybody observing distance.

[Indydealmaker]

Absolutely love it!

[DrivnEZ]

Originally Posted by Retiring

... there is definitely something going on upstairs.

Or there is a serious problem downstairs. 🤣

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Byte1

Some folks stock up on TP because they know that the gov may not allow folks to leave their homes. Or, maybe they are afraid to go out if it gets any worse. My wife has medical problems, making her susceptible to this illness and making it lethal to her. TP is a commodity that EVERYONE needs and being home, will use it much faster than normal. I had to shop for half a day to get a few gallons of Distilled water for her CPAP machine, which requires ONLY distilled water. Others had the same idea and stocked up. This is NOT a mental illness. This is folks attempting to be prepared and do NOT wish to be around other folks any more than necessary, for fear of catching a DEADLY virus. The less folks are out and about, the faster this thing will go away. Yes, it is a bummer that the stores cannot get shipments of TP in fast enough. They should know by now that they have a special situation and should be adjusting to the demand. How many of you wish to stand in line for hours, just to get inside a grocery store? That is what is happening at several stores in the area.
Instead of sympathizing/empathizing with scared folks, some on here find the need to criticize and complain about anyone that does not see things like they do. Some of the same ones that complain, will be the same ones that insist that everyone GIVE their stimulus money away to others, instead of using it for what it's purpose is....to stimulate the economy so that we don't drop into a depression. Suit yourself, but complaining without a solution is non-productive and a waste of time.

You seem to be in a fairly unique situation, and there are some others in the same boat as well. However, I don't think the vast majority of "hoarders" have those medical issues.

I just got back from Sam's club, and one of the things I needed was paper towels. As I entered, I saw literally dozens of people on the check out line with paper towels. Not Bounty, but some brand called POM. They come in a BIG cardboard carton, with 30 rolls to the carton. There were people on line with those platform carts that had as many as 8 cartons = 240 rolls on them. So I headed immediately to that aisle, and guess what? No paper towels (no TP either). No idea why Sam's allows people to buy 240 rolls, and no idea why anyone, even those with a medical issues, needs that many.

So while medical issues may apply to some, I think most of these people are just hoarding

You and your wife, please stay safe

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by claricecolin

One must consider the whole supply chain thing. I have learned thing I never have much thought to. Toilet paper there are 2 markets consumers and industrial. Most people don't use the majority of toilet paper at home as they are at work/school during the day. The industrial supply chain doesn't have contracts with the consumer market. Even if that were to happen today shelves wouldn't be stocked overnight. They use different material also, they would need enough staffing and have to make changes to reformat the rolls. Not as simple as it seems at first glance.

Last time I tried to buy paper towels and toilet paper at Sam’s Club—over a month ago, I grant you—the only paper towels left were big boxes of 2400 folded towels for dispensers. The only toilet paper left was giant rolls for restroom dispensers. That fits with what you wrote. But you know, even though they don’t fit the usual paper towel or toilet paper holders at home, they still work! Just not as well.

[TJ_Woody]

Originally Posted by queasy27

I'm kind of curious what people are doing with all the baked beans. Those shelves were almost bare in Publix yesterday.

Chemical warfare.

[John_W]

Went to the neighborhood Walmart at Colony today about 11am, they had 4 or 5 different brands of TP. My wife got a 12 mega-roll pack of Northern and I got a 20 mega-roll pack of Scott. They a lot to choose from, but limit one per person. I can now give back the pack I borrowed from the neighbor, but haven't opened.

[Jima64]

I'm still trying to figure out how the canned green beans stay wiped out. I understand tp not being overly backstocked because of size but canned green beans. My dogs need the healthy snack as rewards.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Jima64

I'm still trying to figure out how the canned green beans stay wiped out. I understand tp not being overly backstocked because of size but canned green beans. My dogs need the healthy snack as rewards.

You and me both. I bought frozen in Walmart Neighborhood, put some of them in an empty jar and put them in the fridge. Doggo would not accept them frozen.

[NavyVet]

I absolutely believe stores should be limiting quantities so one person can't fill up an entire grocery cart of one item. I have no tolerance for people who try to resell items or return them to the store. Good for the stores who aren't allowing returns!
That said, true hoarding IS a mental illness. Along with OCD, it falls into the anxiety disorder spectrum. I should know; I have a relative who is a hoarder and has OCD traits. That type of hoarding goes beyond stocking up on goods for a month at a time.
I think of people who (myself included) keep a stock of non-perishables at all times as "Preppers" - prepared for any disaster. I have lived in both blizzard country AND South Florida. We inventory what we call our 'hurricane pantry' every year to replace what has been used. At Sam's Club, everything is sold by the case. Makes it easier to shop once a month or so. And yes I have an anxiety disorder as well, so worrying about running out of things makes me nervous. And I don't wait til the last minute to shop, like right before a storm warning or whatever, or wait until I'm out of something to run to the store for just a few things. I always follow a complete list. Finding perishables has been difficult at best, as we're trying to avoid going out often. I have health issues and am scared of getting this virus. I hate shopping. I haven't found Lysol spray, Clorox wipes or hand sanitizer since this whole mess started and I am running low on gloves. Every order I place at Amazon gets cancelled. A lot of people are panicked, so a little more understanding and a little LESS judgment would be freakin' appreciated. Don't lump us in with the jerks who buy out the stores to try and make a profit at others' expense. There is a difference Thank you very much.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by l2ridehd

Are folks actually using more TP now than before? Not really possible. So to me it makes no sense.

For the working class who are now not working at a location with bathroom facilities, or are working at home, who used to work in a office, they are using toilet paper at a rate at home higher than when they worked at an office or not in the home.

The problem has been discussed on other posts, that the toilet paper manufacturers were optimized for the pre crises split of toilet paper type between commercial TP, which I hate, and home TP which I like. The two don't cross over, and are completely different manufacturing processes. Are there some irrational humans? of course, and a 100 year event tends to scare the crap out them and cause them to act out. Luckily, most stores will not take returns, so when life returns to normal, and it will, then there will be home fire sales of TP.

So outside the bubble, the world is optimized for different markets, between commercial products and retail products. Other examples include egg cartons, where commercial and retail are different, now that commercial is shut down/greatly reduced, retail is picking up and there is a shortage of retail egg cartons, resulting in shortages of retail eggs. Vegetables which went to restaurants, aren't getting to retail fast enough because retail isn't buying them as fast as restaurants, etc. so vegetables are going to waste.

The economic dislocation from optimized delivery and production schedules can't be dismissed, like when a storm shuts down an airport for two days, and all the flights are full after the airport reopens, you just lost your vacation rental because you can't get rebooked on a flight in time (happened to my wife once) Or to your game, or your cruise, etc.

So maybe the world isn't completely crazy, but its very expensive to companies to prepare and keep inventory and unused capacity for a 100 year event.

sportsguy