The stores should have raised prices the moment the crisis hit. That way guys like this can't afford the clear out the shelves.
Even after he started doing what the stores should have done, it helps no one for amazon to block his sales: Now all those supplies are sitting in his garage helping no one.
Emergency supplies can have a limit on daily purchase, like 2 per household type of thing. Ideally you shouldn't have to raise prices just to ward off assholes. Why should regular consumers have to pay more because of those who would create the shortage?
Emergency supplies can have a limit on daily purchase, like 2 per household type of thing.
So bachelors get double and families of four get half? If a household decides they really need that extra package of toilet paper, despite the high prices, why shouldn't they be allowed to pay for it?
And that's assuming everyone plays by the rules. In reality you'll get people making multiple purchases and clerks won't be able to keep track of them.
Ideally you shouldn't have to raise prices just to ward off assholes.
Ideally we wouldn't need prices or money at all, people would always just take the minimum they need and produce as much as they can. But we don't live in an ideal world, so we need prices to communicate scarcity and limit consumption.
Why should regular consumers have to pay more because of those who would create the shortage?
He's not creating the shortage. Do you think he bought up literally all the supplies in his state? The shortage happened because there was a sudden massive spike in demand. He just noticed what was happening early on and bought up maybe .001% of the total supplies.
I didn't say he alone caused the problem. His story is a look into the dynamic of how the shortage was created.
Colvin is one of probably thousands of sellers who have amassed stockpiles of hand sanitizer and crucial respirator masks that many hospitals are now rationing, according to interviews with eight Amazon sellers and posts in private Facebook and Telegram groups from dozens more. Amazon said it had recently removed hundreds of thousands of listings and suspended thousands of sellers’ accounts for price gouging related to the coronavirus.
One family can go back the next day and buy the extra rolls if there are any available. Don't be dense, splitting hairs over bachelors vs. families of four. If the family is short handed, each parent can buy separately. Will a lot of people do that? Maybe, but most people won't. Most people are okay with reasonable limits so that everyone gets a shot at getting it, unlike when people walk out with the last 10 packages after 3 people cleaned out the previous 50 packages. You really don't get what happens in market supply chains in this circumstance when one group clears out inventory on a grand scale and you think everything is just business as usual.
I didn't say he alone caused the problem. His story is a look into the dynamic of how the shortage was created.
No it isn't. My social media feeds are full of regular people buying 10 times their weekly requirements in emergency goods. I know a guy who bought all his toilet paper for a year, because why not.
This guy is the exception, not the rule.
One family can go back the next day and buy the extra rolls if there are any available. Don't be dense, splitting hairs over bachelors vs. families of four. If the family is short handed, each parent can buy separately. Will a lot of people do that? Maybe, but most people won't.
Australian shops tried that when Chinese people were buying up all their baby formula to resell in china. They just formed a conveyor belt of people coming in, buying four tins, then going back through again until it was all gone.
Most people are okay with reasonable limits so that everyone gets a shot at getting it
If that were true there wouldn't be a shortage.
unlike when one person walks out with the last 10 packages after 3 people cleaned out the previous 50 packages.
Four people can't clear out an entire supermarkets' stock.
You really don't get what happens in market supply chains in this circumstance when one group clears out inventory on a grand scale and you think everything is just business as usual.
They wouldn't be able to clear them out if prices were allowed to rise naturally
What is this one "group" lol? Joe public cleared out the shops.
Four people can't clear out an entire supermarkets' stock.
You didn't read about the guy cleaning out 4 different costcos of pallets of wipes every day.
I was lucky to find one place that had a 2 package limit on TP, if it wasn't for them, I would be almost out. People are okay with reasonable limits, doesn't mean they wouldn't buy double that without the limit. Did the guy buy for the year during the same time he knew there was a big shortage in the works? If so, he's an asshole too. Even having people stop buying all the stock at one time (even if they come back later), still slows the process enough for others to get a shot at purchasing. People don't just go back and forth to the same cashier and expect to make multiple purchases without leaving and coming back later. Most families aren't running conveyor belt of purchasing a niche brand product in order to run a resale business.
The one group I refer to are the same people now sitting on hundreds of thousands of items that Amazon took off their outside vendor listings because of price gouging.
I'm one of those assholes. For some insane reason I told my wife to stock up on TP about six weeks ago. She did and I did too. I swear it was like a mind parasite that was programmed into me. Of all things why the hell was I worried about TP?
I saved this from quite awhile back. Maybe this is where my mind virus came from, IDK. But I didn't buy all of the other essentials, just TP. I scare myself sometimes.
Six weeks ago isn't so bad, there was plenty of stock in my area up until a few days ago. I did get a warning a week ago but unlike you, I unfortunately did not heed the warning :(
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Broc_Lia ago
The stores should have raised prices the moment the crisis hit. That way guys like this can't afford the clear out the shelves.
Even after he started doing what the stores should have done, it helps no one for amazon to block his sales: Now all those supplies are sitting in his garage helping no one.
Price controls only ever cause problems.
kestrel9 ago
Emergency supplies can have a limit on daily purchase, like 2 per household type of thing. Ideally you shouldn't have to raise prices just to ward off assholes. Why should regular consumers have to pay more because of those who would create the shortage?
Broc_Lia ago
So bachelors get double and families of four get half? If a household decides they really need that extra package of toilet paper, despite the high prices, why shouldn't they be allowed to pay for it?
And that's assuming everyone plays by the rules. In reality you'll get people making multiple purchases and clerks won't be able to keep track of them.
Ideally we wouldn't need prices or money at all, people would always just take the minimum they need and produce as much as they can. But we don't live in an ideal world, so we need prices to communicate scarcity and limit consumption.
He's not creating the shortage. Do you think he bought up literally all the supplies in his state? The shortage happened because there was a sudden massive spike in demand. He just noticed what was happening early on and bought up maybe .001% of the total supplies.
kestrel9 ago
I didn't say he alone caused the problem. His story is a look into the dynamic of how the shortage was created.
One family can go back the next day and buy the extra rolls if there are any available. Don't be dense, splitting hairs over bachelors vs. families of four. If the family is short handed, each parent can buy separately. Will a lot of people do that? Maybe, but most people won't. Most people are okay with reasonable limits so that everyone gets a shot at getting it, unlike when people walk out with the last 10 packages after 3 people cleaned out the previous 50 packages. You really don't get what happens in market supply chains in this circumstance when one group clears out inventory on a grand scale and you think everything is just business as usual.
Broc_Lia ago
No it isn't. My social media feeds are full of regular people buying 10 times their weekly requirements in emergency goods. I know a guy who bought all his toilet paper for a year, because why not.
This guy is the exception, not the rule.
We don't have to even imagine how wrong you are: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-26/daigou-chinese-personal-shopping-$1-billion-industry/9671012
Australian shops tried that when Chinese people were buying up all their baby formula to resell in china. They just formed a conveyor belt of people coming in, buying four tins, then going back through again until it was all gone.
If that were true there wouldn't be a shortage.
Four people can't clear out an entire supermarkets' stock.
They wouldn't be able to clear them out if prices were allowed to rise naturally
What is this one "group" lol? Joe public cleared out the shops.
kestrel9 ago
You didn't read about the guy cleaning out 4 different costcos of pallets of wipes every day.
I was lucky to find one place that had a 2 package limit on TP, if it wasn't for them, I would be almost out. People are okay with reasonable limits, doesn't mean they wouldn't buy double that without the limit. Did the guy buy for the year during the same time he knew there was a big shortage in the works? If so, he's an asshole too. Even having people stop buying all the stock at one time (even if they come back later), still slows the process enough for others to get a shot at purchasing. People don't just go back and forth to the same cashier and expect to make multiple purchases without leaving and coming back later. Most families aren't running conveyor belt of purchasing a niche brand product in order to run a resale business.
The one group I refer to are the same people now sitting on hundreds of thousands of items that Amazon took off their outside vendor listings because of price gouging.
Slipstream ago
Hey man, you need a few squares. we'll talk.
kestrel9 ago
LOL, yeah it's a bad feeling man.
Slipstream ago
I'm one of those assholes. For some insane reason I told my wife to stock up on TP about six weeks ago. She did and I did too. I swear it was like a mind parasite that was programmed into me. Of all things why the hell was I worried about TP?
I saved this from quite awhile back. Maybe this is where my mind virus came from, IDK. But I didn't buy all of the other essentials, just TP. I scare myself sometimes.
https://files.catbox.moe/lo3595.jpg
kestrel9 ago
Six weeks ago isn't so bad, there was plenty of stock in my area up until a few days ago. I did get a warning a week ago but unlike you, I unfortunately did not heed the warning :(
https://voat.co/v/whatever/3695433