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Panic Buying begets Panic Buying

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  • Panic Buying begets Panic Buying

    From TP during the pandemic to Gas during Biden's East Coast Gas Shortage.

    What happens is enough people do the initial panic buying, out of some irrational fear.

    The problem is that the panic buying creates a real problem/shortage, that rational people now have to deal with. This second wave makes sense, but also feeds into the shortage loop. The new wave fears that they might, in the near term, need to restock on the shorted item, so they rationally go out and buy, and likely get more than they need, becuase other people are now doing the same. Now of course, there is now more heightened demand, causing more shortages, meaning more people need to stock up because they don't know when the shortage will end.

    Thankfully, with something like TP, the initial large-scale panic buyers will be set for a long time (as TP doesn't get used that quickly), but the rational who bought "just enough, plus a little extra" now need to come in, and fight the shortages, and keep perpetuating the cycle until supplies catch up.

    Gas, hopefully will be different.

  • #2
    Originally posted by CivilDiscourse View Post
    From TP during the pandemic to Gas during Biden's East Coast Gas Shortage.

    What happens is enough people do the initial panic buying, out of some irrational fear.

    The problem is that the panic buying creates a real problem/shortage, that rational people now have to deal with. This second wave makes sense, but also feeds into the shortage loop. The new wave fears that they might, in the near term, need to restock on the shorted item, so they rationally go out and buy, and likely get more than they need, becuase other people are now doing the same. Now of course, there is now more heightened demand, causing more shortages, meaning more people need to stock up because they don't know when the shortage will end.

    Thankfully, with something like TP, the initial large-scale panic buyers will be set for a long time (as TP doesn't get used that quickly), but the rational who bought "just enough, plus a little extra" now need to come in, and fight the shortages, and keep perpetuating the cycle until supplies catch up.

    Gas, hopefully will be different.
    Gas is even more self limiting. You have to have a container for it, it's very heavy proportionally and it will go bad over time. You can't just fill up a closet with a lifetime supply.
    "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

    "Forgiveness is the way of love." Gary Chapman

    My Personal Blog

    My Novella blog (Current Novella Begins on 7/25/14)

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    • #3
      There's a video making its rounds on social media of a woman filling up plastic shopping bags with gasoline.
      Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
      But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
      Than a fool in the eyes of God


      From "Fools Gold" by Petra

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
        There's a video making its rounds on social media of a woman filling up plastic shopping bags with gasoline.
        Ah, yes... but she wasn't havin' a ciggy, was she?
        Was she??!

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
          There's a video making its rounds on social media of a woman filling up plastic shopping bags with gasoline.
          I remember once when I was rebuilding engines, I needed just a little gasoline to pour into the carburetor, and the only 'container' I had was a Styrofoam coffee cup.
          I knew that the Styrofoam wouldn't hold gasoline for very long without dissolving, but I only needed it to hold the gasoline for a few seconds.

          But GEEWLLIKERS --- it was pretty much an INSTANTANEOUS disappearance of the cup, with a puddle of gasoline on the garage floor, and me just holding the rim of the cup!
          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by CivilDiscourse View Post
            From TP during the pandemic to Gas during Biden's East Coast Gas Shortage.

            What happens is enough people do the initial panic buying, out of some irrational fear.
            In both cases, even if no one panicked, there was going to be a shortage. A sudden increase in the amount of TP needed in people's homes isn't the sort of thing that the industry was prepared to deal with quickly. Same thing with a major pipeline shutting down for several days.

            The problem is that the panic buying creates a real problem/shortage, that rational people now have to deal with. This second wave makes sense, but also feeds into the shortage loop. The new wave fears that they might, in the near term, need to restock on the shorted item, so they rationally go out and buy, and likely get more than they need, becuase other people are now doing the same. Now of course, there is now more heightened demand, causing more shortages, meaning more people need to stock up because they don't know when the shortage will end.

            Thankfully, with something like TP, the initial large-scale panic buyers will be set for a long time (as TP doesn't get used that quickly), but the rational who bought "just enough, plus a little extra" now need to come in, and fight the shortages, and keep perpetuating the cycle until supplies catch up.

            Gas, hopefully will be different.
            I can't think of any reason that things would be better with gasoline. At least with TP, there are alternatives.

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            • #7
              I think people here might be more prone to panic posting than panic buying....
              ...>>> Witty remark or snarky quote of another poster goes here <<<...

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              • #8
                I saw someone with a license frame saying "powered with veggie oil." There are some alternatives to gas such as this one. I believe I heard or read that cisco oil was originally used for machinery but they could have a bigger market selling it for cooking. (I didn't yet get a chance to verify if this was the fuel she was using. I have heard of people running cars on cooking grease before. This reminds me of a scene in Robots.)

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                • #9
                  Hummer bursts into flames just after driver filled up containers of gasoline in Homosassa, firefighters say

                  HOMOSASSA, Fla. - An SUV caught fire Wednesday, moments after investigators said the driver filled up several containers of gasoline at a Homosassa, Florida gas station.

                  Citrus County Fire Rescue said they responded to a report of a vehicle on fire near the Texaco gas station, located at 7593 W Grover Cleveland Blvd, around 11 a.m. Wednesday, where they found the Hummer H2 SUV engulfed in flames.

                  Fire rescue officials said the driver had just filled up four fuel containers at the gas station and stored them in the back of the Hummer.

                  hummer-fire-citrus-1.jpg

                  https://www.fox13news.com/news/humme...Da0IoxmyhOG_qQ

                  Either they were idiots who decided to smoke on the way home, or the containers leaked and dripped onto a hot exhaust pipe most likely.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                    Hummer bursts into flames just after driver filled up containers of gasoline in Homosassa, firefighters say

                    HOMOSASSA, Fla. - An SUV caught fire Wednesday, moments after investigators said the driver filled up several containers of gasoline at a Homosassa, Florida gas station.

                    Citrus County Fire Rescue said they responded to a report of a vehicle on fire near the Texaco gas station, located at 7593 W Grover Cleveland Blvd, around 11 a.m. Wednesday, where they found the Hummer H2 SUV engulfed in flames.

                    Fire rescue officials said the driver had just filled up four fuel containers at the gas station and stored them in the back of the Hummer.

                    hummer-fire-citrus-1.jpg

                    https://www.fox13news.com/news/humme...Da0IoxmyhOG_qQ

                    Either they were idiots who decided to smoke on the way home, or the containers leaked and dripped onto a hot exhaust pipe most likely.
                    Total coincidence, I'm sure - Hummers burst into flames all the time!
                    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by MaxVel View Post
                      I think people here might be more prone to panic posting than panic buying....
                      smiley hair-fire.gifsmiley hair-fire.gifsmiley hair-fire.gif

                      I'm always still in trouble again

                      "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                      "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                      "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

                        I remember once when I was rebuilding engines, I needed just a little gasoline to pour into the carburetor, and the only 'container' I had was a Styrofoam coffee cup.
                        I knew that the Styrofoam wouldn't hold gasoline for very long without dissolving, but I only needed it to hold the gasoline for a few seconds.

                        But GEEWLLIKERS --- it was pretty much an INSTANTANEOUS disappearance of the cup, with a puddle of gasoline on the garage floor, and me just holding the rim of the cup!
                        You ended up with a puddle of homemade napalm.

                        I'm always still in trouble again

                        "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                        "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                        "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I never understood the panic buying of TP. When the covid thing first hit, my only panic purchase was loading up on some canned goods. My family needs food to survive an unknown calamity. But TP? Seriously?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Ronson View Post
                            I never understood the panic buying of TP. When the covid thing first hit, my only panic purchase was loading up on some canned goods. My family needs food to survive an unknown calamity. But TP? Seriously?
                            We didn't panic buy, but we did stock up more than usual. This was because we looked at our stock, saw what was happening to the store supply, and figured that it might not be back up to snuff when our stock ran out, so we went out and bought sooner than we normally would, and probably more than we normally would as a cushion. But, we normally buy one of those giant 24-packs of rolls and use it up over a period of some months. Timing wasn't on our side, so we had to buy more smaller packs over shorter intervals.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by CivilDiscourse View Post

                              We didn't panic buy, but we did stock up more than usual. This was because we looked at our stock, saw what was happening to the store supply, and figured that it might not be back up to snuff when our stock ran out, so we went out and bought sooner than we normally would, and probably more than we normally would as a cushion. But, we normally buy one of those giant 24-packs of rolls and use it up over a period of some months. Timing wasn't on our side, so we had to buy more smaller packs over shorter intervals.
                              We usually get the 24 packs too (all the females in the house go through it like crazy). But we had plenty of Kleenex and paper towels so it just didn't seem like a necessity. Some countries don't have toilet paper and they get by fine. I bought canned food, batteries, some distilled water. Couldn't find isopropyl at the time.

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