Panic Buying Hitting Costco and Big Box Retailers

[Cnsper]

People. People, people, it is the first of the month so military and those on assistance were paid on Friday. Add that to those panicking about a tiny virus that is being blown out of proportion and you get this.

Much ado about nothing. Then you add the time of year with just in time shipping, shortages will happen. Roads in parts of North Dakota have been closed 4-5 times this year. That puts everything behind.

 

[Morgan101]

I went to Wal Mart yesterday. It looked like a normal day of business; not overly crowded. People were not panicky. I didn't see any overflowing carts. Toilet paper was in ample supply, and there was an employee stocking the shelves with more. Rice and Beans looked picked over, but there was still plenty there. I did not check the meat counter, but everything looked quite normal. Suffice it to say there doesn't appear to be panic buying in my area.

 

[Cascadian]

So again the Dems may be inadvertently serving up a win for Trump.

 

[Weedygarden]

I went to Wal Mart yesterday. It looked like a normal day of business; not overly crowded. People were not panicky. I didn't see any overflowing carts. Toilet paper was in ample supply, and there was an employee stocking the shelves with more. Rice and Beans looked picked over, but there was still plenty there. I did not check the meat counter, but everything looked quite normal. Suffice it to say there doesn't appear to be panic buying in my area.

I went to my local grocery store yesterday, around 11 am. There were many people stocking shelves, which around here, is mostly done overnight. There were no holes on the shelves, but there was product being stocked. I asked one of the stockers if the store was busier than usual. He told me it was, and that people were probably stocking for the snow storm. Well, there is no snow storm in the near prediction. I told him that people are probably preparing for the corona virus. He didn't really say anything, and they may have been told not to say anything about it.

 

[goshengirl]

I’m back in Atlanta in the ER with my son. The medical staff is discussing the ‘mass hysteria’ of people clearing out the local stores because there are now confirmed cases in GA. I haven’t had a chance to do any regular grocery shopping since getting here - should be interesting...

 

[zannej]

I'm glad we have plenty of TP & paper towels- also have lysol and clorox wipes. I'm about out of water though-- we usually stock up every few weeks because our tap water from the well has too much sediment.
I wonder if people are avoiding the Chinese buffet-- but I don't think people in this state care too much since there haven't been any outbreaks here & people here don't seem to care about the environment or health.
I wish we had a Costco near us. They finally built one in the state but it's too far away so we go to Samsclub instead.

 

[jimLE]

i'll be doing my shopping in 3 days.i wonder what it'll be like then.i hope there'll be cases of water.eggs and bacon.

 

[dademoss]

Went to Kroger today for Peanut butter and hamburger. Plenty of both, the peanut butter was low because it was buy 5 and get 1.00 off each jar. 4 lbs of PB for 4 bucks is hard to pass up, so I felt like a hoarder and have 20 lbs of PB in the pantry. Hamburgers were money off too, so I stocked up for a bit No empty spots, plenty of everything.

Of course, it's Cincinnati, we are 10 years behind everything

 

[zannej]

I just pre-ordered some stuff I wanted from Samsclub so they will have it at the front ready for me when I come in so I don't have to go into the back to load it up. They are limiting customers to 5 cases of the water (I normally grab 6 so I don't have to come back as often). I'm also getting trail mix (because they have this really good stuff that we all love) and chicken noodle soup. My brother will open a can and chug the soup without heating it so we go through it fast. Will need to make sure all of the cans actually have soup in them-- I've had problems where there were unopened but empty cans in the cases before.

I'm not worried about coronavirus, but I do worry about some of the other bugs going around bc people around here don't believe in washing their hands. I'm still flabbergasted by the woman who licked her damn fingers before touching the shopping bags and the card reader keypad thingy who was ahead of me in line the other day. That's just nasty & inconsiderate.

 

[Support Gunner]

 

[havasu]

Costco today. I got more toilet paper, 5 cases of water, 5 rolls of Clorox wipes, and a bunch of other dry goods.

 

[Bacpacker]

I'm heading to Sams after work tomorrow. Usually its not to bad right after work, hope that holds up this time.

Question for the forum. What does everyone think about Costco vs Sams? We have both over in the big town, shopped Sams for years, never been in a Costco.

 

[havasu]

I have both stores within 10 minutes away. Way less crowds at Sam's, but honestly, for quality, Costco surpasses Sam's. The prices are a few pennies higher or lower, depending what you're buying. My favorite thing is Member's Mark French R

oast coffee beans. 3 pounds for about $14. Best coffee I've ever had.

 

[jimLE]

i wish i still had my sams membership..on account there;s good deals there.

 

[Terri9630]

View attachment 36220
Costco today. I got more toilet paper, 5 cases of water, 5 rolls of Clorox wipes, and a bunch of other dry goods.

Looks like you weren't the only one.

 

[zannej]

I'm heading to Sams after work tomorrow. Usually its not to bad right after work, hope that holds up this time.

Question for the forum. What does everyone think about Costco vs Sams? We have both over in the big town, shopped Sams for years, never been in a Costco.

Sams is the only one available in my area but my sister has both in her area and prefers Costco. Not only does Costco have better quality products, they pay their employees better & it shows. I went with my sister a few times & the Costco employees were much happier, much more helpful, & generally seemed more efficient. None of them were rude & it seems like they were better trained. I've encountered multiple rude employees at Sams as well as ones who just did not care. My friend got one guy fired after a complaint to corporate over the extremely rude behavior.
At least there is one very sweet employee who is always nice to me whenever I come in though. There's one who has to check cards before people come in and she apologizes & says "I'm sorry, I know you have one but they make me do this or I lose my job."
I'm hoping they don't screw up when I go to get my stuff tomorrow. I've seen situations where they didn't pull stuff that had already been purchased & sold it to someone else afterward. The guy who got fired had told a woman "Too bad, lady, go get a refund" when she found the item she had purchased but the employee was giving it to another customer who hadn't paid for it yet.

 

[Amish Heart]

We have both stores near us. Sams is near Chic fil a, Terri.
I shop Sams, because I shop basics, and Costco has a lot of fancy items that I don't need to buy, but end up buying if I go there.
Am grocery shopping in the morning...Sprouts for Vegetables and fruit, then the Kroger Store. Going early, right after I put little granddaughter on the schoolbus, because there will be less people there at that time. Avoiding crowds right now. 30 people are in quarantine, according to our news, but none tested yet.

 

[goshengirl]

The regular grocery store wasn't too bad tonight. The canned goods were definitely reduced in stock, as was the cereal. But I had no problem getting chicken noodle soup - sometimes that's all my son can eat with the chemo, I would have panicked big time if they were out. Oddly the item that was most out of stock were spices.

I'm really seeing how easy it is to be prepared in one place, but as soon as I'm outside my ordinary, I'm completely unprepared. Not just in physical items, but emotionally and mentally, too. Preparedness doesn't take time off, just because I leave home.

 

[Terri9630]

Sams is near Chic fil a, Terri.

We went to Sams on Saturday but was out voted for dinner.

Avoiding crowds right now. 30 people are in quarantine, according to our news, but none tested yet.

Figures since we were just there....

 

[Haertig]

Our local grocery had experienced a run on toilet paper when I went in today (I went for fixin's for a spaghetti dinner tonight, not for TP). Except for the Charmin. I guess panic buyers don't like Charmin. Geez, I guess if I had to, I could use Charmin...

 

[Sewingcreations15]

Updating on the Australian situation and what is going on here .

Most stores are out of hand sanitiser, face masks, from the news most supermarkets are also getting a run on pantry staples being pasta, flour, certain brands of powdered milk being the generic ones etc and long life products eg long life milk is out of stock.

Incidentally the areas where there is a Costco I have heard they have sold out of toilet paper and antibacterial hand lotions.

In our country area I put in an order for powdered milk (out of stock), tinned fruit (I got 4 out of the 12 ordered) . I did notice where we picked up the order that the meat department was sparse and so was the F & V department that they spread everything out in to make it look like it was full.

Going to a larger town in just over a week so will put in an order only for items we have used. We have plenty of stock of everything here for mostly 9 - 12 months. I just topped up our meat supplies on super specials too for the freezer last week so we have a really good supply again.

 

[Amish Heart]

I don't buy handsanitizer. But I do have lots of rubbing alcohol and aloe gel to make my own.

 

[CrackbottomLouis]

I placed orders yesterday with Aguson farms and Honeyville. Both places had lots of stuff sold out. But between the 2 I was able to get most of what I was looking for. Making a run to Sam's on Tue or Wed this week.

Good luck on actually getting that freeze dried stuff shipped out to you. All those companies are way behind. Good to be in the que though.

 

[Morgan101]

I saw this list on another website. I know I am preaching to the choir, but it is very comprehensive, and you might find something you have overlooked. All good things to add to your larder.

https://www.today.com/food/coronavirus-grocery-list-what-you-need-survive-virus-t175051

 

[Weedygarden]

I'm glad we have plenty of TP & paper towels- also have lysol and clorox wipes. I'm about out of water though-- we usually stock up every few weeks because our tap water from the well has too much sediment.
I wonder if people are avoiding the Chinese buffet-- but I don't think people in this state care too much since there haven't been any outbreaks here & people here don't seem to care about the environment or health.
I wish we had a Costco near us. They finally built one in the state but it's too far away so we go to Samsclub instead.

I am curious about where you get your water and what kind of containers you get? I want to suggest that you look into buying water in 5 gallon jugs, like you see in water coolers in offices. Also, watch for a dispenser for your jugs. I wonder if you have a contact in your community that would let you fill up your water jugs? We have grocery stores here where you can fill up jugs for less than buying new jugs each time.

Also, do you have the possibility of doing water catchment? I have gotten some 55 gallon drums to catch water from my roof. It would be another project, but could be a life saver. When I was growing up, grandparents would catch water when it was raining for washing hair and plant watering. Washing hair with the rainwater made for soft hair.

 

[Morgan101]

I am curious about where you get your water and what kind of containers you get? I want to suggest that you look into buying water in 5 gallon jugs, like you see in water coolers in offices. Also, watch for a dispenser for your jugs. I wonder if you have a contact in your community that would let you fill up your water jugs? We have grocery stores here where you can fill up jugs for less than buying new jugs each time.

Also, do you have the possibility of doing water catchment? I have gotten some 55 gallon drums to catch water from my roof. It would be another project, but could be a life saver. When I was growing up, grandparents would catch water when it was raining for washing hair and plant watering. Washing hair with the rainwater made for soft hair.

The Wally World close to me carries those 5 gallon containers for less than $15.00. If you save the containers, and bring them back to be refilled it is half that. They are heavy, and a little unwieldy to handle, but they are also great storage containers when they are empty.

 

[Bacpacker]

Stopped at Sams on the way home tonight. Store wasn't fully stocked, but had most everything on my list. TP and water were down a bit but had plenty out. Crowd was fairly light for 4-5pm. Only saw one other guy with a flatbed cart and he was just getting bulky stuff. Everyone else just had carts, no one seemed to be doing a big stock run. I was actually surprised at that. Check out I was behind a lady for less than a minute. Was in and out in under an hour and went thru most of the store.

 

[Tank-Girl]

Updating on the Australian situation and what is going on here .

Most stores are out of hand sanitiser, face masks, from the news most supermarkets are also getting a run on pantry staples being pasta, flour, certain brands of powdered milk being the generic ones etc and long life products eg long life milk is out of stock.

Incidentally the areas where there is a Costco I have heard they have sold out of toilet paper and antibacterial hand lotions.

In our country area I put in an order for powdered milk (out of stock), tinned fruit (I got 4 out of the 12 ordered) . I did notice where we picked up the order that the meat department was sparse and so was the F & V department that they spread everything out in to make it look like it was full.

Going to a larger town in just over a week so will put in an order only for items we have used. We have plenty of stock of everything here for mostly 9 - 12 months. I just topped up our meat supplies on super specials too for the freezer last week so we have a really good supply again.

SC if you are looking for masks try Officeworks.
If you are looking for TP tr

 

[zannej]

I am curious about where you get your water and what kind of containers you get? I want to suggest that you look into buying water in 5 gallon jugs, like you see in water coolers in offices. Also, watch for a dispenser for your jugs. I wonder if you have a contact in your community that would let you fill up your water jugs? We have grocery stores here where you can fill up jugs for less than buying new jugs each time.

Also, do you have the possibility of doing water catchment? I have gotten some 55 gallon drums to catch water from my roof. It would be another project, but could be a life saver. When I was growing up, grandparents would catch water when it was raining for washing hair and plant watering. Washing hair with the rainwater made for soft hair.

We get the 15L bottles because those are the largest ones my mother can easily lift to drink from. She has to drink a LOT of water. We sometimes get 1Gallon bottles but she found them too difficult to manage. I have a bad back so lifting heavy objects is not good for me & I have trouble. I haven't seen water filling things at the local stores, but to be honest, I wouldn't trust them to be clean. They have ice dispensers and some friends of mine found broken glass in them. It's just easier to get several cases of the 15L bottles.
My mother didn't listen to me about having already pre-purchased the water & she zipped off in her riding cart & completely ignored me. I can't keep up with her in the faster carts. We used self-checkout & one of the clerks came up to make sure everything was going OK. I mentioned that we had an in-store pickup to retrieve so she said she'd go check & asked for the name. She had it on a cart and she let us go out through a different door and even helped me load everything up. I don't recall seeing her there before, but she was very nice.
I forgot to get a couple of things while we were there, but it was stuff I could get at Walmart.

 

[Supervisor42]

We get the 15L bottles because those are the largest ones my mother can easily lift to drink from. She has to drink a LOT of water...

I have got to meet her!
She's one hell of a woman! 15 liters = 3.96 gallons
I consider myself a pretty serious drinker, but I couldn't match that.
(Yes we all know you meant 1.5L just having fun)