This is what happens when you let Chinese companies buy in, willynilly. Bellamys is Chinese owned.
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Coles is saying the same thing, but you know, I dont see anywhere in the ordering sections of either company, where you can plug in your pension (or other) number. How do they know who is or is not in need. This is just BS
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Caution,
The hand sanitiser product is not available for shipping from their supplier (source not specified) until 31st March, same for the face masks. Still on the boat or are they shipping to order from OS. Add another week or two for delivery? Interestingly not available to ship to NZ.
The hand sanitiser comes as a bulk pack 10 x 100ml or $60/litre. This looks to be very expensive. There is a chemicals list, but no percentages of in the promotion, and a claim the product is WHO approved. Possibly a generic bit of puffery as opposed to a direct endorsement of the brand.
The masks have no Aust Standards rating, so you rely on the brand claims of 99% bacterial filtration efficiency being effective virus protection. $90 for a pack of 50. One size fits all!
Coles chicken section at 7am this morning. Also no spuds of any kind or onions. Butcher is out of meat too. Im at the fruito to seenif i can get some potatoes and onions
The partner got a few things at Woolies yesterday and decided to try for some kipfler potatoes at 0700 today. (Let’s not go there in the current climate of supply!) She scored a bag of our fav crisps but overall reported there was precious little different today from yesterday re stocking, no potatoes, noting the local produce shops have a few varieties in seemingly good supply, as well as ample F&V on their counters. Likewise the butchers have meat, although not always everything we are used to or in virtually bottomless quantities, all while the groceries are bare.
One message is that the supply chain is incapable of delivering to each grocery every night in spite of the hype. Maybe every other day, or every few days. There are only so many workers and so many trucks so as long as one tries to depend on business as usual with the groceries patience is going to be required as when the trucks do come, whatever they have will almost certainly be gone Very Quickly.
The F&V and butchers have a separate supply chain that is more adaptable to the current situation.
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OMG! Things are really going sideways!
Now we have reports of shortages of ventolin (non prescription asthma medication) due to panic buying.
Isn’t it interesting that
- People will take action that causes the very problem they want to prevent.
- They are sufficiently unethical to act in a way where their benefit may cause a problem for somebody else (as they see it).
- They are so stupid to not realise that it could come back to bite them, that they have joined a movement that may ultimately do them and society at large harm.
As we have mentioned once or twice giving a primate a big brain doesn’t make it rational.
At least rushes on non-prescription medicine has a simple solution; no ration card required, make them prescription again.
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Another article regarding grubs attacking shoppers and staff in supermarkets.
In StKilda West, were I live, F&V shops have completely disappeared; there’s only one out of the way butcher shop around the corner from the end of Acland street. There’s no Aldi or IGA.
Coles and Woolworths have taken over and now that they are depleted of necessary foods we have no local shops to go to.
Luckily in StKilda East (about 4 Km from where I live) there’s still a couple of small shops, I think because of the many estern Europeans living there and patronising local shops.
A few days ago I was able to get meat at a butcher shop there whereas the supermarkets just next door had empty meat and chicken shelves.
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My sister lives in Melbourne and went to a supermerket at 6:30 AM yesterday, waiting in the queue until 7:00 AM.
She got a pack of toilet rolls and a pack of paper towels which she placed at the back of her items on the checkout conveyor belt.
When the operator finally got to her shop whilst having problems with the POS system, some scumbag behing my sister tried to claim the toilet rolls and paper towels were his and a second scumbag behind him claimed that he saw him put them there.
As a retired barrister, my sister does not suffer fools at all and soon sorted the grubs out in no uncertain terms.
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The link for Woolies was in the email they sent. Snooping around the Woolies site the form for elderly, disabled, self-isolating can be found in this section Discover Fresh Ideas for You from Woolworths. Looking at the Coles site they are only delivering to remote communities. Couldnt find anything else.
Woolies announced more limits today:
2-pack limit per customer, per shop
- Every other product category
- AS AT 19TH MARCH Chilled Fresh Milk (excludes flavoured milk)
1-pack limit per customer, per shop
- Toilet paper
- Baby wipes
- Antibacterial wipes
- Paper towel
- Serviettes
- Rice (2kg and over)
No limits currently in place:
- Fresh Fruit & Veg
- Meat (excluding mince)
- Deli
- Bakery
- Seafood
- Canned Fish
- Drinks (ambient and chilled)
- Baby Food
- Yoghurts
- Easter confectionery & merchandise
- Wet Dog Food
- Wet Cat Food
Please remember we are all exhausted from the sudden demand. This is worse than any Christmas and Easter rush I’ve ever worked. We are doing our best. We hate enforcing limits, but we’re required too. We have to see big picture because we know we have thousands more people waiting behind you throughout the day.
Our restocking truck was diverted interstate Monday. Tuesday we got a small restock, and now we won’t get restocked again til tomorrow as everything is being sent to other states.
Saw this from the Straits Times that says Qantas is in talks to redeploy their some of their staff to Woolies.
And this explains why online has been suspended: “Coles’ and Woolies’ online portals are down because when real panic grips, there is simply not the human or robotic muscle to deliver on demand spikes that seemingly vortex in on themselves, snowballing as they go.”
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Some extracts regarding Peter Dutton claiming that persons hoarding and reselling items will be prosecuted.
Coronavirus Australia live updates: Peter Dutton warns profiteers, Tasmania introduces border controls, Qantas stands down 20,000 workers
"By Peter Marsh and Bridget Judd
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has warned that “it won’t be a pretty experience” if federal authorities catch up with hoarders seeking to profit from supermarket shortages, as Tasmania says it will quarantine all non-essential travellers."
Police are coming for those stockpiling essentials and trying to make a profit
ABC News
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton didn’t mess around this morning on 2GB when he was asked about people stockpiling goods then selling them for profit. ABC Federal Political reporter Matt Doran was listening in to the interview. Here’s Matt :
Panic buying and hoarding has hit most of the nation’s supermarkets during the coronavirus outbreak, with the Prime Minister labelling it as “ridiculous” and urging people to stop.
Mr Dutton, who is in isolation after being infected with coronavirus, has come out swinging.
He’s told Sydney radio station 2GB he believes some people aren’t stockpiling for themselves, and are rather looking to profit by selling items on the black market.
"I’m going to come after those people, and I’ll give them a fair warning now — it won’t be a pretty experience when we deal with them.
"Because the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Border Force, New South Wales Police, Victorian Police and elsewhere are onto this at the moment, and this is part of our demand problems.
“We will come down like a tonne of bricks on those individuals.”
"Mr Dutton said anyone who has photos, car registration details or any other evidence of people acting in such a way to contact Crimestoppers.
Peter Marsh 46 minutes ago(Updated: 46 minutes ago)"
I wonder under what legislation this can happen.
As the Choice article stated yesterday.
"## Product price increases
Can businesses increase prices for certain products that are in heightened demand due to COVID-19 (for example, face masks)?
- The ACCC cannot prevent or take action to stop excessive pricing, as it has no role in setting prices.
- In some limited circumstances excessive pricing may be unconscionable, for example where the product is critical to the health or safety of vulnerable consumers.
- If a business makes misleading claims about the reason for price increases, it will be breaching the Australian Consumer Law."
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A sad reality is when the herd is running the one that stays behind is the one shot. A lady I know who was not buying any more than her normal shops remarked whether she was the fool because when she would do her normal shop ‘tomorrow’ the shops will be bare and she will be the one without. One need not guess her new supply strategy.
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Thanks for that.
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The herd is running because there’s real danger of getting shot.
Unreasonable panic creates the danger of being trampled under 
I just have NO comprehension of whats going on in someone’s head when they do this kind of thing.
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Reminds me of the old joke about two people running from a wild animal. One stops to put on running shoes. The other looks back and asks whether the shoes will help in out-running the animal. “I don’t need to outrun it” says the first “I just need to outrun you”.
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Never fails to make me smile 
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A country IGA store introduces a “locals only” policy with ID required for entry.
Looks like the next convoy of buses will have a wasted trip.
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New restrictions placed on some medicines due to panic buying.
