Possibly but I seriously doubt it. The relevant economic theory does not seem to take into account that the supply of TP is quite elastic. The manufacturers are quite capable of ramping up production and have done so. It isn’t like money where normally only a fraction is available as cash and it would not be wise for governments to print more to make up any perceived shortfall if there is a run on the banks. Nor is TP such that you want to get all ‘yours’ like getting your money out of the bank, there is a limit to how much even the most panicked dufus will buy. The analogy between the two systems is pretty rough.
Or are the really smart ones Coles, Woolies etc.
Per
Nothing dumb in restricting customers to just 12 weeks supply in any one purchase? 48 weeks if you love alone?
That the elderly and those at highest risk are assured of not missing out (my bolding) is followed a little further on by a sort of an apology to customers who ‘miss out’!
If I had some spare toot paper it might be more obvious what needs picking up.
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Couldn’t agree more …!!
We were attacking the Government regarding …“Where’s all the Millions of Dollars going for the Fire Victims … seeing they’re Not getting any…??”
So we shift the momentum away … and use the Corona Virus…!!
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Having worked in supermarket retail for 10+ years I’ve legitimately never seen a run on products like this before. The other day we sold out of toilet paper at least twice in the 1 day. The second time a pallet load of 36 pack sold out in less than half an hour. We’ve sold out of hand sanitiser too.
Lost count of how many customers have asked when we will get more in (front end staff don’t know when the deliveries come in. Grocery workers have a much better idea.) It’s at the point where people that need it can’t get it because of the panic buying. Someone was telling me they have to use baby wipes because they have none left and cant buy any.
If I never see toilet paper come thru a checkout again it will be too soon!
Apparently the panic buying has reached the US. So much so that the share price of Costco and Target has gone up. An online friend from the US told me today that there was a punch up over toilet paper in their local Costco.
The other day I saw someone buy a carton (24 boxes) of tissues, and someone else buy 50L of boxed water. Personally we’ve bought 1 extra of some things like drinks, rice, flour and pet food during our weekly shop as a just in case. It just gives a little bit of extra wiggle room, and we can build up more next week in the same way.
IIRC the Brisbane Times article about the truck fire quotes the Qld Health Minister as saying that if you’re in self-isolation and run out of toilet paper the Red Cross will supply it. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/semi-trailer-carrying-load-of-toilet-paper-catches-fire-on-gateway-bridge-20200305-p5470e.html
Have a former co-worker who now works at a rival chain that has been on holidays the last couple weeks. After seeing today’s incident in Sydney they legitimately asked “Are we even going to be safe at work?” and is concerned about returning to work. The retail union has already made pleas for calm asking customers not to be aggressive to workers, pointing out they can’t control stock levels. Looking at a comment on a union post, senior management of 1 store have even restricted who and when can bring toilet paper onto their shop floor in order to protect staff.
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Here we go again.
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Gidday, @Ozspock, and welcome to the community discussion.
Agree we haven’t finished responding to one crisis and we are now getting ready for another. One might ask why there are not stronger calls for calm, cool reassurance. Where is there the admission we need to fix the bush fire response ASAP before it is genuinely overwhelmed by the next.
Both are real concerns. Can any “man” ever claim to be capable of doing two things at once?
Time for the proverbial “man”, I think our leader is a bloke at present, or woman or other to step up to the mark and deliver.
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I’m looking forward to seeing TP on half price special in a few weeks time, to make all the greedy hoarders feel stupid!
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I’ll second that and raise you.
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It’s not just “talk” - when we went to Coles the other day, there was not one single roll of toilet paper. One poor demented soul apparently wound up with a garage full of the stuff, after accidentally ordering 2300 rolls, which were delivered to their house.
And I think we need some fresh food in our diet, so really, it is hard to deal with this one. I imagine the immune system is vitally important - and it needs the nourishment as much as the rest of our bodies. It’ seems that you are between a rock and a hard place.
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Humans just smelt a bit…with dags hanging from the unwiped behind. One just knew what everyone ate the day before. 
Maybe a bidet or Toto (or Japanese bidet) toilet could solve all problems.
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I was really annoyed… had to return to the supermarket tonight because the damn cat lost his collar (thats twice this week) but I wont let him out without a double-belled collar… anyway… tonight it was tissues. A bloke I saw this morning with a trolley load of TP, tonight, got into the tissues. He must have had at least 24 boxes in his trolley.
What on earth do these people think is going to happen?
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With the dramatic drop in air pollution there will be a drop in the death rate and improvements in health in China. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.
.
“7,000,000 people die prematurely every year from breathing toxic air.” Dr Maria Neira, WHO .
http://ow.ly/LkrU30qmwri](https://t.co/lHIy2Y7twN?amp=1
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There were several family members who survived harsher conditions in WW2. One had the post war routine of balancing naked rear end over side of bath tub and doing a soap and water wash. Something a hand shower extension is equally useful for.
We’ve an almost endless supply of papery stuff (melaleuca quinquenervia) and soapy stuff ( Alphitonia excelsa).
What is happening in the outside world. It looks like every dingo for themselves, except for a handful of less selfish Aussies.
An almost unprecedented failure of leadership.
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There was a SolarQuotes blog about this a couple of weeks ago:
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A good news story:
Nowchem, in Nowra, is working overtime to meet demand for hand sanitizers, cleaning products, and toilet paper. China has ordered 72,000 litres
of a surface cleaner.
The company was facing loss because of the south coast bushfires, now business is booming. 
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The two women involved in the fight have now been charged.
I suppose that at least it is not the US and no firearms were involved.
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Why are people being so precious about toilet paper. As a child in PNG there was none. We used newspaper and were none the worse for it.
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A use for Murdoch newsprint?
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Coles has reduced the quantity to 1 pack per shop.
"Dear XXXX,
ENSURING ALL COLES CUSTOMERS HAVE ACCESS TO TOILET PAPER
Following the unprecedented demand for toilet paper we reluctantly introduced a temporary 4 pack limit last week. Unfortunately, many stores are still selling out within an hour of delivery.
1 PACK LIMIT PER CUSTOMER PER SHOP
We have therefore made the decision to change the limit to 1 pack per customer so that toilet paper is available for more of our customers, particularly the elderly and people who are unable to purchase in large volumes.
We have asked our suppliers to focus on increasing production of larger pack sizes and we are prioritising the delivery of these packs to our stores, as a pack of 30 rolls should last an average family for around 3 weeks.
We are grateful to our team members and suppliers who are working tirelessly to do the best job possible under the circumstances, and we thank our customers for their understanding and support.
Yours sincerely,
Steven Cain
Chief Executive Officer
Coles Group"
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We had our old copies of the white and yellow pages hanging of a length of rope on the back of the outhouse (dunny) door. Next to the can of wood shavings to dust the proceeds in the can of each visit. 
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