Costco placing purchase limits on toilet paper, other products due to COVID-related demand

Our local Costco's (and all other stores, apparently) were out of TP for a few months, at the beginning of the pandemic. But they did get it back. What they stayed out of for over a year was those Lysol (or Clorox) sanitizing wipes.
 

I was at Sam's Club today, same 1 item limit, no big deal, to be expected. I looked at their Bounty full sheet towels and Scott toilet tissue, both were overpriced, can get a better deal at the local supermarket, so I passed. I never had a TP panic for the pandemic, for years when I got a good deal from Target on Scott tissue, usually a gift card if you buy a certain amount, I picked some up and put in in the basement. That's something we will need until we're no longer here, so it won't spoil or go to waste. ;)
 
We don't seem to have any shortages here. I bought some Scott tp and it was at a bargain price the other day. I didn't expect to see that yet I only got one package. There was plenty on the shelves...then at least.
 
I was at Costco today. Had to laugh... my cart was a rarity in that it didn't have a case of bottled water, paper towels and toilet paper. Many people were buying just those three items. If people hadn't been limited to one of each, the inventory would surely have been wiped out.

I didn't notice anything to be out of stock. Some prices were a little higher, but I expected that. I don't buy meat, dairy or fish, so can't comment on their prices but the cases were full.
 
I understood the shortages last year since we suddenly went from businesses, restaurants and such that used bulk paper products to staying at home with household sized items, and the sudden transition made the household items scarce. Dunno what's behind this run on paper goods other than the media says there's a shortage which sends people out on a buying frenzy that actually winds up creating shortages.
 
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We did our weekly shopping today.....local grocery store, and Walmart. The local store was well stocked with nearly everything, and the Walmart had an empty aisle where it appeared they were transitioning from "lawn and garden" to Christmas items. After that TP "fiasco" last year, we keep an extra pack of TP, which serves our needs. However, the longer these manufacturing and shipping issues continue, the better the chances of some items once again being hard to find.
 
Packerjohn said:
However, some places require you to boil water due to local pollution. In that case, buy a case but please don't throw it out of your car/truck! Thank you.
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Bottled water containers being tossed is an increasing source of pollution....everywhere. I would like to see a 10 cent, or more, "deposit" added to the price of these bottles....that might induce some people to quit trashing the environment. That might force some stores to hire an extra employee to "recover/rebate" these bottles, but if the deposit was high enough, the store might actually make a few extra dollars.

After sampling the water in some cities/towns, as we drive around, I can understand a lot of people in those areas drinking bottled water. Some of the places we've been, the water almost tastes like "swimming pool" water....from all the chlorine, etc., added to it. Anymore, when we go somewhere, we put a couple of bottles of our well water in a small cooler in case we have to spit out the "sewage" that comes from the drinking fountains.
 
I was never at risk of running out of tp with the political shutdowns of 2020, because of the early morning "senior hour" at local grocery stores. At the same time, it was completely ridiculous. Bucket, wet shop rags, and a washing machine cost a whole lot less, and actually are more functional. Toilet Paper is not a necessity.
 
StarSong said:
I was at Costco today. Had to laugh... my cart was a rarity in that it didn't have a case of bottled water, paper towels and toilet paper. Many people were buying just those three items. If people hadn't been limited to one of each, the inventory would surely have been wiped out.

I didn't notice anything to be out of stock. Some prices were a little higher, but I expected that. I don't buy meat, dairy or fish, so can't comment on their prices but the cases were full.
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Yes, the toilet paper inventory would surely have been wiped out.
And shoppers would be left feeling flushed.......
 
My order of alcohol arrived today from Walmart. Eight 32-oz bottles. Great price & free 2-day shipping.
I fill spray bottles with them & spray masks after each use. Also what I use to clean the toilets & on me for insulin shots.
 
Lawrence00 said:
I was never at risk of running out of tp with the political shutdowns of 2020, because of the early morning "senior hour" at local grocery stores. At the same time, it was completely ridiculous. Bucket, wet shop rags, and a washing machine cost a whole lot less, and actually are more functional. Toilet Paper is not a necessity.
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I wash and reuse old cut up towels as rags for cleaning, terry kitchen towels, rags and sponges are my go-to for cleaning and spill mop ups in the kitchen, so my consumption of paper towels is extremely low.

That said, I can't imagine the level of "OMG, we're out of TP, Kleenex, paper towels, newspapers and junk mail" desperation I'd have to hit before using, washing and reusing rags in place of TP.
 
StarSong said:
That said, I can't imagine the level of "OMG, we're out of TP, Kleenex, paper towels, newspapers and junk mail" desperation I'd have to hit before using, washing and reusing rags in place of TP.
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'One' type for the ladies wouldn't be so bad. 💦 😜 It is sterile unless you have a UTI.
 
They’re talking about issues with the shipping from overseas. The last I looked we have lots of trees in Canada and they upped their production of TP during the the peak of the shortage last year. We shouldn’t have a shortage here but they didn’t have any Kirkland TP a couple weeks ago at our Costco. Maybe it’s just their brand and that rumour has set off all the other hoarding.
 
When we were low on TP, my dad would recite a little poem:
"In the days of old, when knights were bold,
they rolled on the grass to wipe their...."
 
Becky1951 said:
I keep a case of bottled water for emergencies. Last winter our pipes froze, by the time they thawed 3 days later we discovered busted pipes, so that took another 2 days of no water for repairs. My daughter age 27, mentally age 5 insists on drinking bottled water since then. No problem, when she goes to bed I refill the bottles and put them back on the shelf. 🤣
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I keep a full jug of tap water under the sink. I live in an apartment so you never really know when the water supply might go off. I can still make my coffee and tea from that jug.
 
The grocery stores I routinely deal with have been putting limits on certain products since the pandemic started. The products vary from time to time depending on what they are having trouble getting or keeping in stock. Lately it has been OTC cold remedies and cough drops.
 
Butterfly said:
The grocery stores I routinely deal with have been putting limits on certain products since the pandemic started. The products vary from time to time depending on what they are having trouble getting or keeping in stock. Lately it has been OTC cold remedies and cough drops.
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There have been purchasing limits on some of these (like Nyquil) these for many years. A couple of the ingredients commonly used to combat cold symptoms are also useful in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/informati...ucts-containing-pseudoephedrine-ephedrine-and
 
StarSong said:
There have been purchasing limits on some of these (like Nyquil) these for many years. A couple of the ingredients commonly used to combat cold symptoms are also useful in the manufacture of methamphetamine.

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/informati...ucts-containing-pseudoephedrine-ephedrine-and
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I know -- but this is other stuff not on those lists that they have had a run on -- like ordinary cough drops and antihistamines.

Chicken, for a while, and yogurts, and assorted other stuff they been having trouble keeping up with.
 
I had to wait months to get some floor covering tiles. (And then I didn't like them once they were installed, but that's another story.)
 

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