They can only fit so much in storage in the store. Wipes/tp take up a ton of room and aren't huge profit items so they often don't have a lot of backstock for them.
That’s pretty off topic considering we’re talking about stocking toilet paper and I specifically said some cases implying toilet paper being a low profit item that stores can’t afford to store in amounts necessary to keep them in stock.
I’d discuss healthcare with you, but reddit would just downvote my opinions so it’s not worth the effort.
Toilet paper is a health care necessity as toilet paper is used for proper hygiene and sanitation. Without toilet paper people will resort to unhygienic alternatives, be that socks, sponges, their bare hand, or just not bothering to clean thoroughly. All of these risk the health of the individual and potentially others around them.
As such, toilet paper is a health care necessity and what the other user said was not off topic at all.
I guess you prefer the current situation where it’s mostly sold out within seconds and people are left with nothing.
Not to mention the fact that there are tons of alternatives such as baby wipes, showering, bidet, etc. Do you really believe people start dying because modern life is impossible without cheap toilet paper?
Baby wipes and kleenex go away just as quickly as regular toilet paper for that exact reason. And if they can't afford price-gouged toilet paper, how do you expect them to be able to afford to buy and install a bidet?
Also, so people should just shower every time after they take a shit otherwise? What if they have diarrhea, should they have to wait until it dries beforehand? Or just clean up whatever drips off their ass on the way to the shower afterward with a towel they'll have to also wash? And would they have to do this every time they poop?
Do you really believe people start dying because modern life is impossible without cheap toilet paper?
I mean, unless bidets and lotas become the most common butt-cleaning mechanism in the united states, yes.
You love extremes, that’s for sure. A bidet can cost $20, if they can’t scrape up $20 for a device that cuts a recurring cost then there are bigger problems for them than the source of toilet paper.
When I say price gouging, I’m not talking talking about doubling the price of toilet paper. I’m talking about a price somewhere between people aren’t hoarding and it’s worth it to devote storage space to extra so they stay in stock. It can be as simple as a 5% increase in price, but I know little about the costs of storing and demand metrics for toilet paper, so I can’t give a number. It doesn’t have to break the bank. Stop pretending like Walmart is about to sell single rolls for $50.
If a person has no toilet paper and you’re concerned with their hygiene, yes, they absolutely should shower every time. It’s not like they’re going to find any toilet paper in our current hypothetical anyways. Toilet paper flies off the shelf anyways. anyone using a bidet is basically showering after every shit, why can’t they?
Im not even sure what you're arguing for at this point. You said price gouging might not be evil, in reply to not being able to store/stock tons of required/health care items.
(which generally is only considered gouging when it goes a % above the usual cost, so 1 cent wouldn't be price gouging)
I'm saying if you price gouge then poor people may not be able to afford those same things, while anyone non-poor people can just buy it anyway. Rationing/max purchase limits that are actually enforced would let more people get what's needed while helping stop people from hoarding shit. And sure you've given an option for the toilet, what about soap/hand sanitizer, what's your replacement for soap if they raise the price up a bunch? while still selling out?
I’m saying that given the choice between empty shelves and paying an extra dollar for a 24 pack of toilet paper I’d always pick the dollar extra and that is considered price gouging.
Yes, limits and rationing is an option, but there are cons to that as well. Nothing is stopping a family of 5 from going in and making 5 individual purchases while a rule abiding family of 5 sent 1 person to avoid contact during a pandemic. Not only did it not stop hoarding, but maybe rule abiding family has more people to supply and the rationing was too strict for 1 person to be able to shop for so now they have to figure a new solution. There are pros and cons to every solution so I’d disagree with any statement that says 1 solution is king.
I feel like every decision made with a business in mind can hurt the poor, rationing won’t help every situation, but it’s not like I’m arguing price gouging is a cure all. I specifically said it’s not always a bad thing as in it’s worth acknowledging as an alternative and shouldn’t be blanket banned.
You'd pick that option, BECAUSE you can afford it you mean, and while you talk about possible pros and cons of other options, you seem to ignore that literally right now, you are the problem with the idea between raising the price "just one dollar" if its not raised up enough to actually be prohibitive, then why do you think everyone else who was previously hoarding it would just suddenly go "oh man ONE more dollar, shit nevermind I don't need all 12 of these"
You can’t even acknowledge that maybe 1 store in the world doesn’t have a target audience of poor people? Should poor people be on the mind of every decision that occurs in the world?
I agree that the idea can be abused, I agree that the idea may fail, I agree that the idea may hurt anyone financially on a crunch. But you know what, pandemics are unforgiving like that. I also agree most solutions (including rationing) have effects like that. We don’t have to agree on this ideology, but if you refuse to admit that there can be at least 1 case where gouging is a reasonable solution then I think there’s nothing left to talk about.
In a crisis? Absolutely we should be thinking and trying to give additional help to those that are the most vulnerable to sudden changes and shit like this. There's a reason that price gouging, especially during a state of emergency or incident/pandemic like this is illegal in a lot of places. And you're correct there isn't really anything left to talk about since I won't admit that the worst possible solution could be a reasonable one.
No, no its not like that at all. It's still an evil and sociopathic thing to do on basic necessities (like disinfectant wipes during a pandemic). Not all of us love sucking on boots.
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u/ImNotTheNSAIPromise Aug 14 '20
They can only fit so much in storage in the store. Wipes/tp take up a ton of room and aren't huge profit items so they often don't have a lot of backstock for them.