In praise of Budgens

Sadly, we think this is probably a mistake, just one of those things, rather than a planned response to panic buying. It’s still the right thing to be doing of course:

Outraged customers have threatened to boycott a UK supermarket after accusing it of hiking up its prices amid coronavirus panic buying.

British grocery store Budgens is charging £4 for a four roll pack of Andrex Supreme Quilts toilet roll, despite a £2.50 RRP sign on the packaging.

Sharing a snap of the loo roll from their local shop, one shocked customer tweeted: 'Disgusting behaviour at your Crystal Palace branch, raising the price of toilet roll. Anything to make a profit huh? #boycott #disgraceful.'

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK has risen above 1,000, panicked Brits have stripped shelves across Britain bare of essentials, including toilet paper.

So, people panic. There is no shortage of toilet paper in any useful sense. However, people feel somewhat helpless, something must be done. Humans don’t always have to make sense and buying 6 month’s worth of loo roll today is something. So, that’s what is done - it’s something that actually is under the control of those who feel helpless in the face of the vicissitudes of the universe. Shrug.

But what is it that we want to happen with those smallest room supplies? We want what there is to be purchased and used by those who actually need it - preferably, need it for something other than the satisfaction of having done something in the face of the pandemic. Raising the price does that.

We can prove that raising the price does too - Budgens still have toilet paper on the shelves, the entire complaint here being that people won’t buy it at this price. Excellent, job done then.

That is, price gouging is the cure for panic buying. All hail greed and the price system.

We will admit that we’re not quite sure why this insistence on doing something, whatever, has fallen upon these particular supplies. That there’s going to be something, sure, we get that. But this thing?

Why? The Guardian’s still printing isn’t it?

We’d just add a comment seen elsewhere:

Customer: How come you’re asking £4 for loo roll, it’s only £2.50 at Tesco.
Shopkeeper: So go and get some from Tesco.
Customer: But Tesco haven’t got any.
Shopkeeper: Well when we haven’t got any it’s £2.50 as well.