Went to CostCo last night and was rather surprised. They had stacked empty pallets about chest high on either side of the main entrance. This narrowed the entrance down to a width just wide enough for one person. A chokepoint. As each person entered CostCo they were handed a bleach wipe for their cart. A sign on top of the pallets had a dry-erase board listing what CostCo was out of at the moment. It was a little surreal to see this little barricade at the entrance.
Further in the store were signs reminding people that while CostCo does have a generous return policy, they will not accept returns on a few panci-buying favorites:
Can you see the idiocy here? If you panic bought TP and rice because you didnt have any stockpiled, why wouldn’t you keep it so that next time you’re not forced to panic buy? If bought TP in a panic and then return it, you’re going to be forced to panic buy again next time. Morons.
The other interesting bit was that CostCo has closed down the food court for anything other than takeout orders of entire pizzas and the like. No sitting down and eating your hot dog and pop.
And, as I discovered, CostCo is also limiting quantities on particular items. For example, one case of bottled water per cardholder.
Interesting times, me boyos, interesting times.
My wife and I went to a Costco here in Texas today. Same procedure in place as what you saw. We spent about 60 dollars, but we found the few items we were looking for. Lots of water and toilet paper, but limits were in place. Didn’t see eggs, but the store seem well stocked otherwise. Did see a guy buying a 70″ TV, stupid be stupid!!!!
IF I was better prepared than I am (we’re ok but not where I’d like to be) and felt I had the available cash, I’d pick up a massive TV too if I expected to be stuck at home for weeks.
Steelheart
Kind a like the shoppers after Katrina, only that you would actually pay for it!!!
I was in the city (i.e. Manhattan) on Thursday. . No restaurants open, even pizza places only food places open were Starbucks, Dunkin, and Chik-fil-A–but again no seating.
Midtown was like a Sunday. Very little pedestrian or vehicle traffic. I’d post pics, but doesn’t seem a way to do that. . . GCT was like an early Sunday morning. Came through at 8am and then out at 10:40 or so. My jobsite was still running, as were all construction sites in the city at that time. . Historic, I’d say.
GCT = Grand Central Terminal
Idiots. Only full-blown retards who had had everything they needed “for the duration” would purchase bottled water. When you’re complaining that you can’t find bottled water it either means that you live in a Turd World cesspool, or you have run out of other, more useful things to buy.
Yes, I suppose that if this Chinese virus gets completely out of control that clean water might not be delivered from the tap, but where has that happened in the world as a result of this virus so far? And if it does happen, you will have probably run out of that bottled water by that time anyway. Buying a Mini-Sawyer water filter is a great deal more cost effective than buying four cases of bottled water.
Costco is anticipating that many people will try to return these items because so many Americans are idiots, or that they simply scam the system. For example, it is well-known that many people will buy power tools for a project and then return them to Home Depot under the pretense that they weren’t satisfied with the tools’ performance. I suppose that some people will want to bring back their Charmin and claim that it was too hard on their butts.
These Costco people succeeded in finding quantities of, say, toilet paper and stocked up. Still trapped in the Normalcy Bias, they expect to be able to find it again if a new crisis occurs. They have not learned a lesson here.
Remember that 50% of all Americans graduated from the bottom half of their class.
Wish I lived close enough to a COSTCO to make it worth getting a membership but just the cost of gas driving close to 3 hundred miles round trip doesn’t make it attractive. The local stores are still busy but overall reasonably stocked and no limits on anything. The cases of virus are getting closer with cases now in several counties separated from us by one other. Figure it’s only a matter of time till we get one or more. Haven’t had to buy a single thing on that list so that’s a plus.
As for the returns – there must have been a lot of folks taking a look at their credit card balances after panic buying things and realizing that they might need the credit to pay something else… Like their rent . Sad. Priorities differ from person to person and apparently these folks prioritize Mountain Dew…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8136527/Couple-furious-told-theyre-not-allowed-buy-TWENTY-THREE-cases-Mountain-Dew.html
Regards
Dammit. Water is my issue. My bol is off grid, new batteries, reasonable propane. Middle of Saskatchewan, temperatures currently close to zero f at night. But I’ve got a first flush diverter rainwater system, no well. So I’m hooped. Shallow sand point on the list but not yet. Possible to head to the neighbors for water jugs but, I’ll tell you, bad planning on my part. Will sort it out, my bol works awesome in the summer! Spent far to much time doing window trim…. lesson learned. Still some big snowdrifts to harvest, but a lot of time and effort that could be spent on more important things! I’m squared on absolutely everything else, been thinking about the water problem for years, here it is.
just like the folks here that try to return the generator they way overpaid for when the hurricane was coming, then sell for pennies on the dollar on craigslist when it passes by, only to do it again next season. guess there will be a lot of tp and such at yard sales this summer, lol.
Friend went to home depot in Missoula yesterday. $48 for a case of water. $2/bottle. Stupid.