The Ultimate Price Gouge

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

And I complain about a case (24 12oz cans) of beer costing $15.

Seems beer is cheaper than water in Hawaii.
Isn't that the deal in Hawaii? Live in splendor, but pay through the nose?

YEP! That's why we moved, WAY too expensive. You're nickle&dimed to death. A retirees' paycheck isn't going to be enough over there, unless of course you're independently wealthy. Our money goes a heck of alot farther over here on the "mainland"

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I read your "Kitchen In The Dessert". That was quite some trip you and your DH took in the western part of our beautiful country. Is this the first time you have traveled that extensively on this side of the pond?

@Addie, DH and I have been taking road trips for more than 25 years, but now that we live here, we can do it much more often. We'll be finishing up our Pacific Coast Highway journey next.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

... and lastly

Price gouging is a huge hot button in the State of Hawaii for the past few days.

 

[CraigC]

When your home has been destroyed in a major hurricane and some out of town scum (would have used a more descriptive word) is selling $2.00 a bag ice for $10.00+, then you will have experienced true price gouging!

 

[Addie]

Let just one person report a price gouger and they are prosecuted here in Mass. We don't take kindly to that practice. And fortunately for us, after any disaster, the State sends out folks just looking for them and responding to any reports. Heavy snow storms is when they usually come crawling out of the woodwork. If the weatherman reports the possibility of a snow storm for the coming week, you btter be first in line at the grocery store. Because the ones that decide to wait until the last minute clean the shelves off. Whether they need the item or not.

I have to admit, I have never heard of any of our large grocery chains price gouging.

 

[Zagut]

[snip] If the weatherman reports the possibility of a snow storm for the coming week, you btter be first in line at the grocery store. Because the ones that decide to wait until the last minute clean the shelves off. Whether they need the item or not. [snip]

When they forecast a storm here you see people buying 10 gallons of milk and other items beyond what they need to get through the storm.

I think it's a law here that if it's going to snow you have to buy Bread, Milk, and Toilet Paper.

A few years ago I went to the store when a snow was forecast and the bread man was wheeling his cart to the shelf's. It was like vultures on a road kill. His cart was picked clean before he made it to the shelf's.

Haven't seen price gouging but people buying more then they need is rampant.

What also amazes me is that the junk food isle (Chips & such) is always picked clean too.

 

[Addie]

Fortunately for me and my wallet I have a storage problem. I already hide my toilet paper and paper towel purchases under the skirts on my little lamp tables. So if I run out of toilet paper, I always have my paper towels on hand. After they are gone, well I don't have a Sears catalog.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

When they forecast a storm here you see people buying 10 gallons of milk and other items beyond what they need to get through the storm.

I think it's a law here that if it's going to snow you have to buy Bread, Milk, and Toilet Paper.

A few years ago I went to the store when a snow was forecast and the bread man was wheeling his cart to the shelf's. It was like vultures on a road kill. His cart was picked clean before he made it to the shelf's.

Haven't seen price gouging but people buying more then they need is rampant.

What also amazes me is that the junk food isle (Chips & such) is always picked clean too.

You don't need electricity to keep those items fresh...high fat and salt are also in need for a high energy diet, which you would need if your power and heat are out.

 

[Zagut]

Fortunately for me and my wallet I have a storage problem. I already hide my toilet paper and paper towel purchases under the skirts on my little lamp tables. So if I run out of toilet paper, I always have my paper towels on hand. After they are gone, well I don't have a Sears catalog.

Be careful hiding the TP. Some folks start to look at the curtains in an emergency.

Does Sears still have a catalog?
It could be a worthwhile investment to save the drapes. Heck any reading material would do. Just don't expect to finish the novel without breaks in the narrative.

You don't need electricity to keep those items fresh...high fat and salt are also in need for a high energy diet, which you would need if your power and heat are out.

Good point PF. I'll just have to remember to only get those items during a storm.

I also have to remember that you don't have to eat the whole bag in one sitting.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I find it amusing that no one around here grocery shops until a storm is predicted. As for us, we're usually ready for any eating needs. I'll admit we do fill up the cars' gas tanks if they're both below half-full.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Be careful hiding the TP. Some folks start to look at the curtains in an emergency.

Does Sears still have a catalog?
It could be a worthwhile investment to save the drapes. Heck any reading material would do. Just don't expect to finish the novel without breaks in the narrative.





Good point PF. I'll just have to remember to only get those items during a storm.

I also have to remember that you don't have to eat the whole bag in one sitting.

You don't? LOL!!

The emergency winter kit in the car has lots of nuts, jerky, pretzels, cans of chili and ramen. I keep hoping to get stuck somewhere so I can delve into it.

 

[Zagut]

[snip]
The emergency winter kit in the car has lots of nuts, jerky, pretzels, cans of chili and ramen. I keep hoping to get stuck somewhere so I can delve into it.

Point the car in the direction of the deepest snow you see and step on the gas peddle. You might just get lucky.

Good Luck.

 

[taxlady]

I wouldn't be hurrying to the store before a storm to get milk if I could buy shelf stable milk. They have had in Europe for at least 45 years.

 

[Aunt Bea]

You don't? LOL!!

The emergency winter kit in the car has lots of nuts, jerky, pretzels, cans of chili and ramen. I keep hoping to get stuck somewhere so I can delve into it.

Don't forget to include a candle and a book of matches, all of those foods taste better by candlelight!

In the fall I put a couple of special dark chocolate bars in the glove compartment and make sure I have a few extra bucks tucked into my wallet, neither one ever makes it to the spring thaw!

If I'm at home and a blizzard hits I start soaking dried beans and mixing up a batch of bread dough.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Don't forget to include a candle and a book of matches, all of those foods taste better by candlelight!

In the fall I put a couple of special dark chocolate bars in the glove compartment and make sure I have a few extra bucks tucked into my wallet, neither one ever makes it to the spring thaw!

If I'm at home and a blizzard hits I start soaking dried beans and mixing up a batch of bread dough.

All of that is in there, too! Try as I might, I can't seem to get the Subaru stuck...

 

[GotGarlic]

I find it amusing that no one around here grocery shops until a storm is predicted. As for us, we're usually ready for any eating needs. I'll admit we do fill up the cars' gas tanks if they're both below half-full.

Hurricane Isabel, which was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it passed over us, left us without water for five days and without power for seven days. Luckily, we have a gas stove, gas grill and gas water heater, so we could cook and take showers. I felt really anxious during that time, so it was a huge comfort to have a battery-powered TV and, at the time, a device (can't remember what it was now - an iPod?) that could receive radio signals, and the radio stations cooperated with the TV stations to broadcast the news that way, so people would know where they could get ice, etc.

I filled our bathtub in the downstairs bathroom before the storm. Hubby laughed at me, but as I said, we had no water for five days - the pumping station around the corner was flooded, so they shut it down. With the tub water and a bucket, though, we could flush the toilet.

And since then, I've been prescribed a medication that has to be refrigerated, so we bought a generator and got a tax deduction for it.

I've been complacent this year. I'm feeling like I should get some supplies, just in case.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Hurricane Isabel, which was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it passed over us, left us without water for five days and without power for seven days. Luckily, we have a gas stove, gas grill and gas water heater, so we could cook and take showers. I felt really anxious during that time, so it was a huge comfort to have a battery-powered TV and, at the time, a device (can't remember what it was now - an iPod?) that could receive radio signals, and the radio stations cooperated with the TV stations to broadcast the news that way, so people would know where they could get ice, etc.

I filled our bathtub in the downstairs bathroom before the storm. Hubby laughed at me, but as I said, we had no water for five days - the pumping station around the corner was flooded, so they shut it down. With the tub water and a bucket, though, we could flush the toilet.

And since then, I've been prescribed a medication that has to be refrigerated, so we bought a generator and got a tax deduction for it.

I've been complacent this year. I'm feeling like I should get some supplies, just in case.

Hmm...Shrek and I both have refrigerated meds...

 

[Addie]

My daughter has to travel about 20 or more miles from home to get to work. Even though the expressway is usually plowed, there are times when the plows can't keep up with the falling snow. I am always worried about her getting stuck on the Xpressway. So I had a radio/flashing red light/ and other stuff on it and gave it to her. I made sure she keeps it in her trunk and every fall I make sure she checks the batteries in it. I also gave her an old army wool blanket that she keeps in there. Why keep the car running and take a chance of running out of gas, when a wool blanket will keep you warm. One time her husband took them both out to make room for his stuff. We both hit the ceiling with him. First off it is her car, not his. Second did he really want her to be caught in a storm without any means of taking care of herself? They are now entrenched in her trunk. Oddly enough, he will listen to me before her.

Now I have to get her to start keeping snacks in there also.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Having lived on a small island, smack dab in the middle of Pacific Ocean my entire life (well, excluding the past 6 years), I have gone through many Tropical storms and a few Hurricanes, Tsunamis... bad weather let's say.
Back in the early 70’s I think it was, there was a dock strike in Hawaii. The majority of goods for sale are brought in by ship. Since that time I've turned into, for lack of a better term, a hoarder.
To this day, I keep a good supply of dry goods, water, paper products, etc on hand at all times and rotate the inventory. In addition, we have always had a generator for backup. We keep the gas tank no less than half full, and I still have a panic attack at the first strike of lightening. These summer Monsoon storms in the middle of the desert scares the pee-wad out of me.

 

[Oldvine]

We're usually pretty ready for "eating needs" also. And we too fill the vehicle tanks at the 1/2 mark. It makes more sense to be ready no matter what. I remember two really big floods when I was a kid and I sure don't want the experience as an adult.