Shop Around

That’s what we used to do BP (before pandemic) - if we wanted something, we’d shop around to find where it was cheapest and then check online to see if it could be had cheaper that way. The choice was between paying a bit extra to get it now from the shop, or save a small amount and wait for Amazon to do their thing.
But then things started to run out. It wasn’t a case of where was cheapest for loo rolls or hand sanitiser, it was simply “where”!
Over time, stock levels of most things returned to normal, but there was still not much shopping around for bargains, partly because most shops were still closed, but mostly because shopping was a very limited activity.
As lockdown was eased I was able to start looking for things that were on the “need to replace, but not essential” list. And I found that there was now a countrywide shortage of HP ink cartridges. Used to be loads on eBay or Amazon, often at heavily discounted prices. Now, there is a limited supply and prices have doubled! A trip to Chester gave me a chance to try larger supermarkets and places like PC World. Nothing - all totally cleaned out. Tried a couple of places online, but kept coming across “out of stock” messages when I got to the checkout stage. Not prepared to play the “pay now and we’ll send it out when back in stock” game so resigned myself to having to do without.
Returning home from our few days away I went to the local Asda for a pint of milk and thought I’d look for ink cartridges, just on the off chance. Hooray! - no twin packs but I got the last individual Colour cartridge and one of the last Black ones. Cost was still £10 more than last time I bought these cartridges in Asda, but that’s the laws of supply and demand in operation I suppose. Still a fiver cheaper than what was being asked for the same things on Amazon though!
I suspect it will be some time before we return to the old ways of shopping. If things aren’t being manufactured, even the best distribution infrastructure in the world won’t get them in to the shops.
Personally, if I see something in a shop that I think I might need at some point in the not too distant future, I will buy it rather than risk not being able to get hold of it when I do run out. I prefer to think of it as “being cautious” rather than “panic buying and stockpiling”!!