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A lot of prices are partially based on supply & demand. Supply is down because things are still stuck at the ports, so prices go up. Then people panic and hear rumors about shortages again and buy way more than they need to, which means demand has also now gone up, so prices go up. Then people see less on the shelves because the customers before them panic bought everything, they now panic and buy more than they need to also, prices go up even more. Supply is still stuck at the ports, prices go up again.
People panic buying is partially creating the increases in price. Buy what you need, maybe 1 thing extra. No need to buy a years supply of something and cause chaos.

Panic buying large quantities of items and wiping shelves contributes to shortages. Stockpiling slowly (buying 2 every time you shop instead of 10) helps keep the economy stable, but when you mass buy everything you can get of that item, other people see you do it and panic buy as well. This causes a strain on the supply chain. Higher demand for an item drives up the price. We are doing it to ourselves.

Exactly. And people are not understanding this is what a free market entails.
 The strain is already there. That’s what has created the problem. Because once items run out it could be weeks even months before we will see them replaced. A much bigger matter than hand sanitizer shortages.

The strain is already here yes, incited by the media causing panic buying. hand sanitizer is the least of most people's worries. We have milk, toilet paper and gas shortages, next out will be canned and dry goods.

I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen anything yet! It’s going to be very tough winter.
I read an article about Costco limiting items. They are doing it to avoid a repeat of last year. I think it’s a good idea. People hoarding is a big contributor to shortages.

Yesterday we bought hardly anything, no meats, just the bare minimum of stuff. $370. It’s getting ridiculous. Because of all my food allergies there is only one kind of hot dogs we found that I can have. They wanted nearly $10 for a package of those hot dogs. There is only 12 in it. I don’t need hot dogs that bad even if it is over a year since I had one!

Everything in the stores has gone up and the BJ's clubs are limiting all paper products to 1 per customer.

When gas is in short supply, the cost of everything goes up and things become scarce. I did some panic buying at the start of the pandemic, but I'm not going to do that now. I am still trying to donate the stockpile of stuff I really didn't need.

Gas hit $7 a gallon in a very specific place on the central coast of CA where it has always been super expensive because there are no other gas stations for many miles in either direction and lots of tourists drive through.
I can’t promise it won’t get that high elsewhere but that’s probably the source of the rumor you heard.

My brother lives in Dallas Texas  y he told me that the price there is $2.87. Still too high. Was $1.69 this time last year.

I’m in CA and I don’t remember ever paying less than $3! That’s why CA folks are fleeing the state.

I do my main shopping at Costco. I rely on shopping their advertised discounted items every month. When our coffee is on discount, I usually buy 6 bags. It’s just easier to lay in a supply of things we routinely use. I don’t do panic buying, though.

I haven't been shopping in a month and I'm a little scared to go now, lol.
I'm stopping at the food bank before I go shopping. Hopefully they'll have good stuff and I'll only need to buy a few things to fill in the gaps.
If it weren't for EBT I wouldn't have a grocery budget. 90% of my SS check goes for rent. It's tough out here in Fresno and Sacramento, California.

I hope you find good things at the pantries. Remember things like cantaloupe berries etc can be frozen so if they have them and you don't think you will eat right away cut in to chunks and freeze for later. Blessings.

I have always kept a well stocked pantry. Which might include two or three large packages of all the paper products, food, and cleaning supplies we use.
My husband and I actually had a funny encounter last year when hoarding was a problem. We have several house cats so when we purchase cat litter we buy 6 to 8 buckets at a time. Just so we don’t have to purchase it every week or so. It was just a few days after we purchased litter that I heard people were hoarding cat litter! We must’ve started some thing!!!!!
I agree with some previous comments. A well stocked pantry certainly is not hoarding. And if you buy two or three at a time to keep your supply stable, it should not affect availability for others.

High gas prices make me happy. I get stressed about how little people care to reduce.
It doesn't seem people are aware it's a limited resource and our supply is over half gone. So valuable, not fair to use it up.
As for prices, they won't climb forever. Our climbing will slow soon.

Gas was a waste product that they found a purpose for. Electric cars can’t be supported because we don’t have the infrastructure in neighborhoods to support them & they actually cost more fuel. I find people are happy to reduce when given proven options.

I agree and have people that have electric cars looked at the resources and money it takes to dispose of those wonderful batteries that run their car? No one should ever be happy that gas prices are up unless they like paying higher prices for basically everything. Shipping costs affect everyone and every product

Absolutely the cost of fueling those cars and the amount of time to fully charge. It’s a nightmare a waste of taxpayer money!!! Solar is the way to go!!

 High gas prices would force us to solve these problems. It causes the cost and availability of the solutions to balance. It's crucial we do better, yesterday.

Thank you for sharing. I'm almost 40y and didn't know this story. I think we all tend to believe that the times we are living in is special and disastrous. I don't mean to minimize the current crisis but it helps to realize we've been through bad stuff before and we got through it.

High gas prices make me sad when I need it for my commute to work in my very rural area with no public transportation or ride share options. That money I earn from working f/t helps support my family and the extra gas expense hurts my already tight budget.

It must be nice to have this privileged attitude about gas prices. There were times when I was without a place to sleep and rest and literally I depended on my car to do my job and if gas goes up much more, I'll be jobless and starving if this prices continue going up.

I agree with you. I think a lot of people are about to deal with reality very soon. This young lady just doesn't have a clue about what's going on this country. I don't say that to sound harsh, but there comes a time when we must deal with reality in life.

My dad would set his alarm for 1 or 2 am to try and avoid the lines.
That was a big deal how Bush got fracking approved for one of his oil tycoon buddies we were lied to so much with that and it really steams me the people that still belief the lies with it.

I agree with you, I also rely on gas to get to work in my very rural county. I’m sorry for your situation, take heart knowing that not everyone is happy about high gas prices or the very bad effect it’s having on people who are struggling to survive

I think understanding all aspects is having a better grasp then only thinking of one.
I understand the troubles high prices bring. Running out will cause those problems and more.
We have to keep the future in mind as we progress. If you have no hope you'll bring more failure to us. We're capable of doing even better and ending corruption even. Justice for all is within our reach. But not if we do whatever we want in the now. We have to live smarter.

Prices have increased and the boxes and cans have shrunk. I have a stockpile but not excessive. I have been to the food bank when we were little. Never want to be in those shoes again.

I care about others, I'm sad our system is so reliant on cars and that you're suffering from it.
As we adapt to our reality things will improve. Pretending it's not a problem is only going to prolong the situation.
How will you be effected by running our of fuel? Future humans can throw your comment back. It must be nice to have this privileged attitude that the earth's resources are you us to gobble up.

There are people who were born missing a lot of stuff to live comfortable, they probable don't have a privileged attitude at all. They didn't choose to be born into poverty in a part of the world that relies so heavily on fossil fuels. They cannot afford to buy an electric vehicle and they don't live in an area with adequate public transportation. Those people can't afford to move somewhere where they could take public transit or walk everywhere.

So grateful there is still gas to buy! Sorry but I can’t get into rumors and worries as there is always a cycle to gas prices.
Even though almost everyone in my family is saying that it’s only going to get worse. If you were able to start planting a garden for next summer do so. Buy seeds and get ready for your own garden and sustainability.

After the Tsunami devastated Fukushima Japan (2011), hoards of people stood in line to buy food and cleaning goods. Every single person only purchased just enough food and cleaning supplies to make sure others can also get what they need. The shop owners also lowered their prices because they knew people were already desperate.

I shop for groceries at Aldi, not sure if they are wide spread around the nation. I have notice slight changes. A gallon is up to 67 cents when it was 49cents, still good. There has been a change of about 50 cents on most of what I buy there but I buy simply and don't buy meat so it hasn't effected me. On the other hand the other store I buy specialty grocery items ( Oatmilk creamer, smart balance butter, spices) is getting scary. I see the gas getting up there. I use to walk to work for about 10 years ( I was just under two miles away) I'm just over 3 miles now. If it keeps up or something happens to the car I'll be walking again.

It still isn't as bad as it was in the '70's when we could only get 5 gallons of gas every other day based on if you had an odd or even number at the end of your plates on the car and we stood in lines blocks long hoping the station didn't run out before your turn.

We are just about to make apple pie and applesauce for my LOs lunches from our apple tree.
But now that I think, potatoes used to be a cheap staple, but run from $4-$6 for a 5# bag. Tiny little roast was $14 with a big 1/2 wedge of fat around the edge.
We drink Nescafe instant coffee and it has gone up a $1 per jar. All meat is double even triple price.
Potato chips double price and I hope it stops soon.

Transition to a more climate friendly economy is going to get bumpy here in the U.S. We are kind of spoiled with artificially low gas prices. 
In Europe, they pay out the nose and they have found better, greener transportation alternatives. Pay now or pay later when time comes, the price is up and never goes down again.

A voice of reason !!
People are so quick to attribute their own circumstances to others. It’s a prejudgement of using only personal experiences to guide the thought process.
I think we need a nation wide review of what empathy is really about.

I'm surprised that people don't know the difference between hoarding and stocking. Someone who hoards has a mental illness. Someone who stocks just likes to be prepared in case they have a life changing event that prevents them going to the store (anything from job loss to bad weather where roads are impassable).
Shame on anyone calling what OP is doing a hoard. This isn't a hoarding example. She knows her circumstances, ability to get to and from store. Maybe she only goes every quarter. She is not panic buying. She uses what she buys. Hoarders typically aren't able to use up all of what they purchased before it goes bad.
 Y'all need to stop assuming things. Maybe she has people over for coffee on a regular basis. Maybe they drink coffee all day everyday.

We live rural. The closest real store is 45 minutes away. We do have a Family Dollar in town, but they don't carry a lot of what we use so I rarely go in. Given that my son has a lot of health issues I can't always get to the store. I stock pile out of necessity, as do most people in my community. Hoarding and stock piling are two different things.

A lot of people go about life in their own bubble and forget the vast contrast of how Americans across our country live.

I know people who live on an island with one grocery store. they are not driving 120 miles round trip for grocery. Not with the cost of gas. It’s 5.00 bucks a gallon plus wear and tare on their car.  they shop once a month when our grocery store has their monthly meat sale.

I can’t change anything but my attitude about what’s happening. We’re on a fixed income and so far we are still managing. But I’ve seen enough cycles of gas and food prices etc.  I’m just trying to be grateful there’s still fuel and something to buy.

I’m commenting about opinions in RESPONSE to your comment. I’m sorry to hear that your standard for American life is that low. We have every reason to expect more. For starters: Tax, tax, and more tax. What exactly are we paying for?

You may be right and you may not be. You don’t know anymore than all us adding our Book of likes thoughts to the stew.
It’s really not an opinion - it’s an assumption about others’ resources and way of life. Assumptions cloud reason & judgment.

I so agree. For all we know they are on contract and it may be coming up and money will be tight so they buy extra when they have the money. People make so many assumptions without knowing a thing about the situation. It is laughable sometimes.
However, true hoarding is not laughable. It is a serious mental health issue. Big difference.

I’m not worried about opinions or assumptions. This fear is driving people with both opinions and assumptions, I’m just trying to remain grateful for having products and fuel. Nothing I can do about it.

I'm speaking in behalf of my mother.
My mother doesn’t have a low standard for American life.
She is just older now and doesn’t get excited about things not in her control. 
Do you have control over all the pricing? Or wages? Or logistics?
She doesn't so she is remaining optimistic and grateful.
Prices have ran in cycles all my life. If anyone had told her years ago what prices would be.
She’d have been even more frugal but… She could go into what prices and wages used to be but for what?

I think a hoard looks like…..crazy couponing ( extreme couponing ). Just for a comparison.