6 ms·

They might be over-thinking it. Toilet paper is incredibly cheap to produce, but most people put a very high price on their last roll, when they know there mig

They might be over-thinking it. Toilet paper is incredibly cheap to produce, but most people put a very high price on their last roll, when they know there might not be more. That makes for some interesting economics. The "answer", at least for those with space, is to keep and rotate three or six months of it, even though that sounds ridiculous. Or, alternatively, do the bidet thing or even have a standby outhouse in back.

paulddraper 7y ago
Toilet paper is classic "inelastic demand;" no much how much it is, you're going to buy the same amount. But unlike other inelastic things -- say, critical healthcare -- it's so cheap that its demand/supply behavior comes seemingly out of nowhere.
- ineedasername 7y ago
  Not completely inelastic: we have instituted "wipe consciously" awareness program in my house to promote careful husbanding of resources.
- randyrand 7y ago
  I would think demand could go down by half with concious wiping.
- gridlockd 7y ago
  Total demand in the long run may be inelastic, but when it's on discount there are certain people who will stock up on it. Toilet paper right now effectively is at a very steep discount relative to its true market value. Hoarding could be stopped, or at least mitigated, by price increases. Shortages could be avoided that way. However, the prospect that toilet paper prices might rise is more worrisome to regulators than there not being any toilet paper to buy at all.
- lkbm 7y ago
  Generally it's pretty inelastic. However, as some have pointed out, you can be more judicious with its use, and I think what we're going to see in the coming months is that bidets will have shifted from under a 1% market share in the US to closer to 5%. I don't think it makes sense for toilet paper manufacturers to ramp up production -- sales now mostly just cannibalize your future sales -- but bidet manufacturers should ramp up in order to take advantage of the situation, and maybe tp makers should ramp up just to avoid that that. Right now, bidets are expensive / out-of-stock on Amazon. If you can make enough to keep them available and the price low, it could finally get a serious foothold in the US, rather than being some extremely niche product. A culture shift in bidet acceptance could finally open up the US market.
  - paulddraper 7y ago
    > sales now mostly just cannibalize your future sales Only to the extent you are a monopoly.
    - lkbm 7y ago
      Good point -- the future reduction in sales is spread amongst all competitors, so if you can capture some, it can be a net win for you.
ineedasername 7y ago
An outhouse doesn't actually solve the need for paper though. My backup plan of last resort is to cut up a few old t-shirts into tp-square sizes. Wipe & run them in a washer load by themselves and repeat as needed. I think I'd choose darker ones-- it's not like they'd be any cleaner after a washing, but I'd feel better about it.
- codeisawesome 7y ago
  Where... can I donate to the COVID-19 vaccine efforts?!
  - humaniania 7y ago
    https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/donate https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...
- thomk 7y ago
  Or a shower wand and a clean dry towel?
  - lutorm 7y ago
    If cloth diapers work, I don't see why cloth toilet paper wouldn't work.
    - thomk 7y ago
      It would, I was just thinking why do more laundry. But whatever works..
- umanwizard 7y ago
  If worst comes to worst, you can use your shower and your hand. People survived for thousands of years before TP was invented.
  - toohotatopic 7y ago
myself248 7y ago
> keep and rotate three or six months of it, I've been doing this unintentionally. The top of my linen closet isn't good for much else; it's awkward to reach up there so it's only good for lightweight, bulky things. Given that I'm only gonna use it for TP or paper towels, there's no reason NOT to keep it completely full; there's nothing else I'd be doing with that space anyway. And actually I have the paper towels stored somewhere that's more convenient to the kitchen and garage, where they get used, so the closet top is all TP. If my girlfriend moved in, it would probably be a 3-month supply. As a single guy, it's closer to a year.

paulddraper 7y ago

Toilet paper is classic "inelastic demand;" no much how much it is, you're going to buy the same amount. But unlike other inelastic things -- say, critical healthcare -- it's so cheap that its demand/supply behavior comes seemingly out of nowhere.

ineedasername 7y ago
Not completely inelastic: we have instituted "wipe consciously" awareness program in my house to promote careful husbanding of resources.
randyrand 7y ago
I would think demand could go down by half with concious wiping.
gridlockd 7y ago
Total demand in the long run may be inelastic, but when it's on discount there are certain people who will stock up on it. Toilet paper right now effectively is at a very steep discount relative to its true market value. Hoarding could be stopped, or at least mitigated, by price increases. Shortages could be avoided that way. However, the prospect that toilet paper prices might rise is more worrisome to regulators than there not being any toilet paper to buy at all.
lkbm 7y ago
Generally it's pretty inelastic. However, as some have pointed out, you can be more judicious with its use, and I think what we're going to see in the coming months is that bidets will have shifted from under a 1% market share in the US to closer to 5%. I don't think it makes sense for toilet paper manufacturers to ramp up production -- sales now mostly just cannibalize your future sales -- but bidet manufacturers should ramp up in order to take advantage of the situation, and maybe tp makers should ramp up just to avoid that that. Right now, bidets are expensive / out-of-stock on Amazon. If you can make enough to keep them available and the price low, it could finally get a serious foothold in the US, rather than being some extremely niche product. A culture shift in bidet acceptance could finally open up the US market.
- paulddraper 7y ago
  > sales now mostly just cannibalize your future sales Only to the extent you are a monopoly.
  - lkbm 7y ago
    Good point -- the future reduction in sales is spread amongst all competitors, so if you can capture some, it can be a net win for you.

ineedasername 7y ago

An outhouse doesn't actually solve the need for paper though. My backup plan of last resort is to cut up a few old t-shirts into tp-square sizes. Wipe & run them in a washer load by themselves and repeat as needed. I think I'd choose darker ones-- it's not like they'd be any cleaner after a washing, but I'd feel better about it.

codeisawesome 7y ago
Where... can I donate to the COVID-19 vaccine efforts?!
- humaniania 7y ago
  https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/donate https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2...
thomk 7y ago
Or a shower wand and a clean dry towel?
- lutorm 7y ago
  If cloth diapers work, I don't see why cloth toilet paper wouldn't work.
  - thomk 7y ago
    It would, I was just thinking why do more laundry. But whatever works..
umanwizard 7y ago
If worst comes to worst, you can use your shower and your hand. People survived for thousands of years before TP was invented.
- toohotatopic 7y ago

myself248 7y ago

> keep and rotate three or six months of it, I've been doing this unintentionally. The top of my linen closet isn't good for much else; it's awkward to reach up there so it's only good for lightweight, bulky things. Given that I'm only gonna use it for TP or paper towels, there's no reason NOT to keep it completely full; there's nothing else I'd be doing with that space anyway. And actually I have the paper towels stored somewhere that's more convenient to the kitchen and garage, where they get used, so the closet top is all TP. If my girlfriend moved in, it would probably be a 3-month supply. As a single guy, it's closer to a year.