If you are currently living in an Australian capital city then you are well aware of the panic buying and hysteria caused by the worldwide spread of Coronavirus.
In an effort to be more prepared, and perhaps due to an extreme fear of missing out, Sydney and Melbourne shoppers at Woolworths, Coles, IGA and Costco have been hoarding (and fighting over) toilet paper and pantry staples. Violence over kleenex can be hard to comprehend but having a Coronavirus emergency plan in place certainly has its merits, and is currently recommended by senior Australian Government officials.
Number 1 question: Can I currently buy toilet paper at Costco?
When our Costco Fan Group visited Costco Marsden Park on Friday 6th March there was toilet paper available, albeit a small pallet, with restrictions on the number of packs customers could buy in one transaction. Costco Management has assured the media that there is no toilet paper shortage (just a slight logistics lag) and there will be more available each day.
What were Costco customers bulk buying?
Our team took notice of the Costco products that were selling fast, selling out or had quantity restrictions placed on it. Popular staples included:
Food Staples to Purchase in Bulk at Costco
- Plain flour, 12.5kg bags – $10.99
- Self Raising flour, 5kg – $4.39
- Peeled Tomatoes, 12 pack – $8.69
- Large Bag of Sweet potatoes – $8.99
- UHT Style Milk – many lite options available in bulk, no Full Fat available during our visit
Food Staples: What produce couldn’t we find? What was out of stock?
We found no Potatoes (a common prepper food staple) or Oats on the day we visited Costco. Both are popular pantry staples so this wasn’t overly surprising. We are hoping to pick these up later this week when the panic settles down.
Pasta packs were also completely sold out during our visit, but there was many bags of bulk rice available – a highly recommended buy!
Food Staples: Less Common prep ideas and cupboard staples
- Honey: Why? Honey is amazingly versatile and can be stored for extremely long periods of time. Buy your bulk honey at Costco – Capilano Honey 1KG starts at $9.99
- Milk Powder: This product was literally being pulled off the shelves when we visited our local Costco store. The only milk powder still available was light style milk, no full fat available.
- Lemon Juice: It’s high in vitamin C, aids digestion and can even be used to treat insect bites and create a homemade air freshener. We picked up 2 x 1L bottles for only $4.69.
- Apple Juice: drink it, add it to food or use it as a sweetener.Food Staples: What produce couldn’t we find? What was out of stock?
Hygiene and Cleaning Essentials to Purchase in Bulk at Costco
- Huggies baby wipes – $21.99
- Hand sanitiser (1 per customer, per transaction) – $5.98
- 5 Pack of hand wipes – $19.69
- Chucks super wipes mega roll – $15.99
Cleaning Essentials that had sold out
- Vinegar!
- Pine-o-clean Bottle Twin packs
- Pine-O-Clean spray packs
- Paper Towels
Medicines and Pain Killers to Purchase in Bulk at Costco
- Advil 20 caps – $3.89
- Panadol 20 caps – $3.59
We were already stocked up but you could also consider purchasing bulk bandaid packs, anti-acid tablets, first aid kits and multivitamins.
What will we be buying at our next shop?
- Protein powder
- Breakfast cereal
- Pineapple Slices
- Beef Jerky
- Snacks and Crackers
- Sugar
- Balsamic vinegar
- Cooking oil
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- More cans of vegetables and dried fruits.
