What is an acceptable quantity of items to buy if you are clearing a shelf?

[francine1985]

So I posted a brag earlier today where I bought the last 5 of an item on the shelf. This is an item we buy regularly and as a family of 4 I felt it was acceptable. Several years ago I also bought the last (and only) store brand folic acid on clearance (I was pregnant at the time and it was something that all pregnant women need.) but this got me wondering...

while we as couponers never want to actually clear a shelf at some point there has to be a quantity that is acceptable as we still have to provide for ourselves/our families. So I would like a discussion (with no attacks or rude comments please) on what that acceptable quantity is.

[Zonny]

IMO, a year's supply, not really acceptable. I don't keep a big stockpile of anything myself, as I feel there is always going to be another sale. If deodorant is on sale and I have coupons that make it a great deal, I'll buy maybe four. That's just me.

[Shwa Girl]

OP, I saw your brag. I do not think you cleared the shelf since you bought only 5 of the mango variety and there was more of the other varieties available for other customers.

[super807]

The shelf clearing issue is interesting. At some point, someone clears a shelf. On Monday, I bought two cartons of juice, different flavours. While there was lots of the mango flavour left, I got the last strawberry-banana one. I also bought the last two bags of Munchies on the shelf. Two is the quantity I was going to buy, regardless of how many were on the shelf. So it's not shelf clearing.

I think one can "shelf clear" even when leaving some items on the shelf. If I bought 25 bags of Munchies, and left 10 on the shelf, that would sort of feel like shelf clearing. We are only two people, and really, we don't need 25 bags of Munchies (okay, we don't "need" the two bags that I bought either). But if I was buying supplies for a large neighbourhood bbq, and was planning to put food out for 200+ people, those same 25 bags of Munchies wouldn't feel like shelf clearing, they would just be what I need.

I think people get upset about the shelf clearing thing when it appears as though someone is buying far more of the items that seem like that person could reasonably need. The tricky thing is that what one family needs is quite different from what another family needs. We are two people, so we don't need much of quantity of anything. But a family with 4 or 5 young children, or a few teenagers, will need more of many things.

I think that a person's thought of what quantity is acceptable is also different wether the item being bought is because the family truly uses/needs/wants item or the items are being purchased simply because the buyer will make money on the deal and doesn't actually want the item (even if the person donates the item). In the second case, the acceptable amount seems lower.

So no suggestion about what the magic number might be from me

[secheltsaver]

I live in a small town with rather limited shopping opportunities.The major employers seem to have synchronized pay dates.I know my employer probably has 200+ people (mostly families) all heading out to buy groceries in the same week.Shelf clearing probably happens,as many items are temporarily out of stock at these times.I expect that,and just go back later that week.Buying enough to get through the next couple of weeks seems reasonable to me,but I have seen some astounding shelf clearing and understand peoples' frustration.I saw one local restaurant owner going through the check out with a cart full of $1.00 Ragu pasta sauce once (at least 50 jars)and there was none left on the shelves for anyone else.The restaurant had a spaghetti special that weekend That still annoys me-I wanted 2 jars to restock my cupboard.

[torontogal12]

I say quantities that your family can use until the next sale is reasonable.

It's just me and DH so I really don't buy more than two of anything anymore. If I buy for my parents, I will get 4. Another sale always comes along (usually the next week at a different store)

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People on this forum can be so judgmental of "shelf clearers."

No one can know what party people are buying for or how many families they are buying for.

When I go shopping, I sometimes find just one item left because the rest have been "cleared."

I don't assume it was a shelf clearer because I don't know how many were in stock in the first place.

And I don't know how many customers got there before me (people assume that one person took everything. Many customers could take one and you get the same result. If you think it's a good deal others probably do too.)

Or... did one person take them all but just leave one to clear their conscience? That makes me the shelf clearer because I take the last one.

[padyofurniture]

A lot of stores are setting limits nowadays anyways, like Shoppers with only two dozen eggs when they're on sale. A raincheck usually limits you to 6 items (per my local RASS.)

There's one thing I'd clear the shelf on to get a years supply of... ranitidine tablets from the US. I would normally save at least $25 for 200 tablets. That being said, everyone else had the same idea and they were hard to find when I was on holidays. Also, I'd only need about 3 to 5 boxes.

[SnowFlakey]

Interesting topic. I have no qualms about shelf clearing because all the stores around here offer rain-checks for 1 month, with a limit of 6 items. Also when certain items are on mega special, they are restricted to 3 items.

[padyofurniture]

Sometimes they want you to when it's a sale like KD or Campbell's soup. They get pallets of the stuff. I once purchased 49 cans of tuna from Zellers.

[mulock]

I will typically buy several months worth of a product, but it's rare that I clear a shelf....unless it is a once-in-a-lifetime deal.

[GoJays]

I bought the last two boxes of Rice Krispies today and I feel good about myself for getting to the store before they disappeared. I think people should hold their nasty opinions to themselves about shelf clearing. If they're so upset about products not being in stock why didn't they get to the store earlier? How can they say, without a doubt, that it was only one person? If my store has an empty shelf instead of the product I want then I just move on and get it another day. There is nothing that I need so badly that I have to put up a big stink about it.The only thing that kind of irks me is when I'm price matching and the store runs out of item that I'm looking for and they don't restock the shelves until the sale is over. But I can also see their side of that. They're losing money on that PM. I'd probably have the same policy if I had a store.

[Momof3girlies]

100% agree with you GoJays.

[PurpleBunny89]

I bought the last two boxes of Rice Krispies today and I feel good about myself for getting to the store before they disappeared. I think people should hold their nasty opinions to themselves about shelf clearing. If they're so upset about products not being in stock why didn't they get to the store earlier? How can they say, without a doubt, that it was only one person? If my store has an empty shelf instead of the product I want then I just move on and get it another day. There is nothing that I need so badly that I have to put up a big stink about it.The only thing that kind of irks me is when I'm price matching and the store runs out of item that I'm looking for and they don't restock the shelves until the sale is over. But I can also see their side of that. They're losing money on that PM. I'd probably have the same policy if I had a store.

I agree with you except that they aren't necessarily losing money just not making as much when a customer price-matches. Either way they are making more then they bought it for which is still successful business practice.

[missmaggs]

I believe shelf clearing will happen to everyone at some point. I find that stores don't get nearly as much stock ahead of their highly anticipated sales as they used to. Lately, it seems that when stores have anticipated deals on household staples (toilet paper, pop, coffee, laundry detergent, milk, cheese, etc), they typically only get a skid and that's it for the week which makes shelf clearing more likely ...like when milk goes on sale for $1 for 1L cartons.

I think "acceptable" quantities all depend on your personal circumstances. Personally, I'm always buying for us, my in-laws, grand-in-laws (pretty sure I just made up a word there) and my parents (8 people in total - 6 of which live on fixed incomes). If you're a small family you likely don't need 40 bottles of shampoo but if you're buying for an extended family they maybe? Some people also buy for food banks and shelters when they can get things for free or nearly free - myself included. I try not to clear the shelves but sometimes the retailers really leave us with no choice (lack of stock). For example, last summer I bought 30 900g bags of Cavendish fries for free and I kept 10 for us and the in-laws and made a stop at the local church food bank to drop off the other 20 bags - I cleared out the freezer but I did it on the second to last day of the sale.

I do get a little annoyed when people clear the shelves on the first day of a sale I can't even begin to count the number of times I've gone to the store on the way home from work to find the shelves bare and a nice little "sold out come back Saturday" sign. Grrrrr

[wtodd123]

I regularly buy 10 to 12 loaves of bread when it goes on sale & don't feel even slightly guilty about it; we (3 in our household) freeze it and use as we need it... I don't know that I've ever cleared a shelf doing this but to me it's simple economics and a smart buying practice. If the store I get my bread on sale doesn't have any left I just go to the same store in a different location to get it. Basically first come, first served... same rules for everybody.