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Subscribe to RSSOSLO — Southern Norway is in the midst of a diaper shortage after a supermarket price war lured enterprising bulk shoppers from eastern Europe who have cleaned out the shelves, customs officials and retailers said.
Norway is one of the world's most expensive countries. However, supermarkets in the south trying to lure local customers by undercutting rivals on the price of "nappies" inadvertently made it profitable enough for residents of nearby countries to start trading in them.
"They buy every last diaper, I mean everything we have on the shelves, throw it in the back of their car and take them home, where they sell it for a nice profit," says Terje Ragnar Hansen, a regional director for retail chain Rema 1000.
"It's not stealing and it's not even criminal but it's a big problem ... they leave nothing for our regular customers.
Customers come into Norway from Sweden, drive along the coast to fill their cars, then take a ferry back to the continent, said Helge Breilid, the chief of customs in Kristiansand on Norway's southern coast.
Some have been stopped with diapers worth up to 50,000 crowns ($9,100), roughly 80,000 diapers, a legal shipment even though Norway is not part of the European Union.
"They told us that the only reason they came to Norway was to drive around and buy diapers to bring back home and resell," Breilid said.
"These people mainly come from Poland and Lithuania, and we have no reason to believe that they are part of any criminal gangs."
Norwegian diapers cost as little as 30 crowns ($5.47) for 50, less than half of the prevailing price in Lithuania. Coincidentally, the Internet is heaving with Lithuanian sellers advertising Norwegian diapers.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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ROTFLMAO!!!!
Capitalism at its best.
now thats no "crappy investment" looks like some will be up to it in $hit ,as in a $hitload of money ,some will just have a load of $hit in the diapers
I'm off to Norway to make a fortune in diapers :)
Why don't the stores just limit the number of diapers each customers can buy? What is the big deal? "Limit 2 per customer", that's all.
Sounds simple enough. But I'm suspicious.
Is there anyone out there who remembers cloth diapers?????????
Cheap, Reuseable and smelly. BUT effective.
I remember, well I should say I remember my mother telling me that's what she used on me, many, many, MANY years ago, lol. I seemed to grow up okay and had no traumatic problems from cloth diapers! Use some bleach and good as new, but I suppose that's too tacky for this century (rolls eyes). wink.
I'm in my mid-20's and my parents couldn't afford pricey disposable diapers when my brother and I were little, so they used reusable cloth ones. They get tired of people complaining about the cost of disposable diapers, like you said- there are alternatives...
I am a mother of 3, my youngest is 5 months, and I have used cloth diapers on all of them. We've used disposable too at times. I know other moms that use cloth diapers too, so rest-assured, they are not completely a thing of the past! They are actually super easy and have come a long way in the past several years. Just do a google search for Fuzzibunz or Bumgenius and you'll see :)
sammit,Yes I remember cloth diapers.They don't fill up the landfill either.
I can't believe that people are still wasting money on the disposable ones.In my days we didn't have the problem of people dumping dirty diapers on the street or putting them in the trash containers in public bathrooms.It is disgusting and gross to say the least.
Cloth diapers prevented diaper rash... wet/dirty ones were immediately changed.. I used them on my first child.. and yep capitolism at its finest.. a word to the wise.. in countries where there is little if any foreign trade, and all products are prodced by that country, they are usually the most expensive ones to live in..
I had a man ask me once for money for diapers for his kid, I told him to use his shirt. He had no idea that was possible.
My son was born around the time the original Pampers came out. He wore them for about a week (my aunt gave me a case as a shower gift) before we realized he was allergic to something in them.
So we used cloth, and he survived it just fine.
oh wow, a real **** storm.
Headline: "Polish Diaper Thugs Raid Viking Merchants." In other news, Norwegian officers discover their police stations' toilets have been stolen; they have nothing to go on.
Not sure where you are located but here in Oregon there is a large % of people that use cloth diapers, they are more stylish then the old white ones but they are still the wash and wear style.
If Al Gorelioni and Barack Hussein Obama are really worried about global warming and the nonsensical carbon footprint,encourage the world's population to use cloth diapers.
There are a lot of pissed off people because they can't buy them with food stamps!
The diaper shortages! The result will be diaper rationing; male or female (a la "odd or even" schemes during the gas shortages if anyone can remember the 1970s). DIPOC ( Diaper Producing Countries) cartel reducing these poor Norwegian parents to their knees. NATO needs to intervene here. Bomb those damn DIPOCKERS to kingdom come!
Best comment of the day!
I smell Gang Activity here! Oh, wait a minute........ that's just my son's diaper, never mind.
I can easily forsee "Diaper Wars" on Discovery being a big hit soon! and then they will start seeing diapers being smuggled inside hidden spaces in cargo containers and gas tanks (on the next Extreme Smugglers show). Then come the turf wars too (turd wars?), fighting over who gets what street corner. Random killings, beheadings and counterfeit diapers are next!
Proof that Norway is full of crap.
And soon to be more so!
I would really be PO'd if that happened to me :D
Try using cloth and towels like mothers and fathers use to.
Some EU Commission will come in and prosecute the POOP out of these markets for trying to increase customer demand (This would be known as "Price/pull if I rememver my Econ courses).
Now where will they be?
I got really let down, I read the headline, concerning diaper hunters, and called my local gunclub to arrange a goodwill safari to establish international brotherhood with the diaper hunters of Norway.
Then I realized that we were only talking about consumer capitalists.
If parents really wanted to free themselves from all of those diaper raiders trying to make a quick buck off Norway's diapers, maybe some could look at investing in working with other parents, to help make cloth diapers. Emphasizing one doesn't need to keep forking over cash for disposable diapers.There are patterns for making them,anyone can do. Let others know.
Parents can fight back, free themselves from the bottomless pit of putting money out feeding those trolls who emptied store shelves. Let those buggers be stuck with diapers they can't use! Only use disposable for the first few months,then in a pinch when baby is ill, for instance.
Windy -
I am no algore sycophant, but the 3..5 million tons of disposable diapers that go into landfills each year is depressing. Plastic and synthetics. Some of our friends children are rabid eco-cars and wind and solar supporters but go the disposable route.
Convenience or conservation. You can seldom have both.
A real sh!tty situation.
This could turn out really $hitty.
Did Obama include diapers in his kill the old to save big government plan?
oh @!$%#
This is a typical "trade" that should be illegal. It doesn't improve the economy of any nation. That said, I find the bulk volume traders here in USA to be worse. They buy up huge volumes of oil or other resources such as aluminum etc., just for the purpose of driving UP the cost, thus we have to pay MORE. At least the "diaper traders" sell the diapers for LESS than otherwise offered in those Eastern European nations.
Oh crap!
Raised my first 2 kids with cloth diapers. Plastic ones were just coming on the market at the time and used those only in emergencies or while traveling. Can't afford cloth diapers? Get busy with the sewing machine and make them!
they can turn to Amazon and have as much as they want shipped overnight , give me a break .
Norway should raise the price of the diapers.Problem solved.
Translating from Norwegian into English I found:
"Rema 1000 sells diapers as low as five Kroner - They buy so much that this will be a good business for them. But I question whether this is legal. Can they really take diapers out of Norway and into Poland, says Kaloshi."
"Thursday, he was out of diapers, and had to reject a customer who asked. Friday he got a new delivery, but just hours later was Kaloshi out of diapers again - Now we do not get new products before Monday, and throughout the weekend, I must say to my regular customers that we are out of diapers."
Libero diapers are made in Australia and a supplier. I therefore I suggest they start selling diapers in those areas where the diapers appear in Poland or Lithuania, they create a shortage in Norway, yet might be good for Norway if they can keep up with the demand.
Correction "Rema 1000 sells diapers as low as five Kroner - should be 5 Dollars
Norwegian diapers cost as little as $5.47USD for 50, (30 crowns) less than half of the price in Lithuania. Its written on the Internet that many Lithuanian sellers are advertising Norwegian diapers - if I look I might see what was explianed.
($1 = 5.4831 Norwegian krones)
Three Things You Don't Want To Run Out Of:
1. Gas.
2. Milk.
3. Diapers.
===========================
In Norway, the diaper price wars-
Are making the store shelves empty,
and causing the Moms to see stars.
The article left out Ted "the diaper" Nugent rumor has it he was one of the biggest purchasers. When asked about this Ted "the diaper" said, "I ain't saying I did and I ain't saying I didn't but you can suck on this" and he whipped out his famous "dirty diaper" that he proudly wore while dodging the draft, back when he still had some musical talent. Anyway that's what I thought the headline was about. ROFL!
Yes we know,anyone who dissagrees with your politics means they have no talent.(eye roll)