For a store it really is that simple, and they do it all the time with really good sales (esp. loss-leaders).
The "preferable" regime is whichever one is easy to implement, appears fair, and ensures primarily that the store has a reputation for things being in-stock even when on sale.
Which is usually max 1, 2 or 4 per customer. If you really want more, you can usually put them in your car, go back in, get in line again and pay again. If you do this more than two or three times, a manager will probably ask you to stop and prevent any further. But you can always come back tomorrow.
It works pretty well. People who really need double or triple can get it with just a little extra work, but it absolutely prevents people from clearing out the store's stock in a single, quick easy transaction.
This response did not answer the core question of my comment: any allocation scheme will choose winners and losers, so how do you pick which is worse? I see an assertion that rationing via quotas is "simple and fair," but it's not clear at all that it is more fair. What is "fair," and according to whom? Certainly the mother with seven kids and elderly parents in the home, she'd find the "go through the line, go to your car and go back in again" to be totally unacceptable, especially with the exceptionally long lines we've seen (it wouldn't be a "little extra work" but would involve doing nothing but waiting in line for hours).
And the whole point of this article is that it's not normal times where prices can fluctuate.
The "preferable" regime is whichever one is easy to implement, appears fair, and ensures primarily that the store has a reputation for things being in-stock even when on sale.
Which is usually max 1, 2 or 4 per customer. If you really want more, you can usually put them in your car, go back in, get in line again and pay again. If you do this more than two or three times, a manager will probably ask you to stop and prevent any further. But you can always come back tomorrow.
It works pretty well. People who really need double or triple can get it with just a little extra work, but it absolutely prevents people from clearing out the store's stock in a single, quick easy transaction.