Inelastic

See: Elasticity.

If the market for a good is elastic, it means it’s responsive: a large change in price will result in a large change in the quantity bought. For instance, a mega-sale results in a mega-sellout, and a large markup results in few of the items being bought.

Inelastic goods are the opposite. The price can change all it wants, but people will still buy the same amount of the good. Inelasticity implies that the amount of a good bought won’t change much (or at all) even if the price goes up a lot, or down a lot.

Toilet paper...on sale at a discount? Well, you’re still going to use the same amount (unless a bargain makes you constipated), so even if you stock up now, it’s an inelastic good in the long run. Toilet paper...marked up? Too bad; you decide to suck it up and pay the higher price (you’re just not ready to go back to how they did it in ye olden days with free newspapers).