After the Northridge quake some local merchants held the public hostage with grossly inflated prices. While your paying cash, get a receipt( even hand written) and make a note of the time,date and location. On the positive side, my local Sikhe owned convenience store ( my area was unaffected, short of a power failure the first day) gave me 5 gallons of bottled water for my grandmother. Again, create a community in good times and it's there during the bad.