What is the difference between 買い溜め, 買い込む and 買い占める


I recently encountered 買い込む in the following sentence:

災害に備えて大量の水を買い込んだ。- I bought large quantities of water to prepare for
disasters. (pretty straightforward)

Searching through similar words I came across 買い溜め and 買い占める which supposedly
mean the same thing (stock up; buy in large quantity etc.) I 've also seen the
later being used in expressions regarding COVID-19 such as:

買い占めを自粛してください。- Please refrain from panic-buying.

From what I've understood so far 買い占める means to buy a thing as much as
possible, whereas 買い溜め means the same with the addition of some underlying
fear and uncertainty(product might be sold out or the price may rise). If
that's the case, wouldn't 買い溜め make more sense in the above sentence? Where
does it differ from 買い込む.

It would be nice if you could provide some additional example sentences to
outline the differences, if there are any.




買い込む is the most neutral of the three. It simply refers to the act of buying
something in large quantities for future use. It may be for normal consumption
and the stock may last only for a few days.

買い溜め is usually used in this noun form, although the verb form 買い溜める is also
possible. It refers to the act of buying something in large quantities and
keeping it in stock for some future event, such as a supply shortage, a price
rise, and an emergency. 溜める means “to store” or “to save”.

買い占め (noun) or 買い占める (verb) has connotations of buying something in more than
fair amounts and at the expense of other buyers when the thing is in short
supply. 占める means “to occupy” and the same Chinese character is used in such
words as 独占 (monopoly) and 寡占 (oligopoly). 買い溜め, on the other hand, has no
such connotation per se. I think this is the reason behind the choice of 買い占め
for “panic-buying”.

Unlike 買い溜め, 買い占め has no sense of keeping the purchased items in stock,
although they may remain unused for some time.




買い込む is the most neutral of the three. It simply refers to the act of buying
something in large quantities for future use. It may be for normal consumption
and the stock may last only for a few days.

買い溜め is usually used in this noun form, although the verb form 買い溜める is also
possible. It refers to the act of buying something in large quantities and
keeping it in stock for some future event, such as a supply shortage, a price
rise, and an emergency. 溜める means “to store” or “to save”.

買い占め (noun) or 買い占める (verb) has connotations of buying something in more than
fair amounts and at the expense of other buyers when the thing is in short
supply. 占める means “to occupy” and the same Chinese character is used in such
words as 独占 (monopoly) and 寡占 (oligopoly). 買い溜め, on the other hand, has no
such connotation per se. I think this is the reason behind the choice of 買い占め
for “panic-buying”.

Unlike 買い溜め, 買い占め has no sense of keeping the purchased items in stock,
although they may remain unused for some time.

