We live in strange times these days. Nearly every American’s life has been upended by something we can’t even see, a miniscule coronavirus that has proven most deadly to those who already have compromised immune systems due to age or existing illness.
So, during this volatile time what would cause Amazon – the place where so many American’s shop – to remove more than a million coronavirus related products from its online marketplace? Simply put: Price gouging and misleading COVID-19 claims by vendors.
One such banished seller was a pair of brothers in Tennessee. After the first U.S. coronavirus death Matt and Noah Colvin scoured their region and bought up nearly 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and thousands of packets of antibacterial wipes. Their plan was to sell them on Ebay and Amazon for as much money as they could get. After some of the brother’s sanitizing bottles sold for up to $70 both online marketplaces banned the Colvin’s transactions. In fact, Ebay announced it was removing all offers for hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, face masks or any other product mentioning coronavirus or COVID-19.
At the very mention of price gouging – charging way more for high-demand goods and services in times of emergency – politicians quickly responded with proposals for tougher laws. Currently, there are specific laws against price gouging already on the books in 34 states.
In Washington, one bipartisan group in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Shop Safe Act which would hold e-commerce platforms accountable for selling counterfeit products. In New York State there is legislation pending that would limit the rise of an item’s price to just 10% higher than its pre-emergency cost.
While new laws might play well with voters, (especially those gullible enough to have fallen for inflated pricing) several economists warn this approach could do more harm than good. They believe that passing stricter pricing regulations is a self-defeating move.
Think hard about what restrictive laws like that would accomplish.
Let’s stick with hand sanitizer as an example. After a maker of that product learns about strict pricing laws in a certain state don’t you think they would avoid sending sanitizer there? Common sense tells us the smart business person would simply divert their product to states that have no pricing restrictions, states like New Hampshire, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona, to name a random few.
My point? An educated consumer should be able to avoid sales pitches that sound too good to be true. And only the foolish would pay twenty or thirty times the regular price for an item. If you are committed enough to stay at home and buy only from online merchants then your need for sanitizers and wipes and face masks is minimal to begin with.
By all accounts the United States has plenty of food, paper products, medicines and bottled water in the pipeline. The biggest problem hasn’t been illegal price gouging it has been citizen hoarding. It’s a selfish action that stokes widespread fear in those who see empty stores and panic about what the future might bring. We would all be better served if we maintain our normal shopping habits and realistically limit ourselves to what we actually need.
This is not end of days, folks, as challenging as the situation appears. Come on, no one needs to horde as much toilet paper as has flown off the shelves! Yes, we’ve been asked to stay at home, when possible, but your local grocers and restaurant owners still need your business. Venture out. Get the food you need and don’t succumb to buying $70 bottles of hand sanitizer. Just thoroughly wash your hands afterword.
This too shall pass. I promise.
Reader Greg Stec writes:
Maybe it’s time for the paper industry to ramp up production (and jobs) to flood the stores with TP. There’s only so much space a hoarder has, and one can’t keep it outside. It gets wet, you see.
Reader Joya Colucci Lord writes:
There is no limit to the selfishness of people. A friend posted this on her timeline. I thought it was a joke. This was a true story from her son-in-law:
_________________
This is from my Son-in-Law, David.
(This really did happen)
“This hoarding is pure selfishness.
I was at the store to get a few small items in reasonable quantities, and this old lady came up and asked if I could get some Diet 7-Up bottles for her as the shelf was high up. I agreed to help and grabbed a couple off the shelf and asked “how many?” She replied, “all of them.”
I loaded two more into her cart and just to see what her response would be, I asked, “Mind if I take one or two for myself?” She replied, “I already claimed them.”
I grabbed the four bottles out of her cart, put them back on the high shelf, and walked away.
Stay thirsty, my friends.”
Reader Kim Winton replies to Joya:
… As far as elderly people go, that’s not very nice to do to her. She could’ve been fine with 4, but didn’t need to have them all put back up out of her reach. Older people are scared, on a budget, and most don’t have help.
Reader Sandie Watson writes:
If people are stockpiling toilet paper maybe they need to see a gastroenterologist not an infectious diseases doc! ♀️♀️
Reader Gary Doll writes:
As long as I live I will never understand hoarding toilet paper and water, fear and greed at it’s worst…so sad
Reader Natalie Fido-Kennedy writes:
I know rightppl stop!
Reader Bruce Malm writes:
I’ve experienced price gouging on amazon. I went to purchase some canned food that I’ve purchased in the past and the price had more than doubled
Reader J.r. Willis writes:
I spent a lot of the 60’s & 70’s in the Marines. Went to the other side of the world a couple of times & sometimes TP was a luxury, but never thought of burying it in the jungle for later. I could be sitting on a gold mine now.
Reader Kim Winton writes:
Truth!! It’s sad and infuriating. And extremely unnecessary.
Reader Kyla Thompson writes:
It just drives me crazy. I am so thankful for the stores who will not refund money if they return it after this is over.
Reader Centeno Angeles writes:
Just use what people used before it was invented, like corn cobs and sponges on a stick.
Diane Dimond replies to Centerno Angeles:
Ummmm. How about a washcloth. Everyone has washcloths at home. Think of it like the old cloth diapers we used to use – and then wash and use again and again?
Reader Joe Woehnker writes:
This tells me those kiñd of people know they are full of shit.
Reade DME writes:
Banning sales for online platforms stops the hoarding and makes the items available as they were pre-COVID-19. It’s pretty critical we shut down the types of folks inclined to make a disaster worse than it has to be by exploiting it for profit. Humanity has to send a strong message to such individuals. They’re what’s wrong with the world.
DD replies to DME:
While online marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay have grown tremendously the majority of people still shop locally at brick and mortar stores. THAT is where the most damaging hoarding is taking place, I believe. My local Costco, for example, was recently completely out of meat, eggs and all but one gallon of milk. Oh – an no toilet paper, kleenex or paper towels. I keep wondering where all the (selfish) hoarders put all those paper products!
Reader William Drummond writes:
Bidet is an appliance that can make a difference in one’s life. Don’t understand why it never caught on in the US.
Reader Robin Haines Kaehr writes:
Exactly. If the hoarding would stop, there would be food and supplies for everyone. It’s so stupid!
Reader Megan Phelps writes:
Every single item, at every single store is just a slightly more expensive this month than it was last month.
Reader Reader Catherine Whitney writes:
Hoarding is a lizard brain reaction.
Reader Fred Chenevey writes:
It’s about heroes and hoarders
Reader icebergslim62377 writes:
If one 1s desperate one can use reusable toilet paper. AKA a warm wash cloth.
Reader Brian Jarrett writes:
Price gouging can’t even be defined. At what percentage increase does it become price gouging? Prices fluctuate all the time, and I’ve seen the same thing sold from different vendors on Amazon for vastly different prices. I’ve seen prices change over 50% in some cases without a crisis. If you can get someone to pay you $70 for hand sanitizer, more power to you. It won’t last long, though, because others will want to get in on the profits and will charge lower prices. With price controls in place, to prevent ‘price gouging’ you end up with shortages. During Katrina, hotels couldn’t charge more for their rooms and families were renting more rooms than they needed, meaning others didn’t get a room at all. No price controls are necessary, the free market can handle the artificial demand just fine.
Reader Tom O’Donnell writes:
If a bottle of water costs one dollar during a crisis and I have 100 dollars and there are only 100 bottles on the shelves I can buy up the whole supply. If it costs 4 bucks a bottle I can only by 25 thereby leaving 75 bottles for others. And the theory goes entrepreneurs will bring more supply to the affected area to make a better profit and prices will come down again due to the increased supply. Makes sense to me.
Reader Al Mann writes:
It sickens me to see such greedy people.
Reader J. Dalton Greene writes:
EVERY state has a govm’t agency to prosecute low life people.
This is easy to prosecute, and once CONVICTED, this person is exposed to everyone. Good luck with future employment
Reader Larry Knox writes:
Does One remember World War One; The flu and the beginning of the great depression. Does One remember World War Two; Food, Gas, and other products Rationing. Humans act the same when one loses sight of reality ( common-sense) squandering and survival. They pursue Greed (price gauging). Have a good day.
Reader Frank G writes:
This article should be in a common sense category, not opinion. Law of supply and demand. Government intervention should be kept at a minimum.
Reader 3M WOJ8 writes:
The materials to make hand sanitizer – ethanol and isopropanol – are on allocation and their prices have increased more than 10% and that’s a fact and I know it.
So if Cuomo knows whats good for him he will not interfere in the hand sanitizer marketplace. But here’s what happens if he does:
There will be a shortage;
Bootleggers will make ethanol from ferment and distill it to make hand sanitizer;
The price will probably increase even more;
Law enforcers will have a hard time enforcing the new edict and may encounter «push-back.»
Molon Labe Governor.
Reader Denise Svendsen writes:
First pack of toilet paper normal price, second pack $100. Then no one will hoard. Same goes for all items being hoarded.
Reader JERRY SHAW writes:
When free markets exist sellers can charge as much as the public will pay. This attracts more sellers who increase the supply of the good. That drives prices down. It might not be «fair» but it’s the mechanism that increases supply most quickly. We might not like it but it works. Fussing about it does not fix the problem any more than my yelling at gravity when I fall.
Reader Joe Harper writes:
There’s no such thing as price gouging when transactions are voluntary.
Reader Nicolas Nickels writes:
Why can’t stores simply impose a per person limit? That would assure buyers the supply is being doled out proportionate to normal buying habits.
Reader huskerco writes:
This article almost seems to say that we should let price gouging continue and if some people are taken advantage of then that is too bad. It appears that there is unjustified faith in the Free Market and seems to not condemn the price gouging of the brothers in Tennessee. Such a society would be rather harsh.
Reader Eric Doll writes:
«A fool and his money are soon parted.» Proverbs 21:20
To observe human foibles is not to approve of them.
Reader Pat Vail writes:
It most definitely is NOT the American way! It is the way of those who are most greedy. Taking advantage of the most panicked! People should not fall for it. Americans are the most giving people in the world. Look it up!
Steve Borsher writes:
When else would you price gouge? It’s the American way.
Reader Lorrie Sarafin writes:
Diane Dimond – and I would bet you could even re-use baby wipes a few times and even disinfectant wipes a few times after washing them.
Reader Debra Garnett writes:
I am down to my last 2 rolls..already done cut up old tee shirts into nice squares..thinking ahead..things could get alot worse..
Reader MamaJ @swimmomjj writes:
If you have 50 rolls of toilet paper at home please stop buying it.