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Purell for $ 149? $ 20 face masks?
Would you pay $ 149 for a package of two 12-ounce bottles of Purell? How about a single container of Clorox wipes for $ 44.25, plus $ 14.59 shipping?
Buyers who browse the Internet and Main Street for these essential supplies say they are hit by exorbitant prices. Shipping costs also skyrocketed, with a buyer quoted $ 500 for the floor and $ 5,000 for the next day.
The third-party sellers who store the vast virtual shelves of Amazon.com, Walmart, and eBay appear to be testing what the market will support. And social media has been inundated with complaints. Even California Governor Gavin Newsom joined the choir on Tuesday: "Seriously, @amazon? These prices are absurd."
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Amazon.com said on Monday that it is rampant, suppressing or blocking more than a million products on its platform for price increases and misleading claims related to the epidemic.Amazon says it It also takes action against accounts that violate its policies, including the suspension or removal of sales privileges.
EBay reminded sellers on Friday not to include health claims in the listings. Words like "coronavirus", "Covid-19", "virus" and "epidemic" were banned, as were lists that attempted to take advantage of tragedies and disasters and inflated prices relative to market value. The company told USA TODAY that it is monitoring the situation closely.
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Over the weekend, 67-year-old Jack Arnest was looking for N95 masks when he spotted an eBay listing for three boxes for $ 62. But when he received his order confirmation, he noticed that he was only receiving three masks.
He dialed an abbreviated number on eBay and asked that the order be canceled, but wondered how many customers were misled by the listed photo showing an individual mask leaning against a box of 20.
There is no return policy so if I hadn't canceled right away, I would have been stuck and it pissed me off. He's a guy who takes advantage of the fact that everyone is panicking and most people are rushing to get something going fast and not reading the fine print, "said Arnest, project manager and engineer at Retirement in the construction industry in Honolulu. Any way that a box of 20 masks should cost $ 400. It was a pretty clear example of gouging. Someone is really profitable there. .
Dr. Wendy Lu, a dentist in Cupertino, California, says she orders masks 20 or 40 boxes at a time to protect herself and her staff during exams and procedures. When his January order was suddenly canceled, he was told to place the order again. When she did, the price had increased fivefold.
Lu says she switched to another supplier, but all suppliers are now limiting the number of boxes of face masks that dentists can order. It was first five a week, now her two. Some suppliers are out of stock.
It's annoying, but there's not much we can do, says Lu, 52. Its supply and demand.
What may seem mercenary or predatory pricing for some consumers is normal market behavior for economists.
The scam refers to the increase in the prices of goods and services to unfair levels, especially in times of crisis. Vendors who raise prices during a hurricane, earthquake or pandemic often blame market conditions.
Michael Salinger, professor of economics at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University and former director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, says they are right. The real problem is that there are too few masks available.
"Ideally, we would find a mechanism to ensure that those who are likely to be most vulnerable to the crisis such as the elderly and health workers get the supplies available. But the laws that prevent prices from rising will not achieve this goal, "he added. said.
Economists believe that a sharp increase in prices, whether from retailers or wholesalers, is the natural response to a sudden surge in demand and can help to replenish supply.
These higher prices reward suppliers willing to meet this increased demand, either from existing stocks or by rapidly increasing production, says Michael Giberson, professor of economics at Texas Tech Universitys Rawls College of Business.
Higher prices also discourage consumers from hoarding masks that are vital to first responders and health professionals or those at high risk of contracting the coronavirus, by keeping the supplies available in the hands of those who have them. no more need, he said.
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The price increases also encourage manufacturers to speed up production. "I guess the supply will be fairly sensitive to any price increase and any shortage or major price increase will likely be short lived," said Salinger.
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Many states have anti-gouging laws, but they define gouging differently. Florida law prohibits the sale of "essential merchandise" at an "unreasonable price", but authorities often conclude that normal, unprofitable market forces were at work.
Sara Ann Tinder, 35, says she spotted many Amazon.com ads with premium prices, even for butane fuel, selling for $ 19 versus the $ 3 she paid at Walmart . Now people see it as life or maybe death, so they will buy items at higher prices, says Tinder, who lives in Princeton, Illinois.
Normal rules should not apply in emergencies when demand exceeds supply of necessities, says Dana Radcliffe, senior lecturer in business ethics at Cornell University Johnson College and adjunct professor of ethics and public policy at Syracuse University. A free and fair market does not exist because buyers have no other option, says he.
It is not a classic economic transaction with a willing seller and buyer, "he said." One party has all the power because the other person is in a vulnerable situation of sometimes desperate need.
Radcliffe says regulators should crack down on business owners who take advantage of their fellow citizens in the event of a civic emergency. Not only is it unfair, it is unpatriotic, he says.
He is trying to take advantage of the fact that the people around you have very serious needs, when what we should be doing is helping our community get through it, rather than pursuing our own interest at the expense of our fellow citizens. "he said." I think we are right to blame ourselves. "
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