COVID-19 Scare Results in Overpriced Safety Items
Globally, we are in a very vulnerable position due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With the demand for face masks and other safety products on the rise, some sellers have attempted to capitalize on the sense of urgency by drastically increasing prices.
Several U.S. states have anti-price-gouging laws in place, and these laws are being violated in order to take advantage of people trying to survive the worst health-crisis in recent years.
According to a study released Wednesday by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, face masks alone averaged a price increase of 166%. A separate price tracking service found that a box of 10 respirators had sold for $18.95 in January, but was listed as high as $200 at the end of February. The buyer advocacy group also reported that this price-gouging was not limited to third-party sellers. The study revealed that Amazon itself had also raised prices among certain items, but has since lowered them back down.
To their credit, Amazon appears to have made huge strides in combating this price-gouging on all fronts.
Amazon says they have already removed over 500,000 overpriced products. After looking into several companies we are familiar with, it seems true Amazon had the listings removed. These companies also received written warnings of complete account suspension due to a violation of Amazon’s price-gouging policy.
Other platforms, such as Walmart and eBay have taken their own preventative measures to combat price inflation. Walmart has vowed to remove any overpriced listings (much like Amazon), while eBay has temporarily banned the selling of face-masks and hand sanitizer entirely.
Our hopes are that Amazon and the other marketplaces will continue to aggressively monitor the prices of these essential products. Upon doing our own research over the last few days, there were no listings that immediately stood out as being unfairly priced. If you see anything that appears to be extremely overpriced, please reach out to Amazon through the “Amazon Help” service.
Experts say that in North America, the COVID-19 outbreak is just beginning to take shape. This health crisis is clearly having large-scale impacts on the business and sports worlds, and while we don’t know the long-term impact, our immediate approach is to listen to the experts – work from home when possible, wash your hands, and limit your time in public. Our thoughts are with those immediately affected by COVID-19.
