Amazon Has Suspended 6,000 Seller Accounts for Pandemic Price Gouging

Epoch Times ^ | April 16th 2020 | JACK PHILLIPS

[Jacquerie]

Amazon said in a letter to investigators on Thursday that more than 6,000 seller accounts were suspended due to price gouging amid the CCP virus pandemic.

The company’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, said the firm also removed more than 500,000 listings on its website for price gouging.

“Amazon turned over information about sellers we suspect engaged in price gouging of products related to COVID-19 to 42 state attorneys general offices,” Bezos wrote in a filing. “To accelerate our response to price-gouging incidents, we created a special communication channel for state attorneys general to quickly and easily escalate consumer complaints to us.”

The suspensions of accounts came after a letter from Congressional lawmakers to Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joseph Simons called for investigations into reports of price gouging.

“The FTC should be just as vigilant as ever during the COVID-19 pandemic,” a bipartisan group of lawmakers said in a letter to Simons, dated Tuesday.

[BuffaloJack]

I wish Amazon would post the country for each item. I hate it when I order something and then discover it will take a month to get here from Australia. I’d have paid the extra buck of two to purchase a similar or same item domestically. But, you don’t know until you place the order and then check and find out the delivery service is one you never heard of and even then you might not know where your stuff is coming from until it arrives 3 weeks later and the box is all in Chinese.

[DAC21]

This is rich, In early March Amazon was selling Kleenex tissue for $18. The exact same four pack was at Target for $8 IN STOCK. I never opened the Amazon package when it arrived and it was returned. To say the least the Amazon Nazis did not publish my review on why the were over charging so much.

Just this morning I saw Amazon had 8oz. of rubbing Alcohol and was charging $14.00 for it, ummm OK whatever Amazon.

[DAC21]

^^^^^^^^^^

Just for clarification the two examples above were Amazon price gouging NOT third party sellers.

[Cronos]

And if the bloke bought out all the available masks in an area, creating an artificial scarcity? That’s ok in your book, max?

[max americana]

“And if the bloke bought out all the available masks in an area, creating an artificial scarcity? That’s ok in your book, max?”

AND?? Spare me your phony crap conservatism or sense of justice “Mate”. Did I say it’s all good?

[Fresh Wind]

If the “bloke” didn’t buy all the available masks in an area, would there be masks for sale in any of the stores that would normally stock them?

Nope. The shelves would be just as bare.

What if your “bloke”, in the course of running his supply business, had purchased a wholesale lot of masks from the manufacturer pre-pandemic, and now he can’t sell them at all, or worse, has had them confiscated?

And why aren’t the shelves being restocked? Oh yeah, various government agencies have decreed that all available masks are to be reserved for medical personnel, so regular people can’t get them at all even though we are being required to wear masks as an admission ticket to a life-sustaining food store.

I’ve even seen it suggested that individuals who possess masks for their own use should have them confiscated.

Of course, you can always make your own from old t-shirts and rags, right? What difference does it make that such home-made masks are minimally effective?

I certainly don’t think medical personnel and hospitals shouldn’t have priority for what they need, but is it possible that there is government-sponsored hoarding going on?

With Trump bragging about the hundreds of millions of masks that are now being produced, will they start to appear in stores any time soon?

I doubt it, but we shall see.

[Cronos]

I asked you if creating an artificial scarcity is ok in your book. you haven’t answered it, “mate”

[Cronos]

If the “bloke” didn’t buy all the available masks in an area, would there be masks for sale in any of the stores that would normally stock them? Yes there would be

What if your “bloke”, in the course of running his supply business, had purchased a wholesale lot of masks from the manufacturer pre-pandemic, and now he can’t sell them at all, or worse, has had them confiscated? -- That's not the case here - if he purchased a wholesale lot of masks from the manufacturer pre-pandemic and then decided to sell them at a 500% or more markup (think epi-drive), no, that's not ok -- the sellers mentioned here are accused of price-gouging. A week ago I bought a KN95 mask on Amazon for maybe 15% more than it was in 2019 -- that's fine and not price gouging.

[Cronos]

And why aren’t the shelves being restocked? -- because of price gouging - there are masks available in other countries without price gouging

I’ve even seen it suggested that individuals who possess masks for their own use should have them confiscated. - that's wrong, illegal and a completely different matter - don't start whatabouttery

[max americana]

Dont put words into my post fake conservative..so you want the masks free right? Distribute it evenly among the masses correct?

[Fresh Wind]

OK, so what is the “normal” price of a box of 50 of those particular masks?

By the way, I hope you didn’t buy this type of KN95 mask...

https://nypost.com/2020/04/18/illinois-blows-17m-on-shoddy-face-masks-from-china/

[Cronos]

Fake conservative - I asked you if creating an artificial scarcity is ok in your book. you haven’t answered it, “mate”

Why do you want the masks freely distributed among the masses?

[Cronos]

[Fresh Wind]

Shelves aren't being restocked because demand is so high that the supply chain is overwhelmed, regardless of whether individuals are buying for a quick buck. Any that do show up in a retail setting are snapped up instantly by panicky buyers, so the shelves are always bare.

So in your view, it's perfectly fine for the fedgov to confiscate masks from "hoarders" or "price gougers". They are Bad People and deserve to be punished.

But what about this?

3 million masks ordered by Massachusetts were confiscated in Port of New York, leading to creative alternative

Or this?

Somerset County ordered 35,000 medical masks. The federal government seized the whole order

Or this?

Officials in at least 6 states are accusing the federal government of quietly diverting their orders for coronavirus medical equipment

Didn't Trump at some point to urge the states to make an effort to take care of their own needs without relying on the fedgov?

[max americana]

isnt that what you wanted? And I asked you a question. Answer it first clown.

[discostu]

Report them. It’s a report based system, if nobody has complained about them Amazon won’t notice.

[Cronos]

Libtard clown, I asked you first -- I asked you if creating an artificial scarcity is ok in your book. you haven’t answered it, “mate”

If you want to create artificial scarcity and want masks free you are a commie.

Answer the question posed to you first before you come back with deflecting questions, commie

[max americana]

aw cmon clown, answer it like the phony ass you really are. You want them free right??? Just answer that . Aww, betcha a tough little freeper thought you can just get away with a cutesy hit on another freeper and get away with it..

[Cronos]

aw cmon clown, answer it like the phony ass you really are.

You want an artificial scarcity right? So that you can then blame Trump, right?

Answer the question posed to you before you ask me any, commie -- the question was I asked you if creating an artificial scarcity is ok in your book. you haven’t answered it, “mate

[dennisw]

I have had Prime in the past. I much prefer ebay these days. Bought a few laptops there in the last four months and an amazing Lenovo all in one with optane mem that makes the 3.5” Seagate hard drive move really fast ..... Going by crystal disk mark