Baby formula

[yosus43]

Why is eBay allowing the sale of baby formula?  Sellers are price gouging and the obviously are a big part of the shortage issue.  eBay should be permanently shut down for this.  

[12345jamesstamps]

I don't like price gouging but and I say but...some cities and states have it still on the shelves and some states and cities do not.  In California, in San Francisco it is on the shelves...we have more dogs than children living in the city. Should it sit on the shelves or sell it to someone say in Atlanta? Someone is running around looking for it and selling it and that could be gas money being used...$6.69 a gallon on the low end in my city plus the time and effort. Should it just sit on the shelves in some cities?

[downunder-61]

There are sure to be some still listed, but at least having that Notice at the top of the page will encourage people to report.

[katzrul15]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

I don't like price gouging but and I say but...some cities and states have it still on the shelves and some states and cities do not.  In California, in San Francisco it is on the shelves...we have more dogs than children living in the city. Should it sit on the shelves or sell it to someone say in Atlanta? Someone is running around looking for it and selling it and that could be gas money being used...$6.69 a gallon on the low end in my city plus the time and effort. Should it just sit on the shelves in some cities?

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I had to run to pick up detergent and took a quick look at Meijer this afternoon  - they have tons of powdered cans on the shelves.  Did not see any liquid, but probably 40-50 canisters on the shelf for you to make your own, just not pre-made.  I live in Ohio............

[valueaddedresource]

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@katzrul15 wrote:

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@downunder-61 wrote:

I just checked and eBay seems to have cleaned it up a bit, also this is posted on the top of the landing page when searching Baby Formula - Feeding

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Well that is in record time.

Wish everything else on this site could be corrected lightning fast....................

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@katzrul15 I suspect there has been a lot of pressure on eBay from political and regulatory sources.

While that is a great start, it's still lacking imo if eBay is putting the responsibility on users to report listings for manual review rather than using those automated systems they supposedly so successfully used to block price gouging listings last year.

Also playing around with it, for me it only comes up on more general searches like "baby formula" but didn't come up (again at least for me) on a more specific search like enfamil neuropro or enfamil gentlease.

You can absolutely bet the parents who are hit hardest by this (those who need a specific type of formula due to allergies or sensitivities) are using those very specific search terms so again - good start, but absolutely still more that needs to be done.

[katzrul15]

@valueaddedresource 

Well said.  At least a start today, though, which is good to see.

We still have pet food shortages here.  Some items still in short supply.

[velvet@ebay]

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@yosus43 wrote:

Why is eBay allowing the sale of baby formula?  Sellers are price gouging and the obviously are a big part of the shortage issue.  eBay should be permanently shut down for this.  

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Hi @yosus43! We do monitor the site for price gouging and you can refer to our policy here, which also includes steps on how to report it. We appreciate the communities help with anything we may have missed or not had a chance to action yet. Thank you!

[valueaddedresource]

FYI for anyone interested - the FTC has opened an investigation into the baby formula supply crisis, saying they will use the full force of the law against anyone found to be scamming families trying to buy formula, including through online bots that automatically purchase & resell formula at exorbitant prices.

They're soliciting public comments on the subject, including but not limited to 

• Fraud, deception, or scams when trying to buy formula
• Families being forced to purchase infant formula from online resellers at exorbitant prices

Comments can be left on the FTC website at 

https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FTC-2022-0031-0001

[gwy04]

All baby formula sales should be tagged to be removed as they qualify as a banned item. Price gouging baby formula ban has been initiated or in process of being implemented in a Hugh number of cities and States. So if bottom feeders are selling to those locations. They deserve to have listings removed and face fine within those jurisdictions 

[valueaddedresource]

velvet@ebay  devon@ebay  - just a heads up, not only is the price gouging on baby formula still ongoing (this particular example is 2X what regular retail should be) but....the unscrupulous sellers doing this have now also caught on to the "specialty services" scam to circumvent eBay Moneyback Guarantee coverage.

This particular seller has sold over $4,000 of baby formula this month at significantly higher than retail prices and already has negative feedback from at least one buyer who did not receive the products (presumably unable to raise an INR/eMBG claim as well).

Yes, I have already reported the listing but why are there not automated filters catching these products especially in these categories where they clearly do not belong and where eBay has been aware there has been a rash of fraudulent listings for months?

[devon@ebay]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

velvet@ebay  devon@ebay  - just a heads up, not only is the price gouging on baby formula still ongoing (this particular example is 2X what regular retail should be) but....the unscrupulous sellers doing this have now also caught on to the "specialty services" scam to circumvent eBay Moneyback Guarantee coverage.

This particular seller has sold over $4,000 of baby formula this month at significantly higher than retail prices and already has negative feedback from at least one buyer who did not receive the products (presumably unable to raise an INR/eMBG claim as well).

Yes, I have already reported the listing but why are there not automated filters catching these products especially in these categories where they clearly do not belong and where eBay has been aware there has been a rash of fraudulent listings for months?

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Hey @valueaddedresource! We will have the appropriate team look into these listings and the account. 

[valueaddedresource]

Thanks devon@ebay - appreciate it, but I do hope it goes beyond just these listings and that account. This is a systemic problem that needs a systemic solution.

[albertabrightalberta]

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velvet@ebay wrote:

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@yosus43 wrote:

Why is eBay allowing the sale of baby formula?  Sellers are price gouging and the obviously are a big part of the shortage issue.  eBay should be permanently shut down for this.  

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Hi @yosus43! We do monitor the site for price gouging and you can refer to our policy here, which also includes steps on how to report it. We appreciate the communities help with anything we may have missed or not had a chance to action yet. Thank you!

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We have a very premature niece who uses Nutramigen and her parents have a heck of a time finding it. Yet there's a seller who has a current listing and has sold a bunch of it for $350! 

[kh-cathy]

Hi everyone,

Since this thread has gotten a bit off-topic, please bring the discussion back to subject established in the original post.

Thank you.