Price Gouging

[ninjajoe.123]

Do these sellers realize that price gouging is illegal? I mean, $1,000.00 for 1 ounce of USED hand sanitizer while our nation is facing virus that is killing people is not just wrong, it's illegal. Then there is the fact that as fast as eBay is taking them down they are slipping by, by relisting them time & time again. With the above mentioned item being used, it is potentially not safe anyways. I just don't get how these people are going out buying up as much as they can, keeping it out of the hands of those who fall in the at risk groups & then thinking they will get rich while people are at risk of dying! I just find it really sad that some go that low in our nation. I just really want to know why are these items still for sell on eBay & still being allowed to be posted?

[james40000]

Local Walmart donates it's entire stock or Clorox wipes and Lysol spray to local nursing homes that have had an outbreak of Covid. I checked on Ebay, 1 can of Lysol spray going for $40, with $23 shipping. I shake my head at what continues to be allowed on Ebay.

[james40000]

These people lived at work for a month to make masks for healthcare workers, Ebay allows people to sell them for a profit...

"Employees lived at their work for 28 days to help make protective gear for healthcare workers

For nearly a month, workers lived at their manufacturing plant near Philadelphia to make supplies greatly needed in the fight against coronavirus."

[james40000]

That i agree with.

[james40000]

This should make you understand why Ebay needs to get this under control now...

"I recently paid black market brokers $17,000 for personal protective equipment (PPE). With critical supply shortages, I had no choice but to pay a 700% markup for life-saving gloves, N95 respirators and gowns. Covid-19 patients have overwhelmed my family practice in New Jersey. And when my staff is seeing upwards of 300 patients a day, protecting my medical personnel so we can continue to provide care is my top priority.

As a primary care practice, we are on the frontlines trying our best to stem an onslaught of Covid-19 patients from overrunning emergency rooms in New Jersey, as they have just across the Hudson River in New York City. The demand for PPE is up to 100 times higher than normal right now, and the Strategic National Stockpile recently deployed the last round of protective gear."

[chrispur8]

I live in NYC and was able to get a few items that cost me $27.86 I had them at $33.00 plus shipping and was taken down for price gouging standards but they let authorized sellers sell bottles of Lysol for $100????

[talkingstatue]

Price gouging laws do not apply to common consumer products, but Ebay rules forbid price gouging
across the board. Price gouging is immoral for any product.

[bar-29368]

---

@james40000 wrote:

This should make you understand why Ebay needs to get this under control now...

"I recently paid black market brokers $17,000 for personal protective equipment (PPE). With critical supply shortages, I had no choice but to pay a 700% markup for life-saving gloves, N95 respirators and gowns. Covid-19 patients have overwhelmed my family practice in New Jersey. And when my staff is seeing upwards of 300 patients a day, protecting my medical personnel so we can continue to provide care is my top priority.

As a primary care practice, we are on the frontlines trying our best to stem an onslaught of Covid-19 patients from overrunning emergency rooms in New Jersey, as they have just across the Hudson River in New York City. The demand for PPE is up to 100 times higher than normal right now, and the Strategic National Stockpile recently deployed the last round of protective gear."

---

Personally I think ebay should just can this whole "vetted sellers are allowed to sell" excrement and ban ALL sales of face masks. period. 

I have yet to see what I would consider "reasonable" prices on any masks on offer here and the lack of transparency as to who these "vetted" sellers are is appalling.

As far as I'm concerned these so called "vetted sellers" are price gouging as much as the ones ebay is removing and ebay is complicit in it.

[bar-29368]

---

@talkingstatue wrote:
Price gouging laws do not apply to common consumer products, but Ebay rules forbid price gouging
across the board. Price gouging is immoral for any product.

---

Except for "essentials" in a crisis there's no thing as  so called "price gouging".

It's not price gouging just because you think prices on what you want should be lower.

[james40000]

Take a quick look at current listing for Lysol Spray if you want a good idea of price gouging. We're being told those items are months away from being restocked because of the huge initial demand, yet dozens of cans continue to be listed on Ebay for extremely inflated prices. Shame on Ebay and  ANYONE selling these products.

[james40000]

I think I see why all these black market items are still being sold to desperate people:

eBay Q1 earnings, revenue beat expectations

[mam98031]

For those that may be interested.  Ebay reported their 1st quarter earnings today.  As expected the GMV in the US was down once again, this time by 4%.  Personally I find that number a little surprising as I thought it would be higher.  But good to hear that it didn't fall as far as some of us may have thought it would.  And revenue was down 2%.  Just a couple highlights from the report.  

I think many of us thought it would be much worse.  I know I did.  

https://investors.ebayinc.com/investor-news/press-release-details/2020/eBay-Inc-Reports-First-Quarte...

[james40000]

It appears accepting blood money is still very lucrative. Thank God for capitalism and the American Way.

[james40000]

When a cure arrives for Covid-19, what do you think it will be going for on Ebay? After all, it should go to the highest bidder right? Isn't that the Ebay way?

[bar-29368]

Gosh, the same 4% down as 4th quarter last year.

Last year they claimed to have grown their buyer base by 4% as well.

What is about 4% that ebay seems to be stuck on.

[mam98031]

---

@bar-29368 wrote:
Gosh, the same 4% down as 4th quarter last year.

Last year they claimed to have grown their buyer base by 4% as well.

What is about 4% that ebay seems to be stuck on.

---

Numbers are what numbers are.  I don't know that Ebay is "stuck" on anything.  I have to say i was pleasantly surprised with the numbers as I honestly thought they would be worse with all the sellers on threads saying their sales have hit rock bottom.  For me personally that hasn't happened, but I'm confident for a lot of sellers it has.  

There are many businesses that will likely have the same downturn in sales due to our current state of emergency.  And likely the next quarter won't be too good either as we slowly start turning the economy back on.  It is likely that 2020 is going to be a lousy year for many businesses and not just here on Ebay.