Should Ebay put a stop to price gouging on N95 masks ?

[nostalgicbrewpub]

Due to the Novel Coronavirus, there has been a huge demand for N95 masks. Some unscrupulous sellers are price gouging these masks, asking over 4 times the retail price. Such behavior will cause hoarding , people rushing to brick-n-mortar stores and online suppliers to buy up these masks,  just so they can hawk it on Ebay for absurd markups. This causes problems for the average person who wants to buy a mask for personal use. Ebay takes down auctions that violate certain ethical and or legal guidelines.

Just to be clear, I am not saying Ebay should stop sellers from hawking N95 masks, only to prevent those sellers who engage in price gouging.

Health professions have warned that emptying the shelves of these masks, which is greatly exacerbated when people can figure they can get rich quick by price gouging, is putting health professionals at risk due to shortage of the masks. In Singapore the government has cracked down on price gougers.

I would link to Ebay auctions of sellers price gouging but I don't know if that is allowed.

[mondroid2000]

Fuzzface YOU are the voice of reason and sanity in a see of crazy thank your mother for me for you being born.

[midwestdistributors]

@fibonacciboots - There's definitely a huge difference between starting off an auction item at $1 dollar vs listing that same item as a buy-it-now and adding a 500-1000+% markup...especially when the item is a critical and in-demand health emergency item. That said, families who have spare masks they feel their families will not likely need (due to the more recent government mandated in-home quarantines) should be able to sell/list their family's spare masks (on any auction site they wish) so long as the masks they list, are listed in a traditional 3-7+ day auction and not in a buy-it-now auction that's charging a 500-1000+% markup. Honest people/families should not be chastised for selling their spare masks at reasonable market costs (which is currently $7/mask) --Also, ebay should not stop the auctions that list desperately needed masks, except in situations where price gouging is totally obvious. Everyone needs to keep in mind, a lot of people are now out of work and are going to be out of work for a while... a lot fo those people cannot afford to just donate/give certain things away for free that they recently purchased... money is going to become a real challenge for those who are out of work needing to buy food, pay mortgages, rent, utilities, car payments, etc... unfortunately, a large part of the population is not going to be able to donate things for free like the once use too...

[midwestdistributors]

@rowrowboat - You are absolutely spot- on regarding how parts of the medical field charge insane prices for health-related items and care/procedures!!!

[midwestdistributors]

@babstac- Couldn't agree more... if families have a few spare masks they feel they can part with and sell (now that the government has issued mandated quarantines & we're no longer socializing like we were a few weeks/months ago)... then ppl/families should be able to sell their spare masks/medical items "auction style" at fair market value (which btw for masks is currently $7/mask).  Anyone caught listing a buy-it-now in-demand medical item and found charging 100-500-1000+% markup should simply be forced to re-list their item and switch it over to a traditional (3 or 7+ day) auction.  Incidentally, for those out there that think families should be donating their spare masks, they need to understand that a lot of people/families are now unemployed and can't exactly afford to give away certain things for free that they recently just purchased... especially seeing how a lot of people/families are going be struggling to buy food, pay rent and keep their utilities on... 😞 

[petiteshop]

What I don't understand is that eBay does not remove listings of certain sellers, who are selling masks at a ridiculous price.  I saw a seller who is selling a n95 mask for $6900, is that meant to be a joke? I have also observed that some mask sellers have been selling those medical masks non-stop at high price, but they are fine. Most of them are in California and New York area. Does eBay have preferred sellers who can jack up the price and enjoy the monopoly while anyone else is banned for selling those masks at a reasonable price? Buyers who desperately need those medical masks, on the other hand, have to buy from those eBay related profiteers.  Who can explain this to me? Isn't this insane? 

[midwestdistributors]

Exactly...

ebay should not be hindering the sales of masks during such a severe health crisis...

Why ebay's currently allowing only "special" sellers to continue selling/gouging masks defies logic...

ebay totally has the ability to cap sales at "fair-market-value" and/or cancel auctions of those that are gouging...    

Why nobody's filed a class-action suit for hindering sales of medical devices during a pandemic is beyond me(?)  

[petiteshop]

I will be with you on the class action. Actually, I think I am going to compile a list of eBay preferred sellers who jacked up the price more than anyone else.

[zhongshou]

I am no more than agree your language

[zhongshou]

You can plus me

[m_lai]

Really, vote with your feet.

I am absolutely appalled about the price gouging - in late 2018 during the fires I was able to get a box of ten 3M brand N95 masks for $26, now they are asking $200.

Pure unadulterated Greed. people in nonessential roles are being asked not to buy nor hoard N95 masks - there are none to be found anyway at a reasonable price.

And there is no central government entity coordinating the effort to get masks to essential personnel nor assuring nonessentials that there will be a supply at a reasonable price should the need arise.

It’s the Wild West each person for him/herself. Sad.

[sadpalace]

Yes they should.  N95 masks used to cost $1.89 each; people are selling fake ones on eBay for $35 + each.

[sadpalace]

 https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/topics/respirators/disp_part/n95list1-h.html 

I have a family member who is in the high risk group . I was forced to pay over $300. for masks. When the items arrived I checked it against the cdc.gov approved list and guess what...they are not approved.