re: Coronavirus price gouger stuck with 18,000 bottles of sanitizers after Amazon bans him

quote:

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rice gouging is real. This is the literal definition. What you are actually arguing is that price gouging should not be illegal and/or is a necessity in a national disaster. Those are two separate discussions/arguments. Or I’m just too dense to follow your brilliance

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Price gouging after a natural disaster is only real for things people need.

Water
Medicine
Baby Formula
Fuel
Etc.

People don't NEED hand sanitizer. You can wash your hands with soap and water. You can wear gloves in environments where soap and water aren't practical. Or you can avoid contaminated areas altogether.

For something people don't NEED, it's not gouging if a customer pays $70. The customer wanted it that bad, so he sold it for that.

What would you say if he had put it on Ebay, and it actually got bid up to $70? Would that be gouging? He lists for $10, then people who want it drove the price up to $70. Of course you wouldn't call that gouging.

If someone on Amazon actually paid $70 for it, that means it was effectively bid-up because literally nobody on Amazon was selling any for less than that.

Another element of pricegouging is locality, things you can't source somewhere else. If you needed water in Mexico Beach, sure you can get free water 50 miles away, but water on your street doesn't exist. So someone comes in selling water for $10 a gallon, you are basically a captive audience, you don't have a choice. That's an important element of gouging.

When you are shopping for shite on Amazon, it doesn't count.