According to a recent NPR article, top law enforcement officials from across the country, online platforms have an ethical obligation to root out price gouging on hand sanitizer and other products that are in high demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
33 attorneys general sent letters to Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Facebook, and Craigslist on Wednesday saying that their efforts to crack down on overpriced items on their selling platforms have so far failed to remove “unconscionably priced crucial supplies.”
These same officials are calling on companies to create policies that look at prices historically to detect price surges, set up a portal for shoppers to report pricing complaints, and proactively monitor and respond to spiking prices at all times and not simply during emergencies alone.
While Craigslist did not respond to NPR’s inquiry, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Facebook all said they actively monitor pricing for high demand items and have mechanisms in place to block or remove users that exhibit price gouging.
Understanding that none of these mechanisms will ever be perfect, I do find it hard to believe that some of these retailers cannot do a stronger job of policing this price gouging. These companies have immense resources and in many cases, have teams and sophisticated algorithms that are dedicated to global pricing strategies. While there can and should be some flexibility in allowing prices to go up an acceptable amount (such as 10-30%), it doesn’t seem difficult for a retailer to monitor extreme pricing shifts given that the very same retailer is well aware of a product’s retail price. These laws must be enforced more strictly or retailers will continue to place a low priority on doing what is ethically right for the consumer.
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/25/821513190/stop-price-gouging-33-attorneys-general-tell-amazon-walmart-others
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