New York AG Fines Hand Sanitizer Sellers for Price Gouging During Pandemic

New York Attorney General Letitia James is charging three Amazon sellers for illegally gouging prices on hand sanitizer during the coronavirus pandemic.

Price gouging is illegal in New York, which became especially relevant this year when COVID-19 was declared a national public health emergency. New York State law defines price gouging as “selling goods or services to consumers in an affected area for an unconscionably excessive price.”

But as the crisis worsened in early spring, several third-party merchants on Amazon began to increase the price on hand sanitizer, one of the hottest commodities in demand this year. Now, James accuses the companies Mobile Rush, EMC Group, and Northwest-Lux of selling more than a thousand units of sanitizer at unreasonable costs between February and March. The Attorney General claims that these companies sold their products “at prices that grossly exceeded the price at which the same or similar products were readily obtainable” elsewhere.

High Cost of Cleanliness

At the onset of the pandemic, hand sanitizer became one of the most coveted store items, up there with toilet paper and disinfectant wipes. But New York’s price gouging laws specifically prohibit companies from taking advantage of an emergency situation for monetary gain. James says these sellers did exactly that.

Northwest-Lux, for instance, sold 2-liter bottles of Purell on Amazon at prices between $79.99 and $129.99. But the Attorney General claims that such bottles typically go for $20 to $35. Mobile Rush, meanwhile, was charging customers between $19.99 and $29.99 for single, 8-ounce bottles of Germ-X. The standard price of that product is between $1 and $3 at pharmacies.

But hand sanitizer is not the only product that opportunists over-priced during the pandemic. Amazon has struggled to keep third-party sellers from overcharging on wipes, face masks and hazmat suits as well. In fact, CNBC reported in March that face masks were going for as much as $195, even though residents in several states were required by law to use them.

As for Amazon, the company has expressed a willingness to work with authorities on deterring the exploitative practice. A group of 33 state attorneys general jointly urged the internet’s biggest superstore to adapt stricter anti-gouging policies and Amazon says that it supports new price-gouging laws at the federal level.

New York Crackdown

The sellers targeted by the New York Attorney General will pay more than $52,000 in penalties, while reimbursing consumers to the tune of $23,000. But James, who views price-gouging enforcement as a matter of ethical principle, says she will not stop with hand sanitizer. The AG will continue to hold to account any entity that unfairly raises prices on necessities during times  of crisis.

“Instead of ensuring individuals could protect themselves from the coronavirus, these businesses operated with dirty hands by charging exorbitant prices on hand sanitizer and other cleansing products,” James wrote in a pun-heavy statement. “My office will continue to clean up this unlawful practice by using all of the tools at our disposal to prevent price gouging during this pandemic.”

Reprinted with permission from https://werax.com/new-york-ag-fines-hand-sanitizer-sellers-for-price-gouging-during-pandemic/