Senator Calls on Amazon’s CEO to Crack Down on Coronavirus Related Price Gouging

Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts has called on Amazon’s chief executive Jeff Bezos to crack down on “coronavirus inspired price gouging.”

The Senator wrote a letter to Bezos on Wednesday and asked him for more information about how Amazon is preventing this.

According to a previous CNBC report, Amazon had been struggling to curb price gouging and listings for products which included unsubstantiated health claims.

Markey believes that third-party sellers “do not have a right to impose unjustifiably high prices on consumers” who are looking for ways to protect themselves against the coronavirus.

In recent weeks the prices of hazmet suits, face masks, and hand sanitizers have seen price increases. An N95 face mask was going as high as $195 when they usually are priced around $13.28.

“Although Amazon and the other sellers on Amazon.com have a right to expect a reasonable return on the products they sell, they do not have a right to impose unjustifiably high prices on consumers who are seeking to protect themselves against the coronavirus,” wrote the Senator. “But according to press reports, that is precisely what is happening.”
The letter also asks Amazon to clarify “at what level is an item unfairly priced.”

Amazon has suspended or removed tens of thousands of deals from sellers that it accused of charging customers unfair prices, Amazon recently said.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and have not been compensated for this article.