How to (ETHICALLY?) Profit Off of Natural Disasters

[Scot]

Don't.



Seriously. Don't.


With Hurricane Dorian bearing down on Florida, as Cat 4, there will be many people out there who gouge prices with the rationale of scarcity and demand.

Good, ethical people don't do this. And I hope its pretty obvious to everyone here that this is not the way to make your Fastlane.

 

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[Guest12120]

Some people make a case that price gauging is actually helping distribute resources more evenly because they are not being purchased just in case when the price is high.

This is not my opinion just something I hear everything the hurricane is about hit Florida.

 

[biophase]

If they run out of generators in Florida and you go to Home Depot in NY and pay retail and drive them down to Florida, you should be able to charge for your time and gas.

Is this the same as your local Home Depot deciding to double the price of generators today because of a hurricane?

The question, is what is considered price gouging?

 

[Raoul Duke]

 

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[Guest12120]

The question, is what is considered price gouging?

I don't know the definition. But I just came across this: "The Attorney General’s Office said that residents are encouraged to call the hotline if they believe that businesses are illegally raising prices on necessary commodities.During a declared state of emergency, storm-related price increases on essentials like water, lumber, and generators are illegal, as is gas gouging."

They don't say what would be considered illegal.

I remember a couple of years ago I wanted to buy bottled water on Amazon before the hurricane (local stores were all sold out) and the prices were ridiculous. I don't remember the price exactly but it had to be at least 5-10X more than regular retail price.

 

[minivanman]

The title does not go with your thread. There are a lot of ways to profit from natural disasters. Why do you think someone needs to price gouge in order to profit? For example after Katrina.... my buddy who owned a large roofing business in Omaha took a few of his guys down there to roof. He quickly added several crews.... I don't know if they were all roofing or hauling off debris or what but he said he made $17 million and he stayed another year after he said that, so probably twice that. He still owns the business in Omaha but he blows more money now than he ever did! Lots of legit ways to make money AND help after a natural disaster.

 

[Kak]

After going through Harvey here in Houston... What impressed me was the goodness of the fellow man. People step up and take responsibility for each other. It definitely improved my faith in this country and the people that live here. The Cajun Navy in particular was incredible.

There are companies that will make money. Construction crews. Roofers. Window companies. That is honest business.

Price gouging cases of water and batteries is petty hobo shit. An action of someone that doesn't "get It."

@Scot my thoughts and prayers are with you and @Vigilante and anyone else in the path if this storm. My doors are open to you guys if you ever needed it.

 

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[AFMKelvin]

Something like this?

Price gouging during Hurricane Harvey: Up to $99 for a case of water, Texas AG says

There have already been more than 500 complaints about price gouging during Hurricane Harvey over the weekend, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said.

www.google.com

Some people bought a lot of water before the hurricane. Basically clearing out stores to later resell it to the victims.

What about the thieves that steal from victims knowing first responders won't be available?

 

[Primeperiwinkle]

After going through Harvey here in Houston... What impressed me was the goodness of the fellow man. People step up and take responsibility for each other. It definitely improved my faith in this country and the people that live here. The Cajun Navy in particular was incredible.

There are companies that will make money. Construction crews. Roofers. Window companies. That is honest business.

Price gouging cases of water and batteries is petty hobo shit. An action of someone that doesn't "get It."

@Scot my thoughts and prayers are with you and @Vigilante and anyone else in the path if this storm. My doors are open to you guys if you ever needed it.

The Cajun Navy was amazing. I only found out about it afterward though from an article.

 

[Kak]

The Cajun Navy was amazing. I only found out about it afterward though from an article.

They had nothing to gain by helping. They spent thousands of dollars on fuel, many damaged their boats and were even injured in the process... They didn't care. They were serving their country sans government.

 

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[Primeperiwinkle]

They had nothing to gain by helping. They spent thousands of dollars on fuel, many damaged their boats and were even injured in the process... They didn't care. They were serving their country sans government.

Oh I know, I cried so much when I read about it. My boys and I were frantic when that stupid storm hit cause we had friends in Houston. I really wish I had known about how to help with something like that ahead of time.

The article I read was from someone volunteering in a different city for the Cajun Navy. They relayed incoming calls through a website and then sent messages to ppl on the ground. Of course, the calls were tragic and terrifying and heartbreaking but.. they needed to be answered.

And then there were the trucks going down, everybody with a boat just went. I was so impressed with everybody. All I could do was pray and give and worry.

 

[A_Random_Guy]

I don't want to offend my Christian friends here but I find them too aggressive in converting people of a different faith to their religion.
In my country, most of the high funded NGO's are Christian NGO's/Missionaries. In return for helping the victims of floods/tsunami/any other natural disaster, they seek to convert them for a few sacks of wheat and rice.
Article
I studied in a Christian Missionary school and I can assure you that we weren't allowed to bring books of other religions to school as they were "distracting" other students.
On the other hand, we had to memorize each and every chapter of the Bible to pass otherwise our academic performance would be deemed invalid. Every year, they would increase our school fees and we would hear another 100-150 people being converted for some food supply.

Don't get me wrong, I like Jesus Christ and Christianity, but I don't the idea of exchanging food/money for beliefs. I don't think the converts would accept their new religion so openly.

 

[Primeperiwinkle]

I don't want to offend my Christian friends here but I find them too aggressive in converting people of a different faith to their religion.
In my country, most of the high funded NGO's are Christian NGO's/Missionaries. In return for helping the victims of floods/tsunami/any other natural disaster, they seek to convert them for a few sacks of wheat and rice.
Article
I studied in a Christian Missionary school and I can assure you that we weren't allowed to bring books of other religions to school as they were "distracting" other students.
On the other hand, we had to memorize each and every chapter of the Bible to pass otherwise our academic performance would be deemed invalid. Every year, they would increase our school fees and we would hear another 100-150 people being converted for some food supply.

Don't get me wrong, I like Jesus Christ and Christianity, but I don't the idea of exchanging food/money for beliefs. I don't think the converts would accept their new religion so openly.

That sounds heinous. Sorry dude.

 

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[A_Random_Guy]

That sounds heinous. Sorry dude.

Our government was inadept and corrupt and most of the money sent to help the poor didn't actually reach them. So the NGO's were actually doing a great job in helping the needy. The problem is they refused to offer help to anyone before they accepted Christianity as their religion. Only after converting would they receive aid. That was unnecessary IMO, people would anyway choose to change their beliefs to the religion which helped them in their time of need.
On the other hand, my education standards were really raised because of my school and most of the Fathers were really very nice. Till date, I am proud to be a student of Don Bosco

 

[Dan_Fastlane]

There is a guy, buying a lot of tents from organizations...it seems they dont need them after an disaster...He stocks them and if something happens he calls them and ship it to them, he is actually one of the few worldwide that can ship immediately 3000 to 10000 tents. He sells it to them for a cheaper price and the organizations dont need to buy new ones.

Is something wrong with that?

 

[Kak]

I don't want to offend my Christian friends here but I find them too aggressive in converting people of a different faith to their religion.
In my country, most of the high funded NGO's are Christian NGO's/Missionaries. In return for helping the victims of floods/tsunami/any other natural disaster, they seek to convert them for a few sacks of wheat and rice.
Article
I studied in a Christian Missionary school and I can assure you that we weren't allowed to bring books of other religions to school as they were "distracting" other students.
On the other hand, we had to memorize each and every chapter of the Bible to pass otherwise our academic performance would be deemed invalid. Every year, they would increase our school fees and we would hear another 100-150 people being converted for some food supply.

Don't get me wrong, I like Jesus Christ and Christianity, but I don't the idea of exchanging food/money for beliefs. I don't think the converts would accept their new religion so openly.

You might be surprised to hear that I agree wholeheartedly. Not to get into a debate or a discussion about Christianity, I have one thing to say...

Don't confuse the ideas of flawed people with Chritsianity. If there is one thing people are usually really good at, it is screwing up a good thing.

The cajun navy on the other hand... Was partially based out of my church parking lot. We hosted maybe 300 boats. They were mostly Christian dudes doing what they could to help as many people as they could cram into a day. No one put an ultimatum on aid. It was probably the best example of human decency I have ever experienced.

 

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[ZF Lee]

You might be surprised to hear that I agree wholeheartedly. Not to get into a debate or a discussion about Christianity, I have one thing to say...

Don't confuse the ideas of flawed people with Chritsianity. If there is one thing people are usually really good at is screwing up a good thing.

The cajun navy on the other hand... Was partially based out of my church parking lot. We hosted maybe 300 boats. They were mostly Christian dudes doing what they could to help as many people as they could cram into a day. No one put an ultimatum on aid.

Well, a church can only be as good as its people, just as an online forum is...

 

[Lex DeVille]

I would imagine there will be several large government contracts that open up around any natural disaster. FEMA and the military often work together on response and recovery efforts, and there are contractors behind both.

I also recall not long ago looking into sandbags because the government (state or federal) may rent them from local businesses when there is a large need and not enough local supply.

Some people will make unethical choices to profit. But there are a number of other ways to profit that aren't at the expense of victims.

 

[RazorCut]

I only clicked this thread because I couldn't believe what I was seeing when this popped up in the new feed:



I did a double take seeing @Scot's name and thought WTF?

You had me suckered with that title mate.

However as @minivanman says there are ethical ways to profit from a disaster without profiteering. Especially in the construction industry where, after a big storm hits, there will be nowhere near enough tradesmen available to help secure and fix up damage.

In the UK the savvy self employed carpenters are trying to move away from the 'day rate' 'price per hour' method of working to something more in favour of 'cost per solution', 'value cost' model. The sort of thing Plumbers and Electricians have been basing their business charges on for years.

Regardless of the situation though it should always be a fair price for a fair job but market forces often dictate rates. It must also be remembered that prices go down as well as up, and contractors are often the first to suffer and last to benefit in a downturn economy.

Sadly opportunities due to peoples misfortune always sees the cockroaches come out from under their rocks.

 

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[Ernman]

There seems to be a "good" general theme developing. Fastlaners understand that unethical, immoral and illegal methods are not only wrong, but inconsistent with true, long term, wealth building. They are events, not process. However, there's nothing wrong with ethically filling a need. If my roof is damaged by a hurricane, I want my insurance company to fix it quickly and I'm willing to pay a premium to get it done. If the power is out and I've not properly prepared in advance, than I accept that I may pay more for a generator - or deal with not having one.

I have friend who owns a tree trimming and clearing biz. Ahead of a hurricane he brings on more temp staff so he can take on more prep type contracts. He's also one of the first out clearing debris and often hires temps who's normal work has been disrupted by the storm. Some of his clients are willing to pay a premium so they can get back up fast. His biz is second generation and they have a great reputation in town. In fact, he commands a premium all year round, because he is so well known.

 

[Scot]

If they run out of generators in Florida and you go to Home Depot in NY and pay retail and drive them down to Florida, you should be able to charge for your time and gas.

Is this the same as your local Home Depot deciding to double the price of generators today because of a hurricane?

You should, but in Florida, price gouging is no joke. Can Home Depot double the price of generators? No, no they cannot.

I don't know the definition. But I just came across this: "The Attorney General’s Office said that residents are encouraged to call the hotline if they believe that businesses are illegally raising prices on necessary commodities.During a declared state of emergency, storm-related price increases on essentials like water, lumber, and generators are illegal, as is gas gouging."

They don't say what would be considered illegal.

I remember a couple of years ago I wanted to buy bottled water on Amazon before the hurricane (local stores were all sold out) and the prices were ridiculous. I don't remember the price exactly but it had to be at least 5-10X more than regular retail price.

This happened last year for Irma. I was trying to stock up on water because it looked like she was headed straight for Tampa. Amazon had water priced at $50/case for what normally costs $3-4 at the grocery store. This is a prime example of price gouging.

 

[Scot]

The title does not go with your thread. There are a lot of ways to profit from natural disasters. Why do you think someone needs to price gouge in order to profit? For example after Katrina.... my buddy who owned a large roofing business in Omaha took a few of his guys down there to roof. He quickly added several crews.... I don't know if they were all roofing or hauling off debris or what but he said he made $17 million and he stayed another year after he said that, so probably twice that. He still owns the business in Omaha but he blows more money now than he ever did! Lots of legit ways to make money AND help after a natural disaster.

I should clarify, people will make money off natural disasters. I had friends who went to NOLA after Katrina and got paid pretty well for hauling away debris with their trucks and trailers. But they were paid by city and state contracts. Roofers do pretty well too after a hurricane.

This thread is mostly geared towards people on the forum, where things like Ecomm are more common. I don't think we have any roofers on the forum. Going on Amazon and selling supplies for 10x the cost because you know people desperately need it, that's what I'm going after.

 

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[Scot]

After going through Harvey here in Houston... What impressed me was the goodness of the fellow man. People step up and take responsibility for each other. It definitely improved my faith in this country and the people that live here. The Cajun Navy in particular was incredible.

There are companies that will make money. Construction crews. Roofers. Window companies. That is honest business.

Price gouging cases of water and batteries is petty hobo shit. An action of someone that doesn't "get It."

@Scot my thoughts and prayers are with you and @Vigilante and anyone else in the path if this storm. My doors are open to you guys if you ever needed it.

You pretty much summed up my thoughts on what the spirit of this thread is.

I didn't get a chance to respond the thread last night, so my apologies there.

 

[Guest12120]

It looks like this hurricane is about to make landfall exactly where I live, so I better get these supplies ready. I don't feel like paying $99 for a case of water.

​

 

[ChrisV]

How To Profit Off Of Natural Disasters

Don't.



Seriously. Don't.

oh dammit.. i thought this was going to be a detailed guide

 

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[Kak]

It looks like this hurricane is about to make landfall exactly where I live, so I better get these supplies ready. I don't feel like paying $99 for a case of water.

View attachment 27010​

On that note, as someone that has seen the empty shelves, I always wondered why cases of cheapo generic water would hit $20-50... But I could still get cases of peligrino, figi or perrier for $15 a case as usual.

 

[G. Wellthy]

The title caught my attention! Mostly because a close friend has done an ethical job of profiting from natural disasters and the general climate change trend.

He runs a catastrophe claims adjustment company. Catastrophe Response Unit. https://cruadjusters.com/

Actually his adjusters make great money with property damage claims adjusting. Something to think about if/when you need a strong hustle.

 

[LittleWolfie]

Sandbags are popular here whenever sea water rises,if I had my own place I would buy some and fill them with the garden sand (it is mostly thin layer r8ch of soil on top of a very sandy one) ready for when the next flood comes.

 

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[Achieve_Bay]

yes I agree, to me it just doesn't sound fair to jack up prices to profit off of people who literally just lost everything

 

[becks22]

Agree with what everyone else has said. If you're involved in the cleanup after the damage and home insurance is the one paying, I don't think you're unethically profiting. I know someone who works in logistics and supply chain management who creates the best routes for supplies to get into a danger zone the most efficient way. That's good money and most of his clients are state and local governments not end consumers.