Disaster profiteering on Amazon

[Scot]

So I found this article today about price gouging on Amazon.

$100 for a pack of water? Ahead of Irma, it's a reality on Amazon.

For those of you who don't know, the strongest recorded hurricane in the Atlantic is set to hit Florida this Sunday and has already destroyed several small Caribbean islands.

Tuesday I tried to find some bottled water but couldn't find any stores that had any left. It's a madhouse here. I thought I'd check out Amazon. At the time, cases were selling for $30+ for what's normally a $3 gas station case.

Let's talk about ethics first. If you're trying to profit off of a natural disaster, you're a special kind of dirtbag. There are plenty of ways to make money, charging $100 for water is not one of them.

Second, let's talk about price gouging laws. People outside of hurricane zones may not know this, but raising prices of essentials like food, gasoline, water, and supplies during an emergency is very illegal. And the state of Florida takes it very seriously. I heard on the news this morning that State Attorney General Pam Bondi is already contacting Amazon to figure this stuff out.

Things like this are what gives capitalism a bad name.

To everyone in Florida and the southeast, good luck and stay safe this weekend.

 

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[Guest3722A]

Do you need some water Scot? I can overnight some too you.

 

[Scot]

Do you need some water Scot? I can overnight some too you.

No I'm good. We found some yesterday and this morning, but thank you very much for the offer.

 

[MidwestLandlord]

@Scot and @Vigilante

I know both y'all are in Florida. Whoever else is in the Florida area too...

Stay safe!

And $100 for a pack of water is BS.

Not sure how I could help being half a country away, but if ya need something just ask!

 

[MidwestLandlord]

Second, let's talk about price gouging laws. People outside of hurricane zones may not know this, but raising prices of essentials like food, gasoline, water, and supplies during an emergency is very illegal.

Being in that business, I wonder how those laws work when costs legitimately go up.

My costs were up big for Harvey with 16% of US gasoline production offline (although not as much as I expected)

Funny thing about the gas business...

When Florida gets hurricanes, gasoline wholesale costs usually drop countrywide because Florida accounts for a large part of US gasoline demand. Y'all don't use as much gas when a bad hurricane hits, so demand drops, supply goes up, and costs go down. (usually)

 

[Scot]

Being in that business, I wonder how those laws work when costs legitimately go up.

My costs were up big for Harvey with 16% of US gasoline production offline (although not as much as I expected)

Funny thing about the gas business...

When Florida gets hurricanes, gasoline wholesale costs usually drop countrywide because Florida accounts for a large part of US gasoline demand. Y'all don't use as much gas when a bad hurricane hits, so demand drops, supply goes up, and costs go down. (usually)

I don't really think there's any hard math involved with determining guilt here. But I do believe they take into account average prices in a geographic area as well as take into account any changes in cost of goods.

Is wholesale goes up and 5 gas stations are charging $2.75 instead of previous weeks $2.49, but the Sunoco on the corner is charging $4.99... that's the crooked nail that gets hammered.

 

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[Scot]

@Scot and @Vigilante

I know both y'all are in Florida. Whoever else is in the Florida area too...

Stay safe!

And $100 for a pack of water is BS.

Not sure how I could help being half a country away, but if ya need something just ask!

Y'all sell beer at your C-stores right? Feel free to donate any beer to Florida haha

It's looking like (as of now) Tampa will get spared from a direct hit, but the damn things so big we'll still get 90mph+ winds. Anyone in South Florida, Miami to West Palm, those guys are going to get the worst of it.

 

[Thoelt53]

Price gouging drinking water of all things is detestable. The same people selling cases of water for $100 would be the first to file suit if you were to do the same to them...

The food supply chain is fragile at best. It's a good idea for everyone to have a good water filter, no matter where you live.

If any of you Florida guys and gals need anything, post to the forum. I'm sure many members as well as myself are glad to help however we can.

 

[G-Man]

Glad to hear you're well. Gulf side should be safer, right?

I was with family in the midwest for the last few days, and one of the family friends had just flown back from driving a U-Haul full of supplies down to Dallas. They did it on their own dollar, without anyone telling them to.

For every price gouging d-bag, there's someone that does the right thing. This is America, we like to do everything to the extremes.

 

[Raoul Duke]

Glad to hear you're well. Gulf side should be safer, right?

I was with family in the midwest for the last few days, and one of the family friends had just flown back from driving a U-Haul full of supplies down to Dallas. They did it on their own dollar, without anyone telling them to.

For every price gouging d-bag, there's someone that does the right thing. This is America, we like to do everything to the extremes.

 

[JoshA]

Seeing it here in the local retailers, too. Here in Oregon, we're surrounded by fires and the smoke is so bad in the surrounding cities that it looks like a scene from the horror flick "Silent Hill." Our air quality index has been in the "very unhealthy" to "hazardous" (the worst two) range for weeks now. We are literally breathing in chunks of ash, yet local stores have no problem selling those face masks that normally go for $1/each for $7/each. Disgusting. Think of how much good publicity it would be to give those away for free.

 

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[RHL]

No I'm good. We found some yesterday and this morning, but thank you very much for the offer.

Please remember that containers you fill now will remain good for a long period of time, even without refrigeration, as long as the containers are clean when they're filled from the tap. Fill a bath tub, Tupperware, hiking or exercise bottles, etc. Dump out soda and fill those bottles with water. You don't need bottles from the store.

Also, for anyone that didn't know, flood water is classified as "black water," the lowest possible grade. It needs EXTENSIVE filtration and treatment for bacteria before consumption, even if it is fresh.

Stay safe.

 

[Patrick R]

Y'all sell beer at your C-stores right? Feel free to donate any beer to Florida haha

It's looking like (as of now) Tampa will get spared from a direct hit, but the damn things so big we'll still get 90mph+ winds. Anyone in South Florida, Miami to West Palm, those guys are going to get the worst of it.

I think a Fastlane Forum Beer Fund is in order for you guys down there!

Stay safe brother!