PA Attorney General Gets In Front of COVID-19 Price Gouging

by Alex Lloyd Gross

Poeple are nervous about the Coronavirus. They should not be but they are.  They want their families to be prepared so they go out to the store to buy hand sanitizer and maybe bottled water. Because people have panicked senselessly, a lot of stores are sold out.  They go into a little convenience store out in the suburbs. They have bottles of hand sanitizer for $25.00 each. A case of water cost $75.00.  They even have masks that are useless unless you are painting a room. They cost $15.00 each.. This store is price gouging and what they are doing is illegal.

Now there is an email address pricegouging@attorneygeneral.gov, that this kind of behavior can be reported to. It was just put into service today, March 6 2020. Anyone doing business in the commonwealth can use it.  “As Pennsylvania continues to manage the spread of the Coronavirus, merchants should be put on notice: you cannot use a public health emergency as a business opportunity,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “For consumers, just know: if you see the price of basic goods skyrocket ― reach out to my Office. Let us know. Our agency is here to protect you from being taken advantage of.”  Attorney General Josh Shapiro said.

Price gouging is  something way out of line. A  store selling water for $6.00 a case when everyone else is selling it for $4.00 is not gouging.  One merchant caught  doing that during a storm  tried to say his $50.00 case price was based on selling water at $2.00 per bottle. That excuse did not work.