Amazon Removes 4,000 Sellers For Price Gouging

In a press release, Amazon says they’re working vigorously to combat price gouging by:

• Making clear to all sellers of longstanding policies that ensure fair pricing.
  • More than half of the products on Amazon are offered by third-party sellers who set their own prices. The overwhelming majority are honest sellers who offer Amazon customers a wide array of great products at competitive prices. Amazon strictly prohibits sellers from exploiting an emergency by charging excessively high prices on products and shipping. We are issuing regular reminders to our sellers about these longstanding policies, and we are enforcing them aggressively to protect our customers.

• Monitoring stores 24/7 though both automated and manual means and aggressively removing bad actors and offers.
  • Amazon has removed well over half a million offers from stores due to coronavirus-based price gouging. Suspended more than 3,900 selling accounts in their U.S. store alone for violating our fair pricing policies. “We began taking these enforcement actions promptly upon discovering this kind of misconduct, and we’ve been partnering directly with law enforcement agencies to combat price gougers and hold them accountable. We are constantly monitoring our stores for unfair prices and listings that make false claims in regards to COVID-19. We have dynamic, automated systems in place that locate and remove unfairly priced items. In addition, we have deployed a dedicated team that’s working continuously to identify and investigate unfairly priced products that are now in high demand, such as protective masks and hand sanitizer. If we find a price that violates our policy, we remove the offer and take swift action against bad actors engaged in demonstrated misconduct, including suspending or terminating their selling accounts and referring them to law enforcement agencies for prosecution under relevant laws.”

• Collaborating with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and policymakers to hold price gougers accountable
  • Law enforcement is critical to combating bad actors and protecting our customers. In most cases, state attorneys general are on the front lines of these efforts. Amazon is eager to partner with—and has reached out to—every state attorney general in the country. They are actively collaborating with attorneys general in more than ten states, and with numerous federal prosecutors, as they work to investigate and prosecute alleged price gougers. To advance price gouging investigations and resolutions, they have also created a special mechanism for state attorneys general offices to quickly and easily escalate the consumer complaints they have received. They are also sharing information with state attorneys general and federal regulators about sellers suspected to have engaged in egregious price gouging of products related to the COVID-19 crisis.
  • Amazon will continue our partnerships with law enforcement at all levels. In addition, collaborating with state and federal policymakers to help strengthen price gouging laws.

• Staying focused on our customers and protecting their interests.
  • They’re working hard to keep our customers from seeing products listed at unfair or unreasonable prices.
  • Staying in contact with community leaders and government officials around the country in an effort to assist those most affected by COVID-19.
  • Increasing inventory of relief supplies, basic-need products and other household staples.