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An American consumer advocacy group is accusing Amazon of price gouging on items such as soap, face masks and toilet paper in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the e-commerce giant claimed to be cracking down on third-party sellers on its platform who were doing the same thing.
A report by Washington-based Public Citizen claims that Amazon hiked prices on many essential items in March and April, adding mark-ups of up to 1,000 per cent on some basic items.
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The group tracked a sample of items to monitor their price and availability. Among the price changes the group said it observed were:
A pack of 50 disposable face masks increased by 1,000 per cent.
Dial liquid antibacterial hand soap increased by 470 per cent.
A pack of 100 disposable hand gloves increased by 336 per cent.
A pack of eight 1,000-sheet toilet paper rolls increased by 528 per cent.
A pack of eight Brawny paper towels increased by 303 per cent.
A five-pound bag of unbleached flour increased by 425 per cent.
Amazon accused of price gouging on essential items in early days of pandemic | CBC News
If true, this is just wrong. People needed this stuff and Amazon is taking advantage by unfairly jacking up the prices.