The price of toilet paper rubbed one consumer the wrong way. I’m Amy E. Feldman.
In the early days of the pandemic when everyone was stocking up on toilet paper before they ironically started buying both bread makers home gym equipment, a California woman filed a price gouging lawsuit against a supermarket after she paid $19 for toilet paper, which she said was almost double the price that market normally charges.
It’s one thing when a person buys up all hand sanitizer in a hundred mile radius and then tries to resell it at ten times the price, but is it actually illegal for stores to sell popular items for a premium? Isn’t that exactly what happened with Hatchimals at Christmas? Not exactly. Price gouging, which is illegal, is selling an item during a government-declared emergency at 20% over the price of that product before the emergency in Pennsylvania, or over 10% higher in New Jersey and Delaware.
Selling a toy at an exorbitant price at Christmas is capitalism. Doubling the price of toilet paper during the covid panic may be price gouging. Buying gym equipment you won’t use is just bad judgment.
From the Judge Group, I’m Amy E. Feldman for KYW News Radio.
Leave a Reply