A recent Amazon class action lawsuit accuses the online retailer of charging excessive prices for basic goods such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer in the wake of the coronavirus.
Plaintiff Stephanie Armas, a Florida resident, says she took to Amazon in an attempt to stock up on supplies in the face of the spreading novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
As a mother of five, Armas says she wanted to purchase toilet paper and hand sanitizer for her family, but was charged “grossly unconscionable” prices for these goods.
Amazon allegedly charged Armas $99 for a 36-pack of toilet paper and $199 for a two-pack of 1 liter hand sanitizer bottles.
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Armas argues these prices are far more what is usually charged, with toilet paper typically selling for around $1 a roll and hand sanitizer selling for between $7 and $8 per liter.
“COVID-19’s rapid spread and the very real threat of a widespread quarantine, have caused a run on various personal hygiene products, such as disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer and toilet paper,” the Amazon class action lawsuit notes.
“Unfortunately, retailers, such as [Amazon], are preying upon the public’s fear of a surging epidemic and using COVID-19 as an opportunity to pad profits by way of unlawful price increases.”
COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China and has quickly grown to be a global pandemic due to its virulence. At the time of Armas’ complaint, the coronavirus had spread to 104 countries around the world – resulting in more than 109,000 confirmed cases and over 3,800 deaths. By Feb. 28, the CDC confirmed the virus reached the United States.
Armas argues that Amazon’s exorbitant prices are not only unreasonable but are also illegal under Florida law, considering the state of emergency.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reportedly declared a state of emergency on March 9 in the face of the outbreak. The declaration aimed “to create a unified command structure […] and allows, if need be, out of state medical personnel to operate in Florida.”
Armas argues this state of emergency declaration also added protections from consumers based on Florida law. Under the state’s laws, retailers are not allowed to charge unconscionable prices for goods or services in the wake of a declared state of emergency.
The plaintiff says Amazon has violated these laws by charging unreasonable prices for hygienic products such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer.
Armas seeks to represent a Class of Florida consumers who purchased hygienic products from Amazon after a state of emergency was declared in Florida on March 9. On behalf of herself and the proposed Class, Armas seeks actual damages, statutory damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.
Plaintiff and the proposed Class are represented by J. Alfredo Armas, Francesco A. Zincone and Eduardo E. Bertran of Armas Bertran Pieri.
The Amazon Coronavirus Class Action Lawsuit is Armas v. Amazon.com Inc., Case No. 104631782, in the Eleventh Circuit Court in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida.
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493 thoughts onAmazon Class Action Alleges Coronavirus Price Gouging
Case end point. It has come to my attention that there is truly no value on human life.
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My mother called me from her old folks home March 13th begging me to use my Amazon Prime account to buy her toilet paper as no one in facility could get it. All I could find was 36 rolls of Solaris Paper bath tissue (1000sheets per roll) for $77.29. The seller was Randik Paper Company. I had it shipped to mom and she did get it March 21st. However, 2 hours after my purchase on Amazon I went back online to see what was up and the exact toilet paper item I had just bought was selling for $62+cents. I do believe this is price gouging in every sense. But, I wasn’t able to call to spend hours to try and fix it. Hey, my mom was in tears and I couldn’t say no.
add me please
Add me to this list!!! I have lots of screen shots all of our stores have NO TISSUE PAPER,,, NO ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP OR SPRAY,,,, NO HAND OR ANY KIND SANITIZE ITEMS.,,, NONE!!!! WE HAVE A LOT OF STORES IN THE AREA!!!!! SHELVES COMPLETELY EMPTY!!!!! I am seeing people outside the stores SELLING THE ITEMS TO PEOPLE THAT NEED THEM, 10 TIMES THE ACTUAL STORE PRICE SMH!!!! I SEE THE DOLLAR STORES WENT UP A DOLLAR AND 30 CENT MORE ON THERE ANTIBACTERIAL SPRAY!!!! And ON LET GO AND AMAZON THE PRICES IS BEYOND NORMAL… ON AMAZON A MAN WAS SELLING THEM SMALL LITTLE HAND SANITIZER BOTTLE, YEA THOSE!!! HE SELLING THEM 100 DOLLARS A BOTTLE!!!! I know I reported that page and A LOT OF PEOPLE REPORTED HIS PAGE THANK GOD AMAZON SHUT HIS ACCOUNT DOWN!!!!! SO BIG UPS TO THEM!!!! I LIKE MY GOD PEOPLE WHERE IS YOUR HUMANITY???? THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR ONE OF THERE GET SKEEMS NO THIS IS REAL LIFE!!!! Be humble be thoughtful,, think about others …. LORD HELP US
Please add me the the class lawsuit . The price I was to pay for toilet paper and sanitizer . $350.00 . I decided to go to a $99.00 cent store $ 15.00 .
Is the lawsuit against Amazon or it’s 3rd party sellers for price gouging? this lawsuit filed lacks clarity as did Amazon itself charge Plaintiff Stephanie Armas $99 for a 36-pack of toilet paper and $199 for a two-pack of 1 liter hand sanitizer bottles.
Or, did a 3rd party seller on Amazon charge those fees?
Is Amazon able to be sued for actions of 3rd party sellers on Amazon?
review the message and give more insight and clarification?
This is a good question, however Amazon should have shut down all the price gouging sellers, so that’s what they could be liable for. Where I live, stores (Big name) were also price gouging, because people were hoarding they decided to double their prices too, what a pathetic thing to do during a crisis where a lot of people are already scared and unsure of the future, people, myself included, losing their jobs and stores decide to be greedy and prey off others, just horrible!
As a regular Amazon customer since 1999, I was nearly out of Solaray vitamin C that i had previously purchased through Amazon for $20.75. When I selected “Buy Again”, it was only available from two shops, Highland Health Foods and Healthway Shop, for over $35.00.
I found a REPUTABLE seller NOT on Amazon selling it for $20. But checking the two Amazon dealers later showed that they had apparently gouged customers for their remaining product.
I was charged over $6 for a tiny four pack of charmin. It was before all of the coronavirus was being reported so I had no Idea why. I also bought a pack of tomato seeds they were over $5, not sure if that had anything to do with it or not.
$6 does not seem that unreasonable for a 4 pack toilet paper. And I don’t think tomato seeds were an item people were trying to buy/hoard during this pandemic.