NYT article: Assholes sad that they bought thousands of hand sanitizers they are now blocked from selling

He can sell them, he can easily set up an online business of his own.

I hate him too.

How about selling them at a fair price and getting his money back?

I snagged 4 Bath and Body Works Mini Hand Sanitizers on eBay early this week..They had about 14 left in different "scents" As I was buying them, I saw the seller increasing the prices to $50.00 each (I got them for $7.00 or so with shipping). Anyway, when I checked "My purchases" it would not show me ANYTHING on those purchases- It turns out eBay removed their listing. But the seller did the right thing by me and actually shipped my Sanitizers.

I know it's paywalled (though NYT will let you read it free if you're registered with them) but here's a relevant passage.

On March 1, the day after the first coronavirus death in the United States was announced, brothers Matt and Noah Colvin set out in a silver S.U.V. to pick up some hand sanitizer. Driving around Chattanooga, Tenn., they hit a Dollar Tree, then a Walmart, a Staples and a Home Depot. At each store, they cleaned out the shelves.

Over the next three days, Noah Colvin took a 1,300-mile road trip across Tennessee and into Kentucky, filling a U-Haul truck with thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer and thousands of packs of antibacterial wipes, mostly from “little hole-in-the-wall dollar stores in the backwoods,” his brother said. “The major metro areas were cleaned out.”

Matt Colvin stayed home near Chattanooga, preparing for pallets of even more wipes and sanitizer he had ordered, and starting to list them on Amazon. Mr. Colvin said he had posted 300 bottles of hand sanitizer and immediately sold them all for between $8 and $70 each, multiples higher than what he had bought them for. To him, “it was crazy money.” To many others, it was profiteering from a pandemic.

The next day, Amazon pulled his items and thousands of other listings for sanitizer, wipes and face masks. The company suspended some of the sellers behind the listings and warned many others that if they kept running up prices, they’d lose their accounts. EBay soon followed with even stricter measures, prohibiting any U.S. sales of masks or sanitizer.

I’ve seen something similar with someone buying a cart load of half off holiday candy the day after the holiday. These vultures should be imprisoned.

Mr. Colvin does not believe he was price gouging. While he charged $20 on Amazon for two bottles of Purell that retail for $1 each, he said people forget that his price includes his labor, Amazon’s fees and about $10 in shipping. (Alcohol-based sanitizer is pricey to ship because officials consider it a hazardous material.)

Current price-gouging laws “are not built for today’s day and age,” Mr. Colvin said. “They’re built for Billy Bob’s gas station doubling the amount he charges for gas during a hurricane.”

He added, “Just because it cost me $2 in the store doesn’t mean it’s not going to cost me $16 to get it to your door.”

But what about the morality of hoarding products that can prevent the spread of the virus, just to turn a profit?

Mr. Colvin said he was simply fixing “inefficiencies in the marketplace.” Some areas of the country need these products more than others, and he’s helping send the supply toward the demand.

“There’s a crushing overwhelming demand in certain cities right now,” he said. “The Dollar General in the middle of nowhere outside of Lexington, Ky., doesn’t have that.”

He thought about it more. “I honestly feel like it’s a public service,” he added. “I’m being paid for my public service.”

YOU VILE PIECE OF SHIT! PUBLIC SERVICE MY ASS!

If he's dumb enough to put his name and general location out there, I wouldn't be surprised if he finds himself in a Pop Smoke situation.

Disgusting people.

Money hungry Scumbag

Hmm

I wonder who he voted for????

R11, he's a very fine man who was treated very wrongly.

Put him in charge of the SEC!

Would it be inappropriate for me to say that I would DO HIM.

If someone is STUPID enough to pay $20 for a $1 bottle of sanitizer then more power to these guys . I guess the corporations are pissed THEY cant rip people off .

I’m stupid enough to pay $18.99 for a small bottle of hand sanitizer on Amazon. I needed it, and god knows I’m not going to find it in the stores.

There's a sucker born every minute.

Fuck this nasty 2 bit piece of trash. I hope some angry rednecks or hillbillies pay him a visit.

A visit that involves broken bones, pissing himself and curled up into a fetal position crying for his Mommy.

Can I be in charge of his strip search when he's put in the slammer.

I loaded some paint brushes into my cart (not virus related, obv) on Amazon the other day and left them overnight. It was a fair price for the size of the brush at around 7.99. Vendor decided to take advantage of that and jacked it up to 11.99. Was about to check out with 4 of them when I saw the price had changed. Removed them all and ended up paying the same for a similar product from a different vendor. I doubt the demand for this brush went up drastically overnight

People are just.. sucky

I don't have a problem with free markets.

However, he gambled and lost. If he did even basic research, he would have realized that price gouging done at any scale during a "crisis" is usually frowned on.

If the actual manufacturers of the products can't (for whatever reason) do it, why would individuals be allowed to do it.

First stores need to place a strict max on these items. Earlier this week, I lucked into being at Target just as an employee was opening a box of Lysol spray bottles. A woman wanted all the bottles and the employee told her there was a 6 item limit. Problem was that the entire box had 12 bottles. So one customer walks off with 50% of the store's stock? At this point, it should be 1 or 2 per customer limit.

Yesterday I was a CVS and they kept their little bottles of hand sanitizer behind the counter. Obviously to curb hoarding--good.

Regarding this greedy bastard, people wouldn't have to pay him for labor if selfish dicks didn't raid stores of all the products. We could go to the stores and buy them without having to pay through the nose online. Fucking dick.

R21

I never use that gloop anyway.

Right, r23? I have a bunch of sanitizer and don’t even use it. I wash my hands all day long, that sanitizer feels too harsh.

The only way for him to redeem himself is to distribute them to nursing homes, animal shelters, places of worship, hospitals and to desperate low income families. If he doesn't then he's is true scum. He's already made a shit ton of blood money.

[quote]“It’s been a huge amount of whiplash,” he said. “From being in a situation where what I’ve got coming and going could potentially put my family in a really good place financially to ‘What the heck am I going to do with all of this?’”

Cue Nelson Muntz.

[quote] EBay soon followed with even stricter measures, prohibiting any U.S. sales of masks or sanitizer.

That is cutting off your nose to spite your face. Ebay could have and should place price controls on their platform, but not prohibit the sells. People have the product and other people need or want the product.

Assholes like the ones profiled in the article are creating artificial shortages by buying up the supplies, then jacking the prices to profit. If they weren't going around cleaning out the shops, the products would be more widely available at regular or reasonable prices.

Karma would have these guys catching the coronavirus.

[quote]After The Times published this article on Saturday morning, Mr. Colvin said he was exploring ways to donate all the supplies.

That, and Amazon closed his account and retained the balance from existing sales yet dispersed. Amazon sellers do not piss off thy lord and savior, Bezos.

R13, not at all.

I'd take a few bottles, but I don't know if he'd accept my method of payment.

I don't mind him selling them but he can sell them for a reasonable price.

I'm such a cunt!

[quote]The next day, Amazon pulled his items and thousands of other listings for sanitizer, wipes and face masks. The company suspended some of the sellers behind the listings and warned many others that if they kept running up prices, they’d lose their accounts. EBay soon followed with even stricter measures, prohibiting any U.S. sales of masks or sanitizer.

Maybe he could sell them at his family's farmer market produce stand. Or park his U-haul by the side of the road and put up a sign, "Hand Sanitizer for Sale." Surely he believes in what he's doing enough to charge $70 for a bottle of hand sanitizer face to face and not just behind the anonymity of the internet?

Went viral, trending on twitter. shut his facebook from comments and decided to donate everything.

He's now blaming the NY Times. Dude showed his face because he didn't have any moral discernment.

He's a disgusting piece of shit. Good for Amazon and other online retailers for stopping this sick profiteering.

I have zero sympathy for this piece of shit who preys on vulnerable people

"I’ve seen something similar with someone buying a cart load of half off holiday candy the day after the holiday. These vultures should be imprisoned."

These situations could not be more dissimilar. Discount post-holiday candy =/= something that may prevent the spread of disease, duh.

The county government should seize his supply and distribute it to the community. Fuck that guy.

make your own Sanitizer, you can still get supplies online. i ordered a gallon of 99% isopropyl alcohol and a gallon of aloe vera gel for work (I work for an organization that works with an at risk population). 2 parts 99% isopropyl alcohol and 1 part aloe vera gel, 75 bucks for a gallon and a half(ish)

now if i can just figure out how to turn baby wipes into disinfecting wipes

Hell, even in Nazi Germany and the areas it occupied, when black marketing was punishable by death, the trade still flourished.

Canadian version.

I hope he'll have good time applying 17,000 bottles of hand sanitizer on his tiny dick when jerking off, since he's stuck with them.

I bought 5 at Dollar Tree yesterday. They had at least 100 on the shelf. $5.00 + tax. Already had 7 in the house including the 2 I made myself.

When Amazon stop treating their workers like shit, pay them a decent wage and pay their taxes, then I'll be impressed.

“Would it be inappropriate for me to say that I would DO HIM.”

He can use all that sanitizer on you as lube.

[quote] "I’ve seen something similar with someone buying a cart load of half off holiday candy the day after the holiday. These vultures should be imprisoned." These situations could not be more dissimilar. Discount post-holiday candy =/= something that may prevent the spread of disease, duh.

In general, though, stores should set reasonable limits.

[quote]I’ve seen something similar with someone buying a cart load of half off holiday candy the day after the holiday.

That was Janet Jackson.

Cargo shorts wearers = problematic

Soap and water is more effective than hand sanitizer.

it's not always practical though. especially at work or on public transportation

Comment in NY Times article I kind of agree with:

[quote] If folks are willing to pay that amount, who cares? If I really wanted something, I’d prefer to have the option of buying it rather than be denied that opportunity.

Please contact your mass merchandisers and tell them to refuse returns on hoardable items in order to stop this stupid gouging.

They wouldn’t have printed this story if the subjects were anything but white.

Doesn't soap and water work just as well? I bought a few packs of soap. I don't like hand sanitizer.

There hasn’t been hand sanitizer in Chicago stores since January.

TRASH. And he seems unashamed.

Of course they are unashamed - they are MAGAts.

Hello, can you eat sanitizer?

What did this fool think was going to happen when the NYT came to do a story on his little business venture gone bad? Did he agree to be interviewed and pose for that picture expecting to get sympathy? What an idiot.

Yesterday, surprisingly, I ran across a few boxes of alcohol cleaning pads at CVS. I bought one as a backup to my family size bottle of hand sanitizer. Hoping the bottle will last until more bottles hit the stores. The cleaning pads are small and without aloe vera, will lead to dry skin, but they are 70% alcohol and should do the job.

A secondary concern is I volunteer with rescue cats at a pet store and we go through hand sanitizer fast. There isn't a sink in the cat room.

I cannot believe none of you have thanked him for his service!

r60, ebay has reasonable supplies to make hand Sanitizer

He looks attractive

[quote] I bought 5 at Dollar Tree yesterday. They had at least 100 on the shelf. $5.00 + tax. Already had 7 in the house including the 2 I made myself.

WTF do you need with 12 bottles of hand sanitizer?!

I loved the penultimate paragraph of the Times article:

Mr. Colvin said "I’m not looking to be in a situation where I make the front page of the news for being that guy who hoarded 20,000 bottles of sanitizer that I’m selling for 20 times what they cost me.”

At the end of a front-page article giving his full name, domicile and picture (all of which he clearly agreed to) -- what a beautiful journalistic burn!

I need at least one sanitizer and two boxes of alcohol swabs, but am unlikely to find either for a few months.

He’s a jerk, but hand sanitizer isn’t insulin. It’s just more convenient that soap and water. If a hospital near him had a shortage and he refused to sell it to them at cost, that would be a different story.

He has the soul of a reptile and stupidly allowed pictures taken of his wife and infant(!) child. He should have known better and I find it delicious he got bitten in the ASS for his greed,

He has the soul of a reptile and stupidly allowed pictures taken of his wife and infant(!) child. He should have known better and I find it delicious he got bitten in the ASS for his greed,

you queens are fawning over THAT specimen with the tick bites on his shins, but I can’t snag a man?

Be an interesting sight if that garage caught fire.

[quote] If folks are willing to pay that amount, who cares? If I really wanted something, I’d prefer to have the option of buying it rather than be denied that opportunity.

What "opportunity," dear? You would be able to buy them at the normal price if dickheads like this weren't running around siphoning them all off the shelves to sell at a premium.

He has initiative! Could be a chapter in my book.

The Attorney General's office have taken his stash.

That's actually pretty frightening that they could go and do that, R74.

I figured the douchebags would just end up returning most of the stuff to the stores they purchased at.... which stores should also not allow.

I can't open the link at R74. Did the AGs office just take it or did he donate it? The summary says it was a, "donation."

text : HAPPENING NOW: Matt did not answer our calls so we went to his storage unit. The AG’s office was on the scene facilitating with the donation. This is the 3rd stop they’ve been to this morning to gather the sanitizer.

they broke in and confiscated it

Good for the AG's office!

The Attorney General's office letter stated that they were going to obtain it as part of their investigation into the price gouging, but now it does seem like they're confiscating it ensure it gets donated.

The IRS is going to land on these two stupid crackers like flies on shit!

R41 Numerous reports to Canada Revenue Agency about the couple who describe themselves as "hustlers".

It's tax time in Canada and these people need to have their past tax returns audited, plus be audited every year for the rest fo their working lives.

Care homes, hospitals and even other businesses need those supplies and the hoarders and upsellers are interfering with the supply chain.

[quote] They wouldn’t have printed this story if the subjects were anything but white.

It’s so tough for white men in this country that’s 70+ percent white and where a small percentage of white men own everything and run everything, including the media (which you are now claiming is biased against white men).

Pease do give us more examples of white male oppression.

I can’t buy isopropyl alcohol here. It’s been unavailable for 2 weeks now.

“I’ve been buying and selling things for 10 years now. There’s been hot product after hot product. But the thing is, there’s always another one on the shelf,” he said. “When we did this trip, I had no idea that these stores wouldn’t be able to get replenished.” He said the outpouring of hate has been scary for him and his family. He said people have incessantly called his cellphone, posted his address online and sent pizzas to his home. His inbox was flooded with ugly messages, he said. One email he shared with The Times said: “Your behavior is probably going to end up with someone killing you and your wife and your children.”

“It was never my intention to keep necessary medical supplies out of the hands of people who needed them,” he said, crying. “That’s not who I am as a person. And all I’ve been told for the last 48 hours is how much of that person I am.”

Now Mr. Colvin is facing consequences. On Sunday, Amazon and eBay suspended him as a seller, which is how he has made his living for years. The company where he rented a storage unit kicked him out. And the Tennessee attorney general’s office sent him a cease-and-desist letter and opened an investigation.

[quote]That’s not who I am as a person. And all I’ve been told for the last 48 hours is how much of that person I am.

Majority opinion rules, asshole.

[quote]“It was never my intention to keep necessary medical supplies out of the hands of people who needed them,” he said, crying. “That’s not who I am as a person. And all I’ve been told for the last 48 hours is how much of that person I am.”

Actually, Sack of Feminine Cleansing Product, that is [italic]exactly[/italic] who you are.

And you do not deserve free pizza.

Well, baby formula isn’t essential because mothers can breastfeed, and diapers aren’t essential because you can use cloth diapers or use this time to potty train your child.

Didn't he break federal trade laws by creating a monopoly? He cleared out the products at every store that he visited, making himself the only seller in his area... with no local competition. What's worse, he screwed his own neighbors and community by preventing them from being able to get these products.

My partner's sister had her MIL go around the shitty small town she lives in and buy all the sanitizer, send it and lie about the contents, so she could price gouge. The small town now has 0 hand sanitizer, thanks to the greedy woman. I hope she can't sell it now, selfish CUNT

Supplies have been donated and thus cleared out; the Colvin brothers will take a loss but their worries are far from over.

State AG and governor are hopping mad so their likely will be some sort of investigation to see if local laws were violated.

The brothers had a six figure business selling things on Amazon, now their accounts are suspended and likely won't be reopened anytime soon if at all.

[quote] Didn't he break federal trade laws by creating a monopoly?

Could be one of the reasons the AG is investigating.

This is a fucking witch hunt pure and simple . If someone is stupid enough to pay $70 for a $2 bottle of sanitizer why SHOULDNT they make the money ? Wheres the govt when they are charging $2-300 for a shitty motel room ? Thats as big of a rip off as this dudes scam . They wouldnt dare do this to them if they were black,and you know it . As an aside,the Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific ,you think they arent making a killing with this media generated toilet paper frenzy ? Wheres the outrage for those assholes ? A lot of corporations are making a ton of money off this crisis, why shouldnt the little guy ?

Are you Pharma-bro?

Took 92 replies for the reddit libertarian to show up. Your google alert must have been delayed.

R92 probably doesn’t see a problem with R87 happening either.

"He said people have incessantly called his cellphone, posted his address online and sent pizzas to his home."

Poor thing, he got pizza.

[quote]A lot of corporations are making a ton of money off this crisis, why shouldn't the little guy ?

"Little guys" like this one are a major reason why sanitizer and toilet paper are so difficult to find. And the Kochs, despicable as they are, are at least producing products, not emptying the shelves of them.

I don't understand why he would have been so foolish as to allow that original article. Why on earth would anyone want their name and photos published in an article that clearly was going to talk about how you are taking advantage of people. Are people that narcissistic that they don't realize that not all publicity is good publicity?

As the saying goes, "pigs get fat, but hogs get slaughtered".

So why don't you report her, R89?

[quote] “I’ve been buying and selling things for 10 years now. There’s been hot product after hot product. But the thing is, there’s always another one on the shelf,” he said. “When we did this trip, I had no idea that these stores wouldn’t be able to get replenished.”

Really? You bought all of these bottles of hand sanitizer because you expected them to be replenished so that people could buy them for a regular price instead of going to you for a 1000% mark-up?

This guy is the stupidest asshole I've seen in a while if he thinks he can sell that line of bullshit, not to mention a storage facility full of Purell.

A public servant. These kind of people also end up in politics.

I did, R100. Thanks for checking.

Presumably he was expected to pay for the pizzas.

No one needs hand sanitizer. Use soap and water.

R105, I will as soon as someone finds a way for me to carry soap and water in my pocket everywhere I go.

[quote] This is a fucking witch hunt pure and simple . If someone is stupid enough to pay $70 for a $2 bottle of sanitizer why SHOULDNT they make the money ? Wheres the govt when they are charging $2-300 for a shitty motel room ? Thats as big of a rip off as this dudes scam . They wouldnt dare do this to them if they were black,and you know it . As an aside,the Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific ,you think they arent making a killing with this media generated toilet paper frenzy ? Wheres the outrage for those assholes ? A lot of corporations are making a ton of money off this crisis, why shouldnt the little guy ?

Black men sentenced to more time for committing the exact same crime as a white person, study finds

Black men who commit the same crimes as white men receive federal prison sentences that are, on average, nearly 20 percent longer, according to a new report on sentencing disparities from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC).

These disparities were observed “after controlling for a wide variety of sentencing factors,” including age, education, citizenship, weapon possession and prior criminal history . . .

[quote] Wheres the govt when they are charging $2-300 for a shitty motel room ? Thats as big of a rip off as this dudes scam . They wouldnt dare do this to them if they were black,and you know it . As an aside,the Koch brothers own Georgia Pacific ,you think they arent making a killing with this media generated toilet paper frenzy ? Wheres the outrage for those assholes ? A lot of corporations are making a ton of money off this crisis, why shouldnt the little guy ?

So you believe motels should have fixed flat rates during normal times but price gouging should be allowed during an international emergency . . .

This story actually fascinates me. How clueless and unaware do you have to be to put your face on the cover of a major newspaper to justify something you know is questionable? He even admits at the end of the article that he doesn't want to be "that guy highjacking prizes" even though he knows he is.