Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has suspended nearly 4,000 seller accounts for price gouging during the coronavirus outbreak.
The largest U.S. online retailer said it has pulled well over half a million offers and suspended more than 3,900 selling accounts in the U.S. for violating its “fair pricing” policies. Amazon said it deployed a dedicated team to identify and investigate unfairly priced products on its website that are in high demand, such as protective masks and hand sanitizer.
“We are also proactively sharing information with state attorneys general and federal regulators about sellers we suspect have engaged in egregious price gouging of products related to the COVID-19 crisis,” the company said in a written statement.
Since the coronavirus outbreak escalated in the U.S., there have been runs on hand sanitizer, toilet paper, bleach wipes, meat and canned soup. Some people have attempted to sell cleaning products and other supplies at inflated prices on Amazon, EBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) and other websites.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to prevent hoarding and price increases of supplies during the coronavirus crisis.