Not impressed that eBay is letting some sellers use the coronavirus shortages as an opportunity to profiteer.
A quick search shows toilet rolls and hand sanitiser are being listed at extremely high prices.
Surely, eBay should be responsible enough to discourage this sort of behaviour.
(PROFITEER = "make or seek to make an excessive or unfair profit".)
What reasons?
They do nothing about price jacking during sales.
I'd go further to say their sales/marketing team is instrumental in it occurring, the Ts&Cs applied to each sale they promote effectively mandate it.
In my mind (but not the ACCCs?) this is active price collusion on behalf of a market operator, and the vendors that participate
Ts&Cs applied to each sale they promote effectively mandate it.
Effectively, practically and all other synonyms still means they technically do not.
I do not like the practice but there's something we can do about. Rather than try and impose our will upon markets and vendors, just adapt to survive with less.
I say let them operate as they see fit (within universal law). We need not regulate for everything, everyone and every situation.
People just need to smarten up and/or be less reliant on the very market they seem to despise.
@[Deactivated]: I'm not sure that anyone can 'democratise' eBay, or influence them by buying through other channels. They would have to lose market to reform, and already control the very land they own and 'compete' on.
@resisting the urge: No one has to influence anyone to stop buying through eBay.
Individuals just need to realise that eBay isn't exactly cheap.
@[Deactivated]: On the contrary; in my many years of bargain-hunting, eBay often happens to be the cheapest place to buy big-ticket items if you hang out for a deal.
@[Deactivated]: Regulation has its place, particularly with essential services and market monopolies. I don’t think it should apply to ebay. The market should decide. If it pisses us off that much, we should go elsewhere.
In its purest form, this is what capitalism is. Supply vs Demand. We have the choice to either support or not support those companies that don’t align with our values.
Yes
I dumped EBay long ago.
And it feels good - less junk in the house.
Exactly. The reason why these people do that is because of weak minded people who will buy it. This is why some idiots buy lots of tickets from Ticketmaster etc. to a show which they know will be sold out, and other idiots who idolise celebrities will buy those hiked up price tickets. You need to be in control. If someone is selling it for high price on eBay, just don't buy it. Seek alternative sources, and if none available, do not buy it at all. I'll rather miss out on something I really want than to give in, but that is just me and mine thinking. If everyone was not sheep minded, these situations wouldn't exist. See things as they are, remove emotions and desires from the equation. Know the difference between 'Need' and 'Want'. Is the 'Need' worth the Price? Are you being scammed? Is a painting worth 5 million dollars just because it's 200 years old? Only if you have billions of dollars. You don't save up 5 million dollars over 10 years to buy a painting. This is ridiculous. Start thinking for yourself, not what others tell you and not what you read online and going by the trend, not what you read in the media. Sorry, but majority of you are idiots who have a brain but don't use it for it's purposes.
Some people may actually need these products though. A friend of mine is on long term steroid for a medical condition and is immunosuppressed. He bought a 1L hand sanitiser from eBay for double the RRP 2 weeks ago, then the seller cancelled the sale a few days later citing no stock, and relisted it. Now it's an auction and going for $100+ per bottle (RRP is $15 per bottle). My friend actually needs this and sadly he now has no choice but to pay this ridiculous price.
The government keeps on telling people not to panic buy, and yet the people that follow the instruction and try to be a sensible citizen is ultimately the ones being punished. Still no toilet paper. Still no rice. Still no pasta. Now even pasta sauce is gone. You walk into Coles and half of the items are gone.
I completely agree with what you are saying. This is where desire/need/want comes into play. I understand he needs the sanitiser, so it's a 'Need', not a 'Want'. Imagine if everyone just started thinking for themselves and realise it is not really worth $100, then the seller would have no choice but to relist it as it's actual value, which is $15. People do not realise that. They don't realise the power they have. Only if one could be in control of their desires. They believe whatever they are told. If there is news that toilet paper is out of stock, they rush and line up before the supermarket opens. If they could think clearly that the way they think is the same way everyone else is thinking, and this is what creates chaos and instability, may be they will learn a lesson. But unfortunately most people are stupid, and there is nothing that can be done about it. They only care about themselves, and no one else. They are not capable of looking further into the future of what consequences their actions today, will cause an impact on tomorrow.If sick people can't buy sanitiser today, they will make more people sick tomorrow. Those more people will cause the hoarders sick eventually. Hoarders are stupid.
My friend actually needs this and sadly he now has no choice but to pay this ridiculous price.
Really ?
Dr Google knows .
What can I use instead of hand sanitizer?
A 91 percent alcohol would work as well. (You can probably ignore the occasional suggestion to use vodka instead of isopropyl alcohol since many vodkas are only 40 percent alcohol.
WHO has cheaper than this as well .
@popsiee: A bottle of methylated spirits costs $4.
Mix with 30% water in a spray bottle.
Now you have 70% alcohol
Much of the stufff is available via regular online shopping witht he supermarkets. Do your weekly shop online , pay supermarket prices, get it delivered to your front door and avoid having to queue up at 5am!
@2ndeffort: This is true about 2 weeks ago. Have a look now. All sold out online, Coles won't deliver for 2 weeks, Woolies doesn't allow delivery or pick up anymore.
@2ndeffort: Ordered 30 items to be delivered. Just got the emails to say the delivery is being made without 18 of them after a 5 day wait to get the order.
is immunosuppressed
So he probably shouldn't be going out? And if he's not going out, probably doesn't need hand sanitizer?
Not that I disagree with OP's sentiment, just asking if the hand sanitizer really is a need?
As others have said - high % alcohol >= hand sanitizer.
Furthermore, merely washing hands is as good as or (if you do it properly) better than using hand sanitizer.
the free market allows people to ask any price they like - no-one is forced to buy - the simple laws of supply and demand mean that when demand exceeds supply, prices can rise - when supply exceeds demand, prices can drop.
that said - I have a current dispute with eBay - chasing a refund for a non-delivery that the seller keeps pretending they've refunded, but my bank has not seen any evidence - I've given it to my bank as a disputed transaction and they'll follow it up. So eBay as playground for dodgy merchants - yeah it is indeed … one time I ordered some $200 shoes on eBay and the seller sent some crappy $10 ones - that was a month of PITA - so yeah I don't like eBay for those reasons.
Not impressed
Who is not impressed?
is this for real https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Quilton-Premium-3-Ply-180-sheet-…
12 bucks for a single roll, and has sold over a 1000 in 24 hours?
First picture is misleading
have reported the person. what a world we live in
The listing is gone. Thanks for reporting that a-hole.
@happirt: what are you talking about? Woolies is delivering toilet paper at normal price. Its delivery only and you have to pay for delivery but so is ebay.
I literally just came back from Woolies with a 8-pack for normal price.
Well you know what they say about a fool and their money…
This, people paying $12 for a roll are morons, they deserve to have their money taken.
have you met any of these 'morons' - or are you just imagining it from ridiculous 'asking' prices … ?
@Hangryuman: What? The commenter above has stated the link to the eBay sale where over 1000 have been sold. I take it you've bought some $12 toilet paper and are insulted?
Same here. And wait another week or two and the shelves will be as full as usual, and we'll all be laughing at those muppets who have to park their car in the driveway because the garage is full of toilet paper.
I sincerely hope that's the case, except that's what people were saying 2 weeks ago when the panic buy first started - just give it a week or 2. Now it's not just toilet paper but a bunch of things…
you really think this virus is going to end peaking in 2 weeks? china thinks they just got over peaking after 2 months, and that was when the world was not contagious. Australia just started the spreading with the whole world surrounding by the virus.
it's about to get a whole lot worse by then not better.
@happirt: No, of course not. But not everybody is going to buy 6 months worth of toilet paper every week, are they?
@dcash: coles just canceled their online delivery for only elderly & sick obviously because they can't keep up with the demands or near future demamds.. yesterday there were no delivery spots left for next 2 weeks. those orders were all canned. where will they go now and thats just coles. you do the math.
what is the normal price for a 8 rolls pack?
I usually buy 24 roll pack for $8.50 but I think they are making small packs so can make more money.
I'd have to check, but it was about $5-$6. If I find the receipt I'll update my post.
Exactly. I went to Aldi yesterday morning just as they opened and got a 24 pack and a 4 pack of kitchen paper no problem.
Anyone paying $12 for a roll on eBay is an imbecile and deserves to be ripped off.
I visited 7 supermarkets on Sunday and none of them had toilet paper or oats. Still, I'd never pay scalpers.
Check their reviews
People think they're buying a pack, not a single roll. There's going to be a lot of chargebacks when they find out
woohoo! free roll of toilet paper!
It states many times that it is a single roll.
aldi stores had pallets of toilet paper last time i visited a couple of days ago
No TP in my town.
Have to use the traditional water method, I learned travelling through India in the early nineties!
….and observe the left hand rule!!!
Or $96 for 6 packs and people are paying it
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-3-6-x-QUILTON-TOILET-PAPER-TIS…
$96 for 60 toilet rolls.
Is that really that bad?
They had 45 rolls for $20 on amazon the other day, so yes. Not great
Appears plenty of people paying $100+ for 24 pack if you check 'sold' listings
Is anyone even bothering to buy the overpriced toilet paper?
Just put the garden hose in your bathroom 😉
Karcher is quicker.
If you're a fan of the massage option 😂
I just snap off no wipe wonders, no paper required. If it gets itchy just rub ur jocks in it, keeps people away from me so it works awesome
I'm more of a fan of the "where did my sphincter go" option.
You forgot poop knife
i knew my ice cream scoop would eventually come in useful for something!
I'd rather wipe with my hand than give a cent to the scalpers.
My issue isn’t with the hand, but with shit going under the nail. I guess I can try gloves.
and then you get a scent back
My husband grew up with an outhouse in the back paddock. Old school style was to rip a newspaper into strips and nail them to the wall. We're set thanks to the free weekly newspapers on the front lawn. OzBargaining during a pandemic, for the win. :)
I grow up on a farm too with the same style toilet (tin toilet in summer aiint fun). We just had a hose next to the toilet. Not quite a bidet but close enough.
many months of travel in Asia and I prefer water - hold a pail of water behind your back with one hand and flutter the other hand across to wash clean - then your bum is freshly washed with clean water
cultures who do that can be disgusted that we use paper to wipe / smear shite across our perineum - ugh, how unclean !
Reselling is not illegal, re sellers wouldn't try and sell something if profit wasn't to be made.
your anger is wrongly placed, Blame the idiots panic buying who caused the shortages.
no, check my link above. Plenty of others doing the same
If you actually look at ebay listings there are three main types of listings
1. As you put it "joke" listings with obscene pricing which will never sell (If someone clicks buy it now the money will never be paid, Most likely bought buy a joke buyer)
2. Legit sellers but with a hugely clickbait listing like This ( Misleading main picture, new ebay account so any and all negative feedback is irrelevant)
3. Then there's proper resellers with non clickbait listing making quite a decent amount of money, Like This
Is postage extra?
yes
its artificial shortage! thanks to dkheads.
Profiteering on eBay
Welcome to Supply and demand pricing…..
Don't like the prices, don't buy them. Simple.
But you kinda have to if everywhere else is sold out and out stock……
Well that is supply and demand pricing……..
…which they force it onto you by cleaning out all the shelves themselves and then reselling them back at a higher price to profit from the pandemic….. Or if the supermarkets and other stores are smart, they'd also be jacking up prices to profit from this too, from a business point of view.
then reselling them back at a higher price to profit from the pandemic
Again, supply and demand pricing rules apply. They have the supply, if there is no demand then the prices drop.
So stop buying at jacked up prices.
eBay is marketplace…. price too high? move on.. if everyone thinks it's too high, then the seller won't be able to sell it and they'll have to drop the price to a point that someone is willing to buy it at.
aka Supply and demand.
If someone wants to list toilet paper at 2x or more RRP then they can. Doesn't mean you have to buy it. Ebay is full of these random overpriced items. A lot of sellers put high prices on items, so as to keep the listing up for multiple items. There is no shortage of TP, the stores can't keep up re-stocking. Hand sanitiser. Well that's a bit of an issue as it really should be kept for hospitals and aged care places. You can always use soap at home and when out just minimise your contact with objects. Don't touch handrails, Elbow shakes, knuckle pushes. We are just going through some panic stage at the moment. Better to go hard now and then it will get resolved quicker. IMO
If your going to get some toilet paper on Ebay at least try this one.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Donald-Trump-Humour-Toilet-Paper…
I realise there will always be people trying to make a quick dollar any way they can.
My main thought is that it would be good if eBay (as "a responsible corporate citizen") made things more difficult for resellers who might be contributing to ongoing shortages.
As others have pointed out, there's plenty of alternatives to toilet paper, but hand sanitiser does have an important role in slowing the spread of the virus.
People can choose not to buy, then these resellers are simply left with a tonne of toilet paper that they can't sell.
Well, they don't want to do what you hope they'll do.
but hand sanitiser does have an important role in slowing the spread of the virus.
Plenty of 1L bottles of isopropyl alcohol down at my local Bunnings today. If it is that important, people can make their own.
1L bottles? Do they sell 1L bottles? Hmm…
Bah. they're all in the same section and I see isopropyl alcohol. I googled and fair enough, 500ml is the max bottle size on those.
Still, plenty available. Linseed oil comes in 1l though. Leaves your skin with a deep glossy and protected finish.
@c64: I prefer Chateaux Bu Nnings.
(Nah, not really. I'm actually going to look up this cask sized deal.)
@[Deactivated]: Diggers has been gouging for years. Any reputable art or cleaning product store has 5L for around $40 + or - $10 depending on the store
Edit: Oops, wrong reply. Wasn’t meant for you ts.
@c64: During the April super storm in NSW bunnings were selling generators for $900 that were retailing for under $200 before the storm hit.
Every limited edition, every coveted item, every fad product… eBay has a long history of scalpers.
Toilet paper and hand sanitizer are not essentials, not restricted and not even irreplaceable.
If eBay wants to be a good citizen, good on them.
If they do not, and you are not impressed, stop using eBay.
(Personally I do not use eBay for numerous reasons. Vote with your money.)