Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash
In this article, we learn about Mr Colvin, an American who took advantage of the coronavirus crisis to empty stores across Tennesee and Kentucky of cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and more, and sell them at highly overinflated prices. We discussed this article as a class, and came to some interesting conclusions while trying to answer the question the article posed.
Personally, I feel that Mr Colvin’s actions were immoral. Although it could be said that he was simply taking advantage of an opportunity in the market, I feel that his decision to empty multiple stores of hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies, especially in the time of a pandemic, was immoral, as it forced everyone to buy from him at hugely overinflated prices. However, I do understand why he did this, especially considering the economic ideology and system of the US, which is focused on profit and individualism rather than collectivism. I think this made it easier for him to sell at overinflated prices and escape being prosecuted, which wouldn’t have happened in other countries. While some action was taken by Amazon, in the form of suspending his account, I think the situation could have been handled better since this left him with huge amounts of stock that couldn’t easily be donated due to the pandemic. Instead, Amazon could have restricted the prices he put on goods, or the government could have stepped in to take action, which may have led to a better outcome.
I enjoyed discussing the article, and the discussion helped me to broaden my perspective and learn more about the crisis.