eBay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce corporation based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. The platform has recently released an announcement reminding sellers of it’s of its price–gouging policy and also encouraging users to report items they believe violate the policy. Increasing the price of items to a level that is much higher than is considered fair or reasonable is not allowed on eBay.
Price gouging occurs when a seller increases the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or supply shock. Common examples include price increases of basic necessities after natural disasters.
With this phenomenon becoming a significant issue in 2020, the main reason being supply shortages during the global pandemic, with states and the federal government charging retailers they said violated laws.
In its announcement, eBay said it had a zero-tolerance policy on price gouging “to ensure that buyers are able to find essential items at reasonable prices, especially during challenging and extraordinary times like those we face today.”
They’re actively addressing reports that some sellers are charging unfair or unreasonable prices for certain items on eBay, which risks taking advantage of buyers in this time of uncertainty. To ensure the safety of their community, they’re blocking or removing many of these items from our marketplace. They’re committed to ensuring that their marketplace remains a safe place for buyers and sellers, so listings that exhibit unfair pricing behavior are not allowed. It’s taking measures to block or remove listings that make false health claims or those offer products at inflated prices in violation of applicable laws.
The company encourages their community to report any listings they suspect of price gouging to them so that those reports can be taken very seriously and the required action will be taken accordingly.
To report directly from the listing, follow these steps:
- Go to the listing and choose Report item, which you’ll find next to the description and shipping and payment options.
- On the File a report page, select Price gouging in the Report Category field.
- In the Reason for report field, select Price gouging.
- Select an option from the Detailed Reason field and then Send.
“Buyers are encouraged to report items they believe violate our policy using our price gouging reporting tool,” eBay said, linking to a page titled “Reporting price gouging on eBay.”
Related: Multibillion-dollar business, eBay experience 22% rise in US sales amid 2020 pandemic