5 ms·

Cute. Apparently he caused a bit of upset. He's is justifying himself with a mix of contrition and claims of innocence. > Colvin apologized for purchasing a

Cute. Apparently he caused a bit of upset. He's is justifying himself with a mix of contrition and claims of innocence. > Colvin apologized for purchasing all of the products Sunday, saying that he did not realize the spread of the coronavirus outbreak or the shortage of sanitary products across the country. > ... I had no idea that these stores wouldn’t be able to get replenished. Right. I was wondering what law the Tennessee AG could possibly use to stop these guys. The answer is in the AG's press release (sort of): > On Thursday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee declared a state of emergency prompted by the spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus. The declaration triggers the state’s anti-price gouging law which prohibits vendors from charging too much during a crisis tied to a state of emergency. > Under the law, the Attorney General’s Office can put a stop to price gouging and seek refunds for consumers. The courts may also impose civil penalties against price gougers for every violation. The law applies to all levels of the supply chain from the manufacturer to the distributor to the retailer. https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/news/2020/3/15/pr20-10.html https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/news/2020/3/15/pr20-10.ht...

tantalor 7y ago
I don't think a random guy hoarding bootleg hand sanitizer qualifies as a "retailer" under the law. If anything, normal penalties for operating without a business license should apply.
- surge 7y ago
  He's selling things retail, he's a retailer, the fact he doesn't have a license for the retail business adds to the charges.
- ncallaway 7y ago
  A) It wasn't bootleg hand sanitizer. It was hand sanitizer purchased from retail outlets. B) He wasn't hoarding it. He was explicitly reselling it. "Colvin sold 300 bottles of the hand sanitizer at a markup on Amazon, The Times reported." So the law 100% applies to this situation.
- brown9-2 7y ago
  someone who stockpiles 17000 bottles is not just a “random guy hoarding”
eru 7y ago
Do Americans really like long queues and black markets? That's what you get from these kinds of laws. There was a striking example during the 1970s oil shock: The US had price caps on petrol. Which nominally kept the stuff cheap, but that was an illusion, since you couldn't buy it at that price: you had to add the extra hassle of queuing and rationing and even risking the occasional outbreaks of violence. Meanwhile, Canada had no price caps on petrol. And while the nominal price for petrol was higher, you could actually buy at that price. As much as you wanted.
- salawat 7y ago
  The point is to maintain availability and accessibility. In our current economic environment, it's not out of the realm of possibility that there are people who couldn't afford the price things would stabilize on. The proper response is not unconstrained prices, but rationing and responsible consumption. The rationing/purchasing limits prevents the type of arbitrage schemes this gentleman was attempting, and keeps life moving forward at a reasonable pace while the supply chain marshals itself to meet the higher demand. The logistics work, and will scale as long as you keep the economy from doing anything terminally stupid in the meantime. Unfortunately, that can be like herding cats in the land of the free.
  - eru 7y ago
    Just give poor people money, if you want to help them. That's more useful to them, and less disruptive to others.
- pietrovismara 7y ago
  They already have long queues and black markets without these laws, what are you even talking about? I can't literally hear anymore this delusion that the unrestricted market will fix everything. It is not true, for a simple reason: limited supply and logistic limitations. You just can't let people hoard goods with limited supply. This is true especially when we talk about vital goods. Every single case shows us that intervention is necessary to prevent hoarding.
  - 7y ago

tantalor 7y ago

I don't think a random guy hoarding bootleg hand sanitizer qualifies as a "retailer" under the law. If anything, normal penalties for operating without a business license should apply.

surge 7y ago
He's selling things retail, he's a retailer, the fact he doesn't have a license for the retail business adds to the charges.
ncallaway 7y ago
A) It wasn't bootleg hand sanitizer. It was hand sanitizer purchased from retail outlets. B) He wasn't hoarding it. He was explicitly reselling it. "Colvin sold 300 bottles of the hand sanitizer at a markup on Amazon, The Times reported." So the law 100% applies to this situation.
brown9-2 7y ago
someone who stockpiles 17000 bottles is not just a “random guy hoarding”

eru 7y ago

Do Americans really like long queues and black markets? That's what you get from these kinds of laws. There was a striking example during the 1970s oil shock: The US had price caps on petrol. Which nominally kept the stuff cheap, but that was an illusion, since you couldn't buy it at that price: you had to add the extra hassle of queuing and rationing and even risking the occasional outbreaks of violence. Meanwhile, Canada had no price caps on petrol. And while the nominal price for petrol was higher, you could actually buy at that price. As much as you wanted.

salawat 7y ago
The point is to maintain availability and accessibility. In our current economic environment, it's not out of the realm of possibility that there are people who couldn't afford the price things would stabilize on. The proper response is not unconstrained prices, but rationing and responsible consumption. The rationing/purchasing limits prevents the type of arbitrage schemes this gentleman was attempting, and keeps life moving forward at a reasonable pace while the supply chain marshals itself to meet the higher demand. The logistics work, and will scale as long as you keep the economy from doing anything terminally stupid in the meantime. Unfortunately, that can be like herding cats in the land of the free.
- eru 7y ago
  Just give poor people money, if you want to help them. That's more useful to them, and less disruptive to others.
pietrovismara 7y ago
They already have long queues and black markets without these laws, what are you even talking about? I can't literally hear anymore this delusion that the unrestricted market will fix everything. It is not true, for a simple reason: limited supply and logistic limitations. You just can't let people hoard goods with limited supply. This is true especially when we talk about vital goods. Every single case shows us that intervention is necessary to prevent hoarding.
- 7y ago