Would you pay $400 for hand sanitizer? Amazon should stop price gouging amidst coronavirus panic-buying, urges US lawmaker

As of writing, there are 159 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the U.S., and throughout the country, shoppers are hoarding items and leaving store shelves empty to stock up before the infectious disease turns into a full-blown pandemic. Even online stores like Amazon’s Marketplace are running out of stocks, with unscrupulous sellers offering hand sanitizer for exorbitant prices. Some even sell Purell hand sanitizers for a shocking $400.

Third-party sellers must be held accountable

In a letter to Amazon sent this Wednesday, U.S. Senator Edward Markey urged the online retailer to prohibit third-party sellers from price gouging for items like Purell hand sanitizer. Those who want to protect themselves from the coronavirus are willing to pay the heavily inflated prices, even if a box of small Purell bottles only sells for $10 on Amazon.com.

If you search for Purell hand sanitizer on the online store, third-party sellers are offering the products for $400. Others were even offering the hand sanitizer for $600 on Wednesday afternoon. But if you search online, you can buy a large bottle of the Amazon brand of hand sanitizer for only $8.25.

While the online retailer was not immediately available for comment, just last week, Amazon barred over a million products that claimed to cure or defend against the coronavirus. (Related: Online retail giant Amazon removes any product mentioning “CORONAVIRUS” – including sanitizing products that actually kill coronavirus on surfaces.)

The virus first spread in China. As reported by Natural News, coronavirus has infected over 400,000 individuals around the globe and claimed at least 35,000 lives.

In his letter, Markey said, “As the world confronts the prospect of a serious and far-reaching pandemic, corporate America has a responsibility to prevent profiteering on the sales of items such as hand sanitizer and surgical masks.”

The senator asked Amazon to respond to his questions about the online retailer’s anti-gouging efforts by March 18, Wednesday.

The right recipe for DIY hand sanitizer

Preppers should already have hand sanitizer in their survival stockpiles.

But if you don’t have a stockpile of your own, you can make your own hand sanitizer. You just need to follow the right recipe.

And if you don’t want to make a hand sanitizer, you can prevent infection by washing your hand thoroughly with soap and water for about 20 seconds. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), frequent handwashing is the best way to reduce hand germs and prevent disease.

If you don’t have access to running water and soap, you can use hand sanitizers as an alternative. Hand sanitizers also contain alcohol, which helps these products kill microbes. When choosing sanitizers, buy products with at least 60 percent to 95 percent alcohol to effectively eliminate germs.

To minimize microbe exposure, your homemade hand sanitizer must have the correct ratio of alcohol to other ingredients. Using