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Coronavirus Outbreak: Here's why a Tennessee man who bought 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizers donated all
A Tennessee man bought 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizers and donated all of them among people in Tennessee. Earlier, he started to over-price them to earn some extra profit. But later, he stopped that as soon as the investigation started on him.
A Tennessee man stocked 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer and donated all of them as soon as the Tennessee attorney general's office started to investigate on him for over-pricing the sanitizers. Last Sunday, Matt Colvin donated two-third of his hand sanitizers and antibacterial wipes among people in Tennessee with the help of volunteers from a local church. Tennessee attorney general officials took the other sanitizers and wipes to distribute in Kentucky.
Colvin and his brother cleared all the stocks of hand sanitizers and wipes from the stores to earn extra cash during the outbreak. They sold 300 bottles of hand sanitizers and had an enormous cache of sanitizers and wipes. As soon as this news went viral, people started posting negative comments across the internet. Many people even sent him direct mails with hatred and death threats, according to Colvin.
Finally, in an interview, Colvin expressed his remorse on this deed and said that he was not aware of the severity of COVID-19 outbreak when he decided to overcharge the sanitizers and wipes. “I’ve been buying and selling things for 10 years now. There’s been hot product after hot product. But the thing is, there’s always another one on the shelf,” he said. “When we did this trip, I had no idea that these stores wouldn’t be able to get replenished," said Colvin.
He then expressed his fear of getting hate mails and calls which even threatened to kill his wife and children. Later, he said that it was never his intention to keep necessary medical supplies out of the reach of people.
As a result, some online shopping sites have suspended him as a seller, which has been his source of income for years. The company where he put his storage unit in rent has kicked him out. And he has received a cease-and-desist letter from the Tennessee attorney general office which has started an investigation on him. Tennessee's price-gouging law has prohibited the practice of excessive charging for different items like food, gas and medical supplies. The state can fine people up to 1,000 dollars for this crime.
But in the language of the law, Colvin might be saved as Tennessee Government declared a state of emergency and activated the price-gouging law on March 12. And Colvin bought the sanitizers and wipes before that day and stopped selling them after March 12.
