Supply and demand. This is the economic model a Canadian couple definitely subscribes to. The self-described hustlers reportedly made $100,000 CAD (around $72,000 US) purchasing large quantities of Lysol disinfectant wipes and then reselling them at much higher prices on Amazon, taking advantage of the public’s panic over the coronavirus pandemic.
Manny Ranga, 38, and his wife, Violeta Perez, 37, stocked up on wipes from various local Costco outlets in Vancouver, Canada, and sold them for more than four times the amount online, according to The Toronto Star.
The couple allegedly sold a $14.50 US package of wipes for around $64.50.
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“It’s a big opportunity with all these products,” Ranga told the newspaper. “I’ve got to pay the bills. With a regular job, I won’t be making this money…I know it won’t last forever.”
The couple, who are real estate developers, came up with the idea after going shopping for themselves. When a woman stopped them in the parking lot and offered to pay double for their cleaning supplies they realized they could do this online.
“Everything we do, we’re in the moment,” Perez told The Toronto Star. “We’re hustlers.”
The couple was said to be trading on Amazon’s marketplace platform under the name “Violeta & Sons trading ltd,” Newsweek reported.
Now Amazon has cracked down on the pair and suspended their account, Fox News reported.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan said at a news conference that he found it “offensive” that people were using the coronavirus pandemic to hoard and resell supplies online.
Ranga said he objected to the way he and his wife were portrayed in the media.
