Amazon, eBay and other platforms are suspected of driving up the price of infant formula! US authorities launch investigation

It is learned that on May 26, when infant formula was in short supply in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it would investigate the price gouging of infant formula.

The announcement came a day after US news media NBC reported that consumers had found baby formula prices had risen by more than 300% on sites such as eBay, Amazon, Craigslist and Facebook. NBC said it surveyed 13 consumers across the United States and reviewed more than 100 "sky-high" formula listings.

FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said in a statement that the agency will crack down on any deception, exploitation or fraud in the sale of formula and that the investigation will help avoid similar market failures in the future.

According to NBC, after a consumer filed a complaint, a seller of baby formula said: "Everyone is raising prices. You may not like it, but you have no right to interfere with my business."

Last week, it was revealed that the price of milk powder products on eBay was about twice the recommended retail price. Some sellers, although the price increase was smaller, increased the shipping fee by two to three times the price of the goods.

An eBay spokesperson responded that eBay has a reporting tool for buyers to report price gouging.

Khan also noted in her statement that the FTC will also focus on the role of robots or other automated systems that buy large quantities of formula from regular retailers and sell it to consumers at a marked-up price.

She said that over the past few years, Americans have repeatedly experienced supply chain disruptions, shortages, hoarding of surplus supplies, and a cycle of profiteering and price gouging by resellers, and the FTC will do everything it can to ensure that markets for other important life-sustaining products are competitive and resilient.

Editor✎ Ashley/

Disclaimer: This article is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without permission.