AIBU to ask if you have two minutes, then please report the private sales of Calpol/medicines on eBay

[Ilovetoast10]

As part of eBay‘s cooperation with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) there will be a new enforcement of an eBay Medicine and Healthcare products policy. This means that from the 21st of January 2019, if you sell over the counter medicine on eBay you’ll have to be registered with the MHRA (which you already should be anyway) **

I hope you all agree that in these times the last thing that should be happening is people profiteering from those in need.

With medicines not vastly available on the shelves and not accessable to those that need them there are selfish people trying to gain for themselves and make quick money. It's also dangerous to buy medicines from an online source especially eBay as the condition of the items is unknown.

I am asking if you have a spare two minutes to report any listings you see for the sale of Calpol or other medicines, so they are removed from the site, this will hopefully begin to send a message that the resale of these items will not be profitable and keep some bottles on shelves.

In the last few days I have managed to end auctions of open packaged medications and a box of Calpol about to sell for £155.

I'm hoping the more that report, the more they will listen.

Thank you

This is true, and people are desperate. Ebay do not police the site properly, never have done in the 20 odd years I have used it. Many buyers are not aware of the possible dangers but if they are ill and need meds they will try to obtain what they need.

The thing is, if a seller is listing something for an honest price on an auction and people want (or really need) it then they will go to extremes to get it.

The current problem is auction wrecking - bidding high to prevent a sale which can lead to suspension of the bidders.

Reporting sometimes works, often not as Ebay just want the fees.

I reported a used toilet paper sheet and it was removed. I have reported the current listing and it is still there. That concerns me more than watching auction wrecking and people place-saving their listings to try to keep their livelihood.

It also happens that something that is in demand will need to be sent tracked which can double the price of the item, permitted for sale or not.

@Ilovetoast10 got it - thank you!

@DontCallMeShitley I have also reported the toilet paper.

The correct way to report these profiteering listings is

Dropdown 1- prohibited and restricted items
Dropdown 2- offensive and violent material
Dropdown 3- disasters and human tragedies

The relevant section is Prices inflated over prevailing market value - listings that attempt to profit from tragedies and disasters are prohibited

@Ticklemeelmo thank you so much for this,much appreciated.

Thank you tickle.

It's a shame that profiting from disasters isn't more logically located. I'd not have considered going into offensive and violent.

@Ilovetoast10

I have also reported the toilet paper.

Thank you. I think that once you report something and it is removed you are subsequently ignored. I have no issue with people selling knackered old shoes but this is a step too far, knowing that people will be looking for TP.

It's a shame that profiting from disasters isn't more logically located. I'd not have considered going into offensive and violent.

I know, it's not obvious at all is it! Almost like eBay aren't especially bothered about people being able to report them 🤔

The ones with the huge price tags, they will have been bid up by people with no intention of paying, leaving the sellers with the fees

A non-paying bidder risks being booted off Ebay and any fees incurred will be credited back to the sellers account. All these bidders are doing is shooting themselves in the foot.

I saw someone selling two bottles of Calpol for £150 claiming the proceeds would go to charity. Absolutely disgraceful behaviour. How about you just leave them on the shelves for people who need them rather than exploiting people who are buying out of desperation?

The ones with the huge price tags, they will have been bid up by people with no intention of paying, leaving the sellers with the fees

More likely is that the sellers are inflating the prices themselves by using other accounts to bid on their own products, in the hope that others will try to outbid at these extortionate prices.

This is also a practice banned by eBay, the route to report shill bidding on the dropdown lists is

1.Listing practices

1. Fraudulent listing activities
2. Seller is using other accounts to inflate item price

DontCallMeShitley they may have put it on for 99p but there are maximum limits to how much paracetamol can be sold at once and it was way above it. A lot of these sellers are breaking the law.

I did some earlier and I’ve just done some more. I’m pleased to say that there were less than earlier. Several overseas sellers selling Panadol in vast quantities. Just reported most of them.

I ended up down a warren of reporting items including loads of prescription only meds that have the potential to really make people ill.

I've just reported 24 people for selling Paracetamol. I'll do some more later...

I'm finding its giving me something positive to focus on between feeding my baby and being indoors.

@Ionacat I have noticed a big decrease too, which is great!

@DontCallMeShitley I think you need to understand how selfish bastards work!! You should not be making money out of baby milk on a time of shortage don’t pigging care how little someone’s got!

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aptamil-2-Follow-On-Baby-Milk-Formula-6-12-Months-800g/402167712649?epid=16021689605&hash=item5da3104b89:g:iR4AAOSwq29ecPY6 This is business selling formula at double the price,,name and address.......on the profile I’ll just leave that here

Oh he’s selling baby baby food 2 £2 a jar this is less than 50p a jar www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cow-Gate-Rice-Pudding-6-Months-Over-Jar-125g-6-Jars-125g-Serve-hot-or-cold/402172037276?_trkparms=aid%3D1110002%26algo%3DSPLICE.SOI%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20171010182220%26meid%3D110f3c90b98f4830b17185582cd81287%26pid%3D100891%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D402167712649%26itm%3D402172037276%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DSellersOtherItemsV2%26brand%3DCow+%26+Gate&_trksid=p2332490.c100891.m5206

@EmmaBridgewater20 I wasn't actually commenting on the baby milk, and I do know how selfish bastards work, the world is full of them.

What I was pointing out was not all the sellers are starting auctions by overcharging and people need to check the bidding history before accusing them, mainly due to toilet roll auctions, I hadn't looked at milk. The Paracetamol one was something I mentioned because the seller had started it at 99p, greed would have been to start it a lot higher and it had been linked in a previous post, otherwise I wouldn't have seen it.

People will be selling all manner of things now because they are scared of not being able to keep a roof over their heads, buy food etc. and while I am not condoning the sale of banned and restricted items I can see why they are doing it. Bidding high amounts to auction wreck is not the way to deal with it. Reporting it is. And then it is possibly removed and someone that really needed it goes without, so no-one gains.

A £4.00 item can cost £3.00 postage and £1 extra for tracking (packaging still has to be paid for in most cases) because some selfish bastards will claim non-receipt otherwise and claim their money back whilst keeping the item. So yes, double the shop price but no-one has to pay it if they don't want to, although, once again, I can see why they need to do so if it is something they are in need of, and people will do so regardless once again of whether it is prohibited for sale.

Selfish bastards are everywhere. Supply and demand. I don't know what I would do if I really needed something like baby milk under these circumstances.

I do know that I have excess toilet rolls and I am offering them on a local page for less than they cost me because I was sent the wrong order and can't use them.

Can they be reported to the Regulator too. The selling of drugs is illegal unless you are properly registered. This is not just an eBay issue. Maybe some prosecutions might focus some minds. I genuinely dispair
at some of our fellow humans.

So yes, double the shop price but no-one has to pay it if they don't want to, although, once again, I can see why they need to do so if it is something they are in need of, and people will do so regardless once again of whether it is prohibited for sale
Of course nobody has to pay over the odds, but desperation may give them few options.
People could have bought what they needed in the shops at shop prices, but unfortunately some people are selfish twats who would happily create a situation that limits much needed resources in order to profit from parents' fear and desire to look after their children.

Supply and demand would have worked just fine if people bought what they needed and stopped trying to manufacture fear to line their own pockets.

People will be selling all manner of things now because they are scared of not being able to keep a roof over their heads, buy food etc. and while I am not condoning the sale of banned and restricted items I can see why they are doing it

No. There is no excuse whatsoever for buying up basic items that people need to protect themselves from this virus and attempting to profiteer from selling them at vastly inflated prices, leaving none in the shops for the vulnerable.

What I was pointing out was not all the sellers are starting auctions by overcharging and people need to check the bidding history before accusing them, mainly due to toilet roll auctions, I hadn't looked at milk. The Paracetamol one was something I mentioned because the seller had started it at 99p, greed would have been to start it a lot higher

I have said further upthread, what is almost certainly happening on these items is that the same sellers are using other accounts to place fake bids on their own products in order to convince genuine buyers to outbid them at these much higher prices. It's called shill bidding.

These people are a scourge and the sooner eBay clamps down on this behaviour the better. It's contributing to the fights in supermarkets over basic items that are not actually not in short supply.

I reported a toilet roll one yesterday it's still there I tweeted them its still there