Unexpected Covid-19 price gouging
David Jenkins - 30/3/20 at 11:07 AM
My wife is a very keen gardener, and she is seriously peeved that she can't get out to buy compost, pots and seed. So I looked on line...
Either the things we wanted weren't in stock (everybody's had the same idea), or the prices were ridiculous. For example - I saw a a pack
of Scarlet Emperor runner bean seeds - probably one of the most popular varieties - for sale on Amazon for £20+ for 20 seeds. Normally they go for
around £5 for 30 or more seeds.
I was also looking for African Marigold seeds - perhaps one of the cheapest flower seeds available normally - and they were over £20 for 25 seeds.
These weren't special varieties, just common ones that have been on the market for years.
There were many other examples. 
Looks like our garden is going to be a bit bare this year... I know that there are other more important things to worry about, but gardening keeps my
wife busy when we're house-bound.
loggyboy - 30/3/20 at 11:30 AM
Amazon isnt really the place to look for fair pricing in a time like this.
My suspicion is the usual retailers will start to realise they need to revise their structure, and set up more comprehensive online deliveries, will
just need to rework their warehouses so they can isolate employees to deal with a dept individually from start to finish. Or start to take orders for
collection where you can pull up in the car park, and staff will leave the products for you to take away, just like the food delivery companies are
doing now.
Give it a few weeks and things will start to settle and companies will be more proactive or face going bust.
907 - 30/3/20 at 11:40 AM
A mean wise man would have saved seed from last year, and saved four times what was needed.
As they say;
One for mouse and one for crow,
one to rot and one to grow.
Paul G
David Jenkins - 30/3/20 at 11:47 AM
True - but forward thinking isn't my wife's strong point... 
coyoteboy - 30/3/20 at 12:52 PM
Don't think it's really price gouging if it's not an essential item - it's just the laws of supply and demand. If you have a
limited total market, prices go up. No-one complains we're price gouging gold - steel's so cheap, why should an other metal be expensive?
Because it's rare and people want it, no other reason.
James - 30/3/20 at 03:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
True - but forward thinking isn't my wife's strong point...
Wrong time to make a joke along the lines of: if it was, she wouldn't have become your wife?
We've had the same idea too- found a few online places that didn't say they were sold out! 
Good luck- I found a few old seeds left in a metal tin in the shed. Goodness know what they are- I potted them Friday night/Saturday and we'll
have to see what grows- be it onions, petunias, or Jack's giant beanstalk!
Bought seed potatoes a few weeks ago fortunately. Did the same 2 years ago and never got round to planting them! Looks like they may be the only crop
this year!
larchtree - 30/3/20 at 03:55 PM
Have you tried the seed companies, they also offer plants - they are under pressure - demand has soared!
- Sutton’s Seeds
- Mr Fothergills
- Thompson & Morgan
And the like
swanny - 30/3/20 at 06:09 PM
I remember reading or seeing something about the amazon pricing algorithm and how it automatically increases the value of some items based upon
demand. i wonder if increased demand has caused items to shoot up in value?
David Jenkins - 30/3/20 at 08:18 PM
quote:
Originally posted by larchtree
Have you tried the seed companies, they also offer plants - they are under pressure - demand has soared!
- Sutton’s Seeds
- Mr Fothergills
- Thompson & Morgan
And the like
Most of the well-known ones I've looked at are either not dealing with mail order because they're overloaded, or quoting very long lead
times before they can deliver.
David Jenkins - 30/3/20 at 08:19 PM
We've decided not to get bothered about it all - there are far more important things to concern ourselves with just now.
It's not a crisis if the garden's a bit bare this year.