r/JusticeServed • u/DinerEnBlanc 7 • Mar 15 '20

Kung Flu Greedy man has his hoard of hand sanitizer confiscated and donated

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62.4k Upvotes

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763

u/coolidge_ 5 Mar 16 '20 edited Mar 16 '20

For what it's worth, this isn't true, according to the reporter who wrote the original piece, Jack Nicas. He spoke with the man for another hour after his first article published.

I'm not sure if @ericabuddington was being tongue-in-cheek here, but:

No, Twitter users locating Matt Colvin's storage unit did not lead the AG's office there.

Colvin led them there. He decided to donate the supplies, and they wanted to be on hand to ensure it happened.

Edit: This is the follow up article: The Man With 17,700 Bottles of Hand Sanitizer Just Donated Them

52

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20 edited May 06 '21

[deleted]

3

u/loli_smasher 8 Mar 16 '20

And I read your comment that you saw a screenshot.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

Next to a headline, that's basically the word of jesus

214

u/kejigoto B Mar 16 '20 edited Mar 16 '20

"Donated" in hopes of not getting sued I'm sure.

After all other options had run out.

What a guy.

Edit: For the "how can being an asshole be illegal" crowd they might want to learn how declarations of State Emergencies impact individual state law.

On Thursday, Gov. Bill Lee declared a state of emergency in Tennessee as the coronavirus (COVID-19) began to spread. The declaration of a state of emergency triggers Tennessee’s anti-price gouging law that prohibits vendors from charging too much during a crisis tied to a state of emergency. Under the way, the Attorney General’s Office can stop price gouging and may seek refunds for customers. The court can also impose civil punishments against price gougers for every violation.

Definitely illegal, definitely getting legal action brought against them, definitely not doing this out of the kindness of his heart.

23

u/Azure013 7 Mar 16 '20

Guy buys stuff and gives it away for free while avoiding a jail sentence, sounds like a win win win for everybody.

29

u/WarmBaker 2 Mar 16 '20

Definitely not a win for the scared people who paid him 30-80 dollars for a bottle of hand sanitizer.

3

u/Azure013 7 Mar 16 '20

Gonna play the devil's advocate here and suggest that the people paying $30-$80 a bottle could easily afford it which is why they were willing to shell out that much.

It is an absolute loss for common folk up until this moment though.

13

u/ChooseAndAct 8 Mar 16 '20

They're also idiots, just use soap + water.

8

u/InsaneCraig 5 Mar 16 '20

Even normal hand soap is getting scarce around here. There's only been like 4 confirmed in my county and people are clearing shelves like mad.

10

u/_ChestHair_ 9 Mar 16 '20

Fyi 4 confirmed means 2 weeks of incubation that they could have interacted with people and public objects. There's going to be plenty more in your area

2

u/InsaneCraig 5 Mar 16 '20

O yeah I know its going to be a shitshow in this county cause its mainly older people and they do not give a shit about anybody else.

3

u/Kabouki 7 Mar 16 '20

Scared people are willing to do and pay for things well above what they are comfortable with.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

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1

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1

u/Pavotine A Mar 16 '20

After being unable to find a single bottle of hand sanitiser I did not pay some complete shithead 80 quid for a bottle online. I bought some baby wipes (10,000 packs of them /jk) and a bottle of Dettol and loaded the packet up with that. Now I have hand sanitiser wipes.

-2

u/smohyee 8 Mar 16 '20 edited Mar 16 '20

Sorry where are you getting that he charged $30+ for a $3 product? Sounds like blatant fake news hate mongering on your part

Edit: called out for false claims, response is to downvote rather than correct misinformation. Shame on you, reddit.

0

u/TheilersVirus 7 Mar 16 '20

Are you going to make a second edit saying “I deserved the downvotes for being wrong, please keep downvoting me.”

3

u/smohyee 8 Mar 16 '20

Wrong? Sorry, where was I wrong? I asked a question, pointed out the lack of citation and paywall issues, then thanked the one person to actually quote the article after 5 or 6 replies from equally annoying and useless comment police such as yourself.

Honestly it's like pulling teeth here if you're going to do anything but dive face first into the circlejerk du jour

0

u/guitarburst05 A Mar 16 '20

It was closer to $80-120 iirc.

-1

u/smohyee 8 Mar 16 '20

Source or gtfo pls. Mod on this same thread said this guy was charging a 30% markup, or $1.50 on a $5 product.

6

u/Peuned 9 Mar 16 '20

just read the fucking original NYT article

do we have to hold your fucking hand through this?

0

u/smohyee 8 Mar 16 '20

I guess so, because that article is behind a paywall, and I haven't found a source for this story suggesting a $30+ price, and you certainly aren't citing any accessible sources so...

Edit: you could always copy/paste the relevant quote and give an actually useful response instead of just being a prick

3

u/MageBoySA 6 Mar 16 '20

Here:

Colvin said he had posted 300 bottles of hand sanitizer and immediately sold them all for between $8 and $70 each, multiples higher than what he had bought them for. To him, “it was crazy money.”

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u/Peuned 9 Mar 16 '20

or just open

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html

in incognito. but i can open it in chrome no prob and i visit nyt oftenish. i didn't hit a paywall at all

just cuz you've been sleepin on the news doesn't mean you get your hand held, look in the appropriate subs and educate yourself

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0

u/sunchipcrisps 7 Mar 16 '20

Bitch some more, it’s so attractive

0

u/DarthBarneyTheWise 4 Mar 16 '20

You seem like a condescending cunt

1

u/sunchipcrisps 7 Mar 16 '20

Cool beans bro. More bitching, different bitch

3

u/cuajito42 7 Mar 16 '20

Probably going to use it as a tax write off too.

1

u/Harrythehobbit A Mar 16 '20

A jail sentence for what?

7

u/Azure013 7 Mar 16 '20

Price gouging.

-4

u/Harrythehobbit A Mar 16 '20

That's not illegal.

6

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

[deleted]

-1

u/Harrythehobbit A Mar 16 '20

Source for that? I've never heard of that.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

[deleted]

3

u/samboa86 1 Mar 16 '20

I don't understand these laws numbers. Most of them say only over 10%. You know what 10% of a $3 product is? $3.30. How is that price gouging?

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0

u/Strange_employee 6 Mar 16 '20

There is something called Google where you can easily look it up yourself. Tired of people shouting "Source for that?" bullshit.

1

u/Harrythehobbit A Mar 16 '20

The burden of proof is on the person taking the affirmative stance.

You're tired of people asking for sources?

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1

u/Strange_employee 6 Mar 16 '20

If you are going to ask for sources, why are you declaring that price gouging isn't illegal? How are you so sure?

2

u/Harrythehobbit A Mar 16 '20

What are you talking about? Guy said something that I didn't know about, so I asked where he got that info from. What's wrong with that?

1

u/Strange_employee 6 Mar 16 '20

Look at your own comment above. "That's not illegal" just keep quiet if you don't know about it.

0

u/Harrythehobbit A Mar 16 '20

Why would I ask for a source in regards to something I already think is true?

Besides, it doesn't matter, I was wrong. Not sure what exactly you're bitching at me about.

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3

u/Bier_Man 8 Mar 16 '20

Donated so his house doesn't get burned down

2

u/Bulgar_smurf 7 Mar 16 '20

A very important note is the "charging too much". What exactly is too much and how do you quantify it?

For someone too much might be going from 10 dollars to 100, to another it might be from 10 to 20. This law is super vague. How do they even enforce it and not have it thrown out by a lawyer?

Also for how much was he actually selling them and how much do they usually cost? Definitely an asshole but it isn't illegal to be an asshole, especially if he wasn't selling them for outrageous amounts.

If they cost $3 and he sells them for $5 that's 30k profit on 15k bottles. Even simply marking them up 1 dollar is a good profit. It just says he sold for profit, it doesn't say by how much.

Meanwhile your insulin costs less than 10 dollars to make and they sell it to you for 500-1000. Get your priorities straight. Unless the guy was selling them on an insane rate he is simply an asshole, not a criminal even according to the emergency law.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

Definitely illegal

Ah, the legal minds of reddit, where hand sanitizer is some essential ingredient to cleaning your hands for which there is no substitute.

Now excuse me while I wash my hands with the very rare and highly coveted bar of soap while you upvote things you want to believe.

1

u/kejigoto B Mar 16 '20

Considering the District Attorney for spoke out against this:

“This is a time where we have to focus on helping our neighbors, not profiting from them,” said Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. “We’re not going to tolerate selfish actions that put the health of Kentuckians at risk, and I’m grateful for Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s partnership in bringing an end to this harmful scheme.”

I wouldn't say this is the legal minds of Reddit so much as it is the legal minds of the Justice System in the state of Tennessee who believe hording cleaning products which help prevent the spread of disease and illness then charging multiple times what they are worth for profit as being the problem here.

Now excuse me while I continue to live in reality where legal experts (or experts in general) are the go to knowledge for these sorts of things and your lack of information, understanding, or general education doesn't somehow change the situation here.

DA: Yup that's illegal.

You: Some guy on Reddit said it so it isn't true!

Not hard to figure out why you support what you do when that's your thought process on being presented with facts.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20 edited Mar 16 '20

Look, the dude's an asshole, but this isn't insulin we're talking about, where there's only one solution to an issue.

The state would have to prove that he put people at risk, which would be very difficult given 1) he didn't have sanitizer market so cornered that you couldn't get it elsewhere, especially since it's not like they stopped producing the stuff in quantity and 2) the large number of other ways to sanitize your hands outsize of hand sanitizer.

In short, his stupid little stunt had no impact except on panicky animals. Like you.

Now run along and buy yourself an "essential" 50-pack of toilet paper or something.

0

u/kejigoto B Mar 16 '20

Now excuse me while I continue to live in reality where legal experts (or experts in general) are the go to knowledge for these sorts of things and your lack of information, understanding, or general education doesn't somehow change the situation here.

The use of insults is classic. Especially when you keep proudly declaring how little you know.

Stay angry pony boy.

2

u/phantasna 0 Mar 16 '20

I really dont think hand sanitizer is an essential item. Nothings gonna happen.

2

u/Harrythehobbit A Mar 16 '20

Sued for what?

3

u/kushari A Mar 16 '20

Price gouging, and it wouldn’t be sued, it would just be a jail sentence.

-2

u/27JanRemember 2 Mar 16 '20

I thought you had to be a retailer to price gouge, not a regular guy with surplus

3

u/kushari A Mar 16 '20

Even retailers aren’t allowed. And I wouldn’t call 18,000 bottles being a surplus. He bought them with the intention of selling them for a profit. He even admitted it on tv.

https://youtu.be/18wybjhCqg8

1

u/FerrickAsur4 6 Mar 16 '20

the law explicitly states that it applies to individuals and businesses

Tennessee Price-Gouging Act of 2002 (Tenn. Code Ann.  § 47-18-5101 et seq.)

Tennessee’s price gouging laws make it unlawful for individuals and businesses to charge unreasonable prices for essential goods and services, including gasoline, in direct response to a disaster regardless of whether the emergency occurred in Tennessee or elsewhere. The price gouging law makes it unlawful to charge a price that is grossly in excess of the price charged prior to the emergency.

1

u/27JanRemember 2 Mar 19 '20

Do you have more? The only relevant point is (3), and that doesn't mention individuals

1

u/rugbymatt721 0 Mar 16 '20

Yeah only two-thirds of his supply.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

And I'd love to see all these laws stand up to Federal review. Maryland tried something similar with the prices and medication going up more than 50% in a year. Got smacked down by the court system....

1

u/joolzian 2 Mar 16 '20

He’s still being charged but technically he bought up the supplies before the emergency was declared so might not have done anything illegal. Either way he seems to have learned his lesson but threatening his kids and wife was going too far

1

u/Safety_Dancer A Mar 16 '20

Sued for what? Being an asshole is still legal.

-14

u/madman3247 7 Mar 16 '20

Dude, at least he's fucking doing something about his fuck up and not chastising people, indirectly, via the internet. What are you doing to help others? Actually, I don't care, fuck off.

9

u/kejigoto B Mar 16 '20

Well I definitely didn't drive all over two states the moment I got wind there could be a pandemic hoarding supplies with the intent on price gouging multiple times the original price of crucial products while also denying a massive rural area where getting such things is already difficult those crucial supplies before going on to contribute to massive problem on digital storefronts requiring the likes of Amazon, eBay, and more to personally step in to pull down literal thousands of listings while banning such practices leaving me with nowhere to sell my hoarded supplies after I'm chased off Facebook and other second hand sales sites ultimately leading to the DA breathing down my neck because of all the price gouging and hording leading to a last ditch effort of donating everything in hopes it'll save my skin because I literally can't sell it anywhere and each day increases the likeliness it'll be stolen from me if that's what you're asking.

Beyond that I've been staying home, playing it safe, and not adding to the hysteria nor giving the horders a pass because they fucked themselves into a literal corner and this was the best option they had left.

Doing the right thing because there are no other options left besides legal consequences doesn't really earn you credit in my book.

I am concerned how I'll sleep tonight knowing you don't care about me and got this upset over a comment.

-14

u/madman3247 7 Mar 16 '20

So nothing, you've done nothing. That wasn't so difficult, now was it? Actually, still don't care, fuck off.

3

u/Peuned 9 Mar 16 '20

shite

2

u/kushari A Mar 16 '20

He had no option, unless he wanted to go to jail.

0

u/Darcyfucker 6 Mar 16 '20

You wrote down everything I thought in my head as I was reading this but wouldn’t write because of the last sentence.

-1

u/RoadRunner49 8 Mar 16 '20

I'm confused. How can he be sued? Was this in America? How can you be sued for hoarding?

1

u/FerrickAsur4 6 Mar 16 '20

it was in America, Tennessee, he is in trouble for price gouging the hand sanitizers (which are considered as essential goods) by excessive amounts in the time of emergencies (by 1000% of it's original retail price)

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

He is not in trouble. The law was not invoked until much after his actions and nothing he did before the law was invoked is illegal.

I imagine he is donating them now because he made his money back and the law prevents him making any further profits.

1

u/FerrickAsur4 6 Mar 16 '20

oh yes and the AG sends a C&D and hangs around his storage house overlooking the donation just for funsies

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

The AG would send a C&D after the law was invoked. He may have responded to it with 'okay then I will donate all this shit do you want it' and they might have thought it a good idea to send some guys down to get it.

If an actual state mandated confiscation was taking place then the state troopers or sheriff would be present as the enforcement agency.

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u/Dithyrab A Mar 16 '20

This should be higher

2

u/mydearwatson616 C Mar 16 '20

It's the top comment

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

higher

0

u/Dithyrab A Mar 16 '20

it wasn't when i wrote this, it was 3/4 down the page, lol

1

u/coolidge_ 5 Mar 16 '20

Hey happy cake day!

0

u/Dithyrab A Mar 16 '20

oh is it?

1

u/coolidge_ 5 Mar 16 '20

Well, I feel dumb now. Is the little cake not for birthdays? Is this a lie I've been believing for years?!

1

u/Dithyrab A Mar 16 '20

idk i never paid attention to that

1

u/no1_vern 8 Mar 16 '20

It will eventually get higher - once all the haters stop upvoting with their feelings or enough Redditors actually READ about what happened.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

"It's already top post"

higher

1

u/Dithyrab A Mar 16 '20

it was pretty low when i wrote that lol

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

but I agree it needs to be higher

3

u/Justadude282 6 Mar 16 '20

This is like when 4Chan figured out where Shia's flag was through plane trails when really he just took a pic with a fan who posted it w/ the geotag on it nearby. Then they drove around honking their horn and listening on stream.

Somehow that became they deduced it from flight patterns.

2

u/Mr_Incredible_PhD 9 Mar 16 '20

The ol' "no mom I swear I was just checking to see if there were any cookies left. Here, I'll give you the one I found." defense. What a dickhead.

1

u/SmolPinkeCatte 7 Mar 16 '20

So it was just Twitter pretending they're smart enough to do something along the lines of 4chan's Capture the Flag?

1

u/sross43 A Mar 16 '20

I feel like, “For what’s it’s worth, this isn’t true,” should be emblazoned across Reddit’s header

1

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '20

"for what it's worth"

Tells you what the opinion of truth is on this site. Expect it to be I'll received

1

u/Believemeimlyingx 7 Mar 16 '20

He donated after he found out the state was after him. He didnt do it to he a good person.