Amazon is cracking down on third-party merchants for selling coronavirus-related products at inflated prices. The company says it has recently blocked or removed tens of thousands of listings for such products, like face masks and hand sanitizer.

“There is no place for price gouging on Amazon,” the company said in a statement.

On Amazon, some third-party sellers have been charging hundreds of dollars for a couple small bottles of hand sanitizer or a box of protective face masks.

Dana Radcliffe, who teaches business ethics at Cornell, said Amazon was smart to ban these listings — because customers do not like price gouging.

“People have a very strong reaction to it,” he said. “They feel that they’re being taken unfair advantage of. So that’s going to reflect upon the platform.”

Many economists, however, say it’s a bad idea to set rules around price gouging, like limiting price hikes during a public health crisis or a hurricane.

That’s because when prices are low it’s easier for people to hoard.

“You’ll see people loading up their carts with far more than they would if the price were higher, and the consequence […] is that people [who] get to the store later aren’t able to buy anything,” said Michael Salinger, a professor of economics at the Boston University Questrom School of Business.

It is hard to say exactly what qualifies as price gouging, versus simple supply and demand. And it’s hard for companies like Amazon to draw the line.

COVID-19 Economy FAQs What’s going on with extra COVID-19 unemployment benefits? It’s been weeks since President Donald Trump signed an executive memorandum that was supposed to get the federal government back into the business of topping up unemployment benefits, to $400 a week. Few states, however, are currently paying even part of the benefit that the president promised. And, it looks like, in most states, the maximum additional benefit unemployment recipients will be able to get is $300. What’s the latest on evictions? For millions of Americans, things are looking grim. Unemployment is high, and pandemic eviction moratoriums have expired in states across the country. And as many people already know, eviction is something that can haunt a person’s life for years. For instance, getting evicted can make it hard to rent again. And that can lead to spiraling poverty. Which retailers are requiring that people wear masks when shopping? And how are they enforcing those rules? Walmart, Target, Lowe’s, CVS, Home Depot, Costco — they all have policies that say shoppers are required to wear a mask. When an employee confronts a customer who refuses, the interaction can spin out of control, so many of these retailers are telling their workers to not enforce these mandates. But, just having them will actually get more people to wear masks. You can find answers to more questions on unemployment benefits and COVID-19 here. Read More Collapse