Coronavirus: Brothers’ plan to profit off Amazon hand sanitiser backfires

When the coronavirus first hit the US, Matt Colvin saw a business opportunity – but his money-making scheme backfired spectacularly.

A US dad who bought nearly 18,000 bottles of hand sanitiser which he planned to sell at a profit has announced he will be donating the sought-after products after an online backlash.

Tennessee man Matt Colvin and his brother Noah are now being investigated after they stockpiled hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes.

They had planned to sell them through Amazon at inflated prices – until the online retailer pulled their listings.

Demand for hand sanitiser has skyrocketed globally because of the coronavirus outbreak with most retailers selling out of the antibacterial product in Australia.

CHANCE TO MAKE ‘CRAZY MONEY’

While most Americans were reeling on March 1 at the news of the first US death from coronavirus, the Colvin brothers saw a business opportunity.

They saw this as an opportunity to make “crazy money,” The New York Times reported.

However, Amazon and eBay soon caught onto the profiteering and shut it down.

The Colvins cleaned out all the hand sanitiser bottles of every store they visited across Tennessee and Kentucky.

Matt Colvin purchased 18,000 bottles of hand sanitiser which he planned to sell at a profit online. Picture: WRCB/YouTube.

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And at first it certainly was crazy money. The first 300 bottles of hand sanitiser they purchased sold for between $8 and $70 on Amazon, which was “multiples higher than what he had bought them for,” they said.

The next day, Amazon removed the brothers’ listings, along with thousands of other listings for sanitiser, wipes and face masks.

eBay soon followed with even stricter rules, prohibiting these kinds of sales altogether.

The Colvin brothers are now stuck with a garage full of 17,700 bottles of sanitiser they can’t sell.

“It’s been a huge amount of whiplash,” Matt Colvin told The Times. “From being in a situation where what I’ve got coming and going could potentially put my family in a really good place financially to, ‘What the heck am I going to do with all of this?’”

But Amazon pulled the Colvin brother’s listings and they have been accused of price gouging. Picture: WRCB/YouTube

Mr Colvin’s home state of Tennessee – like many other parts of the world, including Australia – prohibits price gouging.

In Tennessee, it is illegal to charge “unreasonable prices for essential goods and services, including gasoline, in direct response to a disaster,” according to the Times.

However Mr Colvin, who has been selling in-demand items like Nike sneakers and toys on Amazon for a profit since 2015, denies his attempt to sell marked-up sanitiser was price gouging.

He told the Times the laws “are not built for today’s day and age” and did not take into account the time and labour he spent sourcing the bottles of hand sanitiser.

‘THE MOST HATED MAN IN AMERICA’

After Mr Colvin’s interview with the Times was published condemnation was swift, with people taking to Twitter to call him the “most hated man in America”.

Some people went so far as to post Mr Colvin’s personal details, including his address and Facebook profile, online and encourage others to either report or go to his home.

This jackass went and bought up all the hand sanitizer, wanting to profit off of supply mayhem that he helped to create.

Now Amazon and eBay won't let him. Good.

Let this be a lesson: DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE. Leave some sanitizer for the rest of us. https://t.co/45bPHe0sYK

— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) March 14, 2020

What on earth did Matt Colvin think was going to happen after doing that interview?! That people would feel sorry for him and not make him the most hated man in America? Selfish asshole 🤦🏼‍♂️ #mattcolvinisanasshole #mattcolvin #coronapocalypse https://t.co/uO9yPdjcGU

— Bobby Berk (@bobbyberk) March 14, 2020

Congratulations to Matt and Noah Colvin for securing their place in history as some of the most selfish assholes ever. I hope you suffer from this despicable act.

— Alice Kennedy ♻️ (@mock_duchess) March 14, 2020

Matt Colvin of Hixson, TN bought 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer.

Tempting as it is to be mad at him, there’s a much larger system we should be mad at.

A system that tells us this is okay, this is “entrepreneurship,” this behavior should be rewarded.pic.twitter.com/MmSaOuj54e

— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) March 14, 2020

Matt Colvin, there's a huge difference between snatching up toys/collectible trinkets and hoarding hand sanitizer during a crisis. Bravo, @amazon, @ebay and other online retailers who put a stop to this nonsense. https://t.co/ESNjqfaiEJ

— Steve Brown (@WGRZ_SteveBrown) March 14, 2020

Matt Colvin is probably the most hated man in America.

— Alex James (@stronglyaware) March 14, 2020

Mr Colvin is now facing death threats and has since said he is donating the products to charity. Picture: WRCB/YouTube

‘FAMILY MAN, FAMILY BUSINESS’

However, the story didn’t end there for Mr Colvin, with Jack Nicas, the New York Times journalist who broke the story, confirming that the Tennessee man was now being investigated by the state’s Attorney General’s office.

New: The Tennessee AG's office served Matt and Noah Colvin with a cease-and-desist letter today and is now investigating their case.

Authorities asked the brothers to hold the supplies for several days while they investigate. They may still be able to donate them after that. pic.twitter.com/wBk1ZoPxJY

— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 15, 2020

Nicas said Mr Colvin was now looking to donate all supplies and had been banned as a seller from eBay and Amazon as well as receiving death threats.

Since we published our article, Amazon and eBay suspended him as a seller, which is how he made his living. The company where he rented a storage unit kicked him out. And the Tennessee AG's office began investigating him and his brother for price gouging.

— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 15, 2020

Matt has also been flooded with hate mail and death threats. He shared some truly awful ones with me that threatened his wife and children. And a man showed up banging at his door late last night.

Regardless of what people think of his actions, this stuff is disgraceful.

— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 15, 2020

Mr Colvin now deeply regrets his actions, Nicas tweeted.

Matt is reeling and said he regrets what he did. He said he didn't understand the gravity of the coronavirus outbreak or the sanitizer shortage when he hoarded it.

"It was not my intent to clean a shelf that was not going to be refilled," he said. “That’s not who I am."

— Jack Nicas (@jacknicas) March 15, 2020

In an interview with local TV station WRCB Chattanooga Mr Colvin, wearing a T-shirt with the slogan “Family Man Family Business”, said that while his selling price on sanitiser was “definitely higher than retail”, he didn’t regret buying the products.

When asked if he’d say he was sorry for purchasing the huge amount of hand sanitiser – leaving other families struggling to find any at all – an unapologetic Mr Colvin replied, “No, I don’t think that I would.”

However, he agreed that donating the much-needed products was the best decision given the circumstances.

“With business there is wins and there’s losses,” Mr Colvin said, “and this is a situation when cutting my losses is the right thing to do.”