Wuhan Coronavirus: Con-artists Megathread - One stop shopping for those who want to spend $100 on a bottle of rubbing alcohol

[Arctic Fox]

Price gouging and snake oil salesman always pop up during emergencies, natural disasters, war etc. Post examples of these fucking cretins taking advantage of peoples' panic and fear here; so that we can mock them and forever tie their names to their wicked bullshit.

The most prominent example I found:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/11/jim-bakker-coronavirus-cure/

After televangelist Jim Bakker suggested on his show that colloidal silver could cure the novel coronavirus, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office announced Tuesday that it is suing him as part of a larger effort among law enforcement to crack down on fake treatments for the viral illness.
Bakker, a disgraced TV preacher in Branson, Mo., has long peddled “Silver Solution” as a cure or treatment for a number of aches and ailments, which medical professionals and the federal government have roundly rejected. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is asking a judge for a temporary restraining order to stop him from hawking the bogus cure as a way to treat coronavirus. The virus has so far infected more than 1,000 people and killed 31 in the United States as the federal government scrambles to control its spread.

Whether on social media or television, if you find some of those fucks, post them.

 

[MuuMuu Bunnylips]

It's Jim Bakker.

He doesn't count.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

Televangelists are the funniest things on TV.

 

[The Last Stand]

Now watch as HE gets infected. For real.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

I saw a 10 pack of N95 masks for over 300 dollars. Motherfucker, I paid about 20 dollars for that shit when I bought those years before.
When I was having a look through the comments of people who bought some of the masks there were people complaining that they only got 2 masks instead of the full pack that was promised.

 

[TaimuRadiu]

It's Jim Bakker.

He doesn't count.

He also sells the worst storeable food. My dad's fond of watching clips of Bakker nearly puking after eating his own "storeable" food.

Apocalypse Chow: We Tried Televangelist Jim Bakker's 'Survival Food'

Jim Bakker preaches that a catastrophe is imminent and will bring major food shortages. His "Survival Food" buckets sell for up to $4,500. We tested the contents of one for you.

www.npr.org

For kiwis who want to know, Mountain House is the best, followed by Augason Farms. Numanna is pretty good too.

 

[Freedom Fries]

Don't think this dude is profiting from it, but thought this was funny. Gonna be a lot of fun fringe religious weirdness surrounding this.

Jerusalem (AFP) - Drink a Corona beer to fortify your prayers or get ready for the arrival of the messiah: rabbis in Israel have a offered an array of guidance on responding to coronavirus.
...
A video posted on social media by Rabbi Simcha Halevi Ashlag, a leader of Ashlag ultra-Orthodox community, shows him encouraging followers to drink the Mexican beer Corona.

"When we pray and drink an alcoholic drink, the prayers have more force," he said.

https://news.yahoo.com/drink-corona-israels-rabbis-offer-mixed-advice-outbreak-131351341.html

 

[The Fifth Waltz]

It's half used.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

A lot of the ripoff prices are related to the third party shipping. People kept making the price of the object lower while charging over 20 dollars for shipping. I saw one post that had over 100 dollars for shipping.

 

[NOT Sword Fighter Super]

Now watch as HE gets infected. For real.

YES!
I finally get to rate YOU rainbow.
Take that!

 

[millais]

I'm not actively shopping around for hand sanitizer gel, but every time I go to a store, it's one of the items I briefly check for to see if it's out of stock (it's invariably out of stock). But yesterday I was at an Autozone store to buy a bucket of hydraulic oil, and I saw they were selling hand sanitizer at $4.00 for a small handsoap-size dispenser. $4.00 seems a bit much to me, but then there is no state of emergency declared here yet, so I guess price gouging is still perfectly permissible.

 

[Ronnie Rocket]

Wait, Jim Bakker is still alive?

Also if you can't get hand sanitizer just stock up on isopropyl.

 

[WD-40]

On Amazon a box of 10 N95 masks going for $500 and 1000 Nitrile Gloves going for $118.43.


A 20 pack for $108 and above it is a case of 8 boxes or 160 respirators for $999.


I remember there was a box of 20 masks being sold for around 60 bucks but had a shipping fee of $150. And on Ebay someone was selling a liter of hand sanitizer (the kind you use to refill those automatic dispensers) for $5,100.

 

[Thomas Talus]

For kiwis who want to know, Mountain House is the best, followed by Augason Farms. Numanna is pretty good too.

Mountain House is great, but their website has been sold out for over a week. The local news says they're doing record business.

 

[Abortions4All]

Maryjane Farms is probably even better than Mountain House but they also have a huge backlog.

 

[Blop]

Maryjane Farms is probably even better than Mountain House but they also have a huge backlog.

I was going say the same thing then saw your post. Their chili mac is awesome for vegetarians, delicious and tons of protein. I still have a bunch left over from summer camping but ordered some more. 2-3 week wait for fulfillment.

 

[Freedom Fries]

Maryjane Farms is probably even better than Mountain House but they also have a huge backlog.

I was going say the same thing then saw your post. Their chili mac is awesome for vegetarians, delicious and tons of protein. I still have a bunch left over from summer camping but ordered some more. 2-3 week wait for fulfillment.

looks like they're still in stock unlike the other two, and while I will say they seem like a totally righteous company and make my number 2 for hiking food, Mountain House still wins my taste + consistency + ease test. Mary Jane's variety is awesome though

 

[pierce your heart]

Don't think this dude is profiting from it, but thought this was funny. Gonna be a lot of fun fringe religious weirdness surrounding this.


https://news.yahoo.com/drink-corona-israels-rabbis-offer-mixed-advice-outbreak-131351341.html

If we are also doing religious nuts Greek Orthodox Church Declares Coronavirus Not Transmitted by Communion (archive)

”For the members of the Church, attending the Holy Eucharist … certainly cannot be a cause of disease transmission,” the Holy Synod declared in its statement.

”Faithful of all ages know that coming to receive Holy Communion, even in the midst of a pandemic, is both a practical affirmation of self-surrender to the Living God, and an apparent manifestation of love,” the Greek Orthodox Church averred. The statement will undoubtedly spark another public controversy on the subject.

 

[Ivan Shatov]

Before all this started, paying $20 for an N95 mask retail was not unheard of.

Professionally, I use N95s for respiratory protection, there's often silica and mold in the air in places I visit (amongst other things.) There's not always a way to get them before I head to a location, sometimes I get off a flight and hit an Ace to pick up a pack. I've paid $20+ for the mask in the photo.

Not every N95 mask is the same. This one has a strip of aluminum at the top that form fits it to your nose. The seal is not air tight, I use something better if I need to be onsite for more than a day. But it's sufficient for entering a structure with a flashlight and taking pictures. The reason for choosing this one is how quickly it can be fitted and the field of vision. You don't want to be operating instruments with your face fully covered and risk missing details.

Selling a box of 50 of these for $1000 is not price gauging. That's just what someone could get selling them individually at retail. Wholesale prices are better, I've bought boxes of 300 for about $700. The markup at a hardware store for anything related to health and safety starts at 4x, that's the price of convenience.

 

[Fatrick Hamlinson]

I saw a 10 pack of N95 masks for over 300 dollars. Motherfucker, I paid about 20 dollars for that shit when I bought those years before.
When I was having a look through the comments of people who bought some of the masks there were people complaining that they only got 2 masks instead of the full pack that was promised.

I bought a 40 pack of N95s at Home Depot for $30 at the beginning of February. I posted a link that I found around that time in the Wuhan Megathread where 10 "medical-grade" N95 masks were going for $500.