Selfish eBay sellers are flogging baby milk for more than FOUR times its retail price – as coronavirus pandemic sees the essential product stripped off supermarket shelves
- eBay users are trying to make a profit from the shortage of baby milk on shelves
- One is flogging Cow and Gate 2 Formula for £30, but it retails at £7.99 in Boots
- Another is asking for £64.65 for a £39.99 pack of 12 Cow and Gate Nutriprem 2
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Selfish eBay sellers are making a profit from the shortage of baby milk on the supermarket shelves amid the coronavirus pandemic – by selling it for more than quadruple its price.
A variety of brands of baby formula – including the likes of Cow and Gate and Aptamil – are being sold for a huge profit across the sites as mothers across the nation panic about low stocks.
On eBay, one seller is flogging Cow and Gate 2 baby milk formula, 800g, for £30, while its original retail value on Boots is £7.99.
But desperate parents have been left with no choice but to fork out, as like many supermarkets across the nation, the website reads: ‘We’re sorry, this product is temporarily out of stock. Most products are back in stock within two weeks so please keep checking back.’
One eBay seller is trying to flog Cow and Gate 2 Formula on baby milk formula, 800g, for £30 – making almost quadruple the profit of its original value
The in-demand product, which retails at £7.99 on Boots, is currently in high demand amid the coronavirus pandemic and is out of stock
Meanwhile, a pack of 12 Cow and Gate Nutriprem 2, Ready to Use Baby Milk, 200ml, which retails at £39.99 on Amazon, is being sold at a starting price of £64.65 on eBay.
Sellers are even inflating prices on Cow and Gate premature baby milk – designed to help early babies grow – as it’s on sale for £5.40, rather than the usual price of £2.99.
And it seems Aptamil 800mg baby milk, which usually retails at £10, is in huge demand as it’s out of stock everywhere – and is being flogged for £28 on eBay.
Sarah McCullough, from Northern Ireland, who is a mother-of-two to Lucas, 20 months and Ashton, 10 weeks, told Fabulous: ‘It’s appalling, especially given the circumstances of so many people out of work and struggling to get by.’
A pack of 12 Cow and Gate Nutriprem 2, Ready to Use Baby Milk, 200ml, originally retails at £39.99 on Amazon (pictured)
One seller is trying to flog the essential ready-to-use baby milk for £64.65 (pictured)
Another two eBay sellers are trying to make a profit from the Cow and Gate 2 follow on milk powder – by selling them for £24.99 and £18 (pictured)
She added: ‘Babies depend on their formula and for someone to put a mother under pressure to pay out crazy money for their child’s survival is absolutely disgusting.’
It comes as the shelves of British supermarkets are emptying at pace and staples are being rationed as people stockpile amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Shortages previously limited to anti-bacterial hand gel and hand soap have spread to cupboard items such as rice, pasta, couscous, Pot Noodles, bottled water, toilet roll and pet food – as well as chilled items including milk, butter and yoghurt.
Pharmacy shelves are also emptying of paracetamol, ibuprofen and immune-system boosting tablets such as Berocca as people prepare to fight off the flu-like illness that has claimed hundreds of lives worldwide.
Facebook and Twitter is packed with photographs of empty shelves from major supermarkets across the UK where shoppers appear to have thrown empty boxes into the aisles in the mad scramble for items.
Aptamil 1 First infant Milk From Birth 800g appears to be in high demand and is currently unavailable in the majority of supermarkets – including Tesco (pictured) – where it retails at £10
Another greedy eBay user is trying to make a profit of £18 by flogging the same 800g product for £28
This seller has so far received six bids on their Aptamil 1 first infant milk – and it still has almost two days left to go