Houston Resident Confronts Man Allegedly Price Gouging Bottled Water During Harvey [VIDEO]
Is it entrepreneurialism or is it price gouging?
A guy is heard being called out for allegedly price gouging bottled water in a video posted by Facebook user Marcus Griffin, and some on social media are debating whether what he did was right or wrong.
Some Facebook users, like James Robertson, praised the man's entrepreneurial mindset.
Illegal?? That's not illegal... that's entrepreneurship. One taking the vid should be ashamed he didn't think of it first.
Some were disgusted that he would be profiting during a declared disaster.
To those of you that are saying that its no big deal, it's a victimless crime, nobody likes snitches & all that other bs I'm gonna need u to educate yourselves about the law. Price gouging is illegal, and it is also against the law to do it during a natural disaster.... Smh at the ppl that think this shit is OK... If you were in need like that how would u feel if a person charged u $25 for a $3 case of water???? Yeah OK then miss me with that bullsh*t fr fr!!!!!
Others pointed out that while the man may not have been doing anything illegal by hiking up the price on the water, he also may not have had the proper permit to be selling it in a parking lot.
Price gouging is illegal for companies. This man is not a company. It is illegal to sell stuff in a parking lot without a license.
Ultimately, Griffin's message reached the store who originally sold the man water and they messaged him to inform him they wouldn't be selling him water anymore.
We saw similar outrage after a photo of Best Buy in Cypress, TX advertising a price of $42 for a case of water went viral. Best Buy has since made a statement saying the pricing was a "big mistake," but not before taking a lot of backlash over the mishap.
Do you think the man was out of line? What would you have done if you saw someone selling necessities at a marked up price in the wake of a natural disaster?