Selfish Shopper Left Stranded with 17,000 Bottles of Hand Sanitiser

Over the last few weeks, millions of people from around the globe have been forced to leave the supermarket empty-handed, and nobody has struggled more than the elderly and vulnerable.

Although words like ‘panic buying’ and ‘stockpiling’ are commonly seen as the reasoning behind the lack of available items, there can be no doubt that some of these problems come down to pure greed.

A selfish opportunist living in the US state of Tennessee has seen his dreams of quick profit turn into a nightmare due to recent online backlash.

Matt Colvin and his brother Noah purchased more than 17,000 bottles of hand sanitiser from local supermarkets, hoping to make a profit while the rest of their community went without.

This process, known as ‘price gouging’ was going well for the two greedy brothers who managed to sell their first 300 bottles for an extreme profit on Amazon and eBay.

Thankfully though, the two online retail giants caught wind of what was happening very quickly, putting an end to the process, leaving them stranded with over 17,000 bottles of hand sanitiser that he can’t sell.

Matt Colvin was extremely smug when questioned about his selfish actions in a recent New York Times article, refusing to apologise for stripping his local community and claiming that what he was doing was actually a “public service.”

He even boasted that he would probably just sell all of his items locally for a small profit – unaware that the article in the New York Times would cause the authorities to come knocking.

The two brothers are now currently being investigated by authorities, as the state of Tenessee has price gouging laws in place that make it illegal to charge “unreasonable prices for essential goods and services, including gasoline, in direct response to a disaster.”

Online backlash stemming from Matt’s interview has recently seen him described as ‘the most hated man in America,’ forcing the cocky salesman to go into damage control in an attempt to salvage his image.

On Sunday, Matt “donated” all 17,770 bottles of hand sanitser to a local church and local authorities which will now be distributed to local people who are in need.

Despite this positive ending, the general public has not been very forgiving of Matt, with local reporters revealing he has been inundated with death threats and has had angry strangers disturbing his family home.

Amazon and eBay have also suspended Matt as a seller online, which is how he makes a living and the company that rented him a storage unit has also kicked him out.

In a time where communities should be supporting each other, those that try to prosper at the expense of others should face the full extent of the law.

Hopefully, Matt’s story will serve as an example of what-not-to-do.