ChantalSpurs Reports of Price Gouging
Amid the preparations, tension and anxietyof the popupation last week when it was thought that this countrywould be hit by Tropical Storm Chantal , reports emerged of pricegouging on an essential supply plywood.
In their buying frenzy on Saturday, 18 August,a number of residents were reportedly confronted with prices thatsprang up by an average $10 per sheet or some 33 per cent andeven 50 per cent in the cases of certain measurements.
This newspaper has no prior knowledge ofwhat charges there were before for sheets of plywood, crucialto protection of wide glass panes that have no shutters, but figurescoming in indicate the Saturday cost of a 1/2 inch CDX plywoodsheet ranged from $19.91 to $27.99 and the span in price for 5/8inch CDX plywood moved between $22.46 to $32.99.
One retailer whose prices were among thelowest said that his store usually charged $24 and above for the5/8 inch plywood but in the height of the weekend buying frenzySaturday morning he lowered the price to $22.46 because anxiouscustomers were asking for discounts.
"If any of the vendors did in-factincrease their prices because of the approaching storm, then thatis an unconscionable way to treat the customers who so loyallysupport them. We are suggesting that if customers were chargedmore than the regular prices then those customers should be refundedfor the difference between the price charged and the regular price,"he told Cayman Net News.
The following are theprices of plywood as they were Saturday at four stores on Saturday,18 August
1/2" CDX Plywood5/8" CDX Ply
(Store A) $27.99 $32.99
(Store B) $21.60 $24.30
(Store C) Out of Stock $22.50
(Store C) $19.91 $22.46