When Ja’Kiem Crayon tells customers the price for a single Covid-19 at-home test at the Manhattan-based pharmacy where he works, he’s often in for an argument.
“They come in, they’re like, OK, give me five,” said Crayon, who works at Tisane Pharmacy and Cafe on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “And I’m like, well, they’re $25 apiece. And then the eyes pop out of the head.”
Crayon said customers often point to examples of lower prices at large chain drug stores, where a single test might sell for under $10 — if they’re in stock. It’s an assertion pharmacy workers across the country have been fielding as state attorneys general warn against price gouging during a crisis amplified by a constrained supply of tests. But Crayon and others say the mismatched supply and demand has forced wholesale prices up that they then have to pass down to consumers.
“The vendors that sell to us have been raising their prices tremendously,” said Crayon, adding that customers “forget that we’re a mom and pop shop.”
Until recently, the pharmacy was able to get single swab test kits for $11 each, Crayon said earlier this month, but its vendor is now selling them for $18. That’s raised customer prices from $16 to $25, “just to see kind of a profit back,” he said.
Jimmy Azhari, manager of Milford Pharmacy in Connecticut, has also fielded customer complaints over high test prices, but he chalks up the cost to what it takes to even have them on the shelves. Some customers ask why he would sell the On/Go rapid test for $35 when they could buy it on Amazon for $25. Azhari said Amazon takes at least two weeks to ship the tests.
“I mean, this is paying for, you’re paying for the convenience to have it now, instead of 15 days from now, where you can easily spread it in these 15 days not knowing if you have it or not,” he said.
Azhari said that on top of the higher prices he’s seen from vendors, he has to pay extra for expedited shipping, which adds to the ultimate cost for the customer. He said express shipping alone for an order for 200 double swab test kits could cost at least $600.
State attorneys general across the country have warned retailers against price gouging for at-home tests amid the shortage. But retailers say they aren’t the ones to blame.
That’s why Connecticut’s attorney general, William Tong, for example, has supported legislation that would allow his office to go after suppliers for excessively increasing prices. The AG’s office said in May that many state investigations of alleged price gouging ultimately found wholesalers were the ones who initially raised prices, forcing retailers to up their prices as well.
In New York, the AG’s office told CNBC that retailers accused of price gouging have the opportunity to provide evidence that their own prices have increased.
Price gouging can also sometimes be ambiguously defined, which California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently attempted to address through an emergency order. Under the order, retailers may not sell at-home test kits…
Read More: Consumers accuse small retailers of price gouging on Covid tests