Covid-19: Retailer criticised after P2 mask price increases by 170 per cent

Wednesday, 26 January 2022

An online retailer has been criticised for increasing the price of some face masks by 170 per cent this month.

National Express Products (NXP) sells a range of face masks, including the N95 and P2 varieties recommended for use against the Omicron variant.

An invoice supplied to Stuff by an NXP customer shows the business supplies distributor was selling boxes of 50 P2 face masks for $39.99 plus GST as recently as January 7.

On Wednesday, the same product was advertised for $75 plus GST, an increase of 87 per cent.

NXP was selling boxes of P2 face masks for $39.99 plus GST as recently as January 7. On Wednesday, the same product was advertised for $75 plus GST.

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By Thursday morning, the masks had risen to $108 a box, an overnight increase of 44 per cent and a total price rise of 170 per cent since January 7.

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The customer, who asked to remain anonymous, said NXP was taking advantage of the Government’s recommendation that New Zealanders upgrade their masks.

“I paid $39.99 per box of 50. Now they are retailing for $75 a box which equates to a roughly 87 per cent increase which [is] crazy,” he said on Wednesday.

“They are just taking advantage of the situation, in my opinion. I try and support local which is why I purchased these NZ made P2 masks, but I’ll be looking elsewhere now.”

NXP general manager of sales David Box said the company worked hard to ensure customers had the PPE (personal protective equipment) they needed.

“Unfortunately NXP had to lift the pricing on our P2 duckbill masks. The pricing is reflective of the cost to source the masks as demand significantly increases, plus the additional cost of airfreighting product to meet New Zealand’s current urgent demand.”

Prices for New Zealand-made P2 masks were expected to fall when raw materials arrived by sea in March or April, Box said.

“While the manufacturer is having to airfreight raw materials to keep pace with demand, prices will remain high.”

Consumer NZ spokeswoman Raksha Nand said higher prices could be a result of increased demand, a shortage in supply or an increase in the cost of goods to the business.

“Sellers often claim that rising prices is just supply and demand in action.

“In this case, an approximate 87 per cent increase in the cost of masks is unusually high, and the supplier may find this steep increase difficult to justify – with increases this steep, we would be concerned that the seller could be price-gouging.”

Although there was no law against putting prices up when demand increased, it was an ethical issue for businesses to take advantage of a crisis to increase profit, Nand said.

“If consumers feel like they’re paying too much for masks, they should ask the retailer politely for the reason of the price increase.

“The Fair Trading Act prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct and false representations.

“This means that if a business gives a reason for a price increase it must be true, otherwise the business risks breaching the law.”