Online stores work to stop face mask price gouging

The move is to prevent stores from selling these products at high prices amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

A total of nearly 223,600 online stores with more than one million products on shopping platforms like Shopee.vn, lazada.vn, tiki,vn, chotot.com, vatgia.com and fado.vn came under scrutiny. Among them, more than 30,000 stores were found with nearly 48,000 products sold at exorbitant prices.

Shopee.vn removed products listed at unusually high prices. The platform also implemented an automatic keyword control system for newly-listed products.

Tiki.vn was seeking to expand supply of face masks and promised to sell these products at stable prices. It also kept regular control over prices of products.

Lazada.vn said that it already sent warnings to sellers and asked them to adjust prices to more reasonable levels.

Most violations were found on Shopee.vn with a total of more than 2,300 stores and 3,400 products listed at high prices.