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Thread: Coronavirus, someone’s making money out of it.

  1. #1

    Coronavirus, someone’s making money out of it.

    I work for a dental supply company, last we were selling packs of face masks, 50 pcs for £ 0.99 plus vat, those same boxes are now on ebay for £50! I can’t work out if I’m angry that someone is making money out this or that I didn’t think of it first! We are getting emails and calls to the office from China wanting to buy stock back.

  2. #2
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by justin44 View Post
    I work for a dental supply company, last we were selling packs of face masks, 50 pcs for £ 0.99 plus vat, those same boxes are now on ebay for £50! I can’t work out if I’m angry that someone is making money out this or that I didn’t think of it first! We are getting emails and calls to the office from China wanting to buy stock back.
    Ironically the wearing of a facemark is not to protect the wearer, it's to protect others.

    Surgeons wear them to prevent infection transfer to the patient, not the other way round.
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  3. #3
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Coronavirus, someone’s making money out of it.

    I very much doubt the efficiency of the type of mask dentists use in stopping a virus.

    But then people who are prepared to paying £100 for them are relying on placebo anyway
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  4. #4
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Saint-Just View Post
    I very much doubt the efficiency of the type of mask dentists use in stopping a virus.
    They are only designed to prevent the dentist passing something to the patient, not the other way around.
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  5. #5
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    And the ‘something’ is sputtering, several million times larger than a Coronavirus.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  6. #6
    Craftsman
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    Quote Originally Posted by justin44 View Post
    I work for a dental supply company, last we were selling packs of face masks, 50 pcs for £ 0.99 plus vat, those same boxes are now on ebay for £50! I can’t work out if I’m angry that someone is making money out this or that I didn’t think of it first! We are getting emails and calls to the office from China wanting to buy stock back.
    My daughter is an accountant at an investment bank in Manhattan. Somebody was loudly trying to arrange to buy masks to flog at horrendous prices on Amazon/Ebay. The office collectively turned against him about profiting from other people's misery and he gave up on the idea. Even investment bank staff have their limits!

  7. #7
    Probably all the sales numbers were from before the price ramp.

    It can appear that they are making huge amount of money but they have not because all the sales were from when they were cheap.

    Retarded people don't realise and buy thousands of masks and sell virtually none.

    Serves them right.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    Ironically the wearing of a facemark is not to protect the wearer, it's to protect others.

    Surgeons wear them to prevent infection transfer to the patient, not the other way round.
    In Asia this is the main reason to wear face masks when you have a cold/flu. Show respect to others by not giving them what you have.
    Not sure that is what is going on now though with this outbreak.

  9. #9
    Surely it’s simple supply and demand?

  10. #10
    Grand Master mart broad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kungfupanda View Post
    Surely it’s simple supply and demand?
    Bit like buying a Rolex then.
    I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE

  11. #11
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kungfupanda View Post
    Surely it’s simple supply and demand?
    Not exactly. When there is media attention in the UK on an upcoming storm for example, people who will not be affected by floods will still have a change of attitude regarding their shopping list, and will stock up on goods (bottled water, rice/pasta, cans, etc.)
    It's not exactly panic buying, more some sort of 'better safe than sorry' attitude, which they may not even realise.

    In other words, the demand is multiplied beyond what is rational. Which means that if you sell your masks £2 a piece, and I sell mine £15, even though they will look similar on the photo -and even if I haven't hyped their capabilities beyond what you said about yours, people will buy mine because subconsciously they will believe mine are "better" in some way or another. They will rationalise what isn't rational.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Saint-Just View Post
    Not exactly. When there is media attention in the UK on an upcoming storm for example, people who will not be affected by floods will still have a change of attitude regarding their shopping list, and will stock up on goods (bottled water, rice/pasta, cans, etc.)
    It's not exactly panic buying, more some sort of 'better safe than sorry' attitude, which they may not even realise.

    In other words, the demand is multiplied beyond what is rational. Which means that if you sell your masks £2 a piece, and I sell mine £15, even though they will look similar on the photo -and even if I haven't hyped their capabilities beyond what you said about yours, people will buy mine because subconsciously they will believe mine are "better" in some way or another. They will rationalise what isn't rational.
    Bit like buying a Rolex then.

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  14. #14
    Master studly's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    They are only designed to prevent the dentist passing something to the patient, not the other way around.
    They also stop you from accidentally transferring the virus from your hands to your mouth in the event of a "pandemic".
    Last edited by studly; 12th February 2020 at 14:14.

  15. #15
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by studly View Post
    They also stop you from accidentally transferring the virus from your hands to your mouth in the event of a "pandemic".
    No.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  16. #16

    Coronavirus, someone’s making money out of it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Saint-Just View Post
    No.
    Why not? Would stop me.
    Last edited by Kingstepper; 12th February 2020 at 16:29.

  17. #17
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Why not? Would stop me.
    First because you don't put your hands to your mouth without a reason, and all you can hope is that it will remind you to wash your hands first. But if you're in a sensitive area, you would do that many times a day anyway
    Second because the eye is as good a way to be infected as the mouth, so you'd need to wear goggles and make sure you don't touch your eyes. I believe that I rub my eyes more frequently than I put my fingers in my mouth, so all the mask will do is give you a false sense of security and possibly distract you from taking further precautions.

    What the mask does reasonably well is considerably diffuse the speed of a sneeze or a cough, thus limiting the range of virus emission you spread in the air around you if you are infected.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Saint-Just View Post
    First because you don't put your hands to your mouth without a reason, and all you can hope is that it will remind you to wash your hands first. But if you're in a sensitive area, you would do that many times a day anyway
    Second because the eye is as good a way to be infected as the mouth, so you'd need to wear goggles and make sure you don't touch your eyes. I believe that I rub my eyes more frequently than I put my fingers in my mouth, so all the mask will do is give you a false sense of security and possibly distract you from taking further precautions.

    What the mask does reasonably well is considerably diffuse the speed of a sneeze or a cough, thus limiting the range of virus emission you spread in the air around you if you are infected.
    Don’t put fingers in mouth (or rub eyes TBH) but still touch face/lips - as in thinking pose for example.

  19. #19
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Don’t put fingers in mouth (or rub eyes TBH) but still touch face/lips - as in thinking pose for example.
    working on a computer usually means more likely hand-eye contact to relieve the strain. Again, the problem is that the mask doesn't filter out the virus so if you put your hand to the mask, should you leave a few droplets on the mask they could be inhaled as you breathe a few minutes later.

    That sort of mask will only protect moderately other people if you are the virus carrier. It's already a good thing, and if you're in a zone at risk you might as well wear one as it looks like transmission starts before the first visible signs of the illness.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Saint-Just View Post
    working on a computer usually means more likely hand-eye contact to relieve the strain. Again, the problem is that the mask doesn't filter out the virus so if you put your hand to the mask, should you leave a few droplets on the mask they could be inhaled as you breathe a few minutes later.

    That sort of mask will only protect moderately other people if you are the virus carrier. It's already a good thing, and if you're in a zone at risk you might as well wear one as it looks like transmission starts before the first visible signs of the illness.
    Not true that the mask doesn't filter out the virus (albeit not all). Maybe enough to make a difference.

  21. #21
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kingstepper View Post
    Not true that the mask doesn't filter out the virus (albeit not all). Maybe enough to make a difference.
    it's a question of size. Masks who can filter those viruses do exist but they are finer and must provide adequate seal all around the area they cover. But is it better than nothing if you're in an environment at risk? Probably, if you don't use it as an excuse to reduce the care you take (wash your hands, don't touch anything on going out of the bathroom where you just washed your hands, throw away mask or tissues if you cough in them, etc.)
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  22. #22
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    The other people making money out of it are those selling sanitizer gel. They must be rubbing their hands together!

  23. #23
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Soap is perfectly adequate.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  24. #24
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    For the sake of protection everything is baptised anti coronavirus

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Caruso View Post
    The other people making money out of it are those selling sanitizer gel. They must be rubbing their hands together!
    Can't tell if serious....

  26. #26
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    Visited B&Q last week to pickup some paint and a sander, overheard one of the employees telling a customer they were completely sold out of dust masks due to a hoardes of "Asian families buying everything they had".

    Laughed to myself and thought he was exaggerating. Popped to the isle with the face masks and it was just an empty space aside from a handful of pro style dust masks. As I'm stood there dithering over what to get, two separate Asian couples rocked up and scanned the same empty shelf space I was scanning. Though they ignored the respirator style dust mask, with replaceable filters for £12. Which is good because that's just what I needed.

  27. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    Ironically the wearing of a facemark is not to protect the wearer, it's to protect others.

    Surgeons wear them to prevent infection transfer to the patient, not the other way round.
    This is because people are generally ignorant,and follow others without knowing the full facts.


  28. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by P9CLY View Post
    This is because people are generally ignorant,and follow others without knowing the full facts.
    Yep!

    One of my friends is on the Diamond Princess, so the Whatsapp group I'm in that contains Chinese friends from all over Asia, who came to UK for their education 40 years ago, is all about coronavirus atm. The guys in HK can't believe how people are reacting. Even in Melbourne, the area of Box Hill with a high concentration of Chinese and Vietnamese has become a ghost-town.

  29. #29
    Don’t forget that most masks are designed to protect the wearer and the best type suitable to protect others is an FP3 rated surgical-type mask.
    Any mask (including FP3) with an exhalation valve is clearly useless for this purpose.

  30. #30
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    At least Russians have found a cure

    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  31. #31
    Grand Master oldoakknives's Avatar
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    War, famine, disease............there always seems to be someone profiting in the background.............
    Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.

  32. #32
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    Coronavirus so far today:

    20 new cases in South Korea (51 total)

    10 new cases in Japan (84 total)

    79 new cases on Diamond Princess (621 total)

    3 new cases in Singapore (84 total)

    First 2 presumptive cases in Iran

    1 new case in Hong Kong (63 total)

    _____
    I was totally freaking out about getting bills paid on time this month. With the cost of being alive rising fast, it seems like you'll never be able to get back on your feet. Thanks to https://beste-kredittkort.no/, I was able to catch everything up with an affordable pay plan or the option to just pay off my loan without penalty. I can breath! Very simple and fast process made this even better.
    Last edited by Beazy; 2nd August 2022 at 03:28.

  33. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    Ironically the wearing of a facemark is not to protect the wearer, it's to protect others.

    Surgeons wear them to prevent infection transfer to the patient, not the other way round.
    Yes, and to stop patients' blood going in my mouth.

    I gave up doing giblet surgery a while ago, in those cases: patients' bile, faeces, food, AND blood in the surgeon's mouth.

    Some urologists don't wear masks, presumably because they don't mind patients' urine in their mouths.

    And if you don't wear eye protection, all of the above can go in your eyes. Nice.

  34. #34
    When he was young my son had a wart on toe which we tried to freeze off but a massive and painful blister developed.

    He couldn't walk so took him to A&E where the doctor lanced it and fluid promptly shot into his face.

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