Desperate parents forced to pay £155 for £8 baby milk on eBay due to coronavirus shortages

Coronavirus: the symptoms
Parents are struggling to find baby milk formula during the coronavirus outbreak
Charlie Duffield19 March 2020

Scant supermarket supplies of baby milk have prompted profiteers to sell it on eBay for as much as 19 times the original price, as the coronavirus pandemic heightens.

Parents are becoming increasingly anxious as both Aptamil and Cow and Gate brands are being sold for hugely inflated amounts, with baby milk proving difficult to buy from Britain's shops.

According to The Sun, one 800g tin of Cow and Gate is normally priced at £7.99, but has now reached £155 on eBay after 18 people bid on the product with four days to go.

The seller said they had accidentally bought the wrong baby milk, and with no receipt to return it, decided to list the item online.

A six pack of Aptamil cost £107 online (Photo: Ebay)

Whilst the product has now been removed from the website, dozens more are listed, as people seek to cash in on dwindling baby milk supplies.

For example, three 800g tins of Aptamil are being sold for £47, plus £15 postage - this is double the shop price, and there are still two and a half days left until the bidding deadline.

A listing for a six pack of baby milk exceeded the £100 mark.

Speaking to The Sun, mum-of-two Sarah McGullogh was outraged by those attempting to profit from the coronavirus pandemic.

“Babies depend on their formula and for someone to put a mother under pressure to pay out crazy money for their child’s survival is absolutely disgusting," she said.

In a note to all their customers on Twitter published yesterday, eBay said: "We don't think it's right for users to take advantage of each other, so we have introduced measures to prevent and remove listings that are priced unfairly."

Earlier this week Glasgow Live reported how 34-year-old businesswoman Gemma Connolly discovered a young mum had been brought to tears when visiting Asda and finding no supplies.

She said: "I spoke to a young guy who told me that a woman with a three day old baby was in tears because she couldn't find powdered milk, it's just outrageous.

"It's absolutely disgusting the way people are behaving, it's like some kind of apocalypse is coming, it's unacceptable."

The Express also reported that one mum was so desperate to locate baby milk she made a 36-mile round trip from Johnstone to Alexandria in Scotland to find some.

In a statement on their websites both Aptamil and Cow&Gate said: "Due to the current high demand for formula products, some retailers are experiencing shortages of our products in their stores."

Managing director of SMA Nutrition Vicky Woods explained that her company was "working around the clock to keep up with the unprecedented increase in demand".

She added: "I know it's upsetting when you can't find the baby milk you need, so I thought I would share with you some of the steps we've taken to try and manage during these extraordinary circumstances

"We have increased the amount of formula we produce in our factories.

"We have also been working closely with retailers to make sure that we get our baby milk to individual stores as quickly as possible."

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