Amazon is reportedly deleting some third-party listings that jack up surgical mask prices as the coronavirus creates a shortage

The coronavirus outbreak has led to a shortage of protective masks and other medical supplies, leading some sellers to significantly increase prices.

Amazon has been trying to stop the practice on its platform, alerting sellers who could also be in violation of its pricing policies, consistent with Wired.

Most states within the US have "price gouging" laws that prevent businesses from taking advantage of consumers by charging exorbitant amounts of cash during emergencies.

Authorities in countries like China and Italy have also received complaints about pricing since the outbreak, while Amazon has faced similar challenges before.

As people across the planet attempt to protect themselves from the Wuhan coronavirus, which has now claimed 2,700 lives and infected another 80,000, demand for medical supplies has spiked. As a result, prices for products like surgical masks have jumped to many times what they normally cost, with businesses and individuals selling masks in bulk at a premium on sites starting from Facebook to Craigslist.

However, Amazon has been cracking down on potential price-gouging on its platform, consistent with Wired. The report said third-party sellers have received emails from Amazon alerting them about masks that are "not in compliance" with the company's fair pricing policy, which bans sellers from charging "significantly above recent prices offered on or off Amazon."

Wired also reported that some listings advertising overpriced masks are deleted from Amazon while noting the difficulty of price-gouging has been fiercely debated on the Amazon seller forums.

A majority of the states within the US have laws against raising prices excessively during emergencies like natural disasters, to stop businesses from taking advantage of individuals in need of basics like food, gas, and shelter. However, some experts argue such laws can backfire sometimes by encouraging people to hoard supplies.

Since the outbreak, Chinese officials have received a minimum of 274 complaints about price-gouging and hoarding, consistent with Reuters. In Italy, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus outbreak compared with other European countries, authorities have opened an investigation into high prices for surgical masks, consistent with Reuters.

This issue isn't a primary for Amazon. Following Hurricane Irma in 2017, Amazon faced criticism after customers reported wildly inflated prices, at which point it said it might begin taking action against vendors.

Amazon couldn't immediately be reached for comment.