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Not really, because people still need masks, and at that time, everything else was sold out, even the local shops.

Lots of people overpaid, and it went into the hands of some eBay armchair hoarders.

It's easy to quote a low price if you have zero stock to sell. The alternative was not masks available at low prices, the alternative was no masks.

No, the alternative was masks at regular prices with sales restricted to hospitals and industries (jobs that need N95 or better for occupational safety), and unallocated flow sold out on consumer market with purchase limits.

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