Kmart Shamefully Takes Advantage Of Hurricane Irene Preparers!

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So I have not done a rant in a while but seriously pushes my buttons.

Kmart nicely priced their water to a whopping $11.99! While people were trying to prepare for Hurricane Irene… talk about exploiting a bad situation for your own profit.

I want your take on it…. Please comment on how this makes you feel

Thanks! Perez Hilton

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Comments

  • Lisa

    I believe that would be known as price gouging. In Oklahoma, at least, that is illegal. I would notify the local authorities and let’s see if they can defend that.

  • Brenda Kendrick

    This crap makes me mad.. Just like the gas prices shooting up over
    this Hurricane. People need to send pictures to the local AG for them
    to take action on this.

  • Kim Mayfield

    This is illegal in Florida and Texas too. I went through the 4 hurricanes in florida 7 years ago and some of the self owned gas stations did this with gas and ice too.

  • Connie

    OH MY WORD!!!!!!!!!!!! That ABSOLUTELY IS price gouging!!! The MOST I have seen bottled water for is between $5 and $6, but never $12!!!!!!!!!! K-Mart should be ASHAMED!!! 🙁 This makes me want to have NOTHING to do with them! Do you know where this picture was taken? What location in VA?

  • angie magill

    Shame on them!! This is beyond price gouging, if there is such a thing!! I dnot think i will be shopping there anymore…. thats for sure!!! WOW I would sooooo report this!!!!

  • Kellie

    This is DEF illegal where i am from. Florida. it would be reported and the business would be in some serious hot water. I cant believe that people would take advantage of this situation for hurricane victims. It really makes me sick. Companies give water away down here after a hurricane hits. Ice too. what makes them think that they are above the laws and the GOD of retail. this really hits a sore spot for me as i have seen it so many times and for a big company to do it is just sick. I know where I WONT be spending any of my money anytime soon. NO matter where they are located. I would not even give them a coupon to send in for redemption at this point.

  • Theresa

    Thanks for sharing that info. Now it’s public and more people will complain!Kmart probably just lost most of their customer base because of their own greed!I also hope they are fined dearly for this by the government!

  • Holly

    I despise Kmart anyhow,other than being illegal,people in that area will not forget that,i seriously hope that they have other stores near them.

  • Beth campbell

    I live in florida as well. this is classic price gouging! And this is very much illegal! to raise the price of essentials, such as water in the wake of a natural disaster (or just before one) is highly illegal, and this is everywhere. Please submitt this picture to FEMA as soon as possible, ask them to please investigate this store for price gouging. Also, contact Kmart corprate offices and alert them to this, send the picture as well. They need to be alerted that a store of theirs is price gouging! This is outrageous for water anytime, much less during times of stresses such as a hurricane!

  • sheri cost

    I do not shop in K Mart because of their prices. But this makes me sick. It is time to email corp and let them know this was going on and see what they have to say. Shame on them.

  • Kim Cornelius

    That absolutely DISGUSTS me!! I barely shop at Kmart anymore, because there’s not really one very close to me, but after this I will definitely not be even making the few trips a year I would around Christmas and will pass this info along to others. So PATHETIC!!!

  • Christine Lynch

    I am in NJ and that’s gouging to me. And I do believe Illegal . Shame on Kmart. Never in my life have I paid $ 11.99 for one package of bottled water. I pay 3 packages for $ 11.00 for the same water at ShopRite.

  • Marilyn

    I believe that would be illegal here to. That is just so wrong. When people are scared and trying to prepare for a natural disaster they don’t always have a lot of money either. And for a company to take advantage is just so wrong. Some should contact the media with this picture and tell them about it.

    Also we should boycott Kmart for this.

  • Anna

    I LOATHE KMART!!!!! Had to stop there today for a pair of pantyhose. There were no cashiers open, only 2 teenage girls working the customer service desk, a line of people, and a woman at the register that had a whole cart full of clearance items,half of which had no price tags on them. So one girl was ringing items up while the other girl ran back and forth searching for clearance prices. I am all for clearance but REALLY????? The manager was on his dinner break and when they finally got a hold of him, he came to the front with the biggest attitude I have ever seen. I just really,really hate KMART and now I have yet another reason.

  • stephanie

    Looking around it looks like VA has a statue set that they can make prices higher but only 10% to 25% cap limit for pre-emergency!! So yea, they should be reported and in trouble. I’m sure they have been by now!

  • jennifer

    It’s illegal in New York State also, one of the hardest hit states. I would complain to the attorney general of whatever state this was taken in.

    Or…start a facebook page and make it viral. Kmart should listen to that one!!!!!

  • Melissa Squires

    This seriously pisses me off!!!!! I live in southern Vermont and we have people still isolated because of bridges and roads washed away, desperate for water. How can anyone sleep at night doing this injustice to people in such a desperate situation????

  • lillian

    I tried to ask on the FB Kmart page why they did this. The response was to delete my comment. I suggest everyone share this page to get the word out. I wont be shopping there anytime soon because of this kind of greed!

  • Ruby

    That’s illegal .. I would like to think that in their rush to get things out and accessible to customers that sign was either there and they stocked the water there or the sign got put them in error. I wish I could read the fine print on the sign. Wow!

  • Sean

    That’s price gouging in Florida during a hurricane it can lead to BIG fines. But we can BOYCOTT them out of existence. Take a stand people, vote with what few dollars you have left.

  • Mary

    OK this was taken by perez hilton so must be in n.y. …what is the normal price in wherever that is? Is it REALLY jacked up or is that the norm? I do NOT trust perez any more than i can throw Trump Tower! And what does the fine print say? I say get ALL the facts before slinging mud at anyone or anything for any reason. And is the sign REALLY for the WATER or something else by the water? Picture is too small to tell for sure.

  • Johannah B

    When a state of emergency is declared, then prices over 20% higher than what the normal price would be on “essentials” is considered price gouging and is illegal in VA. UNLESS they had to pay $10.00 a case to even get it themselves, and then sadly it’s not. I think that’s really just miserable because even if they had to “lose” a dollar a pack, how much would they lose to HELP OUT THEIR Customers and Community? $100 bucks?

    Now on the flip side, I understand why so many people were “returning” water, and other “essentials” after the storm turned out to be milder than expected in our area.

  • Susan Moore

    I live South of Richmond, VA and we were hit really hard. Our power just came back on last night, it could have been alot longer and many people in my area don’t know when their power will be restored! For K-Mart to do this is absolutely reprehensible!! I never shop there and will definitely spread the word! Shame on you K-Mart!!

  • Lisa

    This is a REAL picture for WATER, not another product. It was unfortunetly taken at my local Kmart in Elkton, MD and submitted to the Cecil Whig our county newspaer, published on their FB page and picked up/published by Perez Hilton. You can check out our local paper at cecilwhig.com or check out their FB page to verify the information. This is the real deal, sad but true, we were preparing for a possible disaster and they were very much taking advantage of folks. ;-(

  • Ana

    This is illegal In Louisiana and Mississippi too. I went through Hurricane Gustav and Ike and those who tried the illegal trick were punished really bad. Its a crime to raise price like that. To all of you out there if your state doesn’t penalize for such an act, get your representatives to change that. To me is the same as stealing what Kmart just did.

  • dianne

    No more blue light specials for me that is bad bad price gouging double the price of a need in such a dire situation!!

  • Beatrice F.

    Collectively as consumers we are powerful. There are many stores fighting for our money. We can simply email corporate and tell them we are boycotting their stores and why. Hit them in THEIR pocketsbooks! Not only is it illegal but wrong on so MANY levels.

  • Regina

    If you look closely, those are AT LEAST 20oz bottles, if not 24 oz. The price seems about right to me for that item. I am not a K-Mart fan, but let’s get the facts before we start condemning them.

  • Barbara Thursby

    @ Regina … You can buy that exact same amount of water in Ohio (Ice Mountain at that! Which is a better brand anyway!) for $6.00. No doubt about it, Kmart price gouged …

  • ches city

    This photo was taken Saturday, August 27th at around 1 p.m. at the Elkton, Maryland K-Mart. I took the photo and did a double take when I realized that the price was, in fact, marked at $11.99 per case (24 bottles) in 16.9 oz size. It was not “2 cases for $11.99” but only ONE case when our county was in the midst of preparing for Hurricane Irene. The usual price listed on the K-Mart web site is $4.99 but it is on sale this week for $4.50. No more K-Mart shopping for me!

  • Terry

    I think they should be so ashamed of them selves,I dont shop at Kmart,I dont like them,and now I really wont shop there or look at their flyer…taking advange of this storm is unforgiveable…and the people who needed this water,who could or would want to pay that price…

  • Rikki J.

    I went to Kmart the Friday before Irene was supposed to hit our area and they did have a hurricane preparation area, but there was no $11.99 bottled water for sale. They had a gallon of water for $1 each, but nothing marked up higher than normal or out of the ordinary. I thought it was smart on their part to help the shoppers out by putting the routinely requested items they had in stock for the customers.

  • Laurie Nelson

    Guess what everyone, KMart is now owned by SEARS. To me that explains alot since Sears has always been high priced. Their combined sales have dropped in the past 3 quarters so it’s no suprise that they would do something like this. I have an even better gouge for ya….a local store in our small western community has bottled water priced per bottle. I was there one day when a couple came in and asked how much to buy a case, since they only sell by the bottle they x’d that to make a case to the tune of $69.95. Haven’t shopped there since.