You are reading

Wholesaler Accused of Price-Gouging, Sells Lysol at Inflated Prices: AG

Photo: Stock Unsplash

May 28, 2020 By Allie Griffin

A wholesale grocery distributor sold more than 46,000 cans of Lysol disinfectant spray to New York grocery and discount stores at excessive prices, including several in Queens — and is now paying the price with a lawsuit from the state.

New York Attorney General Letitia James slapped a lawsuit against the wholesaler Quality King Distributors Inc. and its CEO Glenn Nussdorf for price gouging during the pandemic.

The company sold the disinfectant at more than double its normal price to local stores, which then sold the cans at exorbitant prices to customers, James said Wednesday.

Quality King, for example, increased the price of a single 19-ounce can from about $4.25 to $9.15 per can. Local stores then sold the cans for as high as $16.99 for a can that usually sells from $5 to $8.

Several stores in Flushing, Jamaica, Jackson Heights, Maspeth and Kew Gardens bought the disinfectant from Quality King Distributors and put it on their shelves at inflated prices.

“Quality King’s profiteering during this time of crisis is appalling,” Attorney General James said. “Instead of ensuring New Yorkers could protect themselves from this virus and stop the spread, Quality King chose to prey on a global pandemic to line its own pockets.”

James is seeking restitution from the wholesaler for those consumers who were forced to pay unlawfully high prices for these essential products.

Quality King steadily increased its prices for the disinfectant spray as the state became further and further gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, while its own costs for the product remained flat.

It bought 12-packs for $42.50 and sold the same 12-packs for about $110 by the end of March, James said.

The company was able to boost its gross profit margin on the product from 21 percent before the pandemic to more than 95 percent during the crisis.

The Attorney General’s Office is investigating many similar cases of price gouging across the state during the pandemic. The office has received thousands of similar reports from consumers who say they have been charged excessive prices for necessary products during the crisis since February 2020.

“I won’t hesitate to take action against any company that tries to cheat New Yorkers during this crisis and beyond,” James said.
An earlier version of this article displayed a photo of Raindew Family Centers and Pharmacy in Flushing, which has not been charged for price gouging. The store had bought products from Quality King Distributors at increased prices, but did not sell the products to consumers at inflated prices. We regret the confusion the photo may have caused. 
email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Suspect wanted for allegedly groping three women as they walked to work in Corona: NYPD

Police from the 115th Precinct in Jackson Heights are looking for a serial groper who targeted three women in 20 minutes on Monday, Sept. 1, in Corona.

The first incident occurred at around 5:55 a.m. as a 37-year-old victim was walking to work near the intersection of 103rd Street and 37th Avenue when a stranger approached her from behind and allegedly grabbed her buttocks before running off westbound on 37th Avenue toward 102nd Street.

Long Islander facing 25 years to life in prison for allegedly killing 16-year-old girl with his SUV in Elmhurst: DA

Sep. 15, 2025 By Bill Parry

An alleged hit-and-run driver from Long Island is being held without bail for intentionally driving into four people, including a 16-year-old girl and her mother, killing the youngster, after he sexually propositioned the teen and her mom minutes earlier on Roosevelt Avenue in Elmhurst early Saturday morning, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.