As Singaporeans continue to choke on worsening October skies, the desperate scramble for clean indoor air has completely wiped out official retail stocks across the island. Appliance stores are reporting empty shelves and staggering surges in demand, while electronic retailer Courts saw a 600 percent spike in air purifier sales over the past two weeks compared to last year.
As popular models from major brands are selling out fast, desperate consumers are turning to secondary markets to protect their homes from soaring PM2.5 levels. However, resellers are using this Singapore air purifier shortage to make a lot extra money. Here’s what’s happening.
How bad is the air purifier ‘Black Market’ in Singapore?
According to CNA and other online reports, scalpers are using this opportunity to sell air purifiers online for drastically more than their retail price. E-commerce and marketplace platforms are seeing a massive influx of secondhand and flipped units, with Carousell reporting that new air purifier listings have grown by nearly 30 percent since September.
The markups on these essential appliances have been extortionate for frustrated buyers. CNA’s recent broadcast highlighted that some units are being listed at roughly three times their official retail cost. In one extreme case, a reseller was found charging nearly ten times the usual price—justifying the hike by severely limited stock everywhere.
While these high prices are shocking, experts say it happens when everyone wants to buy something that stores can’t get more of quickly. The CCCS (Singapore’s consumer watchdog) doesn’t control air purifier prices, so sellers can set their own rules. But they do warn that sellers will be investigated if they lie about why they are raising their prices. So far, no formal complaints have been made.
More to follow on the haze in Singapore. Get our haze protection guide.
