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Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

nytimes.com

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Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#11

Post by high_density »

mcintyre1994 wrote: post #6
OJFord wrote: post #4

> The problem is getting consumers to their retail websites. At the moment, anyone trying to buy N95 masks on Google Shopping or Facebook Marketplace is greeted with a blank page; on Amazon, a search for N95s yields a welter of vendors hawking KN95 masks, a Chinese-made equivalent that researchers say is less effective. > “How is it that you can spread conspiracy theories on Facebook, but we can’t sell N95 masks to t…

It might just be me, but even if Google and Facebook were happy to advertise their masks I'd assume they were fake/bad quality if they were being advertised on those platforms - in the same way that Amazon clearly are selling rubbish. Not sure what the solution to that is though.

maybe Google, FB, Amazon are victims of their own 'successful ML algorithms' or some sellers that are gaming the advertisement system?

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#12

Post by iso1210 »

ardourdev wrote: post #3

I have noticed that Google Shopping is blocking results for "N95 mask" in the UK, making it more difficult to find retailers which sell them. On the other hand there are thousands upon thousands of results on eBay/Amazon, most of which cannot be trusted.

Use ddg in the UK, type "buy n95 mask", 3rd result down is

https://www.buyfacemasks.co.uk/

No idea how reliable they are, but that's always the danger when you buy anything from a small shop. I don't like the look of is as I can't find any corporate information about the store on their site, but it's no worse than buying anything else online.

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#13

Post by londons_explore »

OJFord wrote: post #4

> The problem is getting consumers to their retail websites. At the moment, anyone trying to buy N95 masks on Google Shopping or Facebook Marketplace is greeted with a blank page; on Amazon, a search for N95s yields a welter of vendors hawking KN95 masks, a Chinese-made equivalent that researchers say is less effective. > “How is it that you can spread conspiracy theories on Facebook, but we can’t sell N95 masks to t…

We should remember that the certification processes for medical stuff are very long and extensive, yet even so a mask that allows 5% of air to leak round the edge of the mask will pass the certification!

Given that, I have no issues with using a fake mask. My manual fitting effort to reduce leakage around the mask will have far far more impact on health outcomes than the exact specifications of the way the ear straps go as required by high grade medical certifications...

It's time we de-emphasized product certifications and paperwork in favor of simply getting more products that mostly work into the hands of more people. Per dollar spent, far more people will have improved lives.

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#14

Post by roenxi »

There are a lot of questions to answer about masks. Who makes them, how many, what price they are sold for and who to? These question are political.

Early on in the pandemic, around April, selling masks for $7 was considered price gouging [0] and $1.27 was the politically fair price. The tech companies are already facing various government investigations for being greedy capitalists; I can very much see the wisdom of whoever decided to stay away from masks.

I'm watching with interest what happens to these small time mask makers. Their fate will influence the behaviour of people who anticipate the next crisis.

[0] https://theintercept.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-3m-n95-masks...

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#15

Post by Oras »

Interesting, I am not in the US so I thought of checking if it is a new company but it was founded in 2000! [0] How come that they are 20+ years in medical business and they do not have established connections with hospitals and other retailers to sell these masks?

[0] https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/0692237D:US

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#16

Post by pembrook »

> These businesses must overcome the ingrained purchasing habits of hospital systems, medical supply distributors and state governments.

I’m guessing this is the real crux of the problem. They’re trying to sell to some of the most glacial organizations on planet.

The bigger the organization, the slower it moves. Purchasing cycles can take anywhere from 6 months to YEARS if you’re talking big business or government.

This is also why B2B and B2G are such lucrative markets to be in.

Having a bunch of lazy, stumbling giants with basically unlimited money as your clients is the holy grail. Once they’ve been sold, they literally CANNOT stop buying from you if even they wanted to. It’d be a year before they could even get another supplier approved! Talk about low churn.

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#17

Post by h_anna_h »

cmckn wrote: post #7

I purchased some at Home Depot recently for $4/pc (they had plenty in stock, Seattle area). The company mentioned here is selling [0] them for $3.75/pc, but only in quantities of 20 ($75). I wish N95’s did not necessitate the second strap, but hey, it’s better than COVID! [0] https://shop.demetech.us/collections/n95-respirator-masks/pr... Edit: for the record, I think the ones I got at Home Depot are nicer. They have…

what do you mean by pc in this post?

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#18

Post by morsch »

OJFord wrote: post #4

> The problem is getting consumers to their retail websites. At the moment, anyone trying to buy N95 masks on Google Shopping or Facebook Marketplace is greeted with a blank page; on Amazon, a search for N95s yields a welter of vendors hawking KN95 masks, a Chinese-made equivalent that researchers say is less effective. > “How is it that you can spread conspiracy theories on Facebook, but we can’t sell N95 masks to t…

Huh, FFP2 masks are now available for 1-2 EUR here, individually packaged, and less in packs. They're sold everywhere, from discount supermarkets to pharmacies (where they're a bit more expensive). Of course, prices were much higher a couple of months ago.

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#19

Post by atonse »

whalesalad wrote: post #10
pulse7 wrote: post #9

Their shop ( https://shop.demetech.us ) ships only to United States, Canada and Mexico... so I am unable to buy it the easy way...

It also looks like a typical faceless drop ship company that I’d normally never buy anything from.

No they’re one of the companies mentioned in the article. Hardly faceless.

Re: Can’t Find an N95 Mask? This Company Has 30M That It Can’t Sell

#20

Post by h_anna_h »

roenxi wrote: post #14

There are a lot of questions to answer about masks. Who makes them, how many, what price they are sold for and who to? These question are political. Early on in the pandemic, around April, selling masks for $7 was considered price gouging [0] and $1.27 was the politically fair price. The tech companies are already facing various government investigations for being greedy capitalists; I can very much see the wisdom of…

Here the usual price is 0.2 euro per mask.
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