They Tried to Get PPE When We Needed It Most. Instead, They Got Ripped Off.

Unlike the countless inexperienced middlemen and outright swindlers who jumped into the mask market at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tim Morgan knew what he was doing. In the 1990s he taught English in Japan and later traveled throughout Asia, scouting factories that produced Nike watches and shades for Sunglass Hut, before he returned to Cleveland in 2000 to form his own import business, International Sourcing Group.

Two decades of navigating supply chains and negotiating with far-flung manufacturers taught Morgan it was best to steer his firm clear of the mask frenzy, which...