SINGAPORE: A Pop Mart theme park recently opened in Singapore due to the global popularity of its toys, such as the Labubu, Crybaby, and Twinkle Twinkle. The pop-up store is open to those customers who made reservations, and registration must be made on their official website. Upon entering, the staff will verify the buyer’s identity. There are also restrictions: each person can only purchase four of the seven dolls available, and duplicate purchases are not permitted.
The pop-up event at Level 2 Atrium, Bugis+, running from Oct 15 to 26, features exclusive Pop Land collectables that you can’t find anywhere else outside the original theme park.
Given this, a reporter from Shin Min Daily News witnessed how scalpers were waiting outside the store for buyers, and the toys were sold for more than their original prices.
Some toys that were originally priced at $115.9 were sold by scalpers at $750, and others priced at $38.9 were sold for $450, almost ten times their original price. Furthermore, a limited edition doll called MOKOKO was popular among toy enthusiasts, and these were also sold at a higher price.
It was ibserved that many sellers openly sold the MOKOKO doll outside the venue after purchasing the dolls. Some scalpers even prepared suitcases to fill up with dolls and claimed that they purchased them with their friends. One buyer who did not have an admission ticket to the store told the reporters that she wanted to buy from the scalpers but was discouraged due to their inflated prices.
A 25-year-old buyer also mentioned that the scalpers affected the overall pricing of the toys, but it is still up to the buyers whether they are going to purchase from them or not.
In a Reddit post, a netizen shared the pop-up store exclusives, and one commenter admitted that none of the locals who wanted to buy got any. The netizen said that mostly foreigners were able to purchase, and they used their passport for verification to enter.
“Most of the slots went to botters who use a system to book all slots in a split second; some even try to sell the slots via changing names,” the netizen claimed.
Furthermore, another commented: “You didn’t lose anything. It was full of scalpers and bots.”
Blind boxes’ obsession in Singapore
Blind boxes are sealed boxes with surprise toys inside, and buyers will not know which toy they will get unless they open the box. This mystery makes collecting blind boxes exciting and popular, and it has become a craze in Singapore.
This toy trend is very popular, with characters like Labubu becoming widely talked about in the country.
Scalping in Singapore
While there are no specific regulations about toy scalping, scalpers are prevalent in Singapore, especially when it comes to ticket selling. Ticket scalping means buying tickets for an event like a concert and then selling them to others at much higher prices.
Ticket scalping is not illegal in Singapore, although many people think that it is unfair. The price at which tickets are resold depends on what buyers and sellers agree on.
However, resold tickets must follow the same rules set by the original seller, who can take action if those rules are broken. Even though ticket scalping can cost fans a lot more money, it remains legal as long as the sale follows the original terms and conditions.
