Scalpers resell KFC's Mofusand keychains for up to $500 on Carousell on first day of promotion

Many Singaporeans would remember the McDonald's Hello Kitty craze back in 2000, which saw people braving long queues just to get their hands on limited-edition plushies. 

Now, a similar trend is happening for another collaboration between a cat character and a fast-food chain — Japanese cat illustration series Mofusand and fried chicken specialist KFC. 

When the first batch of merchandise — comprising cat plushie keychains donning KFC bucket hats — was released on Monday (Jan 13), these were snapped up in a few hours.

Within the day, scalpers started reselling the limited-edition merchandise on Carousell, with one listing even going for $500. 

The collaboration was first announced in December last year and apart from the plushie keychains, which are available in three designs, the collection includes red packets, sticker packs and an eight-inch plushie.

The plushie keychains and eight-inch plushie will be released across three weeks, and will be made available from 11am on the respective launch dates. 

To purchase the plushie keychains, which cost $12.95, diners will have to first order either the KFC Cereal Chicken Box or Cereal Chicken Burger Box.

Each customer is limited to two keychains. 

KFC also released purchase mechanics on Jan 12 sharing that if any of the KFC outlets have a queue, queue tickets will be distributed at 11am sharp.

Sold out within an hour 

When AsiaOne visited KFC's 102 Towner Road outlet yesterday at 12pm, just one hour after the keychain was launched, we saw a sign saying that it was sold out. 

A quick scroll through Carousell around the same time showed that scalpers were already listing the limited-edition keychain on the online marketplace between $25 and $50. 

And a few hours later, some even began selling the keychain for an eye-watering $100 and $500. 

Red packets, which are given away for free with any purchase of Cereal Chicken or Cereal Chicken Burger bundles, are being sold on Carousell for around $10 to $12. 

Blind sticker packs, which are free with a minimum spend of $12 in a single receipt during breakfast, are also being sold for around $8. 

On KFC's Instagram page, upset customers headed to the comments to complain about the keychains being sold out. 

One shared that she had gone to the Tampines outlet before 11am and claimed that the queue tickets had already been released before the stated time. 

"I went for nothing," she lamented. 

Several also complained about scalpers on Carousell. 

One claimed that she found a scalper who had five pieces of the keychain and called it "pretty ridiculous". This is despite the purchase limit.

Another said they saw scalpers selling the keychain for $50 and said it was "unfair for those who want to buy and collect it sincerely". 

Others also asked KFC if there will be restocks for the keychains. 

AsiaOne has reached out to KFC for more details. 

If you didn't manage to get your hands on the bucket hat plushie keychain, you can still keep an eye out for the egg tart and drumstick designs, which will be released on Jan 20 and Jan 27 respectively. 

The eight-inch Mofusand wearing a KFC bucket hat will be available at $19.95 with any purchase of the KFC Cereal Chicken Box or Cereal Chicken Burger Box from Feb 5.

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melissateo@asiaone.com