Global Courant
Would you pay 1,999 yuan ($373) to buy a “giant cup noodles bucket” online?
For some consumers in China, the answer appears to be “yes,” according to local media.
This comes after Sam’s Club, a membership warehouse club owned by US retail giant Walmart, sold out all of its limited edition “giant cup noodles buckets” at its store in Shenzhen, which opened Thursday.
Each bucket has a height of 45 cm and contains 24 regular size cup noodles with different flavours.
The price: 168 yuan.
The noodle buckets sold out in 15 minutes at the store, local media said, adding that 50 slots were available for shoppers to purchase the noodles that day.
Photos posted on social media showed many people in the store waiting to get their hands on the bucket.
Xiao Chen, a Sam’s Club shopper, said there was a long queue outside the store on Saturday morning.
“It was just 15 minutes after the sale launched and (we) were suddenly told that (the products) were sold out,” said the customer, who was quoted by Sohu, a Chinese internet portal.
The bucket is popular due to its design, and all netizens have posted unboxing videos on social media.
After the buckets sold out in the store, some people started reselling online.
For example, there was an offer of a bucket of instant noodles for a whopping 1,999 yuan, according to local media.
“The price is 500 yuan, no free shipping, no negotiation, limited purchase, it is not easy to buy, who takes the first shot,” some resellers said in Mandarin, as quoted by local media.
Some netizens commented on the exorbitant prices.
“People are stupid and have a lot of money, 500 yuan to buy a bucket of instant noodles?” wrote a netizen on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Another added: “I went there on Saturday and saw that every cart had (the bucket of instant noodles).
“Am I the only one who thinks it’s not worth it? It is a cardboard bucket with 24 small instant noodles.”
