Woolworths’ Lion King Ooshies: Staff sell collectables on the side
The new wave of collectables has brought out the crazed fans, but Woolworths says it takes claims of staff selling toys online seriously.
Frustrated toy collectors have dobbed in Woolworths staff, claiming the new range of Lion King Ooshies are being pinched and sold online.
The supermarket giant confirmed it’s investigating after a shopper posted on Facebook saying a huge range of the collectable toys were being advertised for sale on the internet the same day they were released in stores.
An ad allegedly posted from Adelaide was selling at least 50 unopened Ooshies — Woolworths’ response to the Coles Little Shop promotional campaign — for $4 each.
Christopher posted his complaint on Facebook to Woolworths, alerting the company to the possible collectable corruption.
“You may want to find out if this guy works for you as there is a lot of unopened and full set yet this promotion has been out for a day,” the post read.
Other users said they had seen the toys advertised for $50 on other platforms, declaring it “disgusting”.
RELATED: Coles Little Shop 2 vs Woolworths Lion King Ooshies
RELATED: Woman throws tantrum demanding more toys
In response to the post, Woolworths said it would look into the matter.
“Hi Christopher, we take the selling of The Lion King Ooshies and merchandise on eBay very seriously and we are making every effort to investigate this,” the company said on Facebook.
A Woolworths spokeswoman confirmed it had received the complaint but insisted it was a speculative claim at this point.
“We are aware of this report and at this stage are investigating it further,” she said.
Meanwhile, the collectables craze has induced another embarrassing public display. A mum has thrown a tantrum after being refused a Coles Little Shop toy because she was 53 cents short of the needed in-store spend.
The woman took to Facebook to declare her anger at the rejection but was mocked by other users on the social media site.
“So I went to Coles today,” she began. “Spent $59.47. Only got one little shopper.”
She said she appealed to the cashier assistant to give her two miniature grocery items from the toy series, but the employee stuck to company policy that dictates one toy is handed over for every $30 spent.
The mum told the staff she had “spent thousands of dollars at Coles over the years” and asked to speak with the manager of the store, but that staff member also declined the play for the toy.
“What a sour puss she was,” the mum’s post said. “She declined my request after being 47c away from another Little Shopper.
“I would’ve bought an extra apple had I have had my calculator going.
“I hate you Coles. Miserable, petty, mean.”
Fellow collectors took aim at the mum on social media, mocking the woman’s tantrum and spill online.
“It makes my heart happy that (the staff) didn’t back down,” one person said.
Another teased the woman’s poor maths for incorrectly calculating the gap between $60 and $59.47.
“I’m not a mathematician … but how pissed is she going be when she realises she’s still six cents short,” the user said.
Both Coles and Woolworths went head-to-head with the release of their collectables campaigns with an equally cute sets of miniatures — Little Shop 2 versus Disney’s The Lion King Ooshies.
Coles will rely on the success of its Little Shop campaign with an updated list of miniature grocery items, including Arnott’s Barbecue Shapes, Heinz Baked Beans, Maggi 2 Minute Noodles, Campbell’s Tomato Soup and the refreshing Eclipse Mints.
Vegemite will have its adorable version out again, but this time the vintage label will be up for grabs.
Just 100 limited-edition gold trolleys will be in circulation to add an extra challenge for the young ones wanting to fill their replica shelves.
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