The real story behind the $100K rare Ooshie sale
A ‘super rare’ Woolworths collectable has cased quite a stir when it sold online for $100,000 – only, it didn’t actually sell.
The Woolworths limited edition Lion King Ooshies have proven to be quite popular.
Customers are able to claim an Ooshie when they spend $30 in store or online and just hours after the promotion launched on July 17, the figurines were appearing online for ridiculous amounts.
Of all the Ooshies you can collect, the one you really want is the rare ‘Furry Simba’, of which there are only 100.
One lucky shopper got their hands on the desirable Simba Ooshie and listed on it on eBay for $10,000.
The first time it was listed, the toy ‘sold’ for $100,000. However, the seller told Yahoo News Australia the initial bid sale was a ‘joke’.
“The first time, a daughter of the bidder put in the amount as a joke,” the seller said.
“She told us she is not paying for this and feel free to cancel it. So we cancelled the order and put the rare Simba back on again.”
Unfortunately, history seems to be repeating itself for this seller.
Within hours of re-listing the rare Simba, the bids again reached almost $100,000 and the seller asked eBay to take down the listing.
“We believe it’s a group of people bidding for fun,” the seller said.
The third time the seller listed the Simba, the price was listed at $14,999 and allowed people to make an offer on the item. It was sold to someone, then the buyer did not pay.
The seller said this happened again the fourth time the Ooshie was listed.
To date, the Ooshie remains unsold, the seller confirmed.
Seller receives death threats over Ooshie
Another seller who is also trying to sell a rare Simba has copped flack and had to report to eBay hate letters and “scam bidders”.
“Since listing this item it has been a nightmare and I have done nothing but cry,” the seller, identified as a woman named Monique, wrote on her eBay description.
“I received so many hate and death threat messages,” Monique told 9 News.
In the caption on the listing, Monique also said she had to advise eBay of people stealing her pictures of the rare Ooshie.
Yesterday afternoon, Monique sold the collectable to a buyer for $4000.
But while Monique is a genuine seller, others are trying pass off common Ooshies as special collectors items.
One seller on eBay has tried to pass off a ‘Blue Spirit Mufasa’ as “rare”, listing the Ooshie for $20,000 when in-fact that particular toy is widely available.
“We appreciate that there is a perceived rareness of Spirit Mufasa and Sunset Mufasa as they are a different colour scheme to the rest of the collectables,” a Woolworths spokesperson said to Yahoo News Australia.
“Woolworths would like to reassure customers that we have as many of these in circulation as the rest of the collection so these are not a rarity.”
Woolworths confirmed the only “rare” Ooshie is the Simba Furry Ooshie, however a spokesperson previously said the supermarket chain did not condone the resale of the Ooshies.
“The Lion King Ooshies are a Disney Collector’s item and we do not encourage resale of these items,” they said.
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