Hello Kitty ez-link charms, priced at $24.90, being listed for up to $188 on Carousell, Qoo10

SINGAPORE - Just days after the launch of Hello Kitty ez-link charms in 7-Eleven stores here, sellers online have been hawking the trinkets for inflated prices.

The charms, which were launched in 14 stores islandwide on Friday (Dec 9), cost $24.90, but are being resold for an average price of $35 each on online marketplaces such as Carousell, Qoo10, and even on 7-Eleven's Facebook page itself.

A search for the charms on Carousell turns up more than 20 pages of results, with one seller offering a set of the two charms, which function like ez-link cards, for $188.

One seller, Sherlyn Chong, posted on 7-Eleven's Facebook post offering the charms for $30 each, with at least two interested buyers responding publicly.

Nearly 10,000 people turned up at various 7-Eleven outlets on Friday to queue for the Hello Kitty EZ-Charms, which come in two designs and without stored value.

A spokesman for EZ-Link told The Straits Times on Monday (Dec 12) that Hello Kitty EZ-charm stocks are still available, although they are sold out at several outlets. The charms will be on sale till stocks run out.

EZ-Link did not reveal current sales figures or past year's figures for the charms.

A spokesman for 7-Eleven Singapore said it was aware that customers were reselling the trinkets on its Facebook page.

He said each customer was limited to four EZ-Charms each and reservations are not allowed to prevent "blatant scalping", adding that customers who resell the charms are in the minority.

"But if the situation escalates, we will consider a preventive course of action of blocking such transactions on our Facebook page," said the spokesman.