The silent cat has struck again! This time it has struck a chord with Singaporeans who are Kitty crazy. I still don't understand the fascination with a cat without a mouth.
I learnt about the new Hello Kitty series of plush toys when I noticed a colleague having McDonald's for breakfast recently. Let's call him Bruce. Bruce had been having breakfast from McDonald's every Thursday for a few weeks, all in the name of love. Not love for McDonald's but for his fiancé who is a Hello Kitty fan. He was collecting all the Hello Kitty plush toys which can be bought at S$4.60 with the purchase of a value meal or at S$10 without a meal. A new plush is introduced every Thursday. He doesn't even like the cat. This week was meant to be the last week he has breakfast from McDonald's. This week is when they launch the special black coloured Kitty called The Singing Bone Kitty. (The cat cannot sing so the bones had to step up???)
Bruce's plans went awry when tons of other people started out earlier than him. The toy goes on sale from 12am on Thursday morning at 24 hour outlets. Fans were queuing way on Wednesday night. He went to 2 outlets and staff at both outlets had to turn people away when the queue became longer than the supply of the plush toy. He then promised his fiancé to go to outlets that open at 7am way before opening time - 5am. Alas! There were people who were earlier than him! Apparently news of the long queue spread and everyone went to queue earlier than usual. And the queues were again longer than the number of toys available. Lucky for Bruce, fiancé's friend was lucky enough to have bought 2 pieces!! I cannot imagine his fate if the set was incomplete!!!
This phenomenon hit the headlines on The Straits Times this morning. Apparently there were disputes and police were involved at one McDonald's outlet. The funny thing is that not all in the queue were there for the love of the Kitty. Some were there for the love of money. This obsession for limited editions of the cat is obviously a good chance for people with too much time on their hands to make a quick buck. Some of the plush toys went on sale on the internet and after browsing, I came across some sites which had advertisements for the toys. The cats were going from S$20 to S$250.
Is the cat really that cute? Are the toys really that worth collecting? Worth is subjective and one's man meat is truly another's poison. I received a pair of Hello Kitty plush toys as a present before but I don't remember where they are now. I must have given them away. I don't remember the person who gave them to me but the cats must have been worth a lot to him or her. Unfortunately these cats do not strike a chord with me. Can they strike any chord at all without a voice?
The moment the words "limited edition" are used, the value of something goes up. This is pure economics - demand and supply. Low supply matched with high demand result in high price. That price may not be just monetary in many cases. Some people pay with time and effort while others pay with hurt and pain. I'm not just referring to the Hello Kitty plush toys here. If you are in love with a special someone (low supply) who is very attractive (high demand), you may end up paying a price by getting hurt and feeling pain in the process of trying to capture the heart of this special someone. But if you think it's worth it, no one can say you are doing something wrong or something silly. No one can tell you that it's not worth it because that's the price YOU are willing to pay, not THEM.
The pursuit of happiness comes with a price but the reward is indeed priceless. To one and all, I say - to each his own. As long as you are happy, no one can say you are crazy.
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